‘27 T Touring Hot Rod

[OldNYJim]

My wife and I moved from New York to Indiana just over a month ago, and I got a nice new workshop set-up and have been dying to get into some projects.  I’ve got a couple of builds in-progress that are ALMOST ready for assembly but both needed some touch ups on the paint (one from a little damage incurred when we moved and the other through me using some paint I wasn’t familiar with and not doing as nice of a job as I was happy with).

So, almost reluctantly, rather than sit at the bench wondering waiting for paint to dry, I pulled out this AMT T kit that I’ve been thinking about building for a few weeks now:

I got really inspired by a build by @tim boyd that I think I saw in one of the mags, and then rediscovered on his Fotki page recently - I won’t post his picture without permission, but you can see it here:

https://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyds-124th--12/boyd-street-rods-ra/boyd-phaetontouring/dsc0089.html

As Tim notes in his comments about this build, it represents an early 60s style hotrod with the stock T engine augmented with some fancy bolt-on speed parts - and I really like how the kit looks right as he’s built it there.  Now, this issue of the kit doesn’t contain the cool front end setup that he’s used, those motorcycle front wheels or those quad headlamps, but I’ll still be able to make something inspired by his build a little at least without straying too far from what’s in the box.

I’ve also been checking out a lot of Indian Larry motorcycle builds lately, having seen one of his bikes in Brooklyn in the summer, and I really like this trick that he would do to have a flamed paintjob with the flames moving vertically instead of horizontally...kinda different and cool, so I might try and incorporate a little of that style into the paintjob here:

Nothing quite as wild as this particular bike, but maybe something a little different anyway.  

I usually like to do a quick mock-up before I start getting into a new build, but right away I can tell you I won’t be using these tires:

A quick look through the parts box for something nicer that I can use without too much fuss - these are a nicer option I think;

Not sure where the fronts came from, but I guess the rears are from one of the Round 2 reissues (50 Ford maybe?)

And, that issue resolved, a quick mock-up:

I made a conscious decision lately to try and build some of these kits that interest me box stock, or close to it, as best I can before starting to mess with every little thing too much, so I’m going to kind of go with what AMT intended for the most part with this one (although I’ve already got plans for a couple more)...as usual though, I can’t leave well enough alone so we’ll see how that goes

Just starting to prep some parts and start digging into this a little - excited to start laying some paint on this thing!  More soon!

Edited September 27, 2020 by CabDriver

[cobraman]

Those tires are a much better pick.I never liked those ones in the first pic.

[THarrison351]

7 hours ago, CabDriver said:

 

I remember watching an episode of something on cable TV where Indian Larry twisted the iron for the front springer on this bike. It was incredible!

[OldNYJim]

16 minutes ago, THarrison351 said:

I remember watching an episode of something on cable TV where Indian Larry twisted the iron for the front springer on this bike. It was incredible!

That bike still looks about the same today - tonnes of cool little details and stuff to notice!  

4 hours ago, cobraman said:

Those tires are a much better pick.I never liked those ones in the first pic.

Me either - I’d be only slightly more inclined to use them if they were almost completely hidden from view under some big swooping fenders, but even then I still wouldn’t like them much ?

Tiny update today - got the body smoothed out and ready for some primer...been having the worst luck with Rusto primer lately so I decanted yet another clogged can so I could airbrush it.  I can’t figure out how this stuff is like water and SUPER thin yet the cans still manage to clog.

Regardless, got a first coat of primer down - I’m excited to get some color on this thing this week! ?

[randyc]

Can't wait to see this one.   I'm liking these old style builds more and more.   

[bamadon]

I've enjoyed your builds so far and I'm looking forward to this one.

[OldNYJim]

Thanks fellas!

Got some paint on the body - first up, Wicked Colors pearl white:

Then, after a coat of clear to protect the base color, I designed some vertical flames:

Then cut and applied masks:

Then a coat of candy yellow:

Then, some candy orange:

And then peel back the masks and hope ?

Came out pretty cool I think - something a little different!

I’ll do a little clean-up with thinners once the paint has set up a little bit here and then bury it all in some clear.

More soon!

[misterNNL]

On 9/27/2020 at 10:53 PM, THarrison351 said:

I remember watching an episode of something on cable TV where Indian Larry twisted the iron for the front springer on this bike. It was incredible!

You can recreate that twisted rod look. I have square aluminum wire I got at Hobby Lobby. I cut it to length ,fasten one end in my small vise then twist it slowly until I get the look I need.

