Amnesty build-Monogram 1934 Ford Cabriolet

[Eric Macleod]

While I am not sure I can get this one done by year's end, it will be either the last completion of 2017 or first of 2018. I found myself surprised to see how far along I was with this one. Candidly, I am not even sure why I abandoned the build this far along. It looks like it need paint for the body and interior, a light detailing and assembly. I've never built this kit before (even though I have three of them stockpiled) so we'll see if it goes together as well as it looks. Conversely, I have seen one done and they look like a million bucks assembled, and looks much better proportioned than the AMT version. With that intro, I offer am hereby offering abandoned kit amnesty to this Monogram 1934 Ford V-8.

Edited December 27, 2017 by Eric Macleod
typo

[Snake45]

Very cool project. Many of us here have never seen this kit in 3D and probably never will. I'm looking forward to the chance to follow along with you on it. 

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Nice! It will be great to see it finished. 

[Eric Macleod]

I got a bit more done with this one. I discovered a couple things I do not like so much about the Monogram engine. I find the molded in radiator hoses are only half rounds. Also, I started to put booties for the spark plugs on each of them but when looking at reference photos of the engine this was incorrect, so I will be changing what you see here.

I am still trying to decide if I want to replicate a car with a leather interior which is sort of a mottled pattern of brown and copper colored leather or (probably more correct) a tan mohair interior. In either case, I needed to get some primer on all the interior pieces. Here is what I have so far. Thanks for the kind comments so far.

Edited December 28, 2017 by Eric Macleod
Typos

[DumpyDan]

This is something I wanted to do for many many years, I did it in 2017.  Fun build.

[Eric Macleod]

I like that a lot. Is that the same kit?

[DumpyDan]

Take a look this is what I started with a mess hear is the link to my 34 Ford.    forums/topic/124726-original-release-monogram-34-glue-bomb/?tab=comments#comment-1809700

[Eric Macleod]

I really like the look of the Monogram '34 done. I only hope mine comes out looking half as good.

Here is a brief update. I worked on a couple things last night. I found that the wheels are very, very fragile but now have a set of five, with four of them mounted with tires. The fifth will be inside the metal spare tire cover so no tire is needed.

I decided I did not like the look of the engine with the spark plug "booties" so I removed the heads and replaced them with another set. I am struggling with aluminum vs. cast iron painted heads but decided this is a Deluxe car (as it is a Cabriolet) and likely would have the upgraded engine. I did some detail work on the engine and accessories but need to do quite a lot more to bring it to life. Here is where I am so far.

[DustyMojave]

FYI...Aluminum heads on a Ford flathead V8 are aftermarket heads, not factory, Deluxe or otherwise. I have seen aluminum heads that were not finned and looked rather like stock iron heads. But those are rare. Spark plug wires had no boots then. Just the bare metal clip on the end of the always black plug wire that fit onto the tip of the spark plug. So if you're building a stock 34 Ford, the heads should be painted the same color as the rest of the engine.

 

That's a pretty good looking build with the Mullins trailer. Accurate too. Those trailers were made in the 30s.

Edited December 30, 2017 by DustyMojave

[Eric Macleod]

Thanks Richard. That's exactly what I needed to know. While there are loads of reference photos out there it is hard to know what is historically accurate and what is the owner's preference. 

[bbowser]

Looking good so far!

[Dennis Lacy]

15 hours ago, DustyMojave said:

FYI...Aluminum heads on a Ford flathead V8 are aftermarket heads, not factory, Deluxe or otherwise.

That's absolutely incorrect. All 1934 Ford passenger cars and light trucks were built with aluminum cylinder heads. Some commercial trucks were built with slightly higher compression cast iron heads, but not cars or light trucks.

[DustyMojave]

Really...

I have lots of respect for you Dennis, So I'll take that from you. News to me though.

