Dennis Lacy

Paul & Rudy: Thanks guys and more will be on the way soon! Bernard: Thanks and I'm glad you enjoy following along on my projects. I'd like to be able to say that the different colors are on purpose but it's just the luck of the draw. CB brought up the colors too. It seems that it's only fairly recently AMT and Revellogram went with the standardized white and gray plastic. Quite a few of the kits I have collected are older issues from the 70's and 80's and they come in all sorts of colors. I didn't get any work done on this project this weekend but I hope to in the comming week. I ended up starting a new project.

John: Thanks again for the nice words! I knew going into this that the slicks I chose as rear tires weren't correct - because they're slicks. But, the diameter is a perfect compliment when using the AMT Firestones as front tires, they are appropriately narrow like an early Ford wheel and the vintage "Firestone Gum Dipped" logo on the side looks the part. It was a stroke of luck I found them in my Dad's old stuff, otherwise I'd be S.O.L. After reading your reply it occurred to me that we have a lathe here at work. And while it's for making stuff for 1:1 cars, I think I might be able to make an arbor for the tires and cut some grooves into them with a parting tool. I'm gonna look into it. Problem is, if I ruin the tires I'm screwed! And you hit the nail on the head - trying to put together appropriate bigs & littles from kit tires is, in fact, a bitch! Bernard: Thanks, once again, for the heads up on the aftermarket stuff. While I really enjoy making kit-sourced parts work, I think it will soon be time to step out of my box! Question: are those tires rubber or resin? If they're resin, how does one paint them to look right? Tim: Thank you! It didn't occur to me right away to cut out and use the kit floor. But, comparing it to pictures of the real thing, the floor is actually very accurate and I just couldn't get enthused to make one from scratch. Then, out of nowhere, the idea hit me!

Fletch: Thanks for the heads-up on the aftermarket rear springs. If you look at the rear shots from my newest batch of pictures, it can be seen that the rear axle is lowered and could only go about another 1/16" before it's against the cross member. To me, the 1/16" isn't worth the fuss. I have already flatened the kit spring as much as possible. Like I said, it is what it is and it aint bad. And I'm happy to hear my build has given you some ideas for your future builds, that's why we're all here! Raul and Slim: Thank you very much!

Thanks Bernard! I agree that from the side view it may look a bit better with the back a little lower and less rake, but doing so would require either extending the frame and putting the spring behind the axle (like you said) or Z'ing the frame. Neither option is practical as I would have to cut up the floor, and that's not an option. It is what it is and I don't think it looks bad. One thing I do like is the gap between the radius of the tire and the wheel well is uniform.

More pictures! And now the fun part - mock up pictures! If you compare these pictures to the first postings it will become obvious that the front end is a bit lower with the new front axle / spring and the car has a more pronounced forward rake. I like the new stance better. To me, the proportions are better and the car looks more aggressive from the front and rear views. I also installed the headlights for this mock-up which are the optional smaller lights from the Revell ‘32 kits. Next steps will be to finish the revised front suspension set-up, fine tune the interior fit and make a front floor board / toe panel. Stay tuned!

PROBLEM TIME... As I was trying to mock up the front suspension in the frame for some pictures, I ran into my first problem with this build. Before, everything fit okay but now that the tierod had been glued in place the split wishbones would not articulate to allow the spring to fit into the front cross member. If forced into place the axle was pulled back and the spring forward = not good! I also had not been totally happy with the front spring I used as it didn’t locate very solidly and I was foreseeing issues when it came time to final assemble. So, I decided to scrap the front axle and spring and use the dropped I-beam axle from Monogram’s ‘33 Ford 3-window. I transferred the wheel spindles from the first axle to it’s replacement. The new axle fits the model A front cross member much better and the split wishbones now run parallel to the frame, whereas before they angled up to the frame brackets. The former axle also hung very low to the ground as it had a deep drop and the new one is farther from the ground and, to me, looks much better. The new axle is currently soaking to remove the plating.

UDATE TIME (finally) - YAY! Well, I finally had a chance to get some work done on the roadster Sunday morning and last night and things are progressing nicely despite a slight step backwards, then forward again which I will explain in a bit. If you go back to my first picture postings I show a side-by-side comparison of the kit 1-piece fender / floor unit and the modified floor with the fenders cut away and installed in the body. I stated that when everything was trimmed away there were gaps on either side of the center floor section and they are obvious in the picture. I tried to talk myself into living with this, with the justification that when everything was painted and the inside of the body blacked-out it wouldn’t be that obvious. But, it was eating away at me so I found a suitable piece of plastic and cut the small, wedge-shaped filler pieces out, tediously fitted them, then glued them in. Not only does it look better (duh!), but it added a ton of strength to the body. The strips ended up being 1/16" wide at one end, 1" long and taper to fine point. There’s still have some finish work to do on them. With the floor filler strips coming along I turned my attention to making interior panels and a seat. The side pieces started out from the Revell ‘32 roadster. I trimmed away the wide top rib leaving only the vertical rolled pleats. I then cut them vertically making the kick-panels separate pieces. Next I manipulated all four pieces by hand to match the contours of the roadster body. They still need a little fine-fitting, but they are close. I might have to relieve the backside a little here and there to get a perfect fit, we’ll see. The seat started out as the stock front bench seat from an AMT ‘32 phaeton. The width and wide, rolled pleat design were perfect and only the height needed to be modified. I trimmed 3/16" off the bottom riser to lower the seat down and trimmed the top to follow the shape of the body.

