Odd Rodd?

[Custom Hearse]

A friend of mine gave me this kit to see what I would turn it into.

I was thinking maybe a street rod with pro street tires, and an Allison V-12.... Any other ideas anyone want to share?

[RJWood]

Howz about a wheatherd heap. or maybe something real wild like a Benz Rat.

Your idea sounds great too.

You've got a tough choice to make, wish I had to make it.

Nice kit.

Edited February 24, 2009 by RJWood

[Smart-Resins]

Drop the fenders, use a street rod front axle. Put a lincoln flat head v-12 in it with blower, drop the hood parts and weather it gently. Jody

[Custom Hearse]

Howz about a wheatherd heap. or maybe something real wild like a Benz Rat.

Your idea sounds great too.

You've got a tough choice to make, wish I had to make it.

Nice kit.

I've never weathered a model before, so I don't think I'll start with this kit.... I'll try that with something that I'm not worried about.

Drop the fenders, use a street rod front axle. Put a lincoln flat head v-12 in it with blower, drop the hood parts and weather it gently. Jody

Where in the world could I find a Lincoln flat head V-12? That might be pretty cool!

[robertw]

Bought one of these kits a few years ago and it came with a second body & interior. I've also thought about using the spare parts to do a modern version just need to find a chassis to fit under it or spend the time scratch building one.

If you build your version I'll look forward to seeing how it comes out.

robw

[MrObsessive]

I've never weathered a model before, so I don't think I'll start with this kit.... I'll try that with something that I'm not worried about.

Where in the world could I find a Lincoln flat head V-12? That might be pretty cool!

Monograms old 1941 Lincoln Continental I think was a flathead V-12. I'm sure someone's got a junker or two out there that can spare the engine.

[MR BIGGS]

Throw all that germen junk away keep the whole front clip and fenders, lights, frame and a few small goodies and add them to the front of a 32 ford 3 window coupe,,,, chopped

[Uncle Mike]

'German junk'? Biggs, I am apalled. On the other hand, the '34 Coupe idea is splendid! There is a lot of similarity here, and the chopped '34 would 'class-up' real nice.

But my direction would be to start with the frame, clean off all the bracketry, fenders, etc., and dechrome the wire wheels. Paint everything nicely, then add the sparton body without windshield, in the prep of a mid-1930s Indy car...

[Uncle Mike]

'German junk'? Biggs, I am apalled. On the other hand, the '34 Coupe idea is splendid! There is a lot of similarity here, and the chopped '34 would 'class-up' real nice.

But my direction would be to start with the frame, clean off all the bracketry, fenders, etc., and dechrome the wire wheels. Paint everything nicely, then add the sparton body without windshield, in the prep of a mid-1930s Indy car...

[torinobradley]

How about doing a modern interpitation of the classic. Rear fender skirts, dished or skinned wheels, smoothed body lines, smoothed & molded in grill, headlight bullets extended and molded into the fenders or replaced with cord style pop ups, modernize the interior, etc... Keep the dimensions and look of the old while upgrading/modernizing the style. Keep the tall, skinny wheels, just modernize them.

Picture a movie star that loves her 20 year old old Benz (it's 1954), but wants it to look new again...

Just my take on it.

[gowjobs]

There was a sketchpad illustration of a Mercedes 500K drag altered in Traditional Rod & Kulture a couple of months ago... was heavy flake bronze green with a Hemi and white tonneau... awesome.

[Fletch]

We had a guy up here in the PNW that took the coupe version of that kit and turned it into one screamn' gasser. It was absolutely beautiful. One things for sure with that kit the only limitation is going to be your imagination.

Edited February 25, 2009 by Fletch

[LDO]

Hey I built the coupe version of that while I was deployed. When I was working on it, a buddy picked up the body and said "Hey- you should make a street rod out of this". I got to thinkin'...that was a pretty cool idea. The top of the coupe already looks chopped. Make it look like something a couple of GIs would have built while serving in Germany in 1946. That's not as outrageous as it sounds. In a German museum, I saw a pre-war Maybach that had the back half of its body removed to make room for a huge radial saw blade. It was driven off the axle. The car was owned by a wealthy German whose money became worthless when the war ended. He still had his material possessions, so he turned his luxury car into a mobile firewood cutter in order to put food on his table. So it's plausible that a couple of GIs could have bought a pre-war Mercedes for pretty cheap.

Anyway- my idea was for a rod that's pretty much like rods built in the USA after the war. Strip it down and make it go as fast as possible. Maybe put a track nose on it from Revell's '29 Ford pickup. Get rid of the fenders. Think Pierson Brothers Coupe (well, if you were starting with the Coupe)

[Custom Hearse]

Well, the general consensus is to lose the fenders.... I like that idea! It'll take some work, but it can be done. I've decided to cut open the doors as well as scratch build a fastback roof for it. I also plan to get rid of the hood sides. If I can't find a Lincoln V-12 flathead (thanks for the info Bill, I'll look and see if I can find one), I'll go ahead and use the Allison I already have (if anyone has another suggestion for the engine, let me know). I just have a few small thing to finish on the Monza kit I was building and I'll do this one next. Thanks for the input guy's!

[Custom Hearse]

O.K. I've started this one (I couldn't wait ). I've named it the Mer-Rod, and I've posted it on the under construction forum. If you like, I'm still taking suggestions on what to do on this build, and I want to thank everyone who has made a suggestion here.