1940's hotrod 1929 Ford Roadster ****UPDATED 7-18-09!****

[Dennis Lacy]

Bernard & Fletch: Thank you both, once again, for some great input on the aftermarket. I'm gonna look into everything. When it comes to tires it still amazes me that with the huge popularity of traditional hot rods in the 1:1 world that no one has tooled up a set of propper 16" Firestone bias-plys cause I'd have me about 20 sets! And Bernard, thanks for the props. on the floor idea. Prior to my 10-year break I nearly finished an AMT '29 hi-boy roadster. It was all painted and major sub-assemblies glued together but I was stumped on the floor and never finished the car. It was also not a very well-planned project so this time around is kind of like personal redemption.

John: Thanks for your generous offer! I know these vintage tires don't grow on trees. One day this week I'll take the tires to work and see how feasable it is. The biggest issue I foresee is making sure the tires don't have any lateral runout so one end of the groove will connect to the other once the tire makes it 360°, haha. I'll PM you if I screw up!

Geezerman and Mike: Thank you very much guys!

Paul: I was wondering when someone was gonna ask about color. I have that all figured out. In the 30's Ford had a very pretty darker blue called Washington Blue. The radiator shell, hood, firewall, body and dash will be as close to this blue as I can find at the hobby store. The chassis and wheels will be shiney black and the wheels will wear hubcaps only for a more aggressive look. The engine will be the stock 30's dark green (I have a can of the correct color) with the heads and intake aluminum and other accessories semi-gloss black. The interior will be dark brown for a vintage vinyl look.

There's not gonna be a whole lot of "flash" as your average hot rodder couldn't afford such luxuries.

Unfortunately I didn't get any work done on this project over the weekend but I hope to in the comming week. I ended up using my available time starting a new project!

[Don Banes]

Dennis, your project is outstanding, and your attention to detail is spot on. Bernard, and a few other posters mentioned aftermarket, resin tires. I can vouch for those produced by Modelhaus and Replica's and Miniatures of Maryland. They're top notch in quality, and a little Tamiya "rubber" lacquer from their TS line of spray paints will do the trick for you . RMoM also offers a couple of sets of early, grooved rear tires, which seem to be what you're looking for.

In any event, we're all watching your progress, and having a ball watching!

[Dennis Lacy]

UPDATE!

I had a busy week last week but I finally found a couple hours Sunday morning so I spent them finishing up the chassis fabrication and set-up on the roadster.

The first thing was to get the new front axle finished which included adding a locating pin in the center of the spring and a “slingshot†steering arm that was made from one of the front a-arms from Revell’s ‘37 Ford kits.

Next, I completed the chassis components by adding shock absorbers and a master cylinder. The shocks come from the Revell model A kits and had to be trimmed down so that they lined up properly with the suspension. I also center-drilled them and inserted a short plastic pin that inserts into corresponding holes I drilled in the sides of the frame rails. I also set up the master cylinder from Revell’s ‘50 Ford pickup in the same manner and it installs in the drivers-side rear of the k-member.

The model A shocks and early Ford master cylinder mocked into place on the frame:

More to come...

[Dennis Lacy]

With the shocks and master cylinder added, the chassis fabrication is now complete and ready to be detailed and prepped for primer - yay! Here’s some final mock-up pictures.

The to-do list is getting smaller! I still need to make a front floorboard and set it up with pedals, shifter, etc. and finish converting the roadster kit radiator for V8 duty. Beyond that it’s just fine tuning the fit and finish then primer when I have some good weather.

Stay tuned!

[MADmodelDOCTOR]

On top of everything else, it is definitely a clean build. Nice goin'.

later,

[Raul_Perez]

The chassis is looking GREAT!!

Thanks for sharing,

[Dennis Lacy]

One of the last major things on the to-do list is to make a front floor board. I scoured my early Ford kits trying to find something I could make work. The floor needed to have a small hump in it to clear the engine / transmission and I finally realized I could use the floor from Revell’s ‘37 pickup. The only problem (and it wasn’t much of one) was that the floor is molded to the rest of the interior panels. So, out came the cutter!

After careful measuring the floor was trimmed to fit into the roadster body.

The finished front floor. The brake and clutch pedals also come from the ‘37 pickup, but I shortened the stalks by half ‘cause to me they stuck up too high. I also had to move the clutch pedal to the right. I drilled a new, shallow locating hole halfway between the original clutch pedal hole and the brake pedal. (Another good thing about this floor section is that it has molded-on detail of the original spoon-shaped accelerator pedal.) I used a round file to relieve the upper drivers side for the steering column and drilled a locating hole for a handbrake handle just to the right of the center hump.

