60 Ford shop truck, “The Plowboy way” tribute to honour Roger Hayes

[Steve H]

Hi all,

Not exactly sure where to start here… I hope that you will take a minute to read this before you go further. It has been just over 2 years since we lost our friend Plowboy (Roger Hayes). 
Anyone that knows me here would know that I REALLY liked Roger’s builds. Apart from his amazing sense of style, I liked his diverse interest. His builds were always well thought out, cleanly built, and his colour choices were often understated and unique. If you are not familiar with Roger’s work, I would encourage you to check out some of his threads on the forum. His WIP threads always had something useful to add to your, “I gotta try that” arsenal. Man he was knowledgeable, and good… I learned a ton from him, and he made me a much better builder. 
I have had a tribute build in my mind for 2 years now. Actually, 3 builds, but I will start with this one. My plan here is to build a tribute, but more importantly, showcase some of Roger’s work. I will be showing a bunch of his work on this thread. I also encourage anyone who wants to share photos of their favourite builds, or tips from Roger, or links to one of his threads,  to please do so. This build is about Roger!!  We often talk here about not “hijacking” someone’s thread, but for this one I’m encouraging it!! 

I sat down at my desk Wednesday night (Jan 15th) to come up with a plan. About an hour and a half later, I had a fairly good idea of exactly how to proceed. Colours were an obvious no brainer too. I then sat down with my IPad and went back over some of Roger’s builds, realizing that I had missed some of his earlier posts. (I joined the forum about a year after Roger) As I read thru one of his 60 Ford builds I began smiling, many of the things I planned to do just minutes ago, he had done! I will share more of that as the build progresses. 
 
So… my plan: 1960 Ford shop truck. 

Here’s the starting point…

As always, thanks for having a look, and all comments welcome. I will have some progress soon.

Cheers, Steve

[Steve H]

Phew!! Finally able to post this. So…. I tried to post on Friday, then Saturday, then Sunday… For some reason it would not let me post. I had to shorten my post, so I will add more later. 
 

[TopherMcGinnis]

Thats a very nice thing to do. I'll have to look him up.

[David G.]

I was a Plowboy fan too so I'll be following along.

I can't wait to see where you go with this build.

David G.

Edited January 21 by David G.
typo

[Chuckyg1]

Great tribute. I've probably seen plowboys work  but hadn't realize it. I look forward to seeing where you take this and learning more about Rogers work in the process.

[BK9300]

Your tribute has inspired me to check out some of his threads - and looking forward to following your work here.

[espo]

Look forward to your Plowboy tribute build. He had a unique style that was appreciated by many. 

[Steve H]

11 hours ago, TopherMcGinnis said:

Thats a very nice thing to do. I'll have to look him up.

Hi Topher, I know for sure you will like his style of build. Stay tuned, I will be sharing some of his builds, and links.

11 hours ago, David G. said:

I was a Plowboy fan too so I'll be following along.

I can't wait to see where you go with this build.

David G.

Hi David, nice to have you along. Having some posting issues, but stay tuned….

10 hours ago, Chuckyg1 said:

Great tribute. I've probably seen plowboys work  but hadn't realize it. I look forward to seeing where you take this and learning more about Rogers work in the process.

John! Thanks for checking in, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

10 hours ago, BK9300 said:

Your tribute has inspired me to check out some of his threads - and looking forward to following your work here.

Hello Brian, if you find a favourite build or thread from Roger, feel free to share it here. Thanks for chiming in sir.

7 hours ago, espo said:

Look forward to your Plowboy tribute build. He had a unique style that was appreciated by many. 

Excellent!! I have my 2 favourite David’s here. Obviously, I will not compare my work to Roger’s, but I will give it my best shot. 

[Old Buckaroo]

I'm looking very forward to see what you do, plus Ive always liked old Ford trucks!

[Steve H]

The plan is: convert to a short box, similar to Plowboy’s below 👇. I will also alter mine to a unibody style like the 63’s. 

Colours were a super easy choice. Body will be pearl white, with satin or matte clear. I am also going to play with a silver base (similar to my 70 Olds) then matte clear. Regardless, it will look very similar to the Merc. below. Interior will be Tamiya dull red, one of Roger’s favourite interior colours. Trim will be semi gloss black. These are all colours that Roger used on his amazing 49 Merc. 👇 

His 49  Merc WIP thread was titled “49 Mercury, The Plowboy way” thus the title of this thread… I am NOT a 49 Mercury fan, but the way he chopped and sectioned his build was really creative. The body is 5 1/2” shorter, and you barely notice it. That was one of Roger’s best traits, subtly executed to perfection.

Thanks for having a look. More soon…

[Steve H]

The blue Ford above 👆 is also Plowboy’s. Having some frustrating posting issues, so please bear with me. I can’t seem to submit a post that has more than a handful of sentences. So my one post is now 3 or maybe 4. Trying to tell a story here😬…

I have decided to leave the chassis curbside and focus on the visible stuff. Interior will get bucket seats and a console. Engine will be from a Saleen Mustang. Yes… it will definitely be low!! 
 

[Steve H]

Here is a link to his 49 Merc. The chop job is spectacular. 
 

