49 Ford High and Mighty inspired

[Ferbz]

1 hour ago, Kenmojr said:

Nice transition of this 49 Ford...

Thanks!

[Straightliner59]

On 4/24/2025 at 10:50 AM, Ferbz said:

Thanks! I'm glad you think so! That is totally my intention with this build. The 1:1 car really is an icon in drag racing history. It has a very distinct vibe; particularly wild for it's time. And when I learned about it I thought: why not try and build a shoebox ford version? 🙂 I'm actually working on a silly/fun, fictional backstory about it......stay tuned!

I love this kind of project. Most of what I build has something inspired by another race car, or something I've seen on another race car. I also enjoy the challenge, and research to be as certain as I can that graphics, contingency decals, and equipment, etc. are correct for the era I'm modeling. Gotta' have a back story!🙂 Nice work!

[Ferbz]

.....And we have paint! The color looks more saturated in these pics than in real life, but the Tamiya lacquer Coral Blue (TS-41) is a pretty close match to the 1:1 High and Mighty turqoise-y blue/green color. BTW I love the Tamiya quality, but anybody feel like those little cans are BARELY enough for a build? lol   I'll let it cure before I do a light wetsand with 2000grit. After that, some tricky masking of the front/rear window trim and engine bay so I can spray some flat black is planned. Then some decal work and a satin clear coat before final assembly. (You guys ever get close to the end of a build only to realize there's lots more work to do to get it to the finish line?)

[customline]

It's a nice shade of blue, ain't it?  Yes, Tamiya rattle cans are the cat's pajamas and I doubt you could squeeze two cars out of one can unless you also use a clear coat, maybe. Super cool build!

On 6/3/2025 at 7:27 PM, Ferbz said:

.....And we have paint! The color looks more saturated in these pics than in real life, but the Tamiya lacquer Coral Blue (TS-41) is a pretty close match to the 1:1 High and Mighty turqoise-y blue/green color. BTW I love the Tamiya quality, but anybody feel like those little cans are BARELY enough for a build? lol   I'll let it cure before I do a light wetsand with 2000grit. After that, some tricky masking of the front/rear window trim and engine bay so I can spray some flat black is planned. Then some decal work and a satin clear coat before final assembly. (You guys ever get close to the end of a build only to realize there's lots more work to do to get it to the finish line?)

 

[meechum68]

Dude... this is insane!!  Your work is great!! 

[Ferbz]

1 hour ago, meechum68 said:

Dude... this is insane!!  Your work is great!! 

Thanks man! It's a crazy idea but sometimes you have to follow them to their absurd conclusion lol It's part of the fun of being creative I think 🤪

[Ferbz]

1 hour ago, customline said:

It's a nice shade of blue, ain't it?  Yes, Tamiya rattle cans are the cat's pajamas and I doubt you could squeeze two cars out of one can unless you also use a clear coat, maybe. Super cool build!

 

Thanks! Those little Tamiya cans are pricey too for the amount of paint that you get! There doesn't seem to be a cheaper alternative out there tho of equal quality and variety that i know of.

[customline]

34 minutes ago, Ferbz said:

Thanks! Those little Tamiya cans are pricey too for the amount of paint that you get! There doesn't seem to be a cheaper alternative out there tho of equal quality and variety that i know of.

Yes, pricey but you can get a pretty good paint job most of the time. It's like paying for insurance. 

[slusher]

Great paint and good color match!

[sidcharles]

this slicing & cutting  pattern is going to get me one step further along on a planned future project; thanks.

 

[Ferbz]

4 hours ago, slusher said:

Great paint and good color match!

Thanks! Yeah, it's pretty close! And seeing as how this build is only meant to be an inspired version and not a replica of the real car, the color is totally fine. Also, the info I found online about the real car said the blue paint was a kind of primer. All the pictures I see if it shows it to be a satin/flat finish so I'll be attempting to spray a dull coat over the top of it. 

[Ferbz]

3 hours ago, sidcharles said:

this slicing & cutting  pattern is going to get me one step further along on a planned future project; thanks.

