Alyn

Ditto on the "real" vote. That car would make a great center piece in anyones collection. I love, really love the color combo.

Nice job on fading from the yellow into red. The flames look good. You sure can see the family resemblance to the Pinto in those front fenders and headlights. It's interesting to look at cars 20 or 30 years after their prime. Some designs withstand the test of time, others don't fair so well. I don't think I appreciated the nice clean design of the Maverick back in the day.

For a rear axle, I started with some early Ford tubes. The chrome was stripped and a center section fabricated to match the flange diameter. Additonal bits were added to form the strengthening ribs of a typical quick-change casting. I used pictures of several styles of quick-change housings from the internet for reference. I made another attempt at a chassis picture to show where the fuel tank nestles up against a roll cage X member. The top also has to slope down to clear the bodywork(trunk).

Raul, I've been trying to load 2 different pictures showing the rear of the chassis, but so far, no luck. Ever since I started posting here on MCM, I've had problems. If I keep the .jpg's to around 50k or less, things seem to work better. I store my files on Microsoft's Skydrive and wonder if that might be part of the problem(versus using Fotki). Sometime a picture will load when I try a day later, so I'll keep at it. Anyway, here's some more pics. For strength, the front axle is made from brass and soldered together. I factored in king pin inclination and caster into the angle of the upright tubes on each side. Obviously, the radius arms are styrene, but brass would have been a good choice here as well. To simulate the adjustment threads of adjustable shocks, countersunk flat head screws were used as a foundation. The end of each screw was filed flat and drilled for a mounting point. The center of the head was drilled to insert steel rods for the shock shafts. The springs are hand would wire with the insulation left on instead of using paint since wire is easily found in any common coil spring color. GrandtLine nuts were added later as required.

This is the the start of an oil tank and fire extinquisher. The oil tank is styrene tube with several layers of flat stock on top that were sanded to a half round shape while chucked up in my cordless drill. The fuel tank needed to be an odd shape to fit in the space available. It's made up of individual pieces of flat styrene with the outlet cover made of brass. The brass piece will get additional detail later. My attempt at making an optima battery. This was painted gray and yellow with zipper teeth used for battery cable clamps.

Here's a couple more of the engine. The aluminum rod used for the headers before paint. The individual tubes intertwine, so assembly was like doing a brain teaser puzzle. The aluminum tube collectors were forced over a center punch and then the end squared off to allow the four individual tubes to slip in. In the completed motor pic, everything in the picture except the block and oil pan are scratch built. This view show the scratch built ribbed timing cover. The original timing cover and water pump were sliced off the front of the block with a razor saw. In the completed car, the front mounted fuel pump is covered by other parts so you don't notice it much.

Thank you, my friends. I kinda wish I would've gone with the sedan body from the start. I know some have seen the WIP for the rest of this car on another site, but many haven't, so I'll post a condensed version. The engine block is from the AMT Boyd Coddington 32 kit, but everything else is scratch build. The valve covers and intake manifold base are made from various sizes of square and flat styrene stock and sprue. The ribs on the manifold are .010" square. That's only 1/4" in scale. The injector stacks are hand flared aluminum tube and the 180 degree headers are aluminum rod with aluminum tube collectors. The magneto is also scratched built from various sizes of aluminum tube and styrene rod with 30g wrap wire used for plug wires.

Nice color combo (including that neat little bead around the seat). Amazing how much work you're willing to put into these delicate, subtle custom mods just to create a '37 Chevy Ford should have done the same. Looks nice.

sSeems like the MCM forum is crawling with 29 Fords of one type or another right now. I've been wanting to build one since this spring. I was visiting my parents in Salt Lake City and my dad was showing me some pictures a friend had given him of their early years. When he came across a hot road roadster that his friend Rob use to own, I knew immediately it was a future model subject. When I ran across the AMT/ERTL Ford Model A Roadster kit at the recent Kustom Kemps Leadsled show, I grabbed it. Not much to show yet. This one is molded in red plastic, so primer will be key. My dad's picture was in black & white, so I don't know the true color of his buddy's car, but it's dark, so this one will be a dark midnight blue. The wire wheels are from AMT's 32 5-window kit. The engine will be the flathead from the 29 kit. I resin cast the 32 grill shell, some heads and a manifold and stripped the chrome off the carbs. Not a whole lot of progress so far; mainly because a lot of the details are still up in the air.

Great collection of some really nice nostalgia. Thanks for firing up the "way-back" machine Mr. Peabody

I think you've just talked me into trying a suede paint job. I was wondering about this pastel green at first, but it really grows on ya. Nice work!

Cool build. Looks like you've got all the right pieces coming together in the right way to create a nice period piece. I don't think I'd paint the body and wheels with the same camel yellow. One or the other, but not both. If the body was the camel color, the wheels would look good in red or some other high contrast color like baby blue, medium blue or maroon. Some pin striping or bold graphics would also help pick up what would otherwise be a pretty unexciting color. Two toning with some maroon could work; making the break at the belt line. You've come up with a pretty cool look though, so the paint can only make it look better.

Nice work, Curt. This takes me back to my teens when Indy was one of the most exciting forms of racing on the planet. Tons of inginuity and variations in the cars back then. The modern day "spec" racers just don't measure up.

Looks like I need to pay more attention to ebay! Here's the final pics on the sedan body. The taillights are hand formed from some clear red sprue and meant to resemble mid 50's Caddy or 56 Chevy lights. They are mounted in polished aluminum tube for bezels. Front nose and headlights are from the Switchers kit. The radiator shell has been extended to cover most of the oversize LSR style radiator. The cross bar on the traditional 32 headlight assembly was cut down and used as stems for each light to mount into the side of the shell. The center section of the roof, both inside and out is masking tape painted matte black. I don't know how long this body will remain as part of this car. It already has the roadster body and I originally had some different ideas for a 32 Sedan, so sometime down the road she may get stripped, modified and repainted again. Thanks for all the comments.

