1/16th scale Pyro Tee N T

[alan barton]

I've called this up as a Pyro kit because a) I built one as a kid and b) Pyro mastered it originally and the Lindberg Bull Horn T does not come with all the parts that the Pyro used.  

I have very fond memories of this kit.  Back around 1970 or so, my brother and I pooled our resources to buy this kit. It was $4.50 when an MPC at K mart was $2.00 so it was a big investment.  looking back, it was probably a little beyond our skill levels but we did the best we could and made an elaborate show display for it.  It came out pretty good and Mum must have thought so as well because it was the only model we ever built that was allowed to be displayed on the top of the TV set. Considering that that spot was usually reserved for Mum's china cats, we had really made the big time with this honour!

When I heard that the kit was to be re-issued after all these years, i was very excited but it simply didn't show up in Australia, not for years anyway. My wife and I visited the U.S.A in 2013 and finished up at Tom Geiger's place In N.J. so he took us to a hobby shop and I was able to purchase it there and carefully take it home in our baggage.

I still had the sad remains of our teenage build and hoped that I could use those parts to convert the Bullhorn T to the Tee N T - more on that later.

As you examine the kit, it becomes very obvious that someone at Pyro had purchased a Monogram Big Rod and put it in the Shrinkerator. There are so many parts on this kit that are absolutely identical to its 1/8th scale cousin that it can't be a coincidence.  Never the less, there are some uniquely different parts to the kit as well.  Most obvious was the unusual twin bucket style interior tub. I never liked it as a kid so as an experienced adult modeller I decided to do something about it. Silly me!

[alan barton]

I briefly considered leaving it as it was and so I threw a coat of flat black over the whole thing but instantly regretted it. The first step in the conversion to a normal bench style seat was to use an X-acto and a razor saw to remove the buckets.  This was a relatively straight forward procedure.  I then cut some inserts form flat sheet styrene to fill the gaps. Again, easy peasy

Edited June 11, 2020 by alan barton

[alan barton]

The next step was to coat the whole area with body filler, or “bog” to give me a basis on which to start carving some pleats.  At this stage I thought  this would be the easiest way but it turned out I was wrong!

To cut a long and boring story short, this took multiple applications to get anywhere near acceptable results.  I used a knife, needle files and sandpaper to varying degrees to try to continue the pleats that all ready existed around the edges of the interior bucket.  I think next time I would try using Evergreen half round strips instead.  Fortunately, my decision to do an early sixties style pure white interior helped disguise the waviness a bit. This was easily the hardest part of this project, entirely self inflicted and would probably require that much time again to get it perfect.  Lesson learned!

Oh yeah, not sure if I have a photo handy but I did make the seat base using Evergreen strips with a slice from a broken plastic coat hanger to make the bolster for under your knees.  This was way easier to do than the seat back!

Edited June 11, 2020 by alan barton

[alan barton]

Back to simpler things.  The chassis is made up of multiple rails and crossmembers and requires care in assembly .  I have a scribed flat steel plate with small magnets that I purchased at a hardware and this jig made it much easier to keep everything square and true.

The majority of models in my collection have been converted to right hand drive so I used a long drill to transfer the position of the steering box to the opposite frame rail. After that it was just a simple case of sand, prime and paint.

[alan barton]

The front and rear suspension assembles very smoothly.  I would stress the need to thoroughly remove paint and chrome from any joints as these are relatively heavy models as plastic kits go and they will revert to their kit form if you don’t get everything securely welded together! As the steering arm and king pins are all separate parts, this was the easiest steering conversion I have ever done – all I had to do was assemble the parts on the opposite ends of the axle!

The stance is perfect straight out of the box (didn’t think I would ever say that!) so there is no need to adjust the height of crossmembers or springs – they will work just fine. All the chrome suspension members are beautifully moulded and just take some careful trimming of the sprue points and a dab of Molotow pen to make them perfect.

Edited June 11, 2020 by alan barton

[alan barton]

The engine is a beauty – a small block Chevy, probably a 283 considering the era, with six carbs, a magneto and a sweeping set of headers.  I remember my childhood version including a separate fan belt in the box but Lindberg must have forgotten about it so I made one from some thick black self- adhesive amalgamating tape. The only real trick here is to use Testor’s “orange tube” glue which is nice and thick and slow setting and gives you adequate time to ensure all six carbs are nicely aligned.  I also made up some fuel lines from black vinyl tubing and brass jewellery findings.  The linkages come in the kit.

