Revell 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe – whole new front end

[Phildaupho]

I have always liked ’40 Fords especially the Deluxe Coupes. The old AMT kit has a very well rendered body but fairly simple chassis and interior. The Revell Coupe kit is pretty darn nice in all respects whether stock or street rod but it is not a Deluxe. I suppose it would be possible to use the AMT body with the Revell chassis and interior but I decided to swap the Deluxe fenders and hood from the Revell ’40 Ford Convertible. While I am at it, I figured I might as well give this model a completely new front end. The independent front suspension comes from the Revell Willys Street Rod kit.  Initially I was going to install the LT-1 from the Beatnik Bandit II because I like the looks of it but it did not fit with new suspension and steering. That being the case, I am putting a Ford in a Ford by installing one the SBF engines from the Revell Deuce kits. I will be using a bunch of other non-kit supplied parts such as the excellent Replicas & Miniatures Rik Hoving mastered tuck & roll interior, steelie wheels, tires, caps and rings from the Revell 5-Window as well as the stock ’40 Ford steering wheel from that kit, the ribbed bumpers from the AMT ’40 Ford Sedan Delivery and a photo-etched grill from Model Car Garage.

The front fender transplant was fairly straight forward. When trying to incorporate non-kit components like a completely different front suspension, wheels and tires and engine and transmission I had to completely glue together a fair amount of the model to make sure everything fits. The kit has a really well rendered contemporary coil-over ladder bar rear suspension but I did find it a little finnicky to glue together. The nice kit supplied non-chromed dropped I-beam axle will be saved for a future project. I have installed an electric fan on the radiator and shortened the driveshaft.

There is no need to feel sorry for the ’40 Ford Convertible that gave up its nose section. It eventually will be resurrected with the Standard front end and evolve into a channelled, sectioned, chopped, nosed and decked traditional custom.

[Plowboy]

It's looking good Phil! I may have to give that a try sometime. For whatever reason, when I built the Revell kit, I had a heck of a time getting the wheelbase to match up with the fenders. I moved the rear cross member twice before I got it right. Never did figure out what I did wrong. But, I finally got it. But, it gave me grief for a minute!

[Phildaupho]

29 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

It's looking good Phil! I may have to give that a try sometime. For whatever reason, when I built the Revell kit, I had a heck of a time getting the wheelbase to match up with the fenders. I moved the rear cross member twice before I got it right. Never did figure out what I did wrong. But, I finally got it. But, it gave me grief for a minute!

Thanks Roger - I will have to watch for that during final assembly.

[espo]

I'm looking forward to this build. Like you, the '40 De Lux is one of my favorites.  

[DrKerry]

Looks good, may have to give that a try myself... I use the Revell chassis under AMT bodies as well, that works good too...

[Phildaupho]

The quality of parts from Replicas & Miniatures never fails to impress me. This Rik Hoving mastered tuck and roll interior includes the front seats, rear jump seats, side panels with separate arm rests and door handles as well as two back panels. The upholstery is white primer sealed with Mr. Hobby matt clear. The floor was sprayed with Testors lacquer fabric tan while the dash, steering wheel from the 32 3W, steering column are Testors lacquer Phoenician Yellow.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Phildaupho

[espo]

I kike that interior, I'll have to look into getting one or two. 

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

This is coming along nicely, I'm in.... -RRR

[Dennis Lacy]

Excellent work so far! The IFS and 5-Liter engine make for a clean, contemporary chassis and I really like not just the aftermarket interior but also the color scheme you chose for it. 

[Spex84]

On 5/4/2020 at 12:34 PM, Plowboy said:

It's looking good Phil! I may have to give that a try sometime. For whatever reason, when I built the Revell kit, I had a heck of a time getting the wheelbase to match up with the fenders. I moved the rear cross member twice before I got it right. Never did figure out what I did wrong. But, I finally got it. But, it gave me grief for a minute!

I started building a '40 several years ago and had the same problem! I put the project on the back-burner but concluded I'd probably have to cut the rear crossmember out and move it 2-3mm to fix the wheel placement.

Phil--looking good so far! That's a beautiful interior, and I like the pale yellow color. Looking forward to seeing more!

[Phildaupho]

On 5/4/2020 at 1:58 PM, espo said:

I'm looking forward to this build. Like you, the '40 De Lux is one of my favorites.  

Thanks David Check this out https://www.rkmotors.com/vehicles/1483/1940-ford-deluxe-coupe

On 5/5/2020 at 7:14 AM, DrKerry said:

Looks good, may have to give that a try myself... I use the Revell chassis under AMT bodies as well, that works good too...

I may eventually try an AMT Sedan on the Revell chassis

16 hours ago, espo said:

I kike that interior, I'll have to look into getting one or two. 

The interior parts are highly recommended

15 hours ago, Rocking Rodney Rat said:

This is coming along nicely, I'm in.... -RRR

Thanks RRR

13 hours ago, Dennis Lacy said:

Excellent work so far! The IFS and 5-Liter engine make for a clean, contemporary chassis and I really like not just the aftermarket interior but also the color scheme you chose for it. 

Thanks Dennis - I am planning to use Champagne Gold for the exterior which I hope is a good choice

11 hours ago, Spex84 said:

I started building a '40 several years ago and had the same problem! I put the project on the back-burner but concluded I'd probably have to cut the rear crossmember out and move it 2-3mm to fix the wheel placement.

Phil--looking good so far! That's a beautiful interior, and I like the pale yellow color. Looking forward to seeing more!

When I installed the different front suspension I paid the most attention to getting the front wheels centered but as you can see in the profile photo, the rears seemed OK in the mock up so I am keeping my fingers crossed for the final assembly. It is too late now for me to change things as the rear suspension is fully glued and painted. I am hoping there will be some wiggle room.

As you will soon see, I also used the yellow on the wheels and I am sure it would look excellent as an exterior color but as mentioned above I am going with Champagne Gold - a color I have wanted to try for a very long time. It is one of those discontinued great Testors metallic enamel paints containing lots of clear so extra clear coats are unnecessary.

[DrKerry]

Standard body fits just as well as the Coupe body!! May need a couple small tweaks but not much..

[Phildaupho]

The rolling chassis is now complete. I wanted there to be a contrast between the frame and running gear with the floor boards so I painted it with Testors Light Metallic Grey lacquer spray. I don’t remember it being so much like metal flake but I am getting used to. Molotow Chrome was brushed on to some of the suspension items. The wheels are painted Testors lacquer Phoenician Yellow. The headers proved to be a little troublesome aligning them to the exhaust system but in the end, I got them joined.

[espo]

The rolling Chassis is a model all by it's self.  And thanks for the link. That is a beautiful looking '40. I'm a little financially embarrassed right now so this would be out of my reach.    

Edited May 8, 2020 by espo

[bobthehobbyguy]

That chassis is beautiful. Nice work.