fendered shorty 32 RPU

[Mr. Metallic]

Yes, another project on my bench. Gotta strike while the inspiration is hot, right?

Lately I've been getting some stuff from Texas 3D Customs. Beautifully rendered and printed 3D items. When the Pines Winterfront grill hit my mailbox my wheels immediately started turning. I wanted to build a 32 to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the Deuce. I have been wanting to build one of Drag City Casting's 32 roadster pickup bodies on a set of fenders for years now. Combine these three factors and you get this...

Here you can see the Texas 3D Custom flattie dropped between the rails. I pinned the headers to the block. It's a tight squeeze between the rails, but it fits. You can also see I shortened the bed from a Revell 29 Ford pickup (shorty). This frame/fender set is a piece I have sitting on my bench at all times just to drop bodies on and throw wheels under (that's how much I love 32 Fords, who else does that?) Once I get another set of fenders I'm going to try my hand at bobbing them in the rear.

Wanted to use the sweet quick change rear end from Maple Leaf Modelworks under the rear since it will be visible with that short bed back there. Chris does make a set specifically for the Revell 32 frame, but when I placed my order he didn't have those yet, so I'm adapting the first set he created for the 32 frame in Revells new Model A kits (which are slightly narrower in the rear area). He did a great job designing this because you can friction fit it together for mockup purposes and it doesn't come apart. I set about removing the rear floor and gas tank, while taking care to leave stub portions of the kit molded in crossmember for the new spring crossmember to marry with. You can see I marked just outboard of the molded in shock mounts.

After removing the floor I was ready to see how the new crossmember fit. Like a glove.

@Texas_3D_Customs @Spex84 @krassandbernie

Edited December 16, 2022 by Mr. Metallic

[SpikeSchumacher]

Looks good Craig, will be watching this one ?

Cheers

[Joe Nunes]

I like the shorty box idea!  Will be watching to see how this evolves. Nice start!  ?

Joe

[Kiwi_Bloke]

I too will be following this with great interest, I have the Drag City body and will soon have a couple of choices for donor kits. I will either use the '32 5 window kit or the '32 roadster kit (both from Revell) I will see which fits best and go from there.

 

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

Looking forward to seeing more now that you have some more fenders? -RRR

[Mr. Metallic]

On 12/17/2022 at 4:23 PM, Kiwi_Bloke said:

I too will be following this with great interest, I have the Drag City body and will soon have a couple of choices for donor kits. I will either use the '32 5 window kit or the '32 roadster kit (both from Revell) I will see which fits best and go from there.

 

It's designed to fit the 1997 tool roadster kit. All you need to do to fit the interior is trim the mounting tab off the back of the interior. This is my first attempt at adapting the new tooled roadster interior, but so far it looks to only require a small trim of the upper corner of the side panels. The unfortunate part about the new roadster interior is there is no back panel, so if you want to run buckets you have to scratchbuild one.

[Mr. Metallic]

1 hour ago, Rocking Rodney Rat said:

Looking forward to seeing more now that you have some more fenders? -RRR

Thanks again. I'm already working on bobbing a set. After a busy weekend working on the house i hope to get back to this soon.

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

6 hours ago, Mr. Metallic said:

The unfortunate part about the new roadster interior is there is no back panel, so if you want to run buckets you have to scratchbuild one.

Have you tried a 3W or 5W floorpan (with integrated rear panel)?

[Kiwi_Bloke]

16 hours ago, Mr. Metallic said:

It's designed to fit the 1997 tool roadster kit. All you need to do to fit the interior is trim the mounting tab off the back of the interior. This is my first attempt at adapting the new tooled roadster interior, but so far it looks to only require a small trim of the upper corner of the side panels. The unfortunate part about the new roadster interior is there is no back panel, so if you want to run buckets you have to scratchbuild one.

According to the images in this post (on page 5) there is a lot of extra parts from the original kit and it seems to include the back panel? I will know on Sunday, it sounds like Santa will bring me the kit.

 

 

[Mr. Metallic]

5 hours ago, Kiwi_Bloke said:

According to the images in this post (on page 5) there is a lot of extra parts from the original kit and it seems to include the back panel? I will know on Sunday, it sounds like Santa will bring me the kit.

 

 

The back panel that is included is the one for the Rat Roaster, with it's inset diamond tuft upholstery and stamped circles in the sheetmetal. Not that it couldn't be modified to work with the new interior side panels, just saying.

[Mr. Metallic]

15 hours ago, Rocking Rodney Rat said:

Have you tried a 3W or 5W floorpan (with integrated rear panel)?

I don't have an issue with the missing back panel since I'll be using the bench seat. Just trying to help Stewart with his build since I have insider knowledge pertaining to that RPU body ?

[Kiwi_Bloke]

On 12/22/2022 at 3:03 AM, Mr. Metallic said:

I don't have an issue with the missing back panel since I'll be using the bench seat. Just trying to help Stewart with his build since I have insider knowledge pertaining to that RPU body ?

