Hot Rod, inspired by a very old book!

[Harpo]

Browsing my bookshelves, I came across a paperback I bought in 1966, when I was 12.  It's titled "Building and Racing the Hot Rod" by the editors of Hot Rod magazine.  It's filled with wonderful (and now nostalgic) advice on every aspect of hot rods, and I have many fond memories of drooling on the pages and dreaming.  This book and my memories are the inspiration for this build. 

It's also a tribute to my limited resources back then, and as such will use only a Revell Tweedy Pie kit and some spare parts from the last three kits I've recently built: a Gunze Triumph TR3A, a Lindberg Little Red Wagon, and an IMC Ford Coupe.  

No photo-etched parts, no fancy detail kits, just the techniques I used for kit building back then - and it will only feature 1966 and prior components.

I've got the engine pretty much done, it's the Ford 427FE SOHC left over from the 48 Ford kit with a Spalding Flamethrower made from a bit of sprue and brass plug leads.  I think I got the firing order correct...?

 

Edited February 13, 2018 by Harpo

[geewhiz]

You passed...pics are great!!!????????

[Harpo]

10 minutes ago, geewhiz said:

You passed...pics are great!!!????????

Thanks, and I think I finally got the proper text inserted too!  I was having a real issue with getting this thread to submit, I must have written the forbidden paragraph! 

[geewhiz]

Sounds like a fun, cool project, Garry.  The cammer engine looks great so I'll be looking forward to seeing your progress!!!????????

[El Caballo]

Is that a Lincoln Zephyr gearbox? Kinda looks like it.

[Harpo]

1 hour ago, El Caballo said:

Is that a Lincoln Zephyr gearbox? Kinda looks like it.

I'm honestly not sure, it came with the Tweedy kit.  Looks like ~1938 Ford to me.

[Harpo]

 Alternator interferes with the front crossmember, cured by a little splicing and shaping:

[Harpo]

The 427 is a bit long, kind of inconvenient to service the air cleaner...

So we'll take a little off the chassis and move the body back.

Much better, and now we've got even more weight over the rear wheels.  Traction!

 

[Dirty Dave]

That has the appropriate "ten pounds in a five-pound sack" look that a rod like this needs.

[ChrisBcritter]

17 hours ago, Harpo said:

I think I got the firing order correct...?

This is one I drew up, different color for each wire, for the SOHC in my '58 Ford:

[Harpo]

Yep, I'm pretty sure I got it right.

The Model T rear end would never stand the torque from that 427, so I transformed it into a Halibrand quick change using the stock pushbutton shifter from the Little Red Wagon:

 And it's a hot rod, so it never hurts to raise the rear stance just a bit.  A piece of the LRW wheelie stand serves as a spring spacer:

 

Edited February 13, 2018 by Harpo

[Harpo]

Figured I'd just as well lower the front too, so another spare bit of plastic provides a new front spring perch and grill mount.  This also brings the grill up to better match the new engine:

 

[DumpyDan]

Looking good

[landman]

Loving it.

[Earl Marischal]

Very neat work on that front end.

steve

[El Caballo]

On ‎2‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 12:31 PM, Harpo said:

I'm honestly not sure, it came with the Tweedy kit.  Looks like ~1938 Ford to me.

Could be, the Zephyr box is a side loader now that I remember.

[Harpo]

Running gear about done, springs and shocks relocated.

 

[Modelbuilder Mark]

This is great,  will follow

[Harpo]

I cut the phony looking grill out of the Tweedy radiator shell...

and made a new grill from the unused custom one from the IMC Ford kit:

[Harpo]

Stock Tweedy wheels with IMC 48 Ford caps, stock front tires, IMC Ford rears (with grooves cut to make cheater slicks), oversize rear brake drums using spacers from LRW.

[Dirty Dave]

2 hours ago, Harpo said:

Stock Tweedy wheels with IMC 48 Ford caps, stock front tires, IMC Ford rears (with grooves cut to make cheater slicks), oversize rear brake drums using spacers from LRW.

 

Those make a really good looking wheel/tire combo. I'm on the hunt for something similar - but a smidge larger - for a 1/24 scale project.

[Harpo]

Time to address an aesthetics problem; the new engine placement leaves too large a space between front of engine and radiator shell.  I could move the shell back to compensate (last picture), but I'm not sure that's an improvement due to the open space in front of it.  Think I'll try extending the shell and see if that helps the look. 

 

 

 

[Sixties Sam]

Looking good! I like the grille and shell. Good work!

Sam

[EightyHotRod]

Nice ride i like that yellow on the cammer, moving the tub back is nice for weight transfer. Even with the transfer the 427 will pull the front wheels of that rail job two feet or better. Nothing like a big block rail job, nice work.

[Modelbuilder Mark]

I really like what you have going here.