[OldNYJim]

1 hour ago, misterNNL said:

You can recreate that twisted rod look. I have square aluminum wire I got at Hobby Lobby. I cut it to length ,fasten one end in my small vise then twist it slowly until I get the look I need.

Ohh, I never knew they sold such a thing - I’ll check that out!  Do you know who makes it?  Is it a jewelry-section thing?  It would be cool for spreader bars maybe on the front and rear of a frame!

Tiny update - cleaned up the flames, shot some clear!  Can’t wait to see it in the daylight - the pearl white especially looks really sparkly under some gloss!  More progress tomorrow hopefully!

Edited September 30, 2020 by CabDriver

[misterNNL]

I have two sizes in my stock. One is .02" square and the other is .04". Since wire is measured in gauges I don't know what that digital size equals. This can be found in the jewelry section at Hobby Lobby along with all their other wire inventory. I have use this for a foot peg and pedal cranks on a scratch built 1/25 scale lowrider bicycle that is shown in the latest Scale Auto contest issue. I also used it last week to make scale lightning rods for a doll house replica of the 1895 Farm house my wife grew up in..The packages a HL are marked Parawire  made by Natural Bras co. I hope this helps.

[slusher]

Very nice Jim!

[OldNYJim]

7 hours ago, misterNNL said:

I have two sizes in my stock. One is .02" square and the other is .04". Since wire is measured in gauges I don't know what that digital size equals. This can be found in the jewelry section at Hobby Lobby along with all their other wire inventory. I have use this for a foot peg and pedal cranks on a scratch built 1/25 scale lowrider bicycle that is shown in the latest Scale Auto contest issue. I also used it last week to make scale lightning rods for a doll house replica of the 1895 Farm house my wife grew up in..The packages a HL are marked Parawire  made by Natural Bras co. I hope this helps.

Thanks buddy!  I’ll check that out next time I visit the HL by us - always pleased to find some interesting supplies to pick up!

38 minutes ago, slusher said:

Very nice Jim!

Thanks buddy!

A little update, as I’m replying anyway...

Shot the frame and the dash in matching pearl white;

And shot a bunch of the ‘metal’ parts:

Lately, I’ve been enjoying using Duplicolor silver as a base - as you can see from the block above it gives a decent bright aluminum shade right out of the can, but you can give it a light mist of something like Vallejo steel and give a polished metal look in the flavor of your choice.  For example, I wanted a polished steel kind of look for the pan;

And a variation on that for the rear axle assembly:

I’ve used some washes of watercolor ink to bring out the detail in these parts a little, but the combination of the two paints gives a decent realistic bare-metal type of finish I think.  I’ll add a very light dry-brush of silver to both of these before I’m done, but I’m pleased with the general effect.  I’m going for a “real old but cared for” kind of finish to the metal parts - a little natural ageing in terms of color but without a bunch of gunk and rust and stuff on them.

Meanwhile, I read a thread on one of the Model T sites about a guy who’s making aluminum blocks for 1:1 Ts, and I thought that would be a cool thing to replicate, so I’ll be using the Rustoleum silver to give a shiny-but-not-chrome-y finish to the block on this one - with a darker steel tone for the trans:

Still some parts to pick out on this, obviously, with some different colors but more on that tomorrow!

[NOBLNG]

Outstanding work as always! Lookin’ fine.

[tim boyd]

On 9/27/2020 at 3:32 PM, CabDriver said:

I got really inspired by a build by @tim boyd that I think I saw in one of the mags, and then rediscovered on his Fotki page recently - I won’t post his picture without permission, but you can see it here:

https://public.fotki.com/funman1712/tim-boyds-124th--12/boyd-street-rods-ra/boyd-phaetontouring/dsc0089.html
 

 

Jim....been following your build but did not notice your comment copied above.  Thanks for asking permission; you are welcome to post any pictures you like that you find on my Fotki pages.   

Excellent progress so far, and very much looking forward to seeing how your project progresses....TIM 

[espo]

Great looking flams, I like the whole 4 banger engine idea.  

[OldNYJim]

On 10/1/2020 at 8:01 AM, tim boyd said:

Jim....been following your build but did not notice your comment copied above.  Thanks for asking permission; you are welcome to post any pictures you like that you find on my Fotki pages.   

