Dennis Lacy

It's an optical illusion. Part of it is because of the frame rails tapering down thinner towards the rear.

Considering you have been my biggest influence in scale hot rod building and after all the help I've been given from your magazine articles over the years, we'll call it even.

Here's my first take on Revell's new kit. Back in one of the review threads it was brought up that the kit could easily be built a 3rd way by using the optional Model A frame (intended for the channeled version) as a hiboy so i decided to take that approach. Setting it up that was is relatively easy with some trimming of the wheel wells and spacers on the engine mounts to raise it up a bit. Everything else more or less falls into place. I wanted to use a lot of the kit but did make the following mods: - Revell '49 Custom Mercury chrome reverse wheels. - Revell M&H Racemaster slicks. - Revell '32 Ford frame front cross member and frame horns. - Revell '32 5-Window Moon auxiliary fuel tank. - Revell '32 Fords radiator shell & grill, chopped 1/8" and lowered over frame 1/8" - Bashed together Halibrand quick change rear axle. - '50 Pontiac taillights. - Pinstripe decals from assorted Revell hot rod kits. - Testors one-coat Pure Gold. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

It's the Model A grill. One, it should be a '32 grill. Two, it sits way too far forward on the channeled version. Also, the stance for both versions isn't good. At least the channeled version as a hint of rake. The '32 frame version sits flat as a board. As far as the channeled version goes, your efforts to lower the front go a long way towards making the car look a lot better. I also really like the color scheme you chose. It suits the car well. PS: All of the brake plates on your black '32 chassis are upside down...

Yup, that's the one! It's still evolving, too. As of now sports a homemade Hallock-style aluminum split V'd windshield.

Absolutely fantastic, Tim! You know you've built a hot rod right when such a simple car is dripping with style. The color scheme suits it perfectly and the built Caddy engine and quick change rear make it look really tough. I also like the departure from the common by using the '34 truck grill. Those don't just work on anything but it really does work for this car.

Saying that doesn't offend me! Thanks for such a generous compliment. It's awesome how many fresh projects and completions this kit has stirred up in the last few weeks. They've all been really cool and I'm sure there's plenty more that will be popping up. I'm already making plans for #2.

I have used Model Master Ultra Gloss clear (from their factory color line) over Tamiya paint many times. Never had a problem. It doesn't hurt decals, either. It gives a really glossy finish and dries in an hour to hard shell.

This is a killer patina-rod! I love all of the coloring and texturing. I also love that it looks worn and weathered and not totally rotted out. This is exactly the kind of hot rod I would drive around. It also reminds me a lot of my friend Frank Barone's '29 Roadster that he's been driving around for a decade or more! Hosted on Fotki

Tim, your chassis looks great! The '49 Merc Caddy engine looks awesome decked out in all of the Revell parts pack accessories. There's something about a staggered 4-carb intake that just looks tough as hell. Can't wait to see the coupe body dropped on! These wheels, front tires and hubcaps are based on the parts from Monogram's original version of the '34 Coupe/Cabriolet kit from the 60's which could be built stock. The rear tires are based on Monogram '41 Lincoln. They're a beautiful wheel and tire set and arguably one of the nicest set of early Ford wires there is.

Fixed that for you, LOL! The wheels are from Revell's '49 Mercury, front tires from the new '29 kit and the slicks are Revell M&H like what come in the Orange Crate, older SWC Willys, etc... I don't know where the roll bar comes from, I found it in one of my parts boxes. It was full height to fit in the interior of something so I cut it down to simulate it passing through the back body panel and down to the floor. Glad you like it!

UPDATE During the week I managed to get everything for this project painted. Only had a 1-day weekend so today I spent the afternoon and a little bit of the evening and did the best I could which included doing a bunch of fine detail painting and black washing. I would say the roadster is 80% there. The body is not glued down yet and the wheels are not attached but I couldn't help mocking everything up for a sneak peek. Worst case, it will be finished by next Sunday. Please excuse the poor lighting. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

The problem isn't so much that the frame is too long, it's that Revell placed the radiator and shell farther forward to make room for the length of the engine. On the version I'm building I used a chopped Revell '32 grill and mounted it over the front cross member like it should be. The hood top is an AMT '29 Roadster with no modification other than thinning the back side so it fit around the firewall. Hosted on Fotki

Sweet! The positioning of the cab and bed look really good. Will look even better with the bed cut down. The track nose from the truck kit looks really heavy. I bet it would help a ton to cut a strip off of the back edge to thin it down. I'd say a quarter of an inch. That'll get rid of the bulky look it has and will also cut down on the height getting it better lined up with the top of the cowl.

