Chopped '32 Ford 3-window highboy - 3-19 Update

[Bernard Kron]

When the TRoG (The Race of Gentlemen) community build was launched at the end of last year it triggered a stream of possible projects in my mind, the result of which is that I’ve got a string of hot rod builds going starting back to July of last year. With this project it’ll be six in a row and this will be my third car for the TRoG build-off. I’ve promised myself the next project  won’t be a hot rod, but in the meantime I’ve got to get this one out of my system.

This will be a ’32 Ford 3-window highboy with a severe 4 scale inch chop and a “all-the right stuff” ScoT blown flathead. The TRoG Airport Drags in Flabob, California near Riverside was the theme of the build-off, and one characteristic of the entries for that meet, one which is shared in general by the left-coast TRoG meets, is a relatively high degree of fit and finish compared to the rusty, crusty weathered vibe of the Wildwood, New Jersey TRoG beach races. My first two builds for the build-off were definitely of the weathered variety and for this one I wanted to create a car more like the relatively high-dollar traditional rods seen at Flabob and also earlier in at the Santa Barbara TRoG drags. That’s why I chose the “right-stuff” flatty. This vision also lead to some paint experiments which I’ll outline below.

To start with I set about working on the basic body. I decided to include the requisite louvered rear deck so often seen on TRoG style hot rods. The rear deck on the Deuce three-window, like so much of the that particular body style, differs from other Deuce bodies in several significant ways. For example it has suicide doors. It also has a wider rear deck opening than it’s cousin the 5-window. So, starting with the louvered deck from the Revell 5-window you either have to widen the deck lid or open the rear deck to a narrower width. Cutting open a narrower deck opening is simpler, requiring less finishing work since you merely have to fill in the old panel lines. The difference in width is considerable, about 4 mm. or 4 scale inches. That’s the approach I took which is illustrated in the following photo.

Next came the chop. As I said, it’s relatively severe in keeping with the style of chopped coupes at TRoG meets. Moreover, generally when I chop a coupe I will remove the rear window panel separately as an intact, un-chopped unit, so I can later control the overall size and shape of the window. But in this case I wanted a relatively crude “mail slot” effect so went ahead and chopped straight through to the widow opening.

Although the car is a highboy it will have a low overall stance. To achieve this I gave the Revell Deuce chassis I’m using a roughly 3 ½ scale inch Z at the rear. Being a TR0G-correct traditional rod it’s getting a Ford Model A buggy spring rear end with a Halibrand quick change. The Model A cross member is from an AMT kit.

The motor was interesting in the decision making I went through. Normally I would dig through my stash and use a kit flathead and spare parts for my flathead hop-up. But a SCoT blown version would require an aftermarket parts purchase, most likely from Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Marlyland. Not only would this involve some expense but also a significant delay. Perusing eBay I discovered several  SCoT setups, invariably requiring purchasing a complete engine and all 3D printed. As far as expense was concerned, they weren’t that much more than a blower-only setup. The one I liked most was from eBay vendor Jay’s Resin Wheels. What caught my eye was the triple-carbs, which no one else offered. Unfortunately to get the triples required getting the Ardun motor, but I have plenty of finned high compression heads (I’m using Offenhauser heads from RepMin) and the Ardun conversion could go into my stash for a future project. Delivery took less than a week and total cost was just north of 20 bucks. Quality is first rate. Can’t complain…

And finally, a paint experiment. I want to achieve a faded paint effect, old paint but with little in the way of rust or chipping. And with a moderate degree of semi-gloss. The photo mbelow shows my color choice, Tamiya XF-18 Medium Blue, a flat military color which resembles Ford Washington Blue. The photo below has two images one, against a bluch background and other against white. The black background actually is the more accurate with respect to color. The fender is the effect I’m looking to achieve. It’s done partially by brush painting. The Tamiya bottle paint is such high quality and so stable that it self-levels to a high degree. I will use Krylon Satin Clear to achieve the required semi-gloss effect, and that’s what you see on the fender. This will be my  first brush paint job on a full body since I was little kid, LOL.

Lot’s to do from here on out, but the startup has been encouraging.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Bernard Kron

[Calb56]

The amount of thought in your builds always impresses me. I think the engine looks great. One odd question, what little Google searching I have done, I haven't been able to find a 3 carb set up for a SCoT blower in 1:1...have you seen any examples?