Excellent progress so far, and very much looking forward to seeing how your project progresses....TIM 

Thank you sir, I appreciate you letting me post back to your build here.  I forget where I first saw this one (Scale Auto, most likely?) but it definitely stuck in my consciousness I think - as soon as I picked this kit up I knew I wanted to do something loosely similar to yours!

On 10/1/2020 at 10:12 AM, espo said:

Great looking flams, I like the whole 4 banger engine idea.  

Thanks buddy!  Believe me, it took a lot of restraint to stick with the 4-banger...I really wanted to do something with a cool vintage Hemi in, but then you need to build a frame, and an interior and the everything-else...saving that idea for another build later on.  This hopped-up T mill is pretty cool though, and you don’t really get to use a T engine in much aside from a T...

Whenever I do a couple of complex builds I feel like doing something box-stock (or close...) - and then when I do a box stock build I think “man, this is a lot of just prepping parts and priming parts and painting parts” ?.  I feel like all that I’ve done for the last few days is sand, prep, prime, repeat.  Got almost everything in paint now though - including a bunch of parts today:

More work to come on those shortly...

Got five coats of lacquer on the body - I have been using Testors enamel clear lately but with this being a white car that wasn’t going to work...pretty happy with the shine of the lacquer anyway (not that it’s very obvious over that pearl white paint)

And another small deviation from kit was to make a smooth firewall like Tim’s build that inspired this one...

I’m not sure if my kit was missing this part, or it was on the sprue with the other cool parts I’m missing compared this this earlier version...but nothing a little styrene sheet couldn’t overcome;

More soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Edited October 3, 2020 by CabDriver

[alan barton]

Now look what you've done!  You've got me digging through Model T boxes and yep, looks like I have enough fresh parts to build something very similar.  I much prefer the Revell touring body for a stock bodied street rod look, but for a nostalgic kit history flashback, you can't beat this!  And, it could be pretty quick to do, like you said, just sand prime, sand repeat!

Every time I see your flame jobs it blows me away how sharp and precise you get the outlines.  Are these stencils handcut or do you use a some sort of computerised cutter? Either way they look awesome.  I think Von Dutch did vertical flames once but other than that, you never see them.  A subject like this is just wacky enough to make it work!

Looking forward to the next update!

Cheers

Alan

[OldNYJim]

5 minutes ago, alan barton said:

Now look what you've done!  You've got me digging through Model T boxes and yep, looks like I have enough fresh parts to build something very similar.  I much prefer the Revell touring body for a stock bodied street rod look, but for a nostalgic kit history flashback, you can't beat this!  And, it could be pretty quick to do, like you said, just sand prime, sand repeat!

 

Do it!!  I’d love to see another of these built!  It’s like Hot Rod Chinese Whispers - @tim boyd starts us off, then I do my take and then you do one and before you know it @Dennis Lacy is building one too, each a little different to the last ??

7 minutes ago, alan barton said:

Every time I see your flame jobs it blows me away how sharp and precise you get the outlines.  Are these stencils handcut or do you use a some sort of computerised cutter? Either way they look awesome.  I think Von Dutch did vertical flames once but other than that, you never see them.  A subject like this is just wacky enough to make it work!

I’m using a Silhouette Portrait scrapbook cutter to cut Oramask 813 masking film - but nothing to stop you doing it by hand either!  I wish I was good enough to consistently get what I want with a pencil, but a computer helps me at least make things symmetrical and repeatable easily...thanks for the kind words Alan!

[Spottedlaurel]

This one's coming together very nicely.

Very unlikely I'll ever build something like this myself, I just don't have the parts inventory or knowledge, but it's always a pleasure to read one of your WIP threads and read the contributions and input from others. Always some hints and tips to take away as well.

[alan barton]

Well, you've done it now.  I had two projects on the bench that I wanted to make major headway on tonight but instead, first, I went and looked at Tim's Fotki site again and then I went to Drastic Plastic to check the instruction sheet for a parts audit. As I looked deeper into my parts boxes I found more and more parts and then it dawned on me - I have already built the XR6 and that is the other half of the double kit to this one - therefore I must have all the parts!

So far the only parts that haven't turned up are the headlights ( they are already off the sprue but I know I have them) the custom dash, plus the timing cover and the headers for the Fronty.  I'm pretty confident now that I will have all these parts - just haven't looked in the right boxes yet.

