Ace-Garageguy

Thank you sir. Thanks for your interest and thoughtful comments too. Now, a few years later, I see how I could have made the frame rails less intrusive but still functional if the thing was full-size. I may change it, I may not. I agree...little car has a lot of forehead. I'll be opening the windshield up some, but I want to retain the instantly recognizable "hard chop" look, while still improving outward visibility if she were real. Probably take a little fiddlin' to hit the sweet spot.

Thanks for your interest and comment.

Link doesn't work.

Additional update pix, sans text. I'll probably go back in and post the captions later, but I'm not in the mood to deal with somebody else's software glitches right now. EDIT: We'll try text again. Fuel tank was positioned to make room for a full sized spare in the trunk. Relocated fuel sending unit on top of reconfigured tank. Had to do some remedial front end work. This was one of the first front axles I made steerable, and I did some things wrong. Quality craftsmanship sometimes requires a willingness to re-do bad work, and working outside the comfort zone guarantees there will be mistakes. Light bar with the final location of the reflector housings relative to the radiator shell and frame. The lights are a little higher than they were on the first mockup.

OCT. 13, 2019 UPDATE I got 404'd and booted off the site for an hour after trying to post repeatedly. I've just got back on and successfully uploaded some update pix sans text. They're pretty self explanatory. Anybody have any questions, feel free. EDIT: OK. We'll try text again. One of the more frequent problems I see on '32 Fords is poor hood fit. There's potential for this one to be bad, as lots has changed regarding the body placement on the frame, and my trademark mod of the grille shell to eliminate the overbite look some of these cars have. I forgot to use the primered hood that was already fitted perfectly before I cut it apart, as the project had been on hold for so long. I have to use a complete hood as a jig, and there are differences between different AMT '32 Ford kits and issues. We'll be using the beige one to start. It's securely taped to the body and grille shell initially. For repeatability during final assembly, the radiator gets tight fitting pins that go into the front crossmember. The rad in turn positively locates the grille shell later. Still clears the engine fan as required. Front frame rails are bobbed for a clean look with no spreader-bar. The light bar will be removable so I can display the model without it, on different rubber for dry-lakes race work. Rear frame rails are also bobbed because of the rolled pan. Supports will hold the fuel tank behind the seat, with the fuel-level sender relocated.

Tried to post repeatedly to this thread at 7:16 PM EST. Oct. 13, 2019. 404 several times, even after reducing the size of the post and removing photos. Was locked off the site for an hour following the last attempt. EDIT: Was subsequently able to post photos with no text, then go back and edit in some much abbreviated text. May or may not attempt to add the earlier captions prior to the expiration of the edit window.

Thanks Snake. I was kinda shooting for the show here on Nov.2, but there are a lot of fiddly bits to finish up (that were the main reasons for shelving this one earlier). She's close, but I have no idea how long it will take to get all the way, and real life still seems to get the majority of my time.

Thanks for your interest, sir. She's resting at the moment between bouts of sanding and filling and primering. As I mentioned, the area around the headlights is difficult to work, and it's taking some time to get it right. There are a few small new features I'm working out that aren't quite as straightforward as I'd thought they'd be.

Thanks for your interest. There's been a little progress re: fitting the seats and finishing up the chassis splice and fitting suspension.

Thanks for your interest. Actually, the frame rails as shown make the floors too narrow to accommodate the seats at the stock height. No problem though, as the '37 Ford is much taller than the Corvette. The seats can be installed as shown below, on top of the new frame rails, and the height turns out to be just right for the build. It's necessary to slightly shave the trans tunnel for side clearance. With the body assembled to the frame, the seat-back headrest can be seen at the right height through the side window... If additional clearance is required for any reason, the tunnel can be shaved more or reworked. The frame rails can also be cut down by about 1/8" and still leave enough meat to work in reality.

These instructions show that there is already provision for lowering the car provided by the kit. If this is the model you have, you simply omit the parts #12 in the rear, and select the "lowered" position hole in the front spindles.