Here's how the outside turned out. I used various sizes of dry transfer letters to create the door panel and class designation on the window(B/gas comp coupe). Then the body was painted with the red oxide primer. Afterwards the lettering was sanded to bring back the image. I purposely sanded through the door and roof edge to uncover the underlying black and gray. This is my first attempt at any sort of weathering. I'll take on some more complex techniques next time. "Rocky's Speed Shop" by the way, was named after one of my favorite cousins just for fun. He along with his dad and some brothers have been involved in the Salt Lake City racing scene for years.

Hey! nice to see you checking in, Hemi. Yeh, over-moderation, in "moderation" is ok, but as a standard policy it was a bit much for me. No biggie. Life is good!

Ed sure did love the chrome. Looks like you're off to a good start. That battery mount sure looks funky (not your fault) hanging cantilever off the side like that. Are these all Revell kits? I just finished the Outlaw, so I can symphathize with you.

Thanks, guys. Matt, picture reference on the interior structure was sparse. I googled for 30's roadsters adding terms like "structure", "restore", "body panel", etc., but found very few usable pictures. HAMB/Jalopy Journal is probably the best resource I can think of for this type of info. I saw some bare inner structure on some of the numerous rat rods at the Salina, Ks Kustom Kemps event, but that was after this body had been completed. I used my "minds eye" for the most part, sprinkled with some editorial design license. In other words. they're "kinda like this" Here's a couple more, the first of which shows the finished inside including roof bows. They're real wood, but I forget what type I used (usually basswood). The black/gray primer as mentioned previously, is in prep for a bit of weathering; my first attempt. thanks fur yur eyeballs and comments!

Here's some shots of work done on the inside of the body shell. I wanted to add some structure, so some square styrene was cut and fitted in place along with a couple of flat panels.

Thanks, Dave. The frame is from the AMT Boyd Coddington American HotRod kit. I have nothing good to say about this kit, including the frame. I was surprised to find the exact same frame in the Switchers 32 Ford sedan/roadster kit as well. I extended the rails just behind the front cross member by about a scale foot and added all the roll cage structure from scratch. In retrospect, I should have used the next smaller diameter of plastic rod for the tubes. It's for Bonneville, though, where weight is a good thing.

You should of been there man. I think I took over 500 pictures of the 1:1 cars; could've spent several days looking at them all. But, I wasn't trying to enter my car incognito, just trying to be in tune with the theme of the show.

After some underlying coats of black and gray primer, I shot the whole body in red oxide primer. It fit the chassis like a glove; like it came as a kit.

I've been entering my 32 Bonneville roadster in quite a few local (Midwest) contests this summer. Recently, the Kustom Kemps of America held their Lead Sled Spectacular in Sallina, Kansas and included a model car contest. "Spectacular" is a very good description of this event. Last year there were over 800 rods and customs entered (full size 1:1). This year upped the anti with over 1,000. This is rod and custom heaven as I would imagine it. But, that's another story. The event is strickly focused around 50's and 60's style rods and customs, so in order to make my Bonneville roadster fit in, I decided to Rat it out a bit with a new body. The chosen victum is the Switchers 32 Ford sedan/phaeton kit. I chopped the top about 4" in scale. It could have gone lower, especially considering the purpose, but this body may end up as part of a different project in the future, therefore the moderate chop. The B and C pillars lined up great with the A pillar being the only one out of alignment. A slight cut on the upper inside corner of the door frames allowed for enough tilt in the pillar to line it up. After a wedge of styrene was inserted into the cut and then trimmed, only one round of putty was needed on each of the pillars to finish it up. Of course there were a few rounds of gray primer and sanding, but for minimal effort, it turned out pretty good.

Nice work once again Dave. That combiantion really works. It'll definitely give somebody a "what the heck am I looking at" moment.

Thanks, Mike. The plug boots aren't too difficult. I use the insulation off some telephone wire. Not the multi-stranded red/green/black/yellow, but the single conductor wire that comes in 25 pair cables. Slide a small section of insulation off the copper conductor and you'll find it is a perfect snug fit over 30g wrap wire. The telephone wire comes in 10 different colors (white, red, black, yellow, violet) plus (blue, orange, green, brown & gray). Each color is striped with dash of an alternate color every inch or less. The dashes of color can be cut out and discarded. Take about a 1/4" section of the insulation in the color of your choice and cut a "V" shaped notch in the middle. I use a #11 Xacto knife or sprue cutters. The notch should go almost all the way through the insulation which allows the piece to bend at a sharp 90 degrees. Then take about a 3 or 4 inch piece of wrap wire, curve it into a circle and slide each end of the wrap wire into each end of the notched insulation. The curved wrap wire will force the boot to bend at the "V" notch. You can play with the shape of the curved wrap wire to get the boot into a perfect 90 degree angle. Build eight of these assemblies and the one by one open the boot notch enough to apply a small amout of CA glue. Once the glue sets up, you can remove the wrap wire and the boot will retain its 90 degree bend. The only thing left to do is trim the two ends of the boot to a working length and slide the wrap wire back into one end. I don't even use glue for this part as the wrap wire is a perfect snug fit into the insulation. Depending on how you attach to the distributor, you can slip the other ond of the boot over the distributor cap nipple, or insert a short segment of wire into the boot that will slip into a drilled hole on the cap. On this build, I slipped a small piece of the copper wire back into the boot and trimmed it to slip into a .020" hole in the cap.(eight times plus the coil wire) Hope that helps.