Ace-Garageguy

The A-V8 was (and is) a very popular real-world combination, and almost always refers to a flathead-powered car (among old farts, anyway). You DO usually have to clearance the firewall to do any A-V8 swap, by the way. I've done several rods based on the Monogram A, mixing and matching scales as necessary. Any of the available flathead engines out there would look fine in the engine bay of the Monogram A, except the V8-60, as you mention, which is a very small engine indeed. All of the 1/25 flatheads are scaled fairly well, so just pick one you like. The most common transmission in reality on a period-correct car will be a '39 or so top-shift Ford box. The Revell '32 kit that includes a flathead ought to fix you right up with something that looks about right, or if not, try the Revell '48 Ford woody engine (I think it has a fairly correct gearbox). It was also very common on the real period A-V8 swaps to remove the old crossmember and weld in a trimmed '34 X-member, to get the right grearbox mounts, and to stiffen the chassis somewhat...really needed on an A V8. The desired Ford "top shift" transmission looks like this, and is loosely represented in the AMT '36 and '40 Fords, plus some of the Revell kits...the '37 Ford truck too, I believe. This one of mine has a 1/25 OHV engine in it, an engine that is larger than a flathead, and it fits fine.

D.None of the above I like this one. Built by the shop I work with. https://youtu.be/qSnPO1Q-MoM

Yup...so why not just take a couple of hours and get it right BEFORE the molds are made? That's the part I just can't understand...never will. I wouldn't be employed for long if things I made had to be corrected and re-made several times over...or if I had the attitude that "Well. it's already made, so it's just too late to do anything about it. Take it or leave it. I can't be bothered correcting my mistakes, and I couldn't be bothered doing the work right in the first place. And by the way, I expect to be paid in full for half-assed work".

But please, don't scramble the O-rings for the next guy to have to sort through. Someone always does at my local Ace store, and I think it should be a hanging offence.

OK. I measured a REAL original '32 Ford roadster today. At the cowl, from the underside of the character line to the bottom of the body sill, it measures 23.75". So does an original Tudor sedan, and a cabriolet. Revell '32 roadster: .951", or about 23.77 scale inches. Pretty darn close. MPC Coddington, phaeton and sedan delivery: .873", or about 21.82 scale inches. About 2 scale inches short, right? AMT '32 Fords: .798", or about 19.95 scale inches. Almost 4 scale inches too short at the cowl, accounting for the "sectioned" look. PLEASE NOTE: The MPC kits are "sectioned" about 2 scale inches also.

That is correct. i just looked in the '58 Bird to verify it is in fact an FE. One reason for starting with the '56 bird engine is that it's 1/24, so it should be a bit larger than the Y-blocks in the various 1/25 '56 and '57 Ford kits...better to represent the larger Lincoln engine. The '60 Starliner has an FE, I believe, but I don't have time to look right now...though the FE was brought in as of '58, so it's reasonable to assume it's in a '60.

I'm not too sure that came out right...

I have no idea what it is, never saw one...though it does have a few interesting things going on. If it's as fast as it looks, I could probably overlook the tortured styling.

The shop where I do the vast majority of my work got a new roof. 3.5" of urethane foam, overlaid with a white waterproof membrane. The old roof was black composite-flat-roof, with NO insulation, over wood decking. The building had been converted into offices and shops several years back, after being originally a loading facility for an old Coke plant. No roof insulation was done during the last re-model, but the office spaces got suspended ceilings with a little insulation. It's been kinda like working in a solar pizza-oven. We've gone from being 10deg hotter inside than out during the hottest part of a summer day, to being about 5deg cooler inside than out. The owner is so happy about the improvement, he even mentioned actually having heat this coming winter.

We had a '55 88 convertible when I was a kid, and my folks replaced it with a '63 Dynamic 88 convert I ended up driving for a while in HS. After my mother died, the '63 got away and wound up in Texas. I tracked it down and got it back. It's in pretty rough shape now, having been left outside after the engine developed some problems, but it's 3rd or 4th on the list to get running. Same as this, but sand beige, with a black top and dark red interior.

Well, no actually. It's a mashup sortof engine, with valve covers for a Y-block. The double T kits have even exhaust port spacing, completely incorrect for a Lincoln Y. An actual Lincoln Y-block has port-spacing similar to a smallblock Chebby, or a 1st-gen OHV Rocket Olds, like this... The valve covers in the double-T kits are very distinctive, and came on the '56 -'57 Continental Mk. II. The T kit has the valve covers right for a Y, but the engines themselves are wrong. The original release looks like an FE derived engine, judging from the exhaust port configuration and location, but the distributor is in the rear, like a Y-block engine. If you look at the kit engines, you'll see the problems. The 368 Y-block Lincoln has the plugs located below the headers, and the wires come in from the bottom, even on the production motors. The exhaust ports should be spaced like a Chebby, not like the FE and MEL, and centered relative to the valve covers. I've been semi-scratchbuilding heads for a correct Lincoln.Y-block for these reasons. The easiest way to get a Lincoln Y that looks about right is to start with the 1/24 Ford Y-block in the old Monogram T-birds. I think Tim Boyd did an in-depth conversion of one, years ago.

It appears to be a single master cylinder with an unsupported hard line...just itching to fatigue and break. BUT...it could be a clutch master cylinder, and the brake master may be under the floor...which is very common.

It's just that they can tend to look a little too old-timey if not done right, especially on a non-fendered car. It IS an attractive grille shell, but it takes more effort to get one to look good on a rod...IMHO.

I personally prefer Testors buffing metalizer aluminum, buffed. It's on the blower manifold and the trans here. The "chrome" spray paint in post #2 looks good too, for a slightly different finish. Not all cast-aluminum looks alike, ya know?

Well, you can build maggot-gagging puke, or you can build beautiful. It's all up to the builder, right? I prefer beautiful.

I usually agree with you on most things, but getting an old GMC blower wrong? And that's what it looks like it's supposed to be. It's a really really easy part to measure, and the one in the test-shot just screams "wrong". Come on...this kit is going to be a home-run. So why not make just a little more effort and get it right? I can't deliver a customer's car only running on 7 cylinders out of 8 and call him a complainer if he doesn't like it, so get it right, OK? And showing test-shots is just begging for folks to point out flaws. That will make it a better kit. When I do custom bodywork on a client's car, and somebody notices something I've missed (not friggin likely, but anything's possible) before sending it to the paint shop, I don't get all panty-wadded. I fix it, and the whole project is better because of it, the client is happy, the paint looks great and doesn't have to be re-done, and I don't look like an idiot. This one needs to be right. And one more thing...THAT FRONT 3/4 VIEW IS LOOKING GREAT!! Proportions are good, "look" is good, almost 100%.

Exactly.

Frequently.

You say po-tah-to and I say po-tay-to. Either way, it's still just a spud.

OK...I measured all the kits, side by side. Drum-roll please... The Coddington / MPC switchers (including the phaeton AND sedan-delivery versions as well) dimension between the bottom of the character line and the sill (at the front edge of the cowl) is halfway between the same dimension on the Revell '32 kits and the "sectioned" AMT kits. I'll measure a real original '32 Ford tomorrow at the shop and let you know which one of the 3 scales out correctly for 1:25.

Ah yes, but if you look at the character line on the hood relative to the body, it's up too high. Looks like the hood was aligned improperly due to the decal being placed wrong, and rather than fix it, they just kinda fudged. That's why I was gonna actually measure...once I find the Coddy body shell.

And if bigger is better...

The Lincoln Zephyr version...V-12...

Great looking save.