Peter Lombardo Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 1949 to 1951 Fords are commonly referred to as “Shoebox” Fords mainly because of the flat slap sided look of the vehicles. I refer to this custom as “Satin Slipper” for obvious reasons. This vehicle began life as an AMT 1950 Ford Convertible “Nostalgia Edition” kit before I made major revisions to it.I had a roof which I removed from a Tamiya Lexus SC430 race car hanging around and I thought it could look pretty good on the Ford body….. which it did, but with one major issue. The roof was too short to look appropriate on the standard length car, but it would fit fine if the body was shortened. So I cut 14 scale inches out of the side just behind the doors and before the rear wheel well. Now the roof fit fine, but the body seemed a bit too tall for my liking. So I sectioned a scale 4 inches out from the side of the car to bring the proportions more in line with what I thought was right for a custom like this. You can see the two pieces of the body I cut out, and on the scale ruler, you can see the sizing issues.Next, I flared the wheel wells with a mild ridge, front and back, so to give the side a bit of a sculpture, which is in contradiction to the style of the “Shoebox” Ford. The body was shaved of all moldings and ornamentations. I grinded back the tops of the headlights and built up the bottoms and added rounded sloping headlights from the new Mini Copper. On the trunk, the license plate area was recessed in to the vertical wall.The doors and trunk were opened and hinged and the hinges on the hood were relocated and rebuilt. Inside the trunk there is a parts box spare tire cover, battery and tools from the old AMT ’49 Mercury kit. For the taillights, I omitted the chrome bezel because they appeared too chunky….. It looks more streamlined without them…..I think.In the interior, the inside door panels were lifted from a 1962 Thunderbird. The area behind the seats, which came from my parts box, has a new panel built in with 6 speakers with the amps being built-in behind that (if it were a real car). The windows are made from acetate.The engine is an old parts box Chevy small block 283 with 6 deuces and trumpets. Wheels and tires also were resurrected from the parts box and the car was dropped down as low as possible. The windshield wipers are photo-etched items I had made from my design when I had the Timbs’ Special photo-etched items produced a few years ago in Scotland.Finally, the body was sprayed flat black to give the vehicle a satin sheen, hence the name, Satin Slipper. see the google album belowsatin slipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 I clicked on the link... can't figure out how to see the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'70 Grande Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Pics opened-up perfectly for me. You did alot of work to this build and it shows! A very nice build with some excellent custom body work done! I've never seen a Shoebox Ford done in quite this same style, and I like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 This is what I see when I click on the link... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoopdog Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Very impressive work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Most excellent custom.Extensive surgery very well done and finished.This looks like something from one of the major custom shops.Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Very cool custom.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Deuce Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Pics opened-up perfectly for me. You did alot of work to this build and it shows! A very nice build with some excellent custom body work done! I've never seen a Shoebox Ford done in quite this same style, and I like it!same here. Link opened with no problems. Good looking little ford! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Kucaba Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Always nice to see your work Peter. I like most everything about it,but the headlites seem to be too big in my eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAMBENNA Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 nice job , looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Pics open perfectly for me on my iPad. I'd echo th comments already made so far you've done a ton of work on that shoe box and it works, even sectioning and shortening through the interior. Not all cars look good after taking a chunk out of the middle like that, yours looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Very nice custom. The hard work shows. I like what you have done, but like Mike, to me the headlights are a bit oversized. All in all, a very ambitious project that turned out excellent.Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerN Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 A real custom - and a real treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lombardo Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 This is what I see when I click on the link... Harry, I will see if I can get that sorted out for you.... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lombardo Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words, and yes, the headlights do look a little long on the bottom......... I could have built up the bottom of the overhang a bit more..... my bad. Next time I will get it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Neat conversion Peter, and long time no see! That roof really works with that '50 Ford, and I can see that working with a 1:1. BTW, I was able to see your pics on my end with no trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 ALL '50 Fords should be sectioned. I like it and good to see something from you. Peter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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