32 Ford Rat Rod - A project of firsts

[Draggon]

I agree with Bill, no issue with your zee. I prefer how you did it, in front of the engine. Most zee's I see are right at the firewall, so the framerails leave a large empty space at the bottom of the cowl that requires either huge hairpins, or large headers to fill it up. 

[Lunajammer]

Thanks for the reassurement guys. Having the Z in front of the engine limited the room to make the kind of cut I'd like to make. I guess I'd never noticed people do Z's in that spot before.

[Ace-Garageguy]

You can do the 45-degree cut that I favor (for its simplicity in re-aligning everything) anyplace on the rails you choose, but straight cuts and triangular gussets like Lunajammer has done work equally well, and are sometimes easier...depending on the particular shape of the rails at the cut location.

Different locations have different advantages. One of the disadvantages of cutting close to the firewall, along with what Draggon mentioned above, is that it can make for problems getting the engine mounted low in the chassis, leading to oddly configured engine mounts and headers that sometimes have to come straight out and then go down to clear the frame. A close-to-firewall Zee can also make running steering linkage more difficult than necessary.

All reasons why thorough mockups prior to cutting anything (especially on real cars) is the favored approach.   

[Lunajammer]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Good informed stuff.

I de-chromed the windshield frame, chopped it and installed on the body and gave the body another coat of primer.

Edited November 9, 2017 by Lunajammer

[Lunajammer]

I entered this project expecting to make mistakes and do a lot of learning so I'm not investing in much chassis or engine detail. I expect I'll do another, better, hot rod later. For that reason I decided I don't want to go through the body work again, so I'm going to try casting the body. Here's what I've done....

Windows taped...

Body was filled with fresh Play-Doh with a little extra as a base. I first tried this with old Play-Doh but it was too dry with too much air in it and the result was a mold that really got into things. I can post pics of the failure if you're interested, but this photo shows the second attempt. The fill is a lot smoother.

I built a mold box out of sheet styrene I reused from old castings and used plumbers putty to seal the joints that I knew would leak. Joints that don't have the putty had already been sealed with white glue. RTV rubber is very viscous and since it takes 18-hours to set up, there's a lot of time for it to leak if you're not buttoned up.

To measure volume of RTV needed I highly recommend the decimal system. One square centimeter equals one square centiliter. It's a direct conversion, so Length x Width x Height = 443 centimeters for the box. Minus (LxWxH) of the car body, about 113cm. So, 443-113 = 330 centimeters, which is the same as 330 centiliters. That's how much RTV rubber I used.

The RTV silicone is very thick so a lot of air gets stirred in when you mix it up. It goes into a home made vacuum chamber made out of a piece of 15-inch PVC sewer pipe that the local pipe company gave me for free. Gaskets made from rings of closed foam with half inch plexi for a lid. Thinner than half inch you might get a sudden surprise once you turn on the vacuum pump. Here the RTV is degassing.

Box is exactly full and there's very little left over silicone.

 

Edited November 9, 2017 by Lunajammer

[Jantrix]

Mike, you know I dig rat rods and the like. This looks cool. Looking forward to more.

[Lunajammer]

Thanks Rob. So far so good.

Just a slight update... The "part 1" mold came out okay. The fresh Play-Doh was so fresh it was like goop and didn't come out of the cavity very cleanly. Since it's water soluble I ran it under warm water and scrubbed with a toothbrush, toothpick and fingers the get the cling-ons out. With the mold trimmed up, some keys cut into it and the body left in, I added some air vents before pouring the "part 2" silicone.

Later: I had just barely enough silicone activator to make the second part mold. I poured it a couple days ago and I think there wasn't quite enough activator. It sat overnight and the next day was still very soft and sticky. Not good, if it doesn't set up, it's almost impossible to clean out. Nothing dissolves silicone that won't also dissolve plastic. I put it in the food dehydrator where it's remained for two days. Low heat can help speed up the activator if there's enough reaction going on at all. Stay tuned.

