Dennis Lacy

Very neat project! Great work building the pedals and belt drive. At first I was surprised to see the trans and pedals intact then it occurred to me that you could run the saw at 3 different speads.

Your text implies that a roadster cab is just the front half of touring. Very misleading. The roadster cab has specific quarter panels and rear panel that are nothing like the touring body pieces. Cowl and doors are the same and that's where it ends.

I think you're right about the newer A-kit frame being a better starting point. I'd also thing the Ala Kart body would be too since it has the stylized back area that more better matches the inspiration.

As Eddie Murphy said in his stand up comedy movie, RAW, "HALF!"

Definitely shiny. For what it costs to properly restore and tune '57 Rochester unit no one would ever put one on a primer or beater car! Haha. Actually, since responding last time I got to thinking that I like the way it looks white, so maybe Pearl White...

This is a super rough mock up so the seats are just there. I plan to remove the mounting "tracks" and put them right on the floor. That will get the backs just below the body so they're tucked down in there. Haven't given much thought to color yet. I'm open to suggestions, though!

Today I made a trip to the hobby shop for supplies and found that they still had a couple of the discontinued Revell '29 Roadsters on the shelf. Armed with a $50 bill that my MIL gave me for my birthday (today's my 38th!) I grabbed a roadster kit for parts - or so I thought. Got home and sat down at the bench but just didn't feel like working on my projects and ended up playing around with the roadster kit. The idea here is to make a "New-Stalgia" style rod, that being a combination of vintage and contemporary parts which is a very popular style today and what the roadster kit actually already is. This is a very rough mock-up but the roadster will use the channeled frame and interior option and get mixed up with a bunch of parts from the sister '30 Coupe kit such as the basic Chevy small block engine/auto trans, Halibrand Sebring style knock-off wheels (a second pair modified to fit the big rear tires), the "aluminum" aircraft seats and dashboard with 5-gauge chrome panel. The car will sit much lower than the kit provided mile-high stance (channeled cars gotta be LOW to look right!) with front and rear axles from Revell's '32 Ford series. I will ditch the disk brakes and replace with early Ford drum plates and the '29 kits finned Buick drums all around. The engine will keep its front timing cover/water pump, belt drive, alternator and headers but will get a Revell '57 Chevy Black Widow stock oil pan, Ed Roth Tweedy Pie chrome Chevrolet script valve covers and the Rochester fuel injection unit from the Black Widow. To tie in with the unit (mostly used on Corvette's) I will use a Revell '62 Corvette steering wheel. Playing with the idea of a track nose from the Revell Kurtis Midgets but it will get re-worked to be more in proportion with the rest of the car. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Comments welcome!

Excellent! It's cool to see you (and RRR) putting these often overlooked wheels to use. I've been wanting to put them on something over the years but just haven't managed to. I must say, I sure wish Revell had done separate center caps so that they could easily be stripped and painted.

Thanks, Tim! Always nice to hear from you on my projects. I've been thinking a lot about color and I think I've got it. Body, firewall and grill shell will be Tamiya Nato Brown with a glossy clear, black chassis and engine with a sprinkling of metal tones and chrome, Tamiya Racing White wheels.

Did some more work on this thing today. Decided to get the front and rear axles mounted. Out rear I removed some more of the molded in floor then trimmed and installed a Revell '40 Ford cross member to mount the Revell '48 Ford axle & spring. For this spring to fit into the cross member it needs the u-bolt detail removed from the spring leaves then it slips right in. The alignment tab is even the same shape as the notch in the cross member. I also had to extend the drive shaft notch in the floor all the way to where the floor steps up at the back to make clearance for the torque tube. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Up front I lowered the front by trimming the mounting tabs on the front spring to allow it to suck up into the cross member. The shock mounts had to be trimmed and raised then were pinned so that they could be taken on and off. The hairpin rods were pinned to the frame rails. I adapted a set of Revell '40 - '48 Ford brake plates and finned Buick drums from Revell's recent Model A roadster and coupe kits. I also changed the front wheels and tires to those from the Model A kits which are basically the same wheel and tire, just shaped a bit different. Hosted on Fotki And some mock ups with the axles installed and the wheels & tires finalized. The track - widths have also been corrected now that the front brakes are installed pushing the wheels out where they belong and the rear wheels are properly mounted sucking them in tighter to the body where they belong. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki More to come! Comments welcome!

The woody cowl opening is also different to accommodate the custom chrome firewall and wont accept the stock firewall from either the coupe or cabriolet.

Funny you should mention Nirvana, I was listening to them while I worked on it yesterday! But, you're right. It's not easy to make a channeled 32 roadster look right. It'll definitely have a cut down windshield before the end.