Thanks CB! Yeah, gotta love the colors prior to what seems a current standardation of white and gray plastic. Your right about the bed tarp. I will finish it and paint it and when the rest of the truck is finished I'll set it on there. Either it'll get tossed or glued down.

Here’s another rolling mock-up with the nearly completed front suspension and the extended PU bed rails. Once again, the wheels and tires are from Revell's '37 Ford pickup. Also visible is the bed cover that I’m contemplating using. It was made from the bed tarp in the Lindberg ‘34 pickup and has been narrowed and shortened. Not sure if I like it?

The font suspension is made up of the dropped (and now de-chromed) axle from Monogram’s ‘33 Ford 3-window street rod with the wheel spindles from Revell's '37 Ford pickup, the split-wishbone radius rods from Monogram’s ‘32 Ford roadster, a steering adaptor arm made from an independent suspension a-arm and the drag link and pitman arm (turned upside down) from the Revell model A chassis. The tierod will also be from the Monogram ‘33. I also made radius rod mounts on the frame using some scrap pieces. They are in the rough right now, still needing to be trimmed and shaped. Some other little things: the stock model T firewall and dashboard are installed and I adapted the stock model T radiator / shell to the model A frame by using the lower tank from the model A radiator.

UPDATE! Got some more done on the “gow jobâ€. The first picture shows the breakdown of the basic body components of the AMT ‘25 T pickup. In the foreground is the floor / sub frame assembly after having the fenders and running boards cut away. If you go back to my first post you can see that the platform the PU bed sits on only extends back about half the length of the bed. I didn’t like this so I decided to extend it the full length of the bed. I found some suitable pieces of plastic in the parts bin and first made some thin filler strips to make the sides of the existing platform one consistent thickness. Next, I made the extension pieces and followed up with a new cross piece to tie them together. The next two pictures show how the floor / sub frame assembly sits on the Revell model A frame and the cut-outs required to clear the rear cross member, both in the floor and PU bed floor. The next challenge was to find a way to mount and positively locate the floor / sub frame on the model A frame. I solved it by adding a rectangular strip of plastic (yellow) to the bottom of the floor. I then inserted some plastic pins and match-drilled the center cross member of the model A frame. Not only does this keep everything aligned and located, it also provides a big, discrete surface area for glueing at final assembly.

Taxdude: That you for the nice compliments! In regards to the exhaust: It was actually more common to see mufflers on a roadster than not and there were several dedicated suppliers of mufflers for the hot rod crowd. In quite a few cases a car might be set up so that it had straight pipes for dry lakes racing that could be capped and routed through a muffled system and tailpipes for street use. There were a handfull of cars that did run straight pipes or headers only on the streets and suffered continous harrassment from the law. The roadster I'm building is representative of a nice, street driven hot rod that would not "competatively" participate in dry lakes racing. To that end I used the muffler section from Revell's '32 Ford kits as they are representative of a typical glass-packed muffler, which is era correct.

Great looking truck and you definately made the right choice when you finished it shiney. Normally I don't care for 1:1 builds like this, but I've never seen one "finished". It makes all the difference in the world and all your period details make it even better. Love the Buick engine, they don't get nearly enough love. What kit did it come from?

Your little truck turned out awesome, Bernard. It is a quintissential rat rod!

Very cool! The color and black wheels with flipper caps go awesome together. The white and red parts are a great contrast too. Love the cheater slicks!

Bernard and Bryce: Thank you very much for the pictures of the AMT 21-stud engine! Both versions look great. Even without the aftermarket detail parts the engine builds up very nice. Now I'm definately gonna have to get me one. John: Thank you for your nice compliments. Comming from you, they mean a lot.

Really neat project you have going here! I also dig the 1:1. The rear shackles you constructed look awesome. It's little things like this that make a build so much funner to look at. It's gonna look really good rolling on those 12-spokes too! Keep us posted!

I've never been into Chevy trucks but there's been a few builds pop up around here lately that look really good and this one is no exception! Really neat word on the top chop and personally I think it still looks good with the bed rails. And since you asked I would make the hood flip forward too, but leave it looking stock otherwise. Question about the chassis: Did you have to do anything to the suspension to get the stance you have? Cause the stance is just killer!

