alan barton Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Looks like I'm making things happen! Lots of sawing, filing and sanding going on so I am doing other projects in between while various parts set up. After stripping the paint, I had to laminate a very thin piece of styrene across the front of the splash apron to repair an ancient break through the middle. I then wanted to get a solid floor in place because that ancient Bandai dark blue plastic was pretty floppy, yet brittle at the same time! I found this rectangular panel with raised lines across it. I consider myself fairly good at identifying oddball parts but I have no idea where this one came from. Was it a door, a floor panel, who knows? Anyhow, I taped it to the top surface of the splash aprons and then used a black fine marker to indicate the cut lines. used a razor saw to cut it and with a little bit of filing and sanding I had a fairly good fit. I also cut out the transmission clearance needed at the front - this may need extra trimming later on but we will see. I also put a thin strip of Evergreen across the front of the bed rails to give a definite rearward location for the cab. Now I must be a glutton for punishment but you can see here the very abbreviated remains of a Blue Beetle chassis from my childhood building years. For some strange reason, I seem to be short a few Monogram A bone chassis compared with the number of bodies I have. Can't think why that would be but as I always say, waste not want not! And anyway, the back of the chassis needed a Z and needed to be extended to tidy up the rear aspect so i would only have had to cut off the bit that is missing anyway! Not sure how the repair on the front frame horns is going to go, as it looks pretty sketchy at the moment. I cut six pieces of Evergreen rectangular section to extend the chassis. Two new rails to go under the bed, two "Z" sections to join up to the Blue Beetle parts, a rear crossmember to join up the existing bed rails and another piece on the flat, located on the axle centreline to provide a mounting crossmember for the Jag rear end. Time for bed now - we'll see what I've got in the morning! Cheers Alan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 Before I went to throw an initial primer coat on, I realised that the rear fenders had tapered inside edges, perhaps to aid in ejection from the mould? Who knows, it did not have that nice fat, squared off look of a stock Model A so I needed to do something about it. I was going to just glue some bits of styrene scrap on to build up the edges but I have at least six spare AMT Model A fender units so I sacrificed one to cut the corners off to correct the Bandai fenders. Don't worry, I think what is left will make a nice set of bobbed fenders for an early sixties style hiboy in a fender law state. Note that I used the outside edge of a left fender to fix the inner edge of the right hand fender, and vice versa. IT gives a nicely finished edge that will only need a smear of putty to finish. The first primer coat revealed a few issues. There is a lot of glue damage around the lower surfaces of the front end of the side valance panels. The extra crossmember I added to support the front edge of the bed is on the wonk and there is a bit of the fender bead missing off the top edge of the right hand rear fender. On the other hand, my initial attempts to smooth off the inaccurate and damaged running board has come out great and will only need a little more effort to be ready for paint. Obviously some more puttying and sanding to go but, hey, that's hot rodding for you. Best of all, the extended cab now has somewhere nice to sit without actually having to lengthen i the fender unit. And that, my friends, is a good thing.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) Not a lot of progress today but we do now have front engine mounts - simple triangles of styrene glued to the Model frame. I am going to set the V6 right back in the firewall to improve weight distribution. I also dug out my "Billet Wheels" box for about the first time in 25 years and started looking at wheel and tyre combinations. Some are absolutely perfect for the period but I'm sorry guys, I just can't do it! Two and three spoke - no thanks! I am old school enough to feel you need at least five spokes on a hot rod. (I did find some four spoke fans but they were too ugly to photograph!) I was surprised to see that three of the fan design wheels had the spokes correctly aligned in opposite directions. Tyres look like being Monogram Goodyear radials on the rear , the smaller diameter. It looks like I am all out of the larger diameter, my favourite rear tyre, but for the era I think the slightly smaller ones will do and they will contribute to a flatter rake. Fronts are Michelin TRX, a good choice for a skinny, short radial, again, correct for the era. I think I know which wheel I'm going to use but would be keen to hear your opinions. The last set have already been used by others in this thread but I thought I would chuck them in for comparison sake. Cheers Alan Edited March 7, 2021 by alan barton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullybeef Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 @alan barton My vote would