I throw them all away. I don't see the point in hording paper. As soon as the kit box is empty it goes in the recycle can, too. I mean, I can see the point in keeping a super crisp instruction sheet from an original issue 50's or 60's kit because (for example) the AMT Trophy ones have the neat "Hints by Barris" customizing suggestions on the back. But, to me, there's absolutely no value in modern issue sheets. I try and learn from people like my Dad who open a box after 40 years and ask, "Why did I keep all this BS?" I always did keep all my Lego instruction books as a kid, though, because those actually get torn down and rebuilt.

I'm using the hiboy exhaust pipes on my A-framed hiboy. The relationship between the floor and body is no different because we're still using the hiboy interior panels which set the height of the floor relative to the body, All we've done is switched frames, which the floor doesn't care about. I mocked it all up as the only concern I had was that the hiboy pipes would snake around the A frame cross members correctly, which they do. Coker only offers the straight ribbed track tires in front sizes. They come in 500-15, 500-16, 500-17 and 500-18. I look forward to seeing your conversion article surface, Even though I've already done the same conversion I just enjoy your how-to articles!

UPDATE We have color, Clarence! Been chipping away at getting this thing painted and as of tonight everything chassis related is good to go, minus fine detailing (like all the finned engine parts, black washing, etc.) The frame and some assorted parts are Testors 1-coat Pure Gold, the Buick engine is Duplicolor red, some pieces Tamiya semi-gloss black, exhaust pipes Tamiya flat white and the aluminum parts Testors metallizer. Hosted on Fotki All of the interior and body parts are in primer and will be getting color tomorrow and Friday. I might just have it all ready for final assembly this weekend. We'll see...

Beautiful kit bashed '29 Roadster, Tim! It looks sweet in white pearl and I never would have thought to combine the maroon and midnight blue accents but somehow it really does work. Although Firestone never made the ribbed track tires in big rear sizes it does look pretty neat having the matching sidewall and tread design fore & aft. The dual quad intake is a nice touch, too. Did you prop the front of the engine up with spacers? Also, which set of exhaust pipes did you use front and rear, hiboy or channeled?

The colors you chose are fantastic! The frame looks incredible in that metallic blue and the high quality craftsmanship shows really well. Keep at it, there's still 2 days and nights left! I feel like I've seen the term "Extreme Rod" used to describe cars built with exaggerated rat rod proportions but nicely finished. I think Extreme Rod defines this particular project perfectly.

Like has been said, these cars were made up by combining all of the individual Parts Packs. For the Scarlet Screamer shown above I have the individual frame kit and Pontiac engine. Neither the frame or that engine have any kind of engine mounting provisions. Tim Boyd said above that he recalls the parts in the Double Car Kits having slight tweaks to aid in assembly. ACE, since you claim to own all of these plus the individual kits is there any way you could confirm this???

It doesn't get much prettier than this. Outstanding choices in color and especially like the white floor pan. It also looks fantastic with chrome wheels.

This is one of the most fantastic '32 5-Window based projects that I've seen in a long time. The engine set back into the cowl just works and with the car slung low and engine stacked high looks wicked as hell! The chassis fabrication, both in form and function is outstanding. Keeping pushing hard, man, it's gonna be worth it!

There was no issue with how the grill/radiator mounts but there was conversation where Tim (and others, myself included) stated that we felt where Revell chose to put the grill was too far forward and makes the proportions a little wonky, especially on the channeled version which has a radiator that's a scale foot thick. Tim suggested that the radiators could be thinned down (the channeled version substantially) to locate the grill rearward in a more eye-pleasing position.

UPDATE With most of the heavy fab work and changes handled today it was dialing in all the nitty gritty to get ready for paint. I cut down the grill insert to fit the 1/8th" sectioned shell. Hosted on Fotki I cut down a more vintage looking radiator from one of Monogram's old '32 Roadsters and added a fill neck which will get a little chrome cap on it. Hosted on Fotki I couldn't imagine a car like this running a stock gauge panel like the kit provides so I took the dashboard from one of Monogram's old '32 Roadsters and cut out the Stewart Warner 5-gauge panel, thinned it down and will attach to the kit dash. Simple and effective. Hosted on Fotki I drilled the engine block for a Detail Master distributor and the cylinder heads for the wires. Hosted on Fotki I made a basic ignition coil from a section of .060" rod which has a .040" mounting pin inserted through the side and fits into a corresponding hole I drilled into the firewall. Hosted on Fotki I decided to cut the wheel wells away from the interior panels and permanently attach them to body to cut down on masking operations during painting. Hosted on Fotki To go along with the dual purpose look of the car I decided to add this chrome roll bar. I drilled the ends of the bar and inserted .040" rod for mounting pins. It was very typical for a roll bar to pass through the body's tulip panel and extend down to the floor/frame. Hosted on Fotki Lastly, a "yard sale" view of everything ready for paint. Hosted on Fotki