[Ace-Garageguy]

6 hours ago, Dennis Lacy said:

That's absolutely incorrect. All 1934 Ford passenger cars and light trucks were built with aluminum cylinder heads. Some commercial trucks were built with slightly higher compression cast iron heads, but not cars or light trucks.

 

8 minutes ago, DustyMojave said:

Really...

I have lots of respect for you Dennis, So I'll take that from you. News to me though.

Dennis is correct. Non-finned aluminum heads were factory stock. 

[Eric Macleod]

So the heads were repainted green...and now back to aluminium.  I looked at some on-line photos and it looks like Ford had the same problem with the V-8 heads that they had on Lincoln 12 cylinder engines.  Many cars I referenced look to have been retrofitted with cast iron heads. That being said,  i find the cars with aluminum heads have studs that appear black. They also have spark plugs with black bases which should bring the heads to life a bit.

I appreciate the outpouring of information. 

[Dennis Lacy]

One thing to keep in mind is that often times when these cars are "restored" the engine (while a flathead) isn't necessarily the correct year of flathead. A very popular upgrade is to use a much more durable '36 engine which had larger crank shaft journals and insert bearings instead of soft poured babbit like '32-'35. The '36 engine commonly had cast iron cylinder heads and was the last year that the water pumps were up on the heads so they interchange into '32-'35 cars easily.

[Eric Macleod]

Very true. While i try to keep my cars as authentic as possible sometimes you just have to do what you need to do to get it done.

[DustyMojave]

Makes sense Dennis. Most all of the flatheads I've dealt with had or got aftermarket heads. Others had factory (but probably different model year) cast iron heads. Most of the flathead V8s regardless of year model of the car were late 59a, 24 stud blocks. My old friend had a 21 stud with really rare Riley pushrod heads, and that stands out as different being a 21 stud.

[Eric Macleod]

Here is the completed engine sans wiring. Thanks again to all for all good information. Sorry for the somewhat blurry images. These were "quick" photos.

[Eric Macleod]

This is a sort of "fiddly" detail but it is the wiring harness for the spark plugs. I hope I can make it fit!

[Art Anderson]

On 12/30/2017 at 3:32 AM, DustyMojave said:

FYI...Aluminum heads on a Ford flathead V8 are aftermarket heads, not factory, Deluxe or otherwise. I have seen aluminum heads that were not finned and looked rather like stock iron heads. But those are rare. Spark plug wires had no boots then. Just the bare metal clip on the end of the always black plug wire that fit onto the tip of the spark plug. So if you're building a stock 34 Ford, the heads should be painted the same color as the rest of the engine.

 

That's a pretty good looking build with the Mullins trailer. Accurate too. Those trailers were made in the 30s.

Correction!  Ford indeed did use aluminum cylinder heads on the V8, from the introduction of the 1933 Model 40, through model year 1936, as standard equipment.

Art

[DustyMojave]

I've done a little research on the aluminum heads and learned something new. That's generally a good thing.

[Eric Macleod]

So it has been said on this forum that you reach the half way point when you have the wheels mounted. I have gotten there. That being said, It has been two steps forward and a big step back. I not only got the wheels in place but got paint on the car. And there is the problem. I had a significant problem with the paint. It came out as an absolute mess (I used Rustoleum paint and primer in one, over Duplicolor primer-something that usually works for me) so into the tub of purple haze it goes. I still plan to add wiring and plumbing to the engine but have to get some tubing first.

[Eric Macleod]

While the paint soaks off I decided to do a bit of work on the dashboard. I know there are decals that really make the instruments come alive but I wanted to try hand painting this. It still needs a couple shots of clear gloss but for now I am happy with the appearance of this.

[Eric Macleod]

So I figured out what I did wrong. I sprayed the paint in my garage (always do in the winter) and it was simply too cold to be blowing paint out there. Yesterday it was nearly 60 here in balmy Michigan and I had the paint up to 70 degrees on a freshly stripped and prepped surface. Here is what I came up with. MUCH better.