GTMust

Thanks guys.

The body has been "ratted" but will receive more "ratting" before being complete. I've placed it on the chassis to get an idea of how it will look. In the final stage of the build it will actually sit lower than it does here. The rear wheels and tires are from the Monogram 'Lil Coffin' kit but I don't know where the front wheels are from....

In my Chopped T rat rod thread, I started to show another build from the same AMT 1925 'T' kit. But I think it deserves it's own space, so here it is. This model is a mix of parts from the 3in1 AMT kit, the AMT '40 Ford kit and my parts boxes. I am building it to represent a fairly low budget hot rod that could have been built by a young 'gear head' in the 1950's. I used the custom frame from the AMT 25 T kit and painted it semi-gloss black with gloss black suspension pieces. I replaced the high tech rear end with a heavy duty diff from my parts box. I have given the roadster body a primary coat of semi-gloss black. The front and rear wheels are from the kit and painted semi-gloss black. The front tires are from the Monogram "Lil Coffin" kit and the rear tires from my parts box. The motor is the Buick 'nailhead'(?) from the AMT '40 Ford. I have added spark plug wires and the remaining wiring will be completed when the engine is finally located in the frame. (Sorry about the fuzzy engine close up. have to figure out why that happened!)

The frame changes seem to have worked and I've reinstalled the floor. Plus I've added two buckets, steering column and gear shift. I've got the motor ready for wiring and checked to see how it sits in the chassis: (Some sloppy mechanic got paint on the fan belt!) The gear shift will be a beer can or oil can depending on what decals I can find.

Truly great atmosphere, Tony. Must get back to working on mine! Tony

A very nice build and great attention to detail. Love the paint color and the engine details.... oh, why quibble..... I like all of it! Don't mean to be a "buttinski" but thought this may interest at least a couple of readers.... Back in 1969 through 1971, I raced a (very low budget) 970cc Mini Cooper 'S' at Mosport race track in Ontario, Canada. I've always wanted to make a model of my old race car, and recently ordered the Tamiya racing Mini from Ebay. Here's a couple of pics of my race car (that's me in the white fireproof suit, smoking a cigarette... I gave it up 25 years ago!) Ah!... the good old days!

On my bench right now: The 25 'T' yard dog wrecker, and the 25 'T' hot rod (circa 1950's): The 25 'T' Chopped coupe rat rod (circa present day) and 25 'T' tilt bed truck (circa 1930's): And yet another build started on a similar theme; a 25 'T' fendered, chopped coupe custom (circa 1990's): Not quite sure where this last one is going but I'll come up with something. Now I see the picture, I'll probably move the body back over the rear axle..... Maybe even two motors (Firedome hemi's)....... in line? (Economizing! Five models from two kits and a glue bomb........)

Don't sweat it Brad. Lot's of time left yet. Spring will soon be here and outdoor painting weather for us without spray booths! Tony

Great project start. This should be interesting. Tony

Thanks for posting the pics. Now I can see what a great build this is. Nice clean work and I love the paint color. Tony.

Definitely Nick. And the individual boards will be well weathered.

I'm glad I'm not building this thing for real! The cost of the changes would kill me!!! After sitting and looking at the build so far, I tried to put a seat in it and realized the drivers head would be sticking out above the sunroof! Great for that "wind in your face" feeling but not so good for the bugs in your face....... Not only that but his toes would be sticking out of the cowl vent! Major surgery was required, so the rear frame was chopped and Z'd to get a lower floor position. I had to remove all my floor work to date, although I was able to save it and reinstall it on the lowered frame rails. (This also enabled me to line up the transmission with the diff...... another boo-boo that had to be fixed.) After test fitting the body, I think (hope) this will work with some minor alterations to the front cowl supports. This one's a real learning curve for me.

Inspired by Nick's pics (?) I have had a change of plan. Now the rear bed will be a wooden tilt bed. (Much more sensible for the farmer's use!) I built a bed from 1/32" basswood, which will be scribed to represent individual planks, and framed it with 1/8" square basswood. A hinge was built from styrene tube, through which I poked some florists wire and bent it to lay within the side frames of the bed. The stryene tube was glued to the top or the chassis at the rear and after everything dries, I should have a hinged flat bed..... I hope! Now to start building the sides.......