I'm going to use the AMT parts pack slicks with the white/red/whitewall.  I think this will be period correct because this kit came out around 1964 and the Munsters TV show can't have been far behind - and Grandpa's Dragula had these slicks in real life so that sealed the deal for me. I am fitting them to the chromed reverse rims in the latest 1925 T c-cab release - they are a tight fit but look great.  Haven't had time to think about a colour yet but it will be light - not pearl white and not light green! No point re-inventing the wheel, eh?  Maybe a pearl yellow with white trim or a coppery gold.  I think I need to sleep on it. Might also run a half tarp over the back seats. I will  be removing the original exhaust from the frame.  I don't know if you know it but the original kit came with two simple notched crossmembers that are fitted to the frame to support the interior tub seeing as how the fender unit has been deleted.

I hold you entirely to blame Jim! And Tim is your accomplice!

Cheers

Alan

[tim boyd]

1 hour ago, alan barton said:

. Might also run a half tarp over the back seats. 

I hold you entirely to blame Jim! And Tim is your accomplice!

Cheers

Alan

Alan....I plead guilty as charged for my part in this.... 

Also, like the idea of a half-tarp over the rear seat....I did this on one of my other T-Tub builds.....with the leather source being some of my Mom's 1960's leather gloves.....

And Jim, hope you don't mind the temporary deviation from your build stream....obviously I am a willing accomplice in getting any of you to build your own '27 T-Tubs in whatever style you deem cool!  

TIM

 

[Dennis Lacy]

15 hours ago, CabDriver said:

Do it!!  I’d love to see another of these built!  It’s like Hot Rod Chinese Whispers - @tim boyd starts us off, then I do my take and then you do one and before you know it @Dennis Lacy is building one too, each a little different to the last...

After reading this I went straight to eBay to see if there were any reasonably priced. ? No dice at the moment but I’ll keep my eyes peeled. I’ve actually never owned an issue of this kit! Guess I better get with it. ?

[OldNYJim]

On 10/3/2020 at 8:23 AM, alan barton said:

I don't know if you know it but the original kit came with two simple notched crossmembers that are fitted to the frame to support the interior tub seeing as how the fender unit has been deleted.

I hold you entirely to blame Jim! And Tim is your accomplice!

 

I didn’t know that!  I’ve been wondering what actually locates the body/tub to the frame - is there any chance of a picture of those when you get a moment Alan?  

And yes, I too plead guilty as charged ?

 

On 10/3/2020 at 9:39 AM, tim boyd said:

And Jim, hope you don't mind the temporary deviation from your build stream....obviously I am a willing accomplice in getting any of you to build your own '27 T-Tubs in whatever style you deem cool!  

 

I LOVE a deviation - that other 27 that you posted is another version I’d like to try for myself!  
 

On 10/3/2020 at 2:13 PM, Dennis Lacy said:

After reading this I went straight to eBay to see if there were any reasonably priced. ? No dice at the moment but I’ll keep my eyes peeled. I’ve actually never owned an issue of this kit! Guess I better get with it. ?

HAHA!  See - the circle of life! ??. Have you got a Hobby Lobby by you, Dennis?  The reissue of this kit will come in at about $18 if you do...the store near me just got a batch of these in stock last week.

[alan barton]

No worries, Jim, I will post them tonight when I get home from work.  So seeing as how there looks like there is going to be a tsunami of fenderless 27 Tubs happening very soon, do you want to run them all on your post almost like a community build or would you prefer we start our own separate posts?  I'm easy either way.

Cheers

Alan

[OldNYJim]

Thanks buddy!  I think you’d definitely get more views with your own thread - people seem to stop looking at mine by the time I get to my third of fourth page of posting too many updates about what tiny little bit of progress I made that week ?

On 10/3/2020 at 2:21 AM, Spottedlaurel said:

This one's coming together very nicely.

Very unlikely I'll ever build something like this myself, I just don't have the parts inventory or knowledge, but it's always a pleasure to read one of your WIP threads and read the contributions and input from others. Always some hints and tips to take away as well.

Thank you sir!

 

Speaking of tiny bits of progress...

De-shone (de-shined?  Un-shinified?) the tires...

Started painting some little interior parts - used the stock steering column and wheel, but I’ll change the shifter for a wire one with one of my little resin skull-heads:

Made some valve stems for the wheels (thin gauge wire dipped in some black paint):

And wired up the engine:

And fitted the carb and a fuel line (not that it’s super visible anyway, with all the silvers and chromes on there...

Got some little touch-ups and further detail painting to do on the engine now that I’ve finished doing those little bits, and now that’s far enough along I can get the frame together!  More soon!

Edited October 5, 2020 by CabDriver