Dennis Lacy

Wow. Just, wow. The lines and flow of the body work with the new front aprons is just, .... Wow! To quote one of my favorite customers, "This makes my sticker peck up!"

Thanks, I got the idea from you! Just so you know, 29's didn't have a bead around the wheel arch but that doesn't mean you can't add it if you want.

UPDATE! The body, grill shell and frame took a bath in Dot 3 brake fluid which took the clear and gold right off. Didn't do much to the underlying Duplicolor primer but that's okay, I just needed the gold off. Some of the engine parts took a bath in Westley's Bleech-White to strip them of chrome. Hosted on Fotki Didn't have much time over the weekend for this project but I did manage to start on some mild customizing and frenched a pair of 'Pontiac taillights and a club plaque. I always thought the back of the car looked a little plain-Jane and this idea came to me in a late night vision. I made the plaque recess a bit over size lending to the idea that this was once a street-going car and a license plate resided there before. Like a lot of street cars, this one got modified to the point of being a race-only car to try and stay competitive so the plaque is mounted in place of a license plate and the taillights are now used when flat-towing to the track. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki That's it for now but plenty more to come soon! Comments welcome!

Thanks! The mag wheels look even better now that the front ones are stripped. Didn't ditch the beehive, just didn't bother with it on these mock ups.

I had planned all along to make some fillers for the rear wheel wells which were going to be nothing more than flat pieces made from .040" sheet. Looking at it today it occurred to me that I could handle it another way. So I grabbed the non-channeled interior / wheel well pieces from the same '30 Coupe... Hosted on Fotki ... and trimmed them to fit into the openings, at the same time eliminating the kits ugly raised arches and making them stock again. It's really hard to tell but I also added back the bead line around the arch using .040" half-round which was sanded to make it less round like original. Of course, some slots needed to be added for the axle tubes and springs. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki What's neat is that by doing it just right the channeled interior / wheel well panels and floor still fit with NO modification! Hosted on Fotki After the last session where I made the tough-looking shorty header tubes I've been thinking that between those and louvered roof and deck lid that the steelie wheels weren't tough enough looking. Playing around I came up with this cool mag wheel setup that I think fits the style of the car much better. What's nice is that they were a direct bolt-on requiring no modifications. Front wheels: Revell '29 Pickup with Ed Roth Beatnik Bandit inner rims Front tires: Ed Roth Beatnik Bandit Rear wheels: Ed Roth Beatnik Bandit with Orange Crate inner rims M&H Slicks: AMT '28 Sedan (rare one-time release from the early 60's) with the centers enlarged for the wheels to fit I also trimmed the front spring to lower the front just a touch. The front wheels are soaking in chrome stripper now and they'll all be painted like raw magnesium in the end. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Pretty close now. Next step will be to make up a radiator and upper / lower hoses then I think I can do final clean up for primer / paint.

You think I should, whip it back out?

I'll never forget when I bought one of these AMT 34's years ago and how disappointed I was when I opened the box and saw the body and grill! If you pull this one off, Bill, it will be the ultimate turd-polish. Haha! I prefer early traditional stuff but I think you should do the modern version with those Phantom Vicky wheels and IFS.

Awesome work on the suicide front axle set up! Hood sides are looking good, too. We need a new mock up with them in place.

Thanks, Glenn! You took the words right out of my head and that's what I told another guy over on TRaK. I'll try and make the rebuild a little better...

Thanks. It was okay but it could have been a lot cooler. I was surprised how nice it came apart, too! I wasn't expecting it but everything came loose with mild effort. I used Zap-A-Gap to assemble and use it sparingly.

It sure looks like it!