Welcome. You've surely had some sweet rides. Even though it's not a Fox, the 97 cobra sounds neat. As well as four Foxes I currently own, my summer driver is a red '99 3.8. Not a pavement burner, but a cool ride around town. Right now, with all the snow and salt on the ground and still more to come, I'm using my '98 Taurus wagon. What's a little more rust? Looking forward to seeing more of your build. Tony

Thanks Nick.... fantastic input!! Definitely got the old gray matter working! I really like that tilt bed on the back, much better than the regular bed I was planning to use. And the plywood sides... was plywood around in the 1920/30's I wonder? Have to check that out. Checked it out and found out that "Plywood was invented during the Second World War but it was primarily used to build PT boats and landing craft for the military. After the war they began using plywood for residential construction and furniture but by the end of the 1940's, there was a severe shortage of lumber suitable for making plywood. Particleboard was invented in 1950 as a substitute for plywood, but it didn't receive much public attention at first." Just an interesting side trip into history...... The later model spoked wheels (1929/30) and larger tires may be a great idea as well, which could have been used to upgrade my farmer's truck when the wood ones decayed. Much appreciated input. Thanks!

I really dig the Chevy "Brat Bus". Great stuff!!!!

I would love to see the photos, but all I get is the dreaded red cross in the little box!

Great news........ can we see it?

And now...... the rest of the story: Bought new in 1925 by Herman Cola, a travelling salesman selling "miracle cures", the original two door coupe slid into a ditch in the early Spring of 1926, and Herman was trapped under it for a couple of hours until a passing farmer came across the accident. He managed to pull Herman out from under, but he had suffered major injuries from which he never recovered. (No one said this was a happy story....) The bent and twisted Model T was towed to a nearbye garage, where it sat, unwanted until 1929. With the depression having hit the stock market, no-one wanted the "dead man's wreck" until the farmer who had rescued Herman asked what was to become of it. The garage owner told him to just "Get it out of my yard, and you can have it". The farmer's old horse was tired and could no longer pull the heavy cart, so he figured an "autimobeel" could be a lot cheaper to use than to buy another horse, so old Dobbin spent his last few, happy years grazing the back forty. As soon as he got it home, he cut up the body and welded it back together into a pickup truck to use to take his produce to market. As the engine had only a few miles on it and the frame was not damaged in the accident, it didn't take him long to have it back on the road. He put many miles on the old coupe/pickup until he finally retired it and gave it up for scrap to the US metal/steel drive at the outbreak of WWII in 1942. Now I know the full story about this truck, the build will continue to depict it as it could have looked in the late thirties, about ten years after the farmer built it. (By the way, does anyone know if the Brooklyn Bridge is still for sale?)

Thanks guys....

The cab body has been filled, sanded and first prime to check for flaws (I can see some that need to be fixed!). I have placed the cab, hood and bed on the chassis to double check that it will all fit together! I think I will finish this truck as a well used older vehicle, but not a rust bucket! Perhaps someone actually built this truck from an old two door coupe because they couldn't afford a new truck. Maybe as it could have looked in the late thirties after ten years of hard use.

I checked both my 53 pickup boxes (one built, one still intact) and I have the "custom engine" parts in both boxes. Didn't realise they were Hemis, didn't pay much attention to them when I built the kit with the flathead. I think one is going in my first chopped coupe. Thanks Nick. We learn something new every day! Tony

Thanks for the offer, Nick. I've got a couple of 53 Ford pickups I build stock with the flathead, so I'll check my boxes and see what's left in them. If I don't have the Hemi, I'll PM you. Rick: The Buttera chassis from the Revell 26 T sedan delivery may go under a '29 Model A rod I'm thinking about.....? Decisions...decisions! Or even a '32 roadster? (By the way, I think the Revell sedan delivery, which is where I started with this thread), is closer to 1/24 scale than the 1/25 scale that the box says it is.... or at least somewhere between the two. Which is why most of the body parts aren't interchangeable with the AMT 'T' kits.)

It's really great to see some Foxes showing up here now. Roll on the warm weather, so I can get back to painting mine outside.

A good suggestion about the Hemi, Blake and Nick, but I've got everything set up now for the Lincoln in this build. But the other Chopped Coupe maybe could use a hemi. I have one in my parts box somewhere, I think. You're right Virgil, I've got such a production line going, I need a spread sheet to remember what goes where. And I just added two more 1925 Model T's to the line! Thanks to you all for the comments.