The more I've been looking at how I adapted the early Ford trans, the more I don't like it because it's not accurate for what it would look like on a Buick Nailhead. Here's a picture I found on Google that shows what the correct Nailhead to 3-speed looks like: Hosted on Fotki Put my thinking cap on and started digging. I happened upon a different Chevy to 3-speed adapter from the Ed Roth Tweedy Pie T kit. Although it does the same job as the Parts Pack version I started out with it looks noticeably different and I found by flipping it upside down and trimming on it a bit that I was able to made a dead-ringer for the Nailhead adapter! I also decided to use the early Ford 3-speed from the Tweedy Pie since it mates up properly. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki The trans adapter sorted out I made mount brackets off of the sides of the block which helps cover up the pair of mounting notches in it. Hosted on Fotki I cut off the original motor mounts and filled the steering box mounting notch then built new motor mount brackets. Hosted on Fotki I tweaked a Revell '40 Ford frame center "X" to fit the '32 frame. Hosted on Fotki Once the engine was located I found that it wasn't necessary to use the modern looking recessed firewall and instead I can fit the stock-style firewall from the Stacey David Rump Roaster so I went ahead and trimmed one for the channel and to fit around the engine. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki And some new rough mock ups with the stance pretty much set. The only negative I've found so far is that the carburetor scoops are going to interfere with the louvered hood top I made. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Lots to do! Comments welcome!

Possibly tomorrow? Heading down to the beach to visit friends for the rest of the day. It didn't get much action initially so I shamelessly replied to Alan and KK to get it back up top. Haha

Thanks, man! One saw cut at a time...

Thanks, Alan! Post up your roadster, sounds neat. As RRR showed below, that's where I got the idea for the modified Lincoln wheels. Him and KK are pretty crafty guys!

I really like this project. It's neat to see this kit get built. The subtle modifications you're doing are the kind that if your model was sitting next to one that was strictly straight from the box people would be trying to figure out why yours looks so much better. Can't wait to see the final product!

Awesome progress! I really like the way that seat looks in there. Now seeing the overhead shot I also think the cab looks really good squeezed in a bit at the back.

Well Hell, if we're posting models we made out of '26-'27 Roadster bodies. These are both made from Altered States bodies. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

The engine in the Ala Kart is a first generation Dodge Red Ram which was produced from '53-'54 at 241 inches and in '55 as the Super Red Ram at 270 inches. Yes, they are physically smaller than the first generation Chrysler's which came in 331, 354 and 392. Externally, those 3 Chrysler's are the same size. Regardless, the engine in the modern-tool Ala Kart is grossly undersized.

You're right, it did all start with Ron Cash and went down the line from there. All of these bodies clearly have the same basic shape and features as they've just been duped by everybody over the years. Back in about '91 in Modelers Corner you featured an incredible 40's period perfect '27 Roadster built by (if I remember right) Steve Catron. Your article talked about how he made his own bucks and vacuum formed the body and turtle deck. To my eye and intimate familiarity with the real subject his body was dead-nuts. Occassionaly I go back and read those old articles and every time I see his T I think "If only!" I think doing roadster and coupe sister kits is a natural. There is probably almost an equal interest in having a later T coupe body. Just like the sister A kits the T's could feature interchangeable options. It would be amazing! For what it's worth, Altered States does offer a pair of pretty nicely done '26-'27 Coupe bodies, one mildly chopped and the other heavily chopped with full inner structure detail. I imagine whoever mastered the latter was a big fan of Aaron Kahan's "Bad News" T Coupe from the SoCal car club Burbank Choppers. It's a dead ringer! If you've never seen it take a moment and google it. Probably my favorite T Coupe ever.

Nice work on the wheels, brother! I've seen the modified you pictured in person at the GNRS last year. I thought then and still think that the rear wheels hang out way too far behind the body.

Over the years there have been several '27 T Roadster bodies offered in the aftermarket. Actually, I believed the original was by All American Models and has since been passed around by Hendrix, Flintstone and most recently Altered States (which featured a bunch of detail improvements and louvered deck lid.) Unfortunately, the body was proportionately WRONG from the get-go and therefor so has been each subsequent reproduction, Basically, the body is too short. The downward curve of the back of the body is too sharp and the upward curve of the turtle deck where it meets the back of the passenger compartment is way too sharp, too. Below is a picture of a '27 Roadster that I built for myself 10+ years ago and below it a picture of a scale replica that my friend Jon (Rocking Rodney Rat) made me several years back from a Flintstone body. The discrepancies are very obvious. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Despite the discrepancies I have built two models myself using the recent Altered States offering because regardless of who's body copy you're using, they're the only game in town. That being said, the '26-'27 T Roadster is one of my all-time favorite bodies for hot rod material and I would absolutely love for an actual kit to be produced. In the vein of the recent '29 Roadster / '30 Coupe offerings I think it would be killer to have sister kits. One a roadster kit with interchangeable turtle deck / pickup bed (as factory) and the other a coupe!

I built this version of the Slingster shortly after it came out. Over all I had fun building it. Nice, simple, quick project to break up all the Big Builds. I replaced a handful of things that looked odd to me. Rear wheels, slicks and fuel tank from the Tony Nancy 22jr double kit. Blower assembly, injector, scoop and drive from Revell KS Pitman '41 Willys. To hide the awful rear axle I used one of the plated shields from AMT's Double Dragster. I also added some detail with a fuel pump, fuel plumbing and ignition wires. I feel like the result is a very decent looking dragster? I definitely feel like there's enough good in the box to make purchasing worth it, even as just a parts donor. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

Oh! You gave me an identical tire set a while back. You're not worried about the tires melting the wheels?