Dennis Lacy

Thank you for the outstanding photo review, Tim! I can't wait to get my hands on a few of these. For the most part I see nothing about this kit that bothers me to the point of worrying about correcting. I seriously think I will do a box-stock build up and add a great looking hot rod to my display case. The only thing that truly bothers me (and I just don't get) is why the kit designer(s) decided to add raised cradles to the rear frame rails that the axle solidly sits on. Maybe it's because the coilovers are too fragile to support the weight of the back of the model? That's just hokey as hell. Structurally it wouldn't have been a problem with a Model A or T buggy spring back there. Just sayin'...

So... Have you never, in your whole life, looked at something (anything) and thought to yourself that if it was yours you would have done things different? If you say no I'd find that incredibly hard to believe. That's all we're doing here, just having a discussion. Nobody has suggested we make a list of corrections and submit it to the owner and insist he comply. Everyone is entitled to their opinion As far as dependable, there's absolutely nothing less dependable about a properly restored factory GM ignition over an MSD system. In fact, I'd argue that the factory parts are more dependable. Especially if you have a failure on the road and need a quick repair. Your local auto parts store is not going to carry in-stock a new magnetic pickup or cap & rotor for your MSD distributor or a new 6-series ignition box needed to run said distributor. You do, however, have a really strong chance that they will have new points, condenser, cap and rotor for your factory distributor.

This is my opinion: I don't care about what components a person uses to build their hot rod. If it makes them happy, awesome. Naturally, as I look the car over I will see things that I would have done different. The guy looking at it next to me will do the same and our ideas probably won't be 100% agreeable. However... If an owner / builder of a hot rod is going to stand next to it and boast that it is period correct to specific era, year, whatever - then every detail of the car should be spot-on. I will add that as I stand and look over a hot rod the biggest thing that bothers me is when there is no consistent theme to a car. I think that a lot of people go through catalogs and choose components on an individual basis without much thought to how they will all look together. You have to stand back and look at the big picture and ask yourself two questions, "Does this all look good together?" and "Is there anything that stands out like a sore thumb that your eyes immediately focus on rather than seeing the whole car?" The Buick engine in the original post above is a good example. The main components follow a decidedly vintage theme (engine choice, valve covers, valley cover, intake, probably the air filter lid) while it is sprinkled with a couple of very modern parts like the billet MSD distributor / plug wires and the ceramic coated headers. The red of the cap and wires also clashes with the pale green engine paint. (Would you wear seafoam pants with a red t-shirt?) It would have been just as easy to use an early Delco dual-point distributor with a black cap and black wires with regular plug boots.A flat black hi-temp coating is also available that is just as durable as the silver ceramic. If it were mine I would want the focal point to be the vintage Buick engine, not the red ignition components and shiny headers. If those components were toned down all the eye would see is Buick goodness. Details truly do make or break any custom vehicle and they are very much worth the time to get right.

I've had the pleasure of seeing the Purple People Eater run down the strip, lots of fun! I wonder if the picture with the 2-port injector is more recent cause I've only ever seen it with the 8 Stromberg's.

In the grand scheme of life... Who Cares? What difference does it make in or to any ones life what name or "buzz word" Revell decides to stick on a model kit box. I feel bad for people who waste their time worrying about BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH like this.

Gotta agree with you! Here's a hot rod based on the '30 Coupe. Not much left of the original kit but I used the body and modified the frame. I also attached the roof section ahead of time like others have suggested and added .040" half-round styrene around the joint to cover it up. It's the only way to get good results with the body. I didn't cut out the package shelf but kind of wish I would have. I notched the back of the seat, though, so the seat covers most of it up. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

Beautiful near-out-of-the-box Deuce Sedan! Love the color and the special touches like the dual quad setup with back to back Edelbrock style air cleaners. Clean work on the top choppin', too! Isn't it awesome how the stepped chop method saves the roof insert detail and saves the step of stretching the roof? Where'd you learn of the method? Not too long back I did a '32 Sedan and posted a step-by-step write up on another forum.

