'34 Ford Show 'n Go Pickup

[Bernard Kron]

Hey Bernard, are we going to get to see a pic of how you modified the front suspension???

Yes!

Here are some chassis pics. I didn’t want to take the suspension bits apart because I’m finalizing chassis and body mount adjustments but I think this will do to explain how I got the front end “in the weedsâ€.

The biggest issue with lowering the front end of the ‘34-‘38 Ford frames is the front cross member which hangs down quite a ways. I’ve found you can’t get a really modern low front end look on these frames without cutting down the cross member. This seems to be an issue with the 1:1’s as well because I’ve seen references to substituting Model A and ’32 cross members to achieve this. In my case I simply removed the material on the cross member molding down to the frame line. In the following picture the frame from my pickup is on the right and the frame on the left is from a ’37 Panel Delivery which has the same cross member. I outlined the material I removed in red.

(Click on picture for larger image)

Next I took apart the kit’s “hot rod†dropped front axle, carefully removing the spring. This axle jas a very mild drop, perhaps 2.5 scale inches, so I knew plenty more work would be required to get the nose down.

The Lindberg ’34 Pickup is an old AMT kit and uses the AMT metal axles to hold the wheels. If I used this system I would have had to drill a hole through the motor to clear the axle. So I simply chose not to use it at all. I normally glue my wheels to the axles anyway so I made some plastic stub axles from styrene rod of the same diameter as the original metal axles and glued them in to circular channels molded into the front axle that held the metal axles. I then cut away any part of the stub axle that wouldn’t be part of the 1:1’s original setup. In this case this was a semicircular cut on the left hand side of the axle between the shock attachment point and the original shackle mounts. If you look carefully at the above picture you may be able to see it.

Next I de-arched the spring by heating it in hot water and flattening it, then cooling it immediately in cold water to set the new shape. My plan was to glue the flattened spring back in place on top of the re-worked axle and then glue the front axle in the original location on the now-shaved front cross member.

This is the setup you see in the first pictures on this thread. The problem was I still didn’t have enough rake, and the wheels sat back a little too much in the fenders. This is OK when there’s a lot of space between the fender and the tire, but looks funky with the wheel snugged up into the wheel well which was my goal.

At this point I decided that the spring needed to be mounted behind the axle. This would accomplish two things I needed to get done. Firstly it would lower the front end another 2 scale inches compared to mounting the spring on top of the axle, and secondly it would relocate the axle centerline further forward relative to the fender arch.

Unfortunately, in disassembling the axle/spring setup the very thin and fragile leaf spring broke apart. Rather than attempting to repair it, which would have, at best, resulted in an even more fragile and finicky part, I decided to substitute a ’29 Model front spring (interestingly a not uncommon setup on ’34 hotrods to get the front end down) from an old AMT ’29 A Roadster kit I had. The spring is fairly flat so no de-arching was needed. Instead I simply removed the bottom leaf of the spring which flattened it and narrowed it to fit correctly on the axle. The spring is simply glued to the axle. Here’s the complete setup installed on the front end:

(Click on picture for larger image)

The final rake on the frame looks like this:

(Click on picture for larger image)

Most of the rake is the result of all the suspension work, but the smaller diameter tires from the Revell .Good Guys 40 Ford Coupe Street Rod relative to the rear tires also helped.

Additional work still to do on the front end include re-connecting the stock vane-type hydraulic shocks (incorrectly referred to as “friction†shocks) and aligning the steering track rod and front stabilizer bars.

And lastly, here are some monochrome shots of the pickup in full primer with the grilled mocked up in silver paint, the front bumper mounted and chrome ’32 Ford headlight buckets installed. I find monochrome pictures like this are sort of the digital equivalent of squinting and help me get a good idea of what the completed car will look like.

(Click on picture for larger image)

Next is the engine and interior and paint. Their is no interior bucket on this kit so I’ll have to make panels for the tuck ‘n’ roll setup I’m contemplating.

Thanx for loookin’.

B.

[CB]

Lookin fine, Bernard. I always suspected you were an artist, and yer usin the monochromatic pix just confirms that! funny how color can somehow keep us from 'seeing' things at times. You always post such top notch posts! I'm willin to bet that ifn you taught model car building at some college, you'd get a lot of...........uh, never mind........I just realized - you'd get a lot of us attending. Wouldn't wanta do that to ya!

[MikeMc]

WOW

I love the whole thing......front to back and up and down

As old B.C. would say JUST BITCHIN!!!!!!!!!!!

and the well writen tutorial is what this forum is about!!

Thanks Bernard...keep it coming!

Edited June 27, 2008 by MikeMc

[Raul_Perez]

Thanks for the explanation, Bernard!!