Six years ago I built this AMT '32 Vicky. Maybe somebody here remembers it? Probably not? Hosted on Fotki To be honest, I never really liked it. I hate the straight Tamiya gold paint and I hate the decal layout. At the time I built it I was very limited on vintage racing decals so I used what I had. The model is also having an identity crises because it's trying to be an early 60's Altered, but it's not really. It was built from an 80's issue (molded in that terrible dark gray) and features the optional rear axle that was in the kit by then. I back-dated the engine to the original speed parts using pieces from the sister Phaeton kit and for some dumb reason painted the oil pan black. The chrome steelie wheels and front tires are from the AMT '25 T Chopped Coupe double kit with AMT parts pack slicks. Recently I was rearranging my display cabinet and noticed something bad had happened to the paint but I have no idea at what point in the last 6 years that it did because the last time I looked close at the model is when I finished it and stuck it in the case. It looks like traces of water and finger prints from when the decals were put on and cleared over. Really weird. Non of my other models with decals have this going on (thankfully.) Since I didn't like the model anyway I tore it apart and salvaged the wheels and tires. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki I had no intention of rebuilding the Vicky until I found a complete interior set from the most recent Retro Deluxe reissued of the kit on eBay from one of my favorite sellers for a whopping $5.43 to my door! I got to thinking that I could paint the white interior tub a lighter color easily that would look better with the gold body. I also got to thinking I always liked the Vicky kit and even tho I'm past AMT's '32 kit simplicity these days I should still have one in my fleet. It was then decided. I shall rebuild! Hosted on Fotki THE PLAN! This time around the Vicky is going to be a full-on Altered and will feature all-new running gear with a Blown Poncho up front and lots of chrome throughout. It is going to stay gold as an ode to the first version but will be a way better shade of it. It's also going to get new rolling stock. Below, all that remains and will be carried over into the new version. Hosted on Fotki NEW PARTS! Full chrome front axle assembly from AMT's recently issued '29 Roadster / Mod Rod double kit and chrome quick change rear axle assembly from AMT's '25 T double kits. Hosted on Fotki Chrome 5-spoke wheels from AMT's '25 Tall-T and Fruitwagon double kits. Front tires from the flat-box Ohio George reissue of the '33 Willys and AMT parts pack red-stripe slicks. Hosted on Fotki I plan to graft the AMT '25 T dashboard into the '32 piece and the roll bar is from the '33 Willys. Hosted on Fotki Some other bits will be the Monogram '30 Woody chrome firewall, AMT Double Dragster Fiat seat (which has nicely engraved belts) and '25 T Moon tank and fire extinguisher. Hosted on Fotki The bulk of the engine will be Revell parts pack Blown Pontiac... Hosted on Fotki ...kit-bashed with the finned timing cover, blower end plates and belt drive from AMT's rival parts pack Pontiac engine because the blower belt tensioner actually has attachment detail. From the AMT parts pack Chevy are the flywheel, magneto and shotgun headers. The little white transmission halves are from the Double Dragster Fiat Hemi. Hosted on Fotki GETTING STARTED! I can't do a whole lot until I get the paint stripped from the body and the chrome stripped from some of the engine parts but I did manage a few things today. I modified the chrome firewall to fit. Hosted on Fotki I cut out the "radiator" (no longer needed as Altered's don't have cooling systems) leaving just the hollow front shell and notched the sides to mount it (correctly) on top of the front cross member instead of in front of it. Hosted on Fotki I also re shaped the front frame horns because from AMT they look like upside down butter knives. The should have more taper top and bottom and a blunt flat at the tip. Hosted on Fotki Here's a really quick throw-together to give an idea of where this thing is headed. Hosted on Fotki As always, comments welcome!

I've done several sets of model wheels using the following procedure to get the DOW-7 look: 1) Duplicolor Gray Sandable Primer (which is a dark gray.) 2) Brush on Testors Model Master "Jet Exhaust" 3) 24 hours later seal in Tamiya Semi-Gloss Clear Here's an example picture of one of my dragsters that shows the result. Hosted on Fotki

I guess the word filter didn't catch that one!

This is awesome, love it! Ever since that episode of Road Kill with the Jeep rat rod I've had it mind to build one. Too much information...

Looking really good. I've noticed you doing this on other models, I like how you blend the corners of the floor into the firewall to eliminate the void. I also see what you did with the bottom of the cowl. Very clever!

I absolutely love this! It just looks right-on.

This is one of the first models of yours that I discovered on-line all those years ago.

The reason the brackets are on the inside is (as KK correctly surmised) to get the 'bones tucked in a bit so there wouldn't be any interference with the steering link. As it turns out, there's a mile of clearance and the brackets could have been hung on the outside. If you look close at the real car, the mounts are on the outside but the tie rod ends on the 'bones come in from behind to get them tucked in a bit, for the same reason. I ain't buildin' no replica so I ain't gonna be changin' 'em...