Very nicely done and very representative of what's going on with real Fox Mustang's these days. What a difference that resin body makes! I remember back in the late 90's when people started doing mod-motor swaps into these cars and it was really big deal. Now it's so common that people don't really do a double take. In about 2003 a good friend of mine bought an '89 Coupe that had a complete '98 Cobra drive train (engine, trans, rear axle, brakes, wheels) swapped into it. It was kind of a hack-job and we had to straighten everything out and make it presentable. What was interesting is how much harder that stock Cobra drive train ran in the Fox Mustang shell vs. an actual '98 Cobra.

I grew up around '33/'34 Ford's and as far as I know, the front fenders are interchangeable. The inner fender panels that fill the gap between them and the top of the frame are '33/'34 specific, but I can't remember if it's simply in the stamping detail or the actual fit of the part. The '33 Sedan street rod and '34 Sedan stocker came first in the 80's. Everything about the shape of all of the "sheet metal" is horrible. In fact, it just plain sucks. Especially for me because I'm intimately familiar with these Sedans because my Dad has owned an incredibly nice original '34 for 20 years now. I would love to build a basic model of it but the shape of the kit is so bad I just can't bring myself to. The '34 5-Window "sheet metal" is, like you said, a vast improvement in every way. Not perfect, but tons better than the Sedan attempt. The shape of the grille is improved over the "34" Sedan, too. I don't understand, at all, why they decided to make the rear window opening on the coupe a separate part, through. There's no advantage to it and it's certainly not the case on a real one. Just makes extra work for the builder. The biggest issue with the 5-Window, for me, is that the hood is too long. Which is weird, because the shape of the front fenders look right. I'm willing to bet that this was done to accommodate the optional small block Chevy engine because in reality, there's absolutely no way you can fit one with a giant HEI distributor without modifying the firewall and even with the smaller late 50's and early 60's distributor there still has to be a bit of a relief in the very center of the firewall for clearance. Since the firewall is a separate part in these kits it's pretty ridiculous that they couldn't include an additional modified firewall for the Chevy engine. Then again, if the Chevy engine were shoved back (so the hood length was correct) then there probably would be interference issues between it's 4-speed trans and frames center "X".

I would go so far as to guarantee there won't be anything different about the Speedwagon from previous issues. Maybe we'll get lucky and they will include it in their "Basic Builder" series and will be under $20. If that happens it will at least be a reasonably priced parts donor for a street rod project.

There's a good reason for this. The shape of the fenders in the 5-Window are significantly different from the Sedan versions. The 5-Window fenders are much more accurate in shape and size. The Sedan fenders are terrible.

Looks fantastic! Not an easy kit to work with by any means with all of that fiddly chrome.

Street Rodder Magazine did a full coverage of the build of the full scale Speed Wagon over many issues and several years. This car is a 1 of 1 and was Dan Fink's personal project. He didn't do a production run. It was then sold and Dan started his next project, a very well done '32 3-Window Coupe. The coupe project was also fully covered in Street Rodder and partially sponsored by Ford Motorsport / SVO (name changed to Ford Racing in 2000) and featured one of their crate engines with their then-new GT40X aluminum cylinder heads.

I knew I forgot one...

- If you take issue with the shape of the firewall, type "1" - If you take issue with the shape of the roof opening, type "2" - If you take issue with the fact that a small block Chevy is included, type "3" - If you take no issue with the kit and are just grateful that Revell is releasing anything, type "4" - If you take your hobby way too seriously, type "5" - If you think you could have done it way better, type "6" - If you feel you've reached this thread in error, please click the "back" icon on your browser....