Thanks.

Edited March 10, 2023 by Calb56

[Bernard Kron]

1 hour ago, Calb56 said:

The amount of thought in your builds always impresses me. I think the engine looks great. One odd question, what little Google searching I have done, I haven't been able to find a 3 carb set up for a SCoT blower in 1:1...have you seen any examples?

Thanks.

Thanks Charles. It never really occurred to me to find out if there's precedent in the 1:1 world. For sure there's no more room on the SCoT for four 97's and the prototypic setup, as, for example, by Barney Navarro, is with two 97s. I'll do do some web searches and report back but you may be right - this may just be an example of the kind of imagineering that modeling  allows us, LOL.

[Calb56]

32 minutes ago, Bernard Kron said:

Thanks Charles. It never really occurred to me to find out if there's precedent in the 1:1 world. For sure there's no more room on the SCoT for four 97's and the prototypic setup, as, for example, by Barney Navarro, is with two 97s. I'll do do some web searches and report back but you may be right - this may just be an example of the kind of imagineering that modeling  allows us, LOL.

I did see a roots style blower on a 48 Caddy (I'd love to see that available) with 3 Strombergs. I'll have to look for the Navarro prototype. There's definitely a lot out there that was/is done...either way it's a cool engine. 3D printing has definitely opened up a lot of options. 

[Bernard Kron]

This project is progressing nicely, with a minimum of unexpected hassles so far. I got the body and chassis brush painted, and as I’d hoped, the effect was that of old, oxidized paint, rather than the more exaggerated worn through or rusted paint that I’ve usually done. The only surface treatment I did was to burnish the paint with a light sanding with1000 grit sandpaper followed by rubbing it out with a paper towel. Where any red primer showed through I actually dry brushed the area with body color paint so that the worn areas are kept to an absolute minimum. It’s a type of weathered paint I’ve never attempted before. The stock appearing firewall is a re-pop of the Stacey David Deuce firewall from e-Bay vendor Forward Resin. It’s a top-flight casting and it’s finished in black lacquer.

The interior is the Revell 3-window kit interior with the only modifications being to lower the seat height to accommodate the chopped top and to add a floor shifter. Color is Testors Insignia Red. The rear wheels and tires are the really nice high profile bias ply tires mounted to ’37 Ford truck “artillery” wheels offered by Ed Fluck’s Drag City Casting based on masters by Dennis Lacy. The matching smaller diameter fronts are the stock Revellogram ’37 Ford truck wheels. Paint is Testors British Crimson over red oxide primer. The hubcaps are cut down and thinned AMT ’36 Ford spare tire caps because I’ve run out of Revellogram ’37 Ford truck caps.

Next up is fabricating the steering and suspension, then lighting, grill, graphics and final assembly.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

 

[Slotto]

I like the color and how the paint turned out

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks Steve!

For some reason this project isn’t moving along as fast as I’d like. Perhaps it’s a minor case of builder’s block… In any case the bodywork is completed with the interior and glass installed. Patina is where I want it. The picture below at last shows the car up on its wheels for a stance check – it looks pretty much as I imagined it. The motor is completed and ready to install, the rear suspension is completed, and the front suspension done except for the steering tie rod. Lighting and final assembly are mainly what’s left. Hopefully it won’t be long until completion, now.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

 

[Lobo2me]

Sweet....love the TRoG vibe and classic touches. Build on!

[Calb56]

I love the patina around the louvers

[ea0863]

I LOVE the patina. The whole vehicle looks like a well-worn comfy leather chair you just fall into!  

[Paul Payne]

Super build- can't wait to see the engine installed!

[Calb56]

Hoping this build isn't dead.

[Bernard Kron]

On 4/29/2023 at 10:08 AM, Calb56 said:

Hoping this build isn't dead.

Thanx for the interest Charles! And thanks to you all for your kind words!

