Chopped '32 Ford 5-window Highboy - Louver-mania!!!

[Bernard Kron]

Chopped ’32 Ford 5-window Highboy Competition Street Coupe prepared for the Custom Car circuit

One of the highlights of photos from the classic indoor Custom Car shows of the 1960s are the color pictures of competition cars which have been especially prepared for these shows – "show ‘n’ go” was the expression often used for these types of cars. They featured special paint and lots of polished aluminum and magnesium and chrome plating. Some of the era’s top competitors, such as Tommy Ivo and Tony Nancy were almost as well known for their prowess on the show floor as on the ¼ mile. This project was inspired by these cars.

A few months back Jason Lookabill (lookabillj@gmail.com )produced a series of louvered hoods for the Revell ’32 Ford 1/25th scale kits, He also introduced a louvered roof panel for the Revell ’30 Ford coupe. The louvered hoods in particular I consider these an important addition to any hot rod modelers’ tool kit. As  far as I know, louvered hoods to match the Revell kit louvered hood sides (in the original 1/25th scale street rod roadster – now unfortunately no longer produced in the latest version) and rear deck (5-window coupe) have never been offered before

A Show ‘n; Go street class drag coupe seemed a perfect project to feature these parts. I settled on a Revell ‘2 Ford 5-window coupe. I decided to feature the louvered panels in polished aluminum to contrast with a custom paint job. It turns out that Krylon Chrome Spray does a good job of imitating freshly polished aluminum. The top was chopped about 3 ½ scale inches and hole cut in the rood to fit Jason’s louvered roof panel.

The main body color is Tamiya TS-96 Fluorescent Orange over white primer and a single coat of Tamiya TS-31 Bright Orange. The gold leaf numbers are from a set I had custom printed a few years ago. The aluminum louvered panels were left bare but the orange body parts are all sealed un a several coats of Tamiya TS65 Pearl Clear. The fenders are from the Stacey David Rat Roaster.

I gave the car a low stance by z-ing the rear of the frame about 3 scale inches and lowering the Revell Deuce kit front suspension a similar amount by shaving the front spring. The Stacey David kit provided most of the interior panels which have had the recessed “holes” drilled out. I fabricated a custom dashboard and roll over bar. The seats are from the Revellogram “Rat Rod” ‘29/’30 Fords.

The wheels and slicks are from the AMT Double Dragster kit with front tires from the Revellogram ’30 Ford Sedan kits

The motor is the Chevy Small Block from the Stacey David Rat Roaster kit with a 60’s period correct GMC 6-71 blower from a Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit. The headers are from the AMT ’65 El Camino kit and were bought on eBay.

Thanx for lookin’
B.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Bernard Kron

[dragstk]

You weren't kidding when you said louver mania! And another very good build., as usual from you.

[Calb56]

I really respect your builds and your vision.

The pieces from Jason are great and this definitely is a cool showcase for them!

[Phildaupho]

Another amazing Deuce. Looking forward to the next project from your workbench. 

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

The aluminum and orange is a great eye catcher. Tough stance. Fun to see all of the old hot rod magazine nostalgia.

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

With the usual initial primer application in place, is the Krylon used for this mild enough to not attack the plastic?

[espo]

Love the louvers, wish they never went out of style. Enjoyed watching the way you integrated the parts of the different kits, and the suspension work. 

[happy grumpy]

A nice and shinny rod. Great effect with the orange and polished aluminum. Great job.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Love it. Like the interior.

[PappyD340]

Nice deuce!

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

There's no such thing as too many louvers. Sweet 5W!!! -RRR

[slusher]

Really nice and cool!

[Bernard Kron]

On 3/2/2023 at 12:23 AM, rrb124@sbcglobal.net said:

With the usual initial primer application in place, is the Krylon used for this mild enough to not attack the plastic?

The Krylon Chrome is, I believe, an acrylic paint and extremely mild. My practice with most metallics that purport to imitate a bare metal finish, is to apply them without a primer directly to a very smooth base finish. This seems to give the best results. This was my practice when I could still use Testors Metalizers (R.I.P. and dearly missed) and now with the various Vallejo paints I've started using to replace them. I've always had a cheap craft "chrome" paint in my metallic paint arsenal for a polished aluminum look like this one - they generally fail as true chrome finishes, LOL. It used to be Duplicolor chrome but that is no longer cheap, and, frankly, no better than the Krylon stuff. In this case the hood sides, firewall, interior details, and trunk lid are bare styrene, while the hood top and the roof panel are resin. But in every case the paint was applied directly to the bare plastic. The Krylon chrome, if you let it cure thoroughly (24 hours, minimum) is quite tough and stands up well to handling. But it will tarnish from skin oils. I freshened up the exterior parts (firewall, roof panel, trunk lid and hood panels) with a second coat just before final assembly.

[Bernard Kron]

On 3/1/2023 at 5:52 PM, dragstk said:

You weren't kidding when you said louver mania! And another very good build., as usual from you.