be for either of those 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Lacy Posted March 8, 2021 Author Share Posted March 8, 2021 Good progress @alan barton I had never given any thought to the inside edges of the rear Monogram fenders having that angle cut but it looks a lot better with them corrected. Neat approach to the floor, too! My wheel vote is Picture 4, the set on the LEFT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Thanks Dennis, me either! It sure makes a difference and I will be looking out for it in future. Not sure why it took nearly fifty years for those fenders to catch my attention but I can't unsee it now.! Bullybeef came really close by picking the right wheels photo, you nailed it, that is the set I popped under the fenders just before I left for work! I have quite a few sets, not sure why, but only one set of really wide rears - there appears to be three different widths. On some of my spare narrow ones I am going to experiment with some of your techniques for satin finish. I'm really a shiny guy but this is the billet era after all - we will see! Next step will be to get some axles under this puppy! Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Lacy Posted March 8, 2021 Author Share Posted March 8, 2021 UPDATE! As of today I have all of the detail painting for the interior finished and even glued some sub-assemblies together. The lighter gray is simply Tamiya's fine gray primer while the darker is Tamiya's "Haze Gray". I wanted the steering wheel grip, hand brake lever handle and shift handle to look like pink leather so I sprayed them with the same Tamiya Pink followed with their flat clear. I mocked a few things together into the cab to get a look at how it will all come together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Like it a lot - spot on for the eighties! Wow, you got a neat colour break on those seats. I'm going to use them as well, at least at this stage, and with my extended cab I may not need to stand them up - we'll see. I will be using the T door panels as I have used them before and know they work well with Model As. Plus I have a fret of photo etch instrument panels and tail lights that I have never used until now. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Lacy Posted March 8, 2021 Author Share Posted March 8, 2021 2 minutes ago, alan barton said: Like it a lot - spot on for the eighties! Wow, you got a neat colour break on those seats. I'm going to use them as well, at least at this stage, and with my extended cab I may not need to stand them up - we'll see. I will be using the T door panels as I have used them before and know they work well with Model As. Plus I have a fret of photo etch instrument panels and tail lights that I have never used until now. Cheers Alan Thanks! I am so sick of masking. I had to do it so many times to get all these color. Like the cab. Had to mask the WHOLE inside, spray the outside. Mask the WHOLE outside, spray the underside flat black. Mask everything but the inside floor, spray that the darker gray. I'm over it! LOL With your extended cab you should have plenty of room for the seats as they come. Reworking them was a bit of a pain in the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam I Am Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 I now have Miami Vice theme music going through my head. Thanks...I think. 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Lacy Posted March 8, 2021 Author Share Posted March 8, 2021 31 minutes ago, Sam I Am said: I now have Miami Vice theme music going through my head. Thanks...I think. 😄 You’re welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam I Am Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 7 minutes ago, Dennis Lacy said: You’re welcome! I graduated in '85, so I am definitely a product of the '80's. 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Karson Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 @alan barton I am sitting on my hands waiting to see how your '29A Closed Cab Pickup comes together! Here sits my '29A Closed Cab Pickup... Going to take a break to build a paint booth... -KK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plowboy Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 22 hours ago, alan barton said: On some of my spare narrow ones I am going to experiment with some of your techniques for satin finish. I'm really a shiny guy but this is the billet era after all - we will see! Something I'm going to try soon on a set of chrome wheels is shooting them with Tamiya Satin Clear. I think it'll have a good effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Lacy Posted March 9, 2021 Author Share Posted March 9, 2021 On 3/7/2021 at 10:49 PM, Sam I Am said: I graduated in '85, so I am definitely a product of the '80's. 😄 I was 5 in ‘85 so I was there, too! I loved watching Miami Vice with my mom for the cars. I still have and listen to the soundtrack. 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Lacy Posted March 9, 2021 Author Share Posted March 9, 2021 14 hours ago, Plowboy said: Something I'm going to try soon on a set of chrome wheels is shooting them with Tamiya Satin Clear. I think it'll have a good effect. That works good. I stripped and painted my wheels because the plating was a little thin in spots and I didn’t want orange showing. Doesn’t really go with pink and purple! 