Now that I have my roadster kit I can see the issues with the interior. I will use the bench seat set up with the Pickup body and the Rat Roadster interior to build up the roadster. I just need to look at options for a more traditional suspension/drivetrain option.

 

 

 

[Mr. Metallic]

On 12/25/2022 at 8:30 PM, Kiwi_Bloke said:

Now that I have my roadster kit I can see the issues with the interior. I will use the bench seat set up with the Pickup body and the Rat Roadster interior to build up the roadster. I just need to look at options for a more traditional suspension/drivetrain option.

 

 

 

Chris from Maple Leaf Modelworks has designed a great quick change package that is designed specifically for the Revell 32 Ford series. It's so well done the parts friction fit together for mockups. He also makes one for the Revell model A series as well. He has tons of cool hot rod engine parts as well. I'm using the QC rear on this project. need to snap some pics.

[Kiwi_Bloke]

Pics would be great, I have looked at his stuff, but would like to see it on a finished model. Being down the bottom of the world, the shipping is typically twice the price of the part. I am still looking at Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland as they seem to have the Friction shocks etc that I would like to have, but realistically I can probably buy a complete kit with the setup I am looking for at about the same price.

 

[Chevy II]

Need to follow this build. 

[Mr. Metallic]

I guess I never posted these pics before the holidays. I was hoping to get some bench time between the holidays on my time off but it didn't work out that way. Anyway, here is where this one stands right now.

I cut out a bit of the bed floor to allow the bed to sit down where I want it. The rear crossmember is now permanently in place.

And here she is mocked up on all 4's for the first time. With the stance locked in I can start finessing other aspects. You can now see the successfully bobbed rear fenders as well. And I grafted in the cowl from the new roadster so I can use the Duvall windshield. Out of the 2 of those new kits I've bought one windshield was perfect, and the other was warped. If you buy one open it up right away and if you have a warped one get your request in to Revell, they are aware of the issue. I'm going to make mine work by pinning it to the body. Fingers crossed during final assembly.

Here you can see the new motor mounts I scratched up from  evergreen C channel and tubing. Don't mind the gap between the block and the intake, that's me not making sure everything is where it belongs before I snapped the pic. Flatheads can get lost in a 32 engine bay, especially with fenders, so I want the engine sitting up high.

The new motor mounts necessitated small notches in the lower edge of the fender so it sits flush on the frame. And now you can see the effect of mounting the engine higher up.

[slusher]

Really looking good, nice work!

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

Nice work going on here. Looking forward to seeing more.... -RRR

[Dave Darby]

Looking good Craig! 

[Mr. Metallic]

Forced myself back to the bench after nearly 3 months of inactivity. Still lots of ideas stuck in my head, but need to get the juices flowing again. Took me a little while to figure out where I left off and what I still needed to do. I fitted suspension arms and brakes for the front and rear and made a up a simple exhaust. I think I'm ready to start prepping parts for paint.

[tim boyd]

On 3/20/2023 at 7:37 AM, Mr. Metallic said:

Forced myself back to the bench after nearly 3 months of inactivity. Still lots of ideas stuck in my head, but need to get the juices flowing again. Took me a little while to figure out where I left off and what I still needed to do. I fitted suspension arms and brakes for the front and rear and made a up a simple exhaust. I think I'm ready to start prepping parts for paint.

Craig....I also will be watching thsi one.  I am also planning a '32 using the drag city casting body and the new '32 Highboy Roadster (ex Rat Roaster) kit.  Mine will probably be Y-Block powered. 

BTW, how do I order parts from Maple Leaf Modelworks?   Thanks...TIM 

[Mr. Metallic]

4 hours ago, tim boyd said:

 

BTW, how do I order parts from Maple Leaf Modelworks?   Thanks...TIM 

Maple Leaf is a storefront on Shapeways. Not sure if you've used Shapeways before, but simply add items from any storefront into your cart and then you pay for it all at once and it ships together as well.

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/maple-leaf-modelworks

[tim boyd]

2 hours ago, Mr. Metallic said:

Maple Leaf is a storefront on Shapeways. Not sure if you've used Shapeways before, but simply add items from any storefront into your cart and then you pay for it all at once and it ships together as well.

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/maple-leaf-modelworks

Thanks Craig....much appreciated.   TB 

[Spex84]

On 3/22/2023 at 1:00 PM, Mr. Metallic said:

Maple Leaf is a storefront on Shapeways.

Thanks for the promotion, Craig!
Side note: Shapeways recently added a new Grey Detail Plastic that I haven't tried but am very curious about. It is slightly cheaper than the other detail plastics so I was able to knock a couple bucks off each item when customers order parts in grey!

Edit: and I forgot to compliment your RPU build, which is why I was here in the first place, haha. It's looking good! The undercarriage is looking well sorted, all the fiddly engineering looks taken care of.

Edited March 25, 2023 by Spex84