This project is alive and well despite my recent silence. It’s very close to done, but I’m waiting on a selection of white number decals in various fonts from Pattos’ Place in Australia. It takes a while to get here (I’m in Washington State in the USA). I’ll glue the body and wheels into place after I’ve determined the final graphics scheme. In the meantime the motor is in place and the chassis is completed. The exhaust headers are from Replicas and miniatures Co. of Maryland,  cut down and flipped. I’ve set the car up as a street rod so it has full mufflers and headlights. For TRoG competition purposes the headlights are taped (using super-thin .75 mm masking tape). I’m off to the GSL this week (I hope to see some of you there). The decals should arrive any day now so I should have this thing done on my return.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Bernard Kron

[customline]

A fantastic rendition of an old standard, the Deuce Highboy three window coupe. The stance is awesome. I re-read this to find out what front axle is used but I can't find that info. It looks like an aftermarket type with a BIG drop. What is it?

[Bernard Kron]

44 minutes ago, customline said:

A fantastic rendition of an old standard, the Deuce Highboy three window coupe. The stance is awesome. I re-read this to find out what front axle is used but I can't find that info. It looks like an aftermarket type with a BIG drop. What is it?

Thanks Jim. It's a plastic piece from my parts box. It looks like a Monogram part to me, but I can't seem to be able to identify it. Perhaps another forum member can tell us. It has a very deep drop, probably at least 4 scale inches, which, along with the drilled out holes, was why I chose it..

[customline]

8 minutes ago, Bernard Kron said:

Thanks Jim. It's a plastic piece from my parts box. It looks like a Monogram part to me, but I can't seem to be able to identify it. Perhaps another forum member can tell us. It has a very deep drop, probably at least 4 scale inches, which, along with the drilled out holes, was why I chose it..

It's pretty hairy. I'd love to have a few of those in my stash. Is there a picture of it by itself?

[Mr. Metallic]

On 5/1/2023 at 10:01 AM, Bernard Kron said:

Thanks Jim. It's a plastic piece from my parts box. It looks like a Monogram part to me, but I can't seem to be able to identify it. Perhaps another forum member can tell us. It has a very deep drop, probably at least 4 scale inches, which, along with the drilled out holes, was why I chose it..

 

On 5/1/2023 at 10:14 AM, customline said:

It's pretty hairy. I'd love to have a few of those in my stash. Is there a picture of it by itself?

Looks like it may be the axle from the AMT 55 Chevy stepside pickup street machine?

[Bernard Kron]

On 5/1/2023 at 8:14 AM, customline said:

It's pretty hairy. I'd love to have a few of those in my stash. Is there a picture of it by itself?

 

1 hour ago, Mr. Metallic said:

 

Looks like it may be the axle from the AMT 55 Chevy stepside pickup street machine?

Definitely looks like it might be from the stepside Chevy [pickup. Here's a detail from the AMT instruction sheet (flipped and cropped for clarity):

And here's a photo I just took of a duplicate axle from my stash. The axle I used was in greyish plastic while this one is a kind of maroon color, but they are otherwise identical.

Edited May 2, 2023 by Bernard Kron

[Mr. Metallic]

15 hours ago, Bernard Kron said:

 

Definitely looks like it might be from the stepside Chevy [pickup. Here's a detail from the AMT instruction sheet (flipped and cropped for clarity):

 

And here's a photo I just took of a duplicate axle from my stash. The axle I used was in greyish plastic while this one is a kind of maroon color, but they are otherwise identical.

 

The original issues of those stepside pickups in the mid 90's were in that typical tan/grey AMT plastic. Pretty sure they did an "easybuilder" or something version molded in color which would explain the one in maroon plastic. I love this axle, it has such a great drop and the drilled detail adds flair. Even the stock version of those kits (55 and 57, stepside and Cameo) offers a nice drop.

[noname]

Looks cool. I love period hot rods and drag cars.

[customline]

Yup. '55 Stepside Street Machine kit. Found it on Ebay 🙂

[Bernard Kron]

I'm a little slow in getting this finished up after contracting Covid19 at the GSL. I'm all better now and here's a teaser shot of the completed model. More pictures will follow soon Under Glass.

Thanx to all who .followed along,
B.

[customline]

You nailed it! Very cool Deuce 👍

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks Jim.

Here's a link to the photos Under Glass:

 

[Blueberry_no1]

On 5/1/2023 at 4:16 PM, customline said:

A fantastic rendition of an old standard, the Deuce Highboy three window coupe. The stance is awesome. I re-read this to find out what front axle is used but I can't find that info. It looks like an aftermarket type with a BIG drop. What is it?

I took my axle from a old f100 kit