Eric Macleod

I'm not sure if this will work but I will try to paste a photo in here of the car I have in mind.

This is so cool! I love it.

I am a long time member of the AACA and have followed this build for some time. I respectfully suggest that Roger is the best model builder alive today...perhaps ever. We are all hackers in comparison.

Stunning! I love it.

Oh my! This is VERY nice. I look forward to seeing how it comes together.

Neat. This is going to be very interesting. I like the 5 window cab idea! E-

Looks very good. Nice car.

Oooo La La. There are LOTS of us out here who appreciate Packards. Yours is especially nice. I have never seen one of the Modelhaus kits completed. I am impressed enough with this model that I want to own one of my own. Great model. Eric

Great looking Phaeton! Some may say you should add wiring to the engine but ignition wires were concealed under the cover over the valley between the banks of cylinders. This is a well done model with a truly spectacular paint job. Well done! Eric

Thanks for the fast reply. Itt's coming....now I just have to finish it. I have a deadline in about a month so hopefully I can keep it on track.It has been on my workbench for at least 10 years so it is high time it got done.

One more photo of the Duesenberg engine.

I have been pretty quiet in regard to my current projects. I was working on a Packard project for a while but came to a point where I need to take a break from it. Looking over my "in progress" cars on my bench I decided to pick up the project that is closest to completion and held the most promise as a finished project. Here I present a long ago abandoned project, a 1932 Duesenberg J Judkins Victoria, which is car 2375, J 354. When I first saw the car it was owned by the late Frank Kleptz of Terre Haute, IN. It was partially finished which afforded me the opportunity to carefully examine the chassis and engine compartment includng behind the cowl. This was very beneficial in terms of running brake, electrical and fuel system lines. Later the car was the subject of a cover article for the May 2004 issue of Car Collector magazine. It is one of two Judkins Victorias, with the other owned by the late Al Ferrara of Gates Mills, OH. Both are fabulous cars with truly unique exterior body moldings and facinating interior features. My model started using a shortened wheelbase chassis from a Monogram Duesenberg Town Car kit. It also features a chopped and sectioned body. The engine was converted from SJ to J specifications with significant scratch building. The chassis was fully plumbed with brake booster and crankcase mufflers added. The fender assembly was shortened and changed to J specifications. I also obtained a correct resin Model J hood from Aardvark models. And that is as far as I got. I have a model show in mind as a deadline. I need something to shot for so I plan to try to do one to two hours of building daily in order to finishe the model in time for the late March contest. I will keep you posted. Attached are photos of the (dusty) model as it appears today.

I think you are doing the right thing. The Rolls will wait...the mate not so much. And if the Rolls never gets done, we have sure been enjoying the ride up to this point. Isn't that what model BUILDING is all about? The build, not the end result? You have shown us a great build here, regardless of how it ends up.

As an aside...if anyone wants to learn how to drive a REAL Model T, there is a Model T driving school offered at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan were one can actually drive a Model T Ford. And no, we are not talking about "resto-rods" with Chevy drivetrains. They are real 100% Ford Model T's. I too must compliment Art for a good representation of what these cars are all about. Having owned these things and driven them since I was 8 years old, it is nice to see others gain appreciation for the cars. It is also REALLY nice to get past some of the myths too...particularly the ridiculous notion of boxes being custom made to Henry Ford's specification in order to be cut down into floorboards. Back to the model, Art, how are you going to handle the on/off of the body to get around those beautifully made pedals? As a suggestion (and one I will use myself) is to take more of your plywood (which by the way is the correct material used on the real cars. They do not use solid wood) and piece it into the toe-board area. I can get some 1:1 photos of this area on a real car if it would help. That's how the 1:1 cars do it.

Interestingly for our 1:1 restoration of an 11 T Torpedo, no tires other than black are available right now. So..the real one is getting black tires front and rear!

Can you show us a shot of what you did with the front crossmember?

Could it be any worse? Well, yes it could. Once we had an Auburn 851 Supercharged....HEARSE in our shop. One of the most beautiful cars of all time hacked into a body snatcher. No matter how much you like longroofs that one was bad.

1/4 scale Duesenberg SJ engine. 1/2 scale Ford Model T engine

Oooo La La! I can't wait. I will look great between my Checker and my Jeep Commando!

All I can say is if you need an outlet model building can often do the job...as can the real thing when the need arises.Take care of the home fires first and we will be watching for the progress...and supporting your efforts both with the model and the mate, as you go along.

I have actually driven that car. It is pretty good at most any speed. This was a replica that was built up many years ago. It is a great car and would indeed be a great model though I suspect it would be a challenge to get the radiator right.

Interestingly from 1909 to 1911 the Ford script was in fact affixed to the radiator core so it would make sense that ICM would only use one core as they are also going to introduce a 1911 Touring. Likely, the car they used for a model of the 1913 had the script in place. The fix is easy. Drill out the core and cut down a new one to fit from the AMT kit. You could also use the brake actuator from the AMT kit if you were not of a mind to scratch build one. As for the crate size specified to be used in the wood for floors, one would have to look at the floors of original cars to know, but I assure you it is a complete fallacy. There is not one scrap of evidence in any documentation produced by Ford that backs this up nor does inspection of the wood in the cars. One of the reasons for this myth seems to be that it was written by Floyd Clymer, who was supposed to be a friend of Henry Ford. Actually, Clymer was writing his books in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Keep in mind that Henry Ford died in 1947. Now tell me, how could Clymer have interviewed him to get this information? The other myth is that Henry Ford was cheap. This is not so. By the mid teens Ford was one of the richest men in the world. While he enjoyed the simple life, he got to be rich by building an exceptionally high quality product using state of the art materials. In retrospect we look at the 1909 Ford as crude and we see Ford as resistant to change and to spending money. This was simply not the case. Almost nothing from my 1926 Model T Touring will fit on my 1909 Model T Touring. The car was in a constant state of evolution and change. Sure by 1927 they were pretty dated but this was not true at the time of the car's introduction. The car is indeed crude...right up until you drive the contemporaries. Then you find they are pretty good.

Okay, does any of this help anyone? If so I can always go out and shoot more. It is just in the back yard. E-

Oops. Looking at that photo I see I left the gas on yesterday. Note the little lever is in the vertical position. It should be horizontal (paralel with the ground) for the gas to be off. I will end with some rear axle and brake details. You are looking from the driver's side to the rear of the car. The little hanger you see on the radius rod holds the parking brake actuators in position. You will also note the detail on the axle. To me this is fun stuff to look at.

This should help with gas tank details.