Stomach pump...

Artificial stomach...

The pix posted by the OP were apparently hotlinked to sites that don't allow it, and disappeared shortly thereafter. Now the OP has taken his marbles and gone home. While I didn't take the time to find the first OP photo, the subject was the Romeo Palamides twin-blower manifold as pictured below. Something very similar is available in the AMT '53 Studebaker kits, and would be appropriate for drag cars and boats from the late '50s until today (on a nostalgia build). The second shot was an unusual sidewinder-configured rail. Probably the most interesting thing in the shot is the pre-Gilmer-belt chain drive for the blower. The drive to the rear axle was by chain as well. Note the hardware-store NPT plumbing for the water fill necks, etc., and the knock-off hubs on the rear wheels. The blower itself is typical of surplus and salvaged GMC units that were in wide use before the aftermarket began producing housings specifically for racing. This car was built in 1957.

Here's a thought...and it's been brought up before...but a more relevant parts-pack might be a newly-tooled collection of bits to build "traditional" hot-rods: multiple dropped axles (designed to be easily made pose-able), brake backing plates and drums, hairpins and wishbones, quick-change rear-ends and buggy springs, all on one sprue...or in a bag. With the imminent reintroduction of Revell's model-A roadster and coupe kits, now's the time. Frankly, if I were a few years younger, knowing what I now know about CAD, CNC, rapid prototyping, short-run tooling, and desktop injection-molding, I'd tool up and run a few thousand myself. I've already researched the expenses involved, and it would be entirely feasible for ONE guy to do it if he had all the required skills...and motivation. Imagine if all the parts coming out of this little rig were finned brake drums or dropped I-beam axles...

Generic tires and custom stuff is one thing, but this particular thread is primarily about the very specific vintage drag and roadster chassis kits, and the Fiat, Bantam, and T bodies, as well as the chassis goodies that made up the double kits from Revell. It is a fact that the last run of chrome engines from Revell sold poorly. That's why there are still bazillions available pretty cheap...though not as cheap as they were a few years back. The first few generations of the AMT parts-packs are also still widely available much cheaper than the recent repops...if you know what you're looking at. The Revell roadster and drag accessory packs (chassis goodies) might very well sell OK in small numbers, but once again, they're only really of any use to more highly-skilled modelers who understand the workings of cars, and are able to use them in situations that require building almost entirely without instructions...and often requiring at least basic scratch-building ability. The fact that many builders want to know what engines "fit" what kits with no fabrication or modification is in itself evidence that even minimal reworking and parts-swapping isn't high on the list of general modeling abilities today. I'd think the wheel and tire packs Revell used to make would be an easier sell, but they're also very dated period pieces in general. I'm sorry if this comes off as "negative" or "argumentative" or "know-it-all", but these are simple facts that would surely be considered by any manufacturer considering running these tools...if they even exist. That said, I'd personally LOVE to see them return, and I'd buy multiples of each, as I stated previously. But I won't be holding my breath.

Yeah, when I was a young, I bought every one I could get my hot little hands on. They were a great way for somebody who was highly motivated to get into the nuts and bolts of how rods and engine swaps and suspensions worked, and I retained my fondness for the fine detail Revell provided way back when. Between reading the real-car rod mags and building stuff up from parts packs, you could get a pretty solid basis for going into the business. Some of the stuff was disappointing, like the upholstery kits that you really couldn't do much with, but most of the good ones moved off the displays with regularity.

Upgraded my scanner inventory with a new Autel unit. The older cars I'm fond of are failing as their electronics age, and it's becoming increasingly necessary to be able to work deeper in the computers to correctly diagnose and repair systems. The newer Autel gives me expanded capability. Autel delivers incredible power for the money, but warranty claims require sending the unit to China. One would really think a cost-effective tool like this would be manufactured in the good ol' USA, but no dice.