Paul Payne

Bill, just discovered this post and I love it! I also have The Birth of Hotrodding and it is my go to guide for all things hot rodding in the golden age. You mentioned fuel injection for an Ardun- I think some of the streamliners ran this set up. I just located a picture in The American Hot Rod by Dean Batchelor of the Reed Bothers belly tanker with a fuel injected Ardun. This was 1954, near the end of the era you are modeling. Really hope to see this car finished!

Great looking rod- be nice to have a full size one!

Ace, are you going to have poseable steering? Just another gotcha factor, and I'm eager to see how you might approach it- pittman arm and drag link?

This is a great project! I love the wide whites and moon discs. I too am into reworking older parts and kits- salvaging what to others might look like junk. Of course, early hot rodders did get many of their parts from junk yards, so you are carrying on this tradition in a smaller scale!

Chris, nice to see the starting point Henry gave us!

Well, this one has an AMT body but the chassis is Revell- a Deuce frame, for an A-V8. I'm negotiating for the new Revell kit, which really looks promising. I'm also starting a track nose with a flat head with a front mounted blower.

Bernard, you've done it again! I can't seem to find the right barn......

Guys, thanks for the info. I realized that sitting in my adhesives container is a tube of "general purpose adhesive", probably similar to Duco cement (am I dating myself?) If this doesn't eat styrene or resin, i might try this.

Guys, I really like boats displayed being towed. Must be the Yankee in me (Gloucester, Mass). I have a stash of cedar cigar wrapper I will eventually use for the hull and deck of the AMT 3 in 1 (my first model in 1959). For the fin version in your photo, perhaps a junk Chrysler from the fifties would be a good start for those wild contours.

Guys, thanks for the help- my only negative about epoxy is that it tends to be harder than the surrounding material. Not over sanding the joined parts can be a challenge.

I'm working on some wheels which combine resin and styrene. I am adding a section which must be centered and then blended in. Superglue would be very secure but also not forgiving if repositioning is required. Any ideas?

Really great looking model- wonderful details- gauges look great- where did you get them?

Tom, old school customizers would look for parts that were close to the shape they wanted, then reworked them- easier and faster than starting from scratch- look at the nose of Isky's Cucaracha- two grills cut and welded together.

I also started reshaping the track nose opening, fabricating more steering components, puttying in the fenders, and reworking the champ style rear end and axles.

If you plan on using a pitman arm for your steering, usually you need a bubble on the side of the cowl for proper clearance and alignment. I have started looking at parts for their shapes, which may not be used for for their original purpose. I have some old AMT trophies and realized they are a good starting point for a cowl bubble.

Here are some more pix of the other assemblies. The Halibrand solid wheels were a little small for the tires so I used the large diameter wheel backs from the Green Hornet with the center section removed and then sanded so the wheels were a slip fit into the resulting rims. I will attempt to use carb stacks puttied in and sanded to resemble splined knock offs.

That frame design is really interesting- looks sturdy. The cut outs add a lot of interest but also look well engineered- were they your own design or copied from an existing car?

Will this be a replica stock build or a starting point for a custom? Lots of possibilities.........

This is really looking good! I like the stance just the way it is- a good east coast look. I like the way you made the frame rails- I've tried something like that, but could never keep the alignment well enough for things to be identical (or close enough). Tips? Secrets? Magic?

Great build- full size this would be a very driveable rod.

Ace, this is a wonderful tutorial on how to set up a hot rod and nail the details- I love it! A few years ago I completed an A-v8 using a junker AMT body with the new Revell frame.

Cabdriver, looks like quite the salvage project- is this the one you will use the track nose on and paint black? Old plastic never dies,sometimes it just looks that way!

Here's some pix of the cars that inspired this project- decided to go with wide tires instead of the 40's look.

Cabdriver, The nose is from the Revell ratrod pickup but with the opening reworked for a more oval shape. I have some wire screen for the grille. By the way, this will not be a rat rod- paint will be gloss black.

This project was inspired by various track nose roadsters, especially the Frank Mack T, which has the transmission and drive shaft exposed in the passenger compartment. Mine will actually be above the frame. I wanted wide tires, an Ardun flathead, Halibrand solids, cycle fenders, and a low stance. The frame is is from some glue bomb green Hornets. The front axle and spring is from the same kit, dechromed, and with the axle ends reworked for poseable steering. The rear end is a champ quick change from the parts box. This is the first chance I've had to mock things up. More pictures soon.