'41 Plymouth Special Deluxe G/Gas

[afx]

Nice looking headers Niko.  Are you going for a rough cut wheel opening look at the rear or will you cleanup them up?

[OldNYJim]

Very cool!  I like how you did the motor mounts -  cool idea!

[papajohn97]

I agree with afx on those headers, very cool. I’ve been using thick solder but will have to try that styrene rod. Would love to see a short tutorial on how you did yours.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Love it.   

[Zippi]

Great work dude.  Love the detail work on the flatty.  

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Amazing scratch build work my friend

[dragcarz]

Very cool!

[David G.]

Excellent work on this!

It's nice to see it back on the bench.

David G.

[W-409]

Thanks for the kind comments everyone, they're highly appreciated.

JC: Yes, the rear wheel openings will be cleaned up before the body goes in primer. I just need to do all fabrication work for engine bay/interior/chassis before primering the body, as grey primer will be the final color on this one.

John: I've tried to use solder in the past for headers, but I was never quite happy with the results. I've seen some incredible solder headers done by other modelers, but I've found out that plastic rod works better for me. Right now I don't have another project that needs Fenderwell headers, so can't do a tutorial on them at this time. But, it's quite simple actually:

First I make the header flanges from sheet styrene (cut to desired shape and drill holes for the header pipes). Glue them to the engine. Then I put the engine between the frame rails and just sort of eyeball where I have to bend the header pipes and in what direction. Important is to start from the rear cylinders that are closest to the firewall and work your way forward from there. And don't heat the plastic rod too much or it will melt. Every time you get a header pipe finished, glue it on to the header flange/engine and paint the headers later. You will need a small brush and a steady hand for this, but it can be done.

The worst part on plastic rod is that if you screw up a bend, you can't undo it and try again like you would do with solder. But, in these cases, it is possible to cut the bad bend away, try again with a different piece of plastic rod and just create the header pipe from several pieces. But of course, then you need to smooth out the glue joints.

 

[papajohn97]

Hey Niko, thanks for the details on your plastic rod header fabrication method. It sounds very similar to the solder technique but I like the finished appearance you got on your Ply gasser build, I’ll have to give it a try. Unless I’m doing a kit that’s molded as a drag version, I’m finding that scratch building headers, even with solder, is a lot quicker than trying to use/ modify existing headers from another kit in my parts box. 

Edited May 6, 2021 by papajohn97
Spelling, content clarification

[W-409]

You are correct, it's actually not that hard to scratchbuild headers, and then there's no need to modify the kit headers to fit because, like you said, it can be a lot of work, too.

...And a couple of years has gone since the latest update, well this project has been stalled so many times that I can't even remember anymore... Let's see if this time I can finally finish it.

But while parts were drying on the B/G '58 Impala, I decided to dig this one out and continue working on it...

A bit earlier I built a small hood scoop for it. I mocked up the body and engine on place, took a couple of measurements and cut a hole to the hood. The scoop was built from sheet styrene. Needs a bit of cleanup but then it should be good to go.

 

The next step was to modify the kit inner fenders to fit on place with my scratchbuilt Fenderwell headers. I'd be happy to run without any inner fenders at all, but while they are required in NHRA Rulebook, I'll need to install them... So I cut some material off so that they clear the headers. I also sanded all molded-in wires etc away from them. Some detailing will be added when this thing is going together so it's best not to have any molded-in wires on the inner fenders anyway.

On the other side I had to use a bit of putty to cover a couple of ejector pin marks...

Then I figured the best way to mount these things is probably to glue them on the body. That way the inner fender to body fitment will be flawless in the final assembly, because, after all, that's what everyone sees on the finished model. So I mocked up the body, engine and chassis all together and after a few times of trial and error I was able to glue the inner fenders where I wanted them to be.

I also mocked up the radiator which will also be from Revell's '40 Ford like the engine, and it looks like it'll fit under the hood just fine. That way I get a radiator that has the right inlets/outlets for the radiator hoses, because a Flathead Ford has two upper and two lower radiator hoses on it.

[David G.]

It looks like you've made some good progress on this.

David G.

[dragcarz]

I’m glad your still building this, as it’s a really cool project. I love what you’ve done so far, and I can’t wait to see it finished!