The finished floor set in place inside the ‘29 roadster body:

The finished interior panels posed together. The kick panels had to be trimmed to match the shape and angle of the toe panel.

Another piece I’m considering installing is this hot water heater box from Revell’s ‘50 Ford pickup. It would be mounted to the inside center of the firewall and when the dashboard is in about ½ visible. Might add a nice touch to the interior? Still thinking about it…

I have to double check, but I think all the fab work is done except for the radiator. I’m going to try and get that done this week and get some stuff in primer by the weekend. I will continue to update as parts and assemblies get painted and detailed so stay tuned, lots more to come.

[Dennis Lacy]

UPDATE 4/23/09 - FINALLY!

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this thread because, unfortunately, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to work on this project due to life obligations. Prepping, painting and assembly takes patience and I finally had enough time last week to focus on getting all of the chassis parts in paint without feeling stressed. I took a systematic approach and I’m happy to report all went well - the first time!

My goal with this roadster project has been to build a hot rod representative of a nicely finished, Southern California roadster in the narrow post-war years of 1946 - 1948. While many cars of the time served double-duty as weekday drivers, then were stripped down for dry lakes competition on the weekend, I wanted this roadster to represent a nicely finished, street-only hot rod that would never see the dirt.

I also don’t want to “over build†the car, as is very common with newly constructed, early-style hot rods today. Despite what some people think, not every hot rod ran a quick-change rear axle and a full-race V8. In fact, it was more common to see more “average†cars because the majority of hot rodders could not afford all the fancy equipment. I want this build to represent the more typical hot rod.

CHASSIS

Here is the nearly completed chassis which has been finished nicely, yet basically. The frame and suspension are coated in Tamiya Gloss Black while some of the smaller parts like the lever shocks and master cylinder are done in Semi-Gloss Black. For the tough, no nonsense look the wheels were also done in Gloss Black with big & little black wall Firestone’s. I haven’t decided on what style hub caps to use. The components I used to make the chassis have been detailed in earlier posts.

CONTINUED...

[Dennis Lacy]

ENGINE

The engine was also done to represent a nicely equipped, yet street - friendly version of the Ford Flathead V8 (not overbuilt with good drivability). The engine block / trans, starter, headers and Edelbrock heads are from Revell’s ‘40 Ford kits. The pulley / belt set-up, fan and generator come from Revell’s ‘48 Ford Convertible. The intake manifold started as the 3 carburetor piece also from Revell’s ‘48, but the front carburetor riser was removed converting the manifold into a typical hi-rise, 2-carb “street†manifold. The Stromberg carbs and chrome air cleaners come from the Revell ‘40 kits and the stock oil filler / fuel pump is from Revell’s ‘48. The engine was modestly detailed using correct, early Ford dark green engine paint on the block / trans with the timing cover and oil pan bolts detailed in black. Testors Silver was applied to the heads and intake manifold giving the appearance of cast-aluminum and all of the head and intake bolts are tediously detailed in black. The carbs were finished in Testors Aluminum which bears a close resemblance to the cast pot-metal of the real thing. The bases were done in Gloss Black as the real bases are cast-iron. The oil filler neck was detailed in a combination of Gloss Black and Silver as the tube and cap are steel and the base is cast-aluminum. The fuel pump was finished in Aluminum, again, to represent cast pot-metal. The headers were de-chromed and finished in Testors Flat Black. I have not yet painted the exhaust pipes.

TEASER!

Lastly, here are some teaser pictures of the body shell in place on the chassis. The body work is completed and ready for primer. Notice in the close-up of the engine that the relief in the firewall fit’s the engine perfectly, like it was made for it. Can’t beat that!

MORE TO COME SOON (I hope!)

[Foxer]

This is looking great! ..and true to your build goals for a early rod. I especially like the DUAL carb setup on the flat head.

Following your build has been a pleasure.

Edited April 23, 2009 by Foxer

[Bernard Kron]

Lookin' gorgeously, meticulously realer than real, Dennis! You've nailed the period vibe perfectly! More, more, more... !!!

B.

[noname]

Not raced hu? How about those slicks on the back.

Looking good. This is a fun build to see. Old school rules!

Edited April 23, 2009 by noname

[Dennis Lacy]

It's really flattering that you guys are enjoying this build so much. I have to admit, I am too! I'm very pleased with the way this project is comming together. I've spent hours staring at this chassis and have it in my display case until the body and interior are ready,

Oh, and those aren't slicks. They're just bald tires...

[Dennis Lacy]

UPDATE 7-5-09!