The rake and stance is PERFECT for that truck!!

Later,

[Clay]

One question, which link are you copying to put into the post?

[Bernard Kron]

One question, which link are you copying to put into the post?

Hi Clay:

From another thread I saw that you started I know that you’re a Photobucket user. I am too.

I’ll answer your question in a more detailed fashion for the benefit of others reading this thread who might be Photobucket users.. Unfortunately I don’t know anything about other photo hosting services.

From the album that contains the pictures you want to post select a picture by clicking the little box below the lower left hand corner of the picture.

(Click on picture for larger image)

Then go to the bottom of the page and select “Generate HTML and IMG code†in the lower right hand corner.

(Click on picture for larger image)

Photobucket will jump to a new screen entitled “Generated HTML, Ebay and IMG Codeâ€. The third one down “IMG clickable thumbnails for message boards – recommended†is the link I am copying to get the little images I’m using in this post. If you place your cursor anywhere in the text string for the link Photobucketwill copy the link into your computer’s paste buffer. Just paste the link into the text for your post message and your done!

(Click on picture for larger image)

I hope this answers your question.

B.

[Bernard Kron]

Lookin fine, Bernard. I always suspected you were an artist, ....

Aw shucks

[Bernard Kron]

As old B.C. would say JUST BITCHIN!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanx Mike. From the creator of the iconic '34 Pickup on this board I'm flattered!

Love that rear 3/4 view in your avatar BTW.

B.

[Bernard Kron]

Made some more progress on the ’34 pickup. I foiled the grill and got the color down. It’s not in the pictures, but the firewall is Pearl White to echo the interior. The fenders and chassis are 2 coats of Dupli-Color Medium Green Metallic and the body is 2 coats of Tamiya TS-20 Metallic Green, all of it over Dupli-Color gray Primer Sealer. This is the raw color coat. The dark metallic doesn't light up yet and the lighter green lacks depth. I think it will really pop once I've laid down 4 coats of clear and polished it. That’s next on the agenda.

(Click on picture for larger image)

The deck in the pickup bed will be a cherry brown stain with BMF skid rails. The wood paneling on the underside of the body will be the same cherry brown stain color.

I’ve started on the interior and completed the rough work on the seat. I decided a bench seat was more in keeping with the overall look of the build. But the kit bench seat is absolutely plain with no detail or texture at all. Dead flat sheets of shiny plastic! Fortunately that is the perfect base for a roll and pleat upholstery job. The rolls are #90886 .187†Plastruct Half Round rod and the center panels are Plastruct #91539 1/8" Square Tile Patterned Plastic Sheet. The lower bolsters are Plastruct #91812 O Scale 1:48 Ribbed Roof Corrugated plastic sheet. The tile pattern will show up in the door panels and headliner as well. Color combo will be pearl white with pale green centers. The colored picture is a Photoshop mock up.

(Click on picture for larger image)

The motor is the stock kit motor which is a small block Ford 302 Windsor FE 390 with triple carbs. I detailed it with a pre-wired distributor from Morgan Automotive Details (you can get them from Scale Models by Chris) and scratch built fuel lines. The block is painted gold and I tried to keep as much chrome as possible as part of the “Show ‘n’ Go†theme of the build.

(Click on picture for larger image)

Other than the radically lowered front suspension the chassis is basically kit stock.

Thanx for lookin’

B.

Edited July 6, 2008 by gbk1

[Raul_Perez]

Oh yeah!! The two-tone green really works!! The dark colored fenders with the lighter colored body keep this one grounded in tradition while the updated tires, wheels, upholstery and engine give it a more contemporary feel. The white with the green in the interior and the white on the firewall should really bring it all together!!

The engine details look GREAT!! Those MAD prewired distributors really rock!!

Roundin' third, headin' for home!!! Don't bother lookin' back, this one's gonna be a shot outa da park!!

Later,

[Kenny]

Bernard, if that engine is from the kit it is a FE block 390. The 302 Windsor wasn't conceived yet when that kit came out in 1963.

Pickup is lookin' GREAT btw!

[Bernard Kron]

Bernard, if that engine is from the kit it is a FE block 390. The 302 Windsor wasn't conceived yet when that kit came out in 1963.

Pickup is lookin' GREAT btw!

Thanx Kenny. Your right. The distributor placement and exhaust port pattern are the same on both engines. Given that it has Thunderbird valve covers I shoulda known! FE it is! I just gained 88 cubes!

[Clay]

Wow that is good. Nice job.!

[Raul_Perez]

Thanx Kenny. Your right. The distributor placement and exhaust port pattern are the same on both engines. Given that it has Thunderbird valve covers I shoulda known! FE it is! I just gained 88 cubes!

And, you can never have too many cubes!!