Raul and Fletch: Thanks for the good info on the 21-stud. Wow, seperate exhaust manifolds from an old AMT tool, i'm impressed! Sounds like I need to get me a few of these cause a nice early flatty will for sure come in handy. Awbcrazy: The rear tires are actually slicks so I guess they're from an old dragster kit??? They have the old Firestone and Gum Dipped logos just like the real bias-plys do and they're tall and skinny so they're perfect for the era I'm building to. I would say they're more like a 7.50-16. Paul: Fenders are history. I showed how I did this in the 3rd post. It's looking like I'll have some updates this weekend everyone.

It's comming along, Fletch. When planning this out did you ever consider using the windshield area from the Revell '32 sedan kit so you can take advantage of the much nicer windshield frame?

Thank you, EVERYONE, for your very positive comments! This build has been a lot of fun and I'm sure it will continue to be. It always helps when your building what you love. Raul: I've seen your roadster build on your Fotki several times and like it a lot. It's very representative of what a nice street-going roadster would have looked like. I wasn't aware that the AMT '34 kits come with speed parts for the early 21-stud flathead. Those must be included in the stock versions of the cars. I have the street rod versions of both the sedan and coupe, neither of which includes any stock parts. Gonna have to get me the stock versions! Fletch: Thank you and I'm glad my postings could shed some light on your project. This forum is invalueable like that. Many times from reading postings on here my proverbial lightbulb has turned on, like with your '32 Victoria build for example!

Your truck project is comming together great, Bernard. It definately has an ALL BUSINESS look to it! Love the big blower loaded full of 2-barrels. I just hope that little radiator will keep it cool!

Bernard: Thank you very much for your compliments. If you notice it was your roadster builds that got me motivated to move this project up. I only got back into building last year (after 10 years off!) and was going to save this project for later, once I honed my skills some more. But, so far I'm very pleased with my efforts. I'm looking forward to seeing your roadsters finished too! Your suggestion in regards to the radiator shell and P/E grill insert is a good one. I've never worked with aftermarket resin parts or P/E. In the two builds I completed last year I flowed thinned black paint between the grill bars and it looked pretty good. I was planning to modify the '29 radiator to work with the flathead. Hmm... Jody: Thanks! It's always the little things! CB: Thank you! I never anticipated a reply with a pink smiley with hearts, haha. It's all good, I'm glad he likes it so much! Yeah, the 'hot rod' moniker actually started out as a negative label put on by the public and media describing some of the less than desirable antics by some of the young guys with their modifid cars. Then the term became so common-place it stuck and ultimately became 'the word' (and a magazine!)

And now for one of the most exciting moments in a build, the first mock-up on all 4 wheels! Speaking of wheels, they come from Revell's '48 convertible. The front tires AMT Firestones that can be found in just about all of their early Ford hotrod kits. The rear tires are some taller Firestones and I have no idea where they're from. I found two pair of them amongst my dad's old models and parts he's had since the '60's. The windshield will lean back a little more when final installed. It would not stay 'sitting' in position. Also notice that the car is not drastically lowered as even when lowered back in the day the cars were generally not slammed to the ground. With the custom hood and '32 shell removed the engine fit can be seen. The intake manifold started as the 3-carburetor piece found in Revell's '48 convertible. The front carb riser was removed essentially converting the intake to a 2-carb street manifold which will allow the generator to be mounted in its stock, centered position. This was a necessity in order to use a full hood as the offset-mounted generator from the Revell '40 kits interfered. This will also allow the use of the stock pulleys and mechanical fan from the '48 kit. Also shown is the Revell model A steering gear and column installed, which the header from the Revell '40 kits fit around perfectly. That's where I'm at as of now, more to come soon!

When converting the AMT '29 Roadster to a fenderless hotrod using the kit body and frame, one of the biggest obstacles to overcome is what to do about the floor as the kit floor and fenders are moulded as one big unit. After much thought and planning, the fenders and running boards were carved away leaving only the floor section. After thorough cleanup, the floor was then permanently installed into the body and the seams at the bottoms of the wheel wells blended. After this operation, there is a gap on either side of the center floor. I have not decided what to do about this... yet. The roadster kit provides two firewalls. The stock piece and a custom piece for use with the kits optional early Dodge Hemi engine. I chose to use the custom firewall as its shape and reliefs accomodate the shape of the flathead V8 nicely, providing clearance in all the right places as if it were intentional. The use of a '32 Ford radiator shell on a model A was a widely popular way to update and some would say 'improve' the looks of '31 and older Ford vehicles. This shell and insert come from the Revell '32 roadster. It was also very common to have a custom-made hood. I cut away the stock '29 hood sides leaving the top then sanded away the center hinge seam giving it the appearance of a 1-piece top. The sides were made by cutting down the louvered sides also found in Revell's '32 roadster kit. Another appearance 'must' on a hot rod roadster is shorten or 'chop' the windsield down to a shorter height for a more aggressive look. I chopped the stock windshield 3/16". The posts flare out as they continue upward and after removing the sections the top piece was too long. I put a curve to it which shortened it the correct amount and the curve matches the curve of the bottom of the frame. I also trimmed the dashboard from Monogram's '32 roadster kit to fit as it has period correct gauge detail and retro-fitting a '32 dash in a model A has a always been popular. More to come...