I know it's been a while since I've posted any progress for this build and that's because, well, there hasn't been any. But, I finally found the time to paint the body and related parts. The color is Tamiya Maroon over Duplicolor gray sandable primer. The finish turned out decent, good enough that I'll be happy with the finished product. After all, this is only the 3rd model that I'm on my way to finishing after a 10 year break and only 2 of which I've shot shiney paint on. I think I'm gonna try using filler primer on the next paint job cause the sandable is sooo thin, it's doesn't help fill in anything.

Anyways, here's some sneak peaks of the painted body including a loose (so don't hate on the hood gaps and allignment) mockup on the chassis. This was also my first time using BMF to do anything significant. It was a bit stressful, but the windshield turned out nice - on the first try too!

Next up is to find some interior colors I like, spray the parts and final assembly.

[Bernard Kron]

It's back at last!!! The color is real nice and the stance and hood/grill combo all work out well now. The traditional upholstery colors for the immediate postwar period are pretty muted, often colors like black, deep oxblood red or darker brown leather shades. I did my maroon '29 with a lighter tan upholstery. It suited my personal tastes and I think helped open up the the look of the car a bit, but I was always a little bothered by the fact that it wasn't quite true to the period... Pergaps a deeper red might work, In any cas, I'm looking forward to what you decide. So far your calls have been pretty darn good!

[Dennis Lacy]

The colors I had in mind for the upholstery were a brown vinyl look for the seat and side panels and a light tan for the floor to give it some contrast. Thing is, I don't know where to find the right. I looked at everything the hobby shop has that I go to and didn't see anything I liked. All they had was glossy browns and tans. I need more of a semi-gloss for the brown and flat for the carpet.

I'm gonna try out Michaels figuring they would have something.

Any ideas? They'd be greatly appreciated!

[MikeMc]

The colors I had in mind for the upholstery were a brown vinyl look for the seat and side panels and a light tan for the floor to give it some contrast. Thing is, I don't know where to find the right. I looked at everything the hobby shop has that I go to and didn't see anything I liked. All they had was glossy browns and tans. I need more of a semi-gloss for the brown and flat for the carpet.

I'm gonna try out Michaels figuring they would have something.

Any ideas? They'd be greatly appreciated!

Pick your colors...don't worry about the sheen. Thats why Testors and tamiya have both semi gloss and dull in spray cans!

On my '29 rpu I used the black and tan fabric sprays and a couple of mist coats of semi gloss:

[Bernard Kron]

For my '29 I used the really cheap acrylic crafts paint at Michaels, "Craft-Smart" brand. It sells for around $1-2 a bottle, depending if it's on sale. There are other similar cheap brands at Michael's as well. These paints come in a huge number of shades with very fine increments from tone to tone so the chances of finding the right one are pretty good, and because it's so cheap your very free to experiment. The bottle color is a very good representation of the shade when the paint dries.

The downside is this paint doesn't cover very well at all so you must build up many layers. It's probably designed to be used on canvas or paper. Fortunately it dries fairly quickly. But the result is a dense, matte paint with deep color saturation that scales nicely as a dull fabric like texture which you can buff with tissue to whatever level of semi-gloss is appropriate for the fabric you want to represent. Here's picture of the '29. The carpet is a chocolate brown and the upholstery is golden brown, both over dark gray primer. The more layers of paint the closer to the bottle color it gets. The upholstery was buffed to approximate leatherette and the carpet was left matte. If I recall there are about 4-7 layers with decent coverage kicking in around the third layer.

[noname]

The mock up looks real good. Real old school like. Love the black steelies.

[Dennis Lacy]

For my '29 I used the really cheap acrylic crafts paint at Michaels, "Craft-Smart" brand. It sells for around $1-2 a bottle, depending if it's on sale. There are other similar cheap brands at Michael's as well. These paints come in a huge number of shades with very fine increments from tone to tone so the chances of finding the right one are pretty good, and because it's so cheap your very free to experiment. The bottle color is a very good representation of the shade when the paint dries.

The downside is this paint doesn't cover very well at all so you must build up many layers. It's probably designed to be used on canvas or paper. Fortunately it dries fairly quickly. But the result is a dense, matte paint with deep color saturation that scales nicely as a dull fabric like texture which you can buff with tissue to whatever level of semi-gloss is appropriate for the fabric you want to represent. Here's picture of the '29. The carpet is a chocolate brown and the upholstery is golden brown, both over dark gray primer. The more layers of paint the closer to the bottle color it gets. The upholstery was buffed to approximate leatherette and the carpet was left matte. If I recall there are about 4-7 layers with decent coverage kicking in around the third layer.