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 13 hours ago, Dennis Lacy said: I was 5 in ‘85 so I was there, too! I loved watching Miami Vice with my mom for the cars. I still have and listen to the soundtrack. 😁 I was 20 in 85 and loved Miami Vice and Airwolf. I am stuck in the 70’s and 80’s music but loved the 80’s. I am always watching your builds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Karson Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 Both @Dennis Lacy & @Rocking Rodney Rat mounted Vette IRS under their '29A PUs... Here's a piece of modeling history MPC '28 RPU Directions Vette IRS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 That's interesting! Never had an MPC issue of that kit, only AMT. I've never seen those hairpins before either. Thanks for posting them. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim boyd Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) 13 hours ago, Kit Karson said: Both @Dennis Lacy & @Rocking Rodney Rat mounted Vette IRS under their '29A PUs... Here's a piece of modeling history MPC '28 RPU Directions Vette IRS I built that kit around 1982 or so....the kit in that version was issued only once, circa 1978/79.. For those that love SBCs in Ford hot rods, this kit had once of the nicest ones ever....and as noted above, the Corvette IRS was sharp, too. The front suspension was severely compromised in that it used the stock, non-dropped axle which dated all the way back to the original AMT (manufactured by MPC) 1928 Model A Tudor kit. I thought I had photos of the build in my Fotki album to share here, but no. Add that to the to-do list. In the meantime, I did find this photo, of the same kit Vette IRS, kitbashed with a faux quick change rear cover and added holes in the control arms, in my build of the original aforementioned 1928 Tudor kit in a kitbashed street rod form... ////TIM Edited March 12, 2021 by tim boyd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullysCustomModelParts Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 (edited) I just got the drawing done for my '29. I should be joining you guys soon with yesterdays swapmeet find pickup. Edited March 15, 2021 by BullysCustomModelParts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocking Rodney Rat Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 7 hours ago, BullysCustomModelParts said: I just got the drawing done for my '29. I should be joining you guys soon with yesterdays swapmeet find pickup. Bring it on!!! This thread keeps getting better every day.... -RRR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 (edited) You made out like a bandit yesterday, Jackson! Give me a call if you need hood parts, radiators, etc. My project is coming along but nothing photo worthy yet. Had a few distractions last week and I'm working away this week so hope to have something to post next weekend. Cheers Alan Edited March 15, 2021 by alan barton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Lacy Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 @BullysCustomModelParts Love the rendering! Can’t wait to see the model come together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kit Karson Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 (edited) Go to headers of choice come from the Matt & Debbie Hay's T-Bird Revell Pro Street Thunderbird - Kit 7440 59-60 Header (L&R) Inner & Outer & 63-64 Valve Cover (s) Comparing the headers from the Matt & Debbie Hay's T-Bird with the Revell '32 Ford 3-Window Coupe headers, the 4-tube T-Bird headers are shorter and deeper. From the parts box a two-four manifold plate and a couple of carbs seem to be the best ticket for an intake other than EFI. The mystery carbs are tagged with part #39... any ideas of their source? Looking at options for the Air Cleaners... came up with three choices @Dennis Lacy picked the triangles over the old style cans Opted for the Matt Hay's T-Bird Distributor Test fitting the intake and fan belt... looks good! What do you think? Time to white glue the headers to the heads... Noticed that the headers needed a little clearance help... Checking the overall fit of the headers looks pretty close... From ever angle... Even from the top... And, the other side, too! Last look... with the fenders! '29 Donor List of Parts used for Adding the Intake and Headers Revell '29 Ford Pickup Kit 2085 Custom Rod 3'n1headers Parts #: 46 Radiator 51 Fenders 83 Radiator Shell 95 Cab Revell '29 Ford Roadster Kit 4322 Model A Roadster 2'n1 Parts #: 57 High Boy Firewall 77 Fame/Chassis Revell Dan Fink's '32 Ford Speedwagon Kit 85-7606 Parts #: 52-53 Engine Block Halves 55 Engine Oil Pan 61 Engine Water Pump Cover 65 Cylinder Head (2) 68 Fan Belt Revell Pro Street Thunderbird Kit 7440 Matt and Debbie Hay's Parts #: 59-60 Header (L&R) Inner & Outer 63-64 Valve Cover (s) 75 Distributor Revell '27 Touring Kit 7144 Street Rod Parts #: 12 Bellhousing Revell '30 Ford Woody Kit 2064 Street Rod 2'N1 Parts #: 81 Radiator Custom Edited March 23, 2021 by Kit Karson delete a picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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