No, you have it right. The bones are split. It might be that the hanger brackets are attached to the inside of the frame rails that's throwing you off. Usually the brackets are on the outside or bottom so they're more obvious. I use very little aftermarket parts. Not that there is anything wrong with them (there's some really nice stuff out there!) but I just prefer to re purpose kit parts or scratch build what I need. I build this stuff for a living so re purposing and scratch building comes natural.

UPDATE! Has it really been 5 months?! Today I dug out this project and spent some quality time with it. I scratch built a V'd headlight bar out of Evergreen .042" rod and 3/32" tube which holds up a pair of AMT '36 Ford headlights. I built upper shocks mounts and shocks which was all made out of the kit parts albeit quite modified. I notched the bottom portion of the grill shell so that it sits over the frame cross member like it should. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki I also built the tough-looking shorty header tubes using pieces cut out of 2 pairs of Monogram Slingster dragster Chevy headers. It's absolute luck that they ended up fitting over, around and under the steering box and shaft perfectly. I love it when things just work out like this! Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki And what would an update be without full mock up pics? Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Still a few things left to do but this thing is getting close to fully fabricated! One more solid afternoon might be enough to finish and start getting it paint ready.

UPDATE! Been a while since I've spent any time at the workbench but had an afternoon to get at it on Labor Day. Started out by doing some body tweaks. Out back I fixed the wheel wells by adding the missing strips of material across the bottom (which is made this way to fit the fenders) because real Model A body wells come down even with the bottom of the body. The 3 reinforcement ribs are in the correct place but AMT made them recessed when they should be raised to the outside. Easy fix as I shaped some strips of .042" rod to fit into them which filled them and made them correctly raised at the same time. Hosted on Fotki I added some taillights. Now, a dedicated lakes racer wouldn't require them but the William's Bros. inspiration roadster had them because they flat-towed the car to events. There was actually a long wire harness that would reach from their tow vehicle to the taillights. The lights are from several of Revell's '32 Ford's but as they come they are really thick so I sanded them down to about half their original thickness for a more realistic appearance. Taillight placement varied from roadster to roadster with same cases having the lights mounted to each far edge of the rear body panel so I decided to do it that was despite not being a huge fan of it. Hosted on Fotki I installed the firewall and like the William's Bros. car then removed virtually all of it leaving just the perimeter to locate the hood and radiator support rods. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki A couple of weeks ago I was rummaging through an AMT '53 Ford truck kit for some other reason and found the headers for its optional Desoto Hemi had a great vintage look and would also be a perfect fit for the Red Ram in the roadster so I set them aside and they are now mounted. I really didn't like that there's no lifter valley cover detail on this engine and after some digging I found that the piece from the Oldsmobile engine in the Ed Roth Beatnik Bandit fit nice and while not totally accurate looks a heck of a lot better than nothing. I also mocked up both banks of injectors so I could get a look at the full engine. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Here's how the car looks with the mocked up engine and the firewall band in place. Tight fit but it does clear. Hosted on Fotki Inside I got the basic firewall shape roughed-in and fit. It only took two tries! Still a lot to do in here but making this part and making it fit exact was the hard part. Hosted on Fotki And some full mock ups. Here you can see that I smoothed the parting line on the cowl, filled the door handle holes, cleaned up the hood and carved the parting lines into it to separate the tops from the sides and finally properly fit a new '32 radiator shell as the one before was a butchered mock up piece. Still a lot more to do but I'm happy! Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

Yes, absolutely!

Hosted on Fotki As Bill already mentioned, the Halibrand "Touring" wheels that came on Avanti's (and also available outright from the Halibrand catalog) were also available in the Revell '31 Sedan / Sedan Delivery kits over the years. They do not have correct center caps as Halibrand provided false push-in knock-off style wingnuts with them. They also don't have any lug nut detail. I'm using them on a current project hot rod and spent some time making them look better by stripping the thick plating off, installing nut detail from Grandt Line and adding the correct early wingnuts from the Halibrand wheels in Revell's Orange Crate. Here's the results! Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

I can't repeat the expletives that I used when I texted you earlier so I'll just say that I really, really, really love it! The colors, the weathering, the minimal lettering is all perfect. I also still can't get over what a perfect find that dashboard was!