60's Style Chopped '34 Ford 5-Window Coupe UPDATED 11/19/18

[Dennis Lacy]

Here's the newest project on my workbench. It's a 60's styled 1934 Ford 5-Window Coupe. 

Initial mock up. The base kit is AMT's '34 5-Window with a Drag City Casting chopped top resin body. The quality of this body is absolutely outstanding! Halibrand front wheels and tires are from any of the Polar Lights funny car kits with Halibrand rear wheels and M&H slicks from Revell's KS Pitmann '41 Willys Gasser. I also taped a Hilborn bug catcher scoop onto the hood for good measure. The plan is a street rod with competition vibes.

Getting started, I modified the front cross member to get the front lower by cutting out its center then laying in a flat piece of styrene. I then notched the frame rails to the same depth of the cross member for spring clearance.

The front axle is the super nice dropped I-beam from Revell's '29 Roadster and '30 Coupe kits. (I sure hope we get those back!) You can see here how far the spring is sunk into the modified cross member.

I removed the molded in floor and frame center "X" then fit in the very nicely detailed center "X" from Revell's '40 Coupe and Convertible. I also made front engine mounts. The rear floor and cross member will eventually be removed but I left them to keep the frame from getting too flimsy while I worked on the "X" area.

The engine is the first-generation Chrysler Hemi with LaSalle 3-speed transmission from Revell's Miss Deal Studabaker funny car kit. I will be kit bashing it with other parts to make a streetable version with water pump and alternator. Here, the timing cover / water pump and belt drive from the Revell '32 5-Window has been added.

And some mock ups with the work done so far. As you can see the Hemi is heavily set-back into the cowl which is necessary for all of the blower drive to fit. The front stance isn't as low as the first mock up because I want more of a 60's realistic look with the top of the tire at the fender bead rather than tucked up into the fender.

Lots more to come!

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by Dennis Lacy

[RAT-T]

THAT LOOKS GREAT DENNIS, VERY COOL.

[tabsscale1]

Very nice!!All the work is paying off

 

[Dennis Lacy]

2 minutes ago, tabsscale1 said:

Very nice!!All the work is paying off

 

Thanks!

But there's still plenty of time to screw it up!

[fordlover632]

I like it a lot

[Jim Whalen]

Great work so far, I really like the way that you have done the chassis.

[Koellefornia Kid]

I love ´33/´34 Fords and this one looks like one badass coupe! I´ll keep watching!

[alan barton]

Chassis mods are great, engine choice and setback are perfect, wheels and stance spot on but one thing is glaring at me.  It's not your fault, and I am not sure I could change it myself  with my skills BUT after the caster finished his chop, he tidied things up with that really heavy gutter.  Is there any chance it could be sanded/filed/scraped into something closer to Henry's original contours?  Just a thought.

On the other hand, it might disappear with a darkish paint job.

Love the car, mate.

Cheers

Alan

[66belair]

I don’t do many street rods but I love the look. That body does look awesome. Love the wheels.

[GerN]

Kudos for giving the front a realistic ride height.  Wondering what you'll do for the rear.  BTW. love your builds.

[espo]

Very impressive chassis and body fit. I'm far from an expert on '34's but something about the rear "apron" below the trunk and between the rear fenders looks off. The Resin body looks great but it's as if it was cast as a body without fenders ? 

[Dennis Lacy]

7 hours ago, alan barton said:

Chassis mods are great, engine choice and setback are perfect, wheels and stance spot on but one thing is glaring at me.  It's not your fault, and I am not sure I could change it myself  with my skills BUT after the caster finished his chop, he tidied things up with that really heavy gutter.  Is there any chance it could be sanded/filed/scraped into something closer to Henry's original contours?  Just a thought.

On the other hand, it might disappear with a darkish paint job.

Love the car, mate.

Cheers

Alan

If you look at the plastic kit body this chopped body is made from you'll see that the rain gutters are just as thick. It's one of those things that looks way more obvious with digital macro photography than through your own eyes. I could definitely knock the gutters down some because you're right, they aren't that pronounced on a full scale '34 Coupe. Thanks for the heads up. Now I can't un-see it, LOL!

[Dennis Lacy]

4 hours ago, espo said:

Very impressive chassis and body fit. I'm far from an expert on '34's but something about the rear "apron" below the trunk and between the rear fenders looks off. The Resin body looks great but it's as if it was cast as a body without fenders ? 

On an original '34 that rear apron is separate from the body and the fenders. It's rendered correctly. 

[espo]

1 minute ago, Dennis Lacy said:

On an original '34 that rear apron is separate from the body and the fenders. It's rendered correctly. 

Thanks, it just didn't look right to my untrained eye. 

[Dave Darby]

This is one cool project. Can't wait to see it finished. 

[Dennis Lacy]

UPDATE!

Did a little work to this project today. Hot Rods and louvers go hand in hand so I added some!

I cut out the trunk lid from  the body, built a flange around the opening and then modified the louvered trunk lid from Revell's '32 5-Window to fit. That required trimming about 3/32" off of the bottom edge, adding strips of .020" to the side edges then bending the lid to the proper curve to match the '34 body. I then took more louvers from the optional hood sides in the 5-Window kit and added 4 rows to the rear apron (which line up with the rows on the trunk and leave space between for a license plate) and a short row to each hood top leaving room in the middle of the hood for the future hole for the blower scoop. I also removed the gas filler neck from the left edge of the rear apron because it's going to be implied that the gas tank is in the trunk.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Good stuff. All the work is up to your usual high standards. Always a pleasure to see.

[Dennis Lacy]

5 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Good stuff. All the work is up to your usual high standards. Always a pleasure to see.

Thanks a bunch, Bill! 

[James2]

Great looking build, really like the work your doing...

[crazyjim]

Interesting work.  I'll keep watching.

[Jantrix]

I dig it.

[Dennis Lacy]

UPDATE!

Had some bench time yesterday and decided to do some more work on this thing.

I cut out the rest of the floor and rear cross member then grafted in a Monogram '29 Roadster Pickup rear cross member. I then conjured up a quick change rear axle using the center and tubes from AMT's '25 T kits, end flanges / brake plates / finned drums from Revell's newer '29 Roadster / '30 Coupe, made hanger brackets and hung an AMT '29 Roadster spring. The ladder bars are from Revell's '40 Ford street rods and so is the forward mount  which is a modified split wishbone rear mount also from the '40 kits. 

I still need to add shocks and some other details but the hurdle was getting to this point.

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by Dennis Lacy

[Deuces]

Nice! Love those Buick drums..... ?

[Limeyglue]

liking this a lot Dennis looks like a cool project.

Lee