Bernard:

Thank you for the tip on paint! I took my anti-anxiety pills and went to Michaels this morning and found the exact paint you were speaking of, "Craft Smart". They do have an excellent selection and at only .59C a bottle if I hated it I could throw it away with no regrets. I ended getting a few shades and found that "Espresso" was the shade of brown I had in mind for the seat and side panels while "Golden Brown" was a great contrast for the floor. I tested them side by side on a piece of scrap of white plastic and held it up to the Maroon body and perfect!

They do dry very flat, which is great for the "carpet" but could you please explain how to polish with tissue including the kind of tissue you use?

Also do you think gray primer is the best base, or would white or red oxide be better?

Geez, with any luck this poor car will be finished soon!

[Bernard Kron]

...They do dry very flat, which is great for the "carpet" but could you please explain how to polish with tissue including the kind of tissue you use?

Also do you think gray primer is the best base, or would white or red oxide be better?

Glad they worked out for you. Isn't it great to have such a huge selection of shades for virtually no money. That stuff is almost always on sale for 59 cents but I decided to "under-promise and over-deliver".

As you no doubt have noticed the lack of covering ability is a real issue with this paint so I would assume the primer color will be a factor in the final shade. I know in my case I was never really able to totally neutralize the effect of the dark gray Duplicolor primer I had used. So, if you like the color of your test swatches then I would use a primer that approximates the shade of the test material you painted on. For example since you painted onto white plastic then I would use white primer. The main thing is that the primer gives the plastic surface some tooth for the paint to adhere to.

Regarding the tissue, I used facial tissue ("Kleenex" type). I also sometimes use cotton swabs ("Q-tips" - ain't brand names grand?). Either will knock some of the nap down on the flat paint and give it a more semi-gloss look. Just rub very gently until you get the sheen you're looking for. If you over do it you can always put down another layer of paint. Gosh knows it's cheap enough! One thing that has not worked for me is semi-gloss acrylic. It's just too glossy. It works fine for engine and chassis details to help differentiate similarly colored parts or areas, but I don't particularly like it for upholstery.

[Fuel Coupe]

Very nice work Dennis, I guess I missed this thread early on. I really like the forethought that has gone into this build rather than a shotgun effect. Your work to accurately replicate a true traditional hot rod is great. keep it up....

[Dennis Lacy]

Mike: I didn't mean to blow off your suggestion as it was a good one. Next time I'm at the hobby store I'll get some semi-gloss and flat clear coat for future use. Thanks!

Shane: Thank you for the nice compliments. This project has been a bit of an undertaking for me - a person trying to get their skills back up to speed after such a long break - and I dove in head first with all the fabrication that's been required. Luckilly, I have a lot more patience and maturity now that has enabled me to work on my projects in a totally new light and have results that satisfy me.

[Dennis Lacy]

UPDATE 7-18-09 - INTERIOR FINISHED!

I am happy to report that the interior components for this project are now done. (Yay!) Here is sample picture of the paint Bernard (GBK1) suggested and the two shades I used:

I used Dupli-Color white primer then followed up with 8 layers of the above paint brushed on. By the 6th coat I had attained full coverage and followed with 2 more coats to richen it up. Using this paint requires a bit of patience but I think the end result is worth the effort.

Here is a couple photos showing all of the finished interior pieces:

To re-cap what I used:

- Floor cut out of interior tub from Revell ‘37 Ford Pickup. The pedals also came from this kit. Shifter and handbrake handle from parts bin.

- Side panels / kick panels from Revell ‘32 Ford Roadster.

- Seat from AMT ‘32 Ford Phaeton.

- Dashboard from Monogram ‘32 Ford Roadster.

- Hot water heater box from Revell ‘50 Ford Pickup.

- Steering wheel from Revell ‘37 Ford Pickup.

I also finished the wheels by adding the hubcaps from Revell’s ‘48 Ford Convertible. I carefully flowed thinned black paint into the FORD letters on the caps.

This will be the last update for this project because the next step is final assembly then onto the display case! I’m really excited to see it come together and will post finished pictures “Under Glass†as soon as I can.

Thank you to all who have followed and commented on this project, it’s been a lot of fun!

[Alyn]

Very nice work. That acrylic looks like its definitely worth a try. Did you brush paint by choice or for lack of an air brush? I suppose shooting that may coats; cleaning an air brush would get pretty old after a while. How good is it at not showing brush strokes? Does it flow out nicely. You certainly don't see any brush strokes in the pictures. Great choice of colors. They work well with the toned down look of this rod.