Yeah, umm... Having seen the full scale car in person many times, I guarantee you that the body is made of wood. Here's a few pictures that I took at a hot rod show: Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

Overall this kit (should it be released for consumption) looks awesome and I will absolutely buy multiples for the chassis parts alone. I can live with the too-tall blower, I'd more likely use the 3-2 intake option anyway. I can live with the shape of the top insert and honestly I think the shape looks better than the correct alternative. The shape and fit of the firewall absolutely sucks. Being very familiar with full size 30/31 Model A's my eyes went straight to it the instant I saw the photos. If I end up using this coupe body for a project (and I'm sure I will at some point) I'll be grafting an old-tool Revell firewall to it. Here's some things I like about this kit. - The body is 1 piece with correct molding around the base of the roof section (unlike older Monogram version) - What appear to be early style Halibrand wheels - The same awesome looking I-beam front end from the up coming roadster kit - Vintage small block Chevy speed parts like the Cal Custom valve covers and 3-2 intake setup - Nice looking over the frame small block headers - Finally! - Inclusion of '32 grill (which I think the up coming roadster should have offered)

HAHA! I have no problem with the word traditional and I know exactly what it means - to me. Beyond that I have no desire to try and convince the rest of the world that my definition is definitive. Actually, I highlighted something in your quoted reply above, Bill, that is absolutely nails on a chalkboard to me. The label "Car-Guy" What does that even mean? I hate that label because it implies that if I like one type of car that I like every type of car, which isn't remotely the case. There are several specific types of vehicles that I truly like and the rest is whatever. Car-Guy is how my Mom and Wife describe me to their friends and then when I meet they're friends I get stuck in conversations about their 1978 Oldsmobile or NASCAR. But hey, I'm a Car-Guy!

This puts a big smile on my face! Killer idea and very nicely executed.

LOL, I wouldn't recommend a visit to Baldwin Park to anyone, for any reason. Especially an out-of-towner. If you do go, make sure its when the sun is still up. Definitely make a trip to Pegasus Hobbies since you'll be a couple of miles away. You will get lost in there. They have a HUGE model kit section, not to mention an entire wall of sliding door racks dedicated to aftermarket accessories. Every time I make a trip there my Wife says, "See you in a couple of hours!". The staff is super helpful too. The guys in the model kit section actually build models and have a lot of good advice to offer, especially when it comes to proper use of paint/mixing of different brands, different styles of glues, etc. There's also an old hobby shop called Covina Hobby, in the city of Covina. About 15-20 minutes west of the race track. They have on okay selection there. It is located on a restored old-town strip that is neat to see in general.

More recently, here's another '34 Pickup I built using leftover body parts from an original AMT kit. It's been chopped, semi-channeled, shortened bed and shortened wheelbase. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

Here's a '34 Cabriolet I stuck together last Fall. It started life as the awful looking Thom Taylor kit. I used the body, top and frame then bashed or scratched everything else. I'm still quite pleased with it. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Here's a '34 Pickup I did a few years back as an early 60's Altered drag racer. I was going for a vintage box-art vibe. It was inspired by an illustration of the original AMT instructions showing building ideas by George Barris. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki

You know, it's pretty bad when you see a bunch of people seriously discussing model kit stacking techniques...

On close inspection the body is a 1933. The telltale is the doors, in particular the window openings. 34's had an extra vertical reveal along the back edge of the opening because the windows had a feature that would allow them to slide backwards about 1". 33's did not have this feature.

Highly, highly doubtful. In the 70's the tooling was modified and the Coupe / Cabriolet were sold as separate kits in Monogram's Early Iron Series. They were very typical of 70's street rods. Then, in the early 80's the tooling was butchered even further to release the horribly inaccurate ZZ Top '33 Coupe kit. On the outside the car looked more or less correct but the chassis and engine were a fail. Finally, in the early 90's the tooling was altered even further when they released a modernized version of the Cabriolet (with extreme chopped top and re-worked chassis) in a series based on automotive artist Thom Taylor's suggestions.