Also want to mention that there is a Plowboy thread in the community build section, I will be adding some posts there too. 
 

Thanks for following along!

[Steve H]

59 minutes ago, Old Buckaroo said:

I'm looking very forward to see what you do, plus Ive always liked old Ford trucks!

Hi Sean, hope you will like it. It will be a bit different, but still a Ford. Thanks for having a look.

[Chuck Most]

I was excited and a little sad when the '60 and '63 kits dropped. Excited that they existed, sad that Roger wasn't around to partake in the fun. Both subjects seemed right up his alley.

[Steve H]

5 hours ago, Chuck Most said:

I was excited and a little sad when the '60 and '63 kits dropped. Excited that they existed, sad that Roger wasn't around to partake in the fun. Both subjects seemed right up his alley.

I totally agree Chuck. I know he built at least 2 of each, maybe more I don’t know about. I will be showing those as we progress here. I would love it if you posted your 2 tribute builds here too. You did a fantastic job on both. I will ask Al (thatz4u) to do the same with his. If you have a favourite build of his, feel free to add that too. 
Thanks for commenting. 

[James2]

I like everything about this post....

[Phildaupho]

Great project. TRy to get ti done by the spring IPMS Victoria model show as there is a  trophy for best pickup this year. The new issue of Canadian Hot Rods magazine is the annual pickup issue.

[Steve H]

Welcome aboard Rooster. Glad you are enjoying it so far. Lots more good stuff coming. 

[Steve H]

Just now, Phildaupho said:

Great project. TRy to get ti done by the spring IPMS Victoria model show as there is a  trophy for best pickup this year. The new issue of Canadian Hot Rods magazine is the annual pickup issue.

Hi Phil!! This one should come together quickly…. I think….maybe…🤓 Keeping the chassis curbside will shave a fair bit of time off the build. 

[Chuck Most]

At the request of Steve....

https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/196956-two-in-honor-of-roger-plowboy-hayes/

[Steve H]

Ok, some actual progress on the truck! As mentioned it will be a short box/unibody.  I also removed the quarter windows. Partly to be different, but also in an effort to “clean it up a bit”. 
Before…

After…

The Custom Cab script will be removed too. Door handles will be replaced also.

For the box, I removed 9mm from the front, and 9mm from the back. I used a piece of styrene as guide to keep all cuts consistent.

Box is now short, and mated to the cab. I reshaped the top portion of the box front to conform with the back of the cab. I then used quarter round styrene strips to fill the gap along the joint vertically . This strengthened the joint, and also minimized the amount of putty used. 
So here’s where we are now, after one round of putty, prime, sand.👇obviously still more to do, but everything lines up nicely. Most of the grey primer will be sanded off, white primer for the rest. 

Thanks for looking.

 

[David G.]

A one-piece body and cab? 

Interesting.  

For some reason I'm picturing this finished in a turquoise blue with white accents.

David G.

[BK9300]

On 1/21/2025 at 6:56 PM, Steve H said:

Here is a link to his 49 Merc. The chop job is spectacular. 
 

Thanks for following along!

Very cool to have discovered what so many of you already knew - a seriously talented, and innovative builder - thanks for posting the link.

[Maindrian Pace]

There are so many great Roger Hayes builds, it's hard to pick favorites, but here's a few:

I actually sent him the transmission for this '66 Chevelle sedan, a T-5 five speed.

The '61 Comet was crossed with a Thunderbolt, what a mean sleeper.

He influenced me too, his builds were subtle and special, the stance was always 10/10, and it's all about the details and cleanliness. One of the best builders on the board. I'll do a tribute build as well.

[Steve H]

14 hours ago, David G. said:

A one-piece body and cab? 

Interesting.  

For some reason I'm picturing this finished in a turquoise blue with white accents.

David G.

Hi David, I thought it would be something just a little bit different as a unibody. I think the turquoise and white would look great on this too. I think you’ll like the white, the black trim is a hard no for some, but I really liked it on Roger’s Merc. Actually, I’ve used it on a couple of my builds too. 

8 hours ago, BK9300 said:

Very cool to have discovered what so many of you already knew - a seriously talented, and innovative builder - thanks for posting the link.

Excellent! I was hoping some of the “newer” folks to the forum would find his builds inspiring. Glad you had a look Brian, and thanks for checking in again. 

 

7 hours ago, Maindrian Pace said:

There are so many great Roger Hayes builds, it's hard to pick favorites, but here's a few:

I actually sent him the transmission for this '66 Chevelle sedan, a T-5 five speed.

The '61 Comet was crossed with a Thunderbolt, what a mean sleeper.

He influenced me too, his builds were subtle and special, the stance was always 10/10, and it's all about the details and cleanliness. One of the best builders on the board. I'll do a tribute build as well.

Hi Mike, I agree that it is hard to pick a favourite. I like many of them for various reasons. I’m actually not really a fan of 49 Merc’s, but Plowboy’s really spoke to me, and the understated white, with the black trim gave it a real sinister look. Like it was hiding something… Thanks for sharing your favourites, I don’t recall seeing the red Ford truck. That little white Falcon is killer. I also agree he was one of the best on the forum, and as you said details and cleanliness….

Thanks again, and I will keep an eye out for your tribute build!!