 

Welcome! I'm glad it helps 👍This is not how I would normally chop a top, especially if i was building a traditional 50s style custom, but it seemed a good way to roughly achieve the vibe of the original High and Mighty car's proportions 😎

[sidcharles]

thanks. i'm tasked with building a ute out of a Heller Renault 4cv.  i will most likely drill a hole at the ends of my cut slots to act as a stress relief from the bent roof tabs. they'll get filled with

plastruct or stretched sprue, and a dab o' putty.

i've got quite a bit figured out except how to join the rear part of the roof to the front without making it look like a pinched fedora. i also don't want to have 1/4" thick goober of putty to make the turn down to the rear window. 

i think i can carve the pieces i need from pink xps foam, harden it with super-glue, and use that as a buck for a vacuum form piece. 

 

we'll see.

Edited June 10 by sidcharles
added thought

[Ferbz]

23 hours ago, sidcharles said:

thanks. i'm tasked with building a ute out of a Heller Renault 4cv.  i will most likely drill a hole at the ends of my cut slots to act as a stress relief from the bent roof tabs. they'll get filled with

plastruct or stretched sprue, and a dab o' putty.

i've got quite a bit figured out except how to join the rear part of the roof to the front without making it look like a pinched fedora. i also don't want to have 1/4" thick goober of putty to make the turn down to the rear window. 

i think i can carve the pieces i need from pink xps foam, harden it with super-glue, and use that as a buck for a vacuum form piece. 

 

we'll see.

Feel free to send me a pic or two in direct message. Maybe I can help! 👍

[sidcharles]

thanks. it's behind a '34 ford and who knows what's under the stuff on the bench, but i'll hold you to it.

 

thanks

 

sid

[Ferbz]

One more mockup to see where things are headed. I'm liking the vibe so far, but one thing I notice is that the intake is pointing downwards a bit. It's the result of an oversight on my part as I did not mount the engine at a high enough angle...bleh. I want to raise the whole intake system up at the front but I'm not sure how to remedy that at this point. The engine is already glued into place, but fortunately the intake is not. Maybe I can add thin 'gaskets' at the bottom of the manifolds and make them wedge shaped to cheat the height up in the front? It wont be accurate or realistic, but it might solve the 'nose down' attitude of the air scoop/carbs/plenum:

[sidcharles]

camera is a brutal mistress, eh?

i think it might squat enough comin' off the line so it'll be dead level upon arrival.

[TarheelRick]

In that bottom picture the brackets holding the plenum box looks as if the front ones are a bit shorter than the rear ones. If that is not just a camera angle issue, maybe you could get those pieces more even.

[Ferbz]

7 hours ago, sidcharles said:

camera is a brutal mistress, eh?

i think it might squat enough comin' off the line so it'll be dead level upon arrival.

Ha! Indeed. And you're probably right. Yeah, it's funny how I can stare and stare at something and not see anything odd until I take a pic of it. The camera tells all...... 🤪

Edited July 11 by Ferbz

[Ferbz]

3 hours ago, TarheelRick said:

In that bottom picture the brackets holding the plenum box looks as if the front ones are a bit shorter than the rear ones. If that is not just a camera angle issue, maybe you could get those pieces more even.

Good eye there 👍 Unfortunately, the entire intake (except for the angle brackets, carbs, scoop) is a single 3D printed piece. The 3D piece is also based on how the engine is angled (quite extremely now that I'm looking at it) on the original 1:1 car, shown here from a pic I grabbed from the interwebbages:

[Quiet Eric]

Excellent build Ferby! You have nailed the look.

[Ferbz]

On 7/12/2025 at 10:02 AM, Quiet Eric said:

Excellent build Ferby! You have nailed the look.

Thanks! The original 1:1 car has a very distinct vibe that I wanted to mimic in the form of a 49 shoebox ford. This build will have decals that will help tell an imaginary tale about my version that I have brewing in my head.....stay tuned! 😉