[redscampi]

Outstanding build! Makes me want to break out one of my 41s.

[dust collectors]

Looking good, love the grey primer will be the final color.

[Nitro330]

Glad to see you back on this Niko, it is such a cool build!

[Rattlecan Dan]

Think you're on to the first forty-one Plymouth I will have ever liked! 

[W-409]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

The progress hasn't been very fast, but with a local model car show coming up in a few weeks, I really need to finish something. I think I can pull this off in time, so let's go!

First I fabricated brake lines to the front. The rear brake line will be added later, as well as the brake line from the master cylinder to the brake line fitting/distribution block on the frame rail. All fittings are made out of hex-shaped plastic rod, brake hardlines are some thin metal wire, brake hoses are Scale Productions' spark plug wire material.

Then a little engine work. I built collectors to the headers. They were made out of plastic rod, cut to length and then I of course drilled the ends open. A little putty was used to smooth out the seam between the collector and the header tubes, and after that the headers were painted flat white. I also painted some other things like the engine mounts and transmission. Once I get a few little details done on the engine and chassis, I'm able to glue the engine on place.

 

[M W Elky]

I really like that injected flat head that would look great in so many things. A belly tank lakes car comes to mind.

[David G.]

The engine looks great, excellent finish on the metal bits!

David G.

[W-409]

Thanks guys!

Michael, you're right, the injected Flathead would look good in many applications.

 

Next up was front shocks. The ones from the kit didn't work with the new front axle setup, so I found these from my parts box. The upper shock mounts were made out of a beer can aluminum just simply cut and bent to shape, painted gloss black and finished with bolt ends made out of hex-shaped plastic rod.

 

Engine got a couple of more parts and now in these pictures it's ready to be installed. I added the crankshaft belt pulley and made the belt from paper that I "painted" black with a Sharpie. I chose not to use a generator at all, because it's optional in Gas-classes at the NHRA Rulebook. And this car would probably not get many street miles anyway. Starter and the stock oil filter assembly were installed as well.

 

Then I glued the engine on place. It sits kind of high and a little "nose up". But, with the body on place I think it looks pretty natural in there, and I think, after all, that is more important in a finished model.

[David G.]

The chassis is coming along quite nicely!

I like the suspension details and red wheels.

David G.

[W-409]

Thanks David! I think red steel wheels fit very well in many different applications.

I had glued the firewall on place earlier and now I had to smooth out the seam between the interior tub and the firewall. So a little putty and sanding had to be done. Then I painted the firewall with gloss black and installed the whole interior tub to the chassis.

Next up was to figure out how to make somekind of a steering system for this thing... None of the kit parts would work so I had to dig some parts from my parts boxes. I started with a steering box, which might not be 100% correct for a 1941 Plymouth, but it's way better than nothing at all, and honestly it's only barely visible on the finished model. So this is the one I came up with.

Underside of the steering box was hollow, though.

I filled the hole with sheet styrene, sanded to correct shape and then painted the steering box with gloss black.

Here is a picture of the finished steering setup. Tie rod was found also in my parts box and it was a perfect fit for that axle. Only modification that I did was to cut the Pitman arm off and then I glued it back on a little different position. Tie rod was painted with Humbrol's Metallic 53 and I added a couple of bolt ends on it for detail. Steering box was glued on place and a correct length steering shaft was made out of plastic rod.

It was really hard to photograph the steering box setup, but there it is!    Especially from the top you can only barely see it.

If I'm not mistaken these Plymouths have a brake master cylinder mounted under the floorboard. I tried to find some reference pictures, but came up short. Only thing I found was that it didn't appear to be in the engine bay. So I scratchbuilt a really simple brake master cylinder from plastic, mounted it under the floorboard and made a brake line from the cylinder to a distribution block.

The kit supplied driveshaft wasn't good for this build, so I had to make my own. On the top, some unknown driveshaft from my parts box that is too short, but it had pretty good driveshaft joints on it. On bottom, piece of mold sprue... After combining these two into one, I had a proper length driveshaft for the Plymouth.

 

Edited March 11, 2024 by W-409

[David G.]

Wow Niko those are some impressive details you're adding.

I just noticed all the plumbing on the engine, that's some fine work.

David G.

[Tony Coomer]

Great job on the flathead and front clip detail work…