Edited November 9, 2017 by Lunajammer

[Lunajammer]

The second part of the mold is set us as much as it's going to be, kind of soft, but tough. So after some work pulled it apart and everything looked good. You can see how much lighter the male part is due to lesser amount of blue activator. I got lucky.

So I went ahead and tried a casting. OOOOO BABY did that come out nice. Very happy.

 

Only three small bubbles in the top and they are just under the surface so I can fill them with super glue from behind and it won't effect the texture of the roof.

Edited November 9, 2017 by Lunajammer

[OldNYJim]

What a great build Mike!  I LOVE it!  I loved seeing your work getting the resin body made - so inspirational!  You should cast and sell a few of those bodies!

[Lunajammer]

So kind James, thank you. Selling the bodies is certainly a consideration. But the master model is not perfect and I would feel better if the buyers had a chance to look at it up close and make their choice. I wouldn't want to be called out by a disappointed buyer. But I would consider visiting with those interested.

[Lunajammer]

The engine is finished. I did a about a six inch section of the headers or they would be dragging on the ground. I just don't have pics yet.

Edited November 9, 2017 by Lunajammer

[Lunajammer]

Edited November 9, 2017 by Lunajammer

[1930fordpickup]

Looks good Mike.  

[Draggon]

I think the body is great, I'd like to have one myself even if it isn't perfect 

[mod3l Lover]

I think the body is great, I'd like to have one myself even if it isn't perfect 

X2 . X2!!!

   David S.

[OldNYJim]

I think the body is great, I'd like to have one myself even if it isn't perfect 

Me too, assuming I could afford it.  Very cool!

[Spex84]

Woohoo! That's looking absolutely vicious! I love the massive powerplant vs the sectioned body (because the AMT deuce is sorta pre-sectioned right from the box) and the tall stance in the back with the slicks and mags.

Very inspirational work with the body casting...I would love to cast the Revell '30 Ford roof I've been working on, and maybe a chopped Monogram '30, so this was cool to see.

[Lunajammer]

Thanks a lot guys. Positive words always keep the wind in the sails. I'm looking forward to continuing, but my GF and I are prepping for the thousand mile journey to our first and probably only GSL this weekend so modeling is on hold.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Love the casting demo

Could we see the home made vacuum pump???.......like to try something like that

[Lunajammer]

Love the casting demo

Could we see the home made vacuum pump???.......like to try something like that

Scott, apologies for the late response. I checked the GSLMCC off my bucket list this past weekend. Just got home yesterday.

Here's a photo diagram of my casting table. Nothing too fancy but it works pretty well. The portable vacuum pump came from a plumbing supply company but you can get them cheaper at discount hardware stores along with the (painters) pressure pot. Not everybody uses a vacuum chamber but I can tell the casters who don't. Venting air is to casting what lighting is to photography and taking short cuts shows.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Lunajammer

[Twokidsnosleep]

Dude, that is an above and beyond kind of post......picture complete with captions!!! That is awesome

I thank you very much for your time and effort, that really shows your attention to detail and how focused you are. Love your casting table set up!

Been watching some uTube videos on vac pumps and many made from a pressure pot with a clear lid

Hope to be able to wrangle something together

Thanks again

Cheers, Scott 

Edited May 3, 2017 by Twokidsnosleep

[Kit Karson]

Mike,

Very impressed with your building skills! -KK

[Jantrix]

This looks really good Mike. I like it!

[misterNNL]

On 4/22/2017 at 1:49 PM, Draggon said:

I think the body is great, I'd like to have one myself even if it isn't perfect 

Sounds like the bumper sticker I put on my 1:1 '48 Chevy. It reads" Cool ain't prefect and prefect ain't cool".

[Lunajammer]

4 hours ago, misterNNL said:

Cool ain't prefect and prefect ain't cool".

Unless it's Ford Prefect.

Edited November 24, 2020 by Lunajammer