 

On 3/1/2023 at 6:22 PM, Calb56 said:

I really respect your builds and your vision.

The pieces from Jason are great and this definitely is a cool showcase for them!

 

On 3/1/2023 at 8:00 PM, Phildaupho said:

Another amazing Deuce. Looking forward to the next project from your workbench. 

 

On 3/2/2023 at 12:21 AM, rrb124@sbcglobal.net said:

The aluminum and orange is a great eye catcher. Tough stance. Fun to see all of the old hot rod magazine nostalgia.

 

On 3/2/2023 at 7:37 AM, espo said:

Love the louvers, wish they never went out of style. Enjoyed watching the way you integrated the parts of the different kits, and the suspension work. 

 

On 3/2/2023 at 9:58 AM, happy grumpy said:

A nice and shinny rod. Great effect with the orange and polished aluminum. Great job.

 

On 3/2/2023 at 7:18 PM, bobthehobbyguy said:

Love it. Like the interior.

 

On 3/3/2023 at 3:00 AM, PappyD340 said:

Nice deuce!

 

On 3/3/2023 at 5:53 AM, Rocking Rodney Rat said:

There's no such thing as too many louvers. Sweet 5W!!! -RRR

 

34 minutes ago, slusher said:

Really nice and cool!

Thanks so much to you all for the kind comments. I'm glad you dig it! ? This came out OK despite it fighting me big time at the 90% stage - which is typical for me. At least this time it came out relatively unscathed. The trick for z'ing the rear end and still keeping the stock gas tank is one I'll use again.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Love it. You always get the vibe, the "look", dead-on-the-money.   

Edited March 4, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

49 minutes ago, Bernard Kron said:

The Krylon Chrome is, I believe, an acrylic paint and extremely mild. My practice with most metallics that purport to imitate a bare metal finish, is to apply them without a primer directly to a very smooth base finish. This seems to give the best results. This was my practice when I could still use Testors Metalizers (R.I.P. and dearly missed) and now with the various Vallejo paints I've started using to replace them. I've always had a cheap craft "chrome" paint in my metallic paint arsenal for a polished aluminum look like this one - they generally fail as true chrome finishes, LOL. It used to be Duplicolor chrome but that is no longer cheap, and, frankly, no better than the Krylon stuff. In this case the hood sides, firewall, interior details, and trunk lid are bare styrene, while the hood top and the roof panel are resin. But in every case the paint was applied directly to the bare plastic. The Krylon chrome, if you let it cure thoroughly (24 hours, minimum) is quite tough and stands up well to handling. But it will tarnish from skin oils. I freshened up the exterior parts (firewall, roof panel, trunk lid and hood panels) with a second coat just before final assembly.

 

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

Thanks for the tutorial. I'll go and buy and test on some spru the Krylon Chrome. Your results are good.

[Bernard Kron]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Love it. You always get the vibe, the "look", dead-on-the-money.   

Thanx Bill. Much appreciated. By now we both know all too well that's what it's All about!

[Flatout]

Very Cool Bernard…definitely captures the look of an early 60’s comp car!  Really nice job converting the Rat Roaster interior into a convincing race car cabin.  The double dragster wheels and tires were a great choice on this one.

[TooOld]

Great job Bernard , love the color and all those louvers !

[68shortfleet]

Looking good @Bernard Kron.

You know I like the use of the louvers. 

Jason

[ybsluos]

Bernard this is incredible! 

[doorsovdoon]

Can a giant block of cheese at just the right height on the drag strip give the perfect topping to the pizza inside? We'll find out today in Mythbusters!

[Rattlecan Dan]

Where's my sunglasses?! Ain't nobody gonna say "I didn't see you comin' " Nice job.

[Bernard Kron]

On 3/4/2023 at 4:27 PM, Flatout said:

Very Cool Bernard…definitely captures the look of an early 60’s comp car!  Really nice job converting the Rat Roaster interior into a convincing race car cabin.  The double dragster wheels and tires were a great choice on this one.

Thanks Pete. I've always dug your build style and I was glad to see your recent posts.

On 3/5/2023 at 5:21 AM, TooOld said:

Great job Bernard , love the color and all those louvers !

Thanks!

On 3/5/2023 at 6:46 PM, 68shortfleet said:

Looking good @Bernard Kron.

You know I like the use of the louvers. 

Jason

Couldn't of done it without you! ??

On 3/9/2023 at 9:46 PM, ybsluos said:

Bernard this is incredible! 

Thanx! U R 2 kind.

19 hours ago, doorsovdoon said:

Can a giant block of cheese at just the right height on the drag strip give the perfect topping to the pizza inside? We'll find out today in Mythbusters!

LOL?

13 hours ago, Rattlecan Dan said:

Where's my sunglasses?! Ain't nobody gonna say "I didn't see you comin' " Nice job.

?