[alan barton]

I am a big fan of the adage – Never throw anything out!  I still had the broken steering wheel from my childhood kit.  I never knew why I kept it nearly fifty years but it was meant to be. It was a very simple job to trim it to fit the new kit wheel and give myself a 360 degree steering wheel.  I have driven a few T buckets with near vertical steering columns and I can tell you the last thing you would want is a steering wheel that is missing 120 degrees of its rim!

[alan barton]

I liked the detail in the stock dash so I decided to sever it from its surround and re-join it on the opposite side.  This also made detail painting a little easier. Lindberg gives you clear instrument faces with the markings engraved on them and I added slices of K&S aluminium tubing  for the gauge bezels.

[alan barton]

These are the fenders that used to be in the Tee N T but are now in The Serpent.  I had a lot of work ahead of me trying to repair or replace the originals otherwise.

Considering that Australian rods have always had to run fenders of some sort, these really fit the bill.  Back in the sixties, there was a 27 T bucket built in Melbourne by the Mitchell Brothers.  It was called the Surf Buggy but it had startlingly similar proportions to the Tee N T.  I can remember my brother and I consulting a copy of Austrlaian Hot Rodding Review to make sure we had the details correct!

[alan barton]

The body is multi-piece but that is not a terrible thing.  Everything lines up pretty well and again, I like to use the Testors tube glue to get everything squared up with a bit of working time.  I did the find the swage line across the top of the back of the body was a bit vague so i added a strip of Evergreen half round over the existing moulding and felt it was worth the effort.

The firewall was in white plastic and had a lot of moulded in detail so I chose use it as a pattern for a polished aluminium replacement. I then cut off the fuel distribution block before turning the firewall inside out and gluing it to the front of the body.  I also glued that left over surround from the dashboard in the previous photos This made everything much more rigid.  I left it to dry quite a few days before spending some time vigorously filing the top of the cowl where the two pieces joined to make sure I got a smooth invisible join. Just basic Model building 101 stuff but it makes a difference and I'm sure I didn't do it when I was thirteen!

[alan barton]

So before I go over to Under Glass, here are a few shots of the finished chassis. As it is based on a Z'd Model A chassis, it would also make a great start to an old school channeled 31 Model A roadster using the Minicraft kit. With the spare body from my teenage build and the left over chassis from The Serpent and the Minicraft flathead, I can see a track T in my future.

This really is a wonderful model and could be built box stock with outstanding results. It is a quality that you don't usually associate with either Pyro or Lindberg. I would call it one of the undiscovered jewels in the scale hot rodding world.  I mean, how many have you ever seen built?

Edited June 11, 2020 by alan barton

[Casey]

On 6/11/2020 at 4:37 AM, alan barton said:

This really is a wonderful model and could be built box stock with outstanding results. It is a quality that you don't usually associate with either Pyro or Lindberg. I would call it one of the undiscovered jewels in the scale hot rodding world.  I mean, how many have you ever seen built?

I was impressed when I bought a '70s vintage Lindberg Bull T a few years ago. The kit is a parts goldmine for any 1/16 scale '60s era hot rod project, and the SBC is surprisingly well done.

The wheels were a disappointment to me, with ejector pin marks all over then, in all the worst possible places, but 1/16 scale 'mag' wheels aren't difficult to source, so not a major issue.

Looking forward to seeing how this one finishes out, Alan.

[crossfire 2004]

Great work Alan, you’re correct that kit has potential, here’s my Bull Horn.

[Dave Van]

You are making that kit look good!!!!! I have all the original kits.....yet to try one!!! 

[alan barton]

Do it Dave, they are a very easy to build kit.  A little patience in assembling the multi piece body and frame and the rest will assemble itself! It was my choice to change the steering and seat but it isn't necessary to produce a terrific model.

And Stuart, it is amazing how few changes you made to produce a totally different model.  As kids, we were going to use the huge slicks and two front wheels from a Revell chopper trike kit - would ahve been totally different again!

Cheers

Alan

[Gary Davis]

This is really looking good Alan. I also have that kit and want to use a lot of the parts to build a late 60's super modified. You're inspiring me for sure....

[Greg Myers]

Great kit, can't wait to see yours finished Alan