'40 Tudor on Revell chassis

[customline]

There's something about these sedans that I just really like.  The bulbous, rounded styling speaks to me for whatever reason.  I remember building this AMT Trophy Kit as a child and I guess it's time to build it again ( but with less glue 😂.)  I won this rebuilder a couple of weeks ago on ebay and, although I have other irons in the fire, I couldn't wait to get this one started. We all know how that goes 🥴.  

The plan is a to build it mostly stock looking but with a warmed-over flattie.  The usual - heads, headers and, if I can find one, a cool intake.  I guess I like the Revell '40 Standard kit a whole lot. Where else can you get that Columbia rear end?  I wanted a better platform for my Tudor than the one provided by AMT. The body was all together when it arrived and the engine fell out. Yay.  I proceeded to disassemble it.  I think the builder was a young-un. Luckily, he was not very good at it.

Only the hood, the engine, the irewall, the running boards, and the radiator were painted 👌.  The deluxe grille is a two piece set (the tudor kit uses a different fender module) and it was a badly and generously glued affair that resisted my attempt to remove it. The standard grille wouldn't work well on the AMT nose and the Revell hood was a tad longer.

Enter the AMT '40 Coca Cola.  Another busted kit. Oh well....I got it at Ollie's. That kit will be donating fenders and grille. Body to fender fit is perfect 👌. I will need to make a small repair on the body where it meets the running board on the driver side due to the separation process.

I started by assembling the chassis and I wanted to get the nose down a bit. The cross member and the spring were both ground down as much as I dared.  I cut the bottom flanges off the cross member and used my cutting wheel to clean it out. Then I cut down the top leaf on both sides of the "tang". I was then able to set it in place with the bottom plate contacting the cross member. I wish I had pictures of this but I was on a roll 🎲🎲.  

Had the deluxe grille been installed cleanly, I would only need to find a chrome center section. The builder had the gasser blank-off installed. The headlights will cover those nasty looking holes, actually.

This interior will be stock, I guess, maybe some contrasting somehow. Later.

The floor section must be used and will need trimming.  The frame snuggles right into the AMT fender module.

The engine that fell to earth. This does not look like an AMT flathead to me. Is it? ......anybody?

The cross member had some structure within that had to be cut out using a cutting wheel on my Dremel.  The limit is the bolt plates on the bottom of the spring (or you can cut them off and get reeeeeeealy low.)  

I shall return. Thanks for tuning in 💩

  

[customline]

I guess you could call it a "resto-rod" or maybe a "sleeper".  It must have better exhaust; headers and duals. Couldn't find anything so....

I start with the middle pipe because, on this job, it is the master which will connect to everything else.

The evergreen can be bent cold and that's what I did here. The left pipe has my cut mark showing. The steering box is the only obstacle on the driver side. The middle pipe was mocked up in position and, after clearing the box, glued with solvent

Easy peasy.  CA + kicker for the butt joints, solvent at the flanges (which must be painted as well as the tubes.)

I imagine this was a hot item in the 1:1 universe. I should yank it for a lakes car and swap in the AMT. 🤔.

[johnyrotten]

That flathead as shown is way better than what came in my '34, nice work on the headers, and fitting the chassis. These cars look great no matter how you build them. 

[Bullybeef]

The words “Warmed over flattie” sold me I’ll follow along! 

[Zippi]

I'm like you Jim, I like the ole fat fender cars.  Lots of style compared to whats on the road now a days.  That's a good looking fleabay purchase and will build up into a fine looking Ford Sedan.  

[customline]

4 hours ago, johnyrotten said:

That flathead as shown is way better than what came in my '34, nice work on the headers, and fitting the chassis. These cars look great no matter how you build them. 

The '34? Not great.... Oh, but later on they started tunneling through the crankcase. The Revell isn't leaking any oil but a seam runs down the middle of the pan, so....better, but only a little. The distributor is tiny. wiring won't be fun. 😪

2 hours ago, Bullybeef said:

The words “Warmed over flattie” sold me I’ll follow along! 

That's why I do that, Bil.  🙂....welcome!

1 hour ago, Zippi said:

I'm like you Jim, I like the ole fat fender cars.  Lots of style compared to whats on the road now a days.  That's a good looking fleabay purchase and will build up into a fine looking Ford Sedan.  

Yup. There's nothing like a fattie with a flattie 🤓 !

[dino246gt]

Here's the flattie I pulled out of an old '49 Merc that I rebuilt.

And here it is after I warmed it over:

 

[LennyB]

Nice idea for a project Jim.  I got one in the wings that I'm using a Vics resin 4-dr body on. Trying at least, the Vics resin piece doesn't fit very well.

I don't know what to think about that flathead.

Here is a pic of one from an early release molded in light blue. It's not the same as yours. And looking at some 80's kit releases I have a Lesney AMT39/40 Sedan kit that didn't  come with a flathead at all. Have an AMT/Ertl Coupe that has the same flathead as the light blue one.

 

Maybe the 'kid' took the flathead from something else as the kit didn't come with one.

 

How are the front wheel openings on the fenders? I've seen a number of the later castings where the openings are larger and not round. Wondering if that was ever fixed.

 

[espo]

As to the question of the engine, the engine that came with this kit would be from a later model car with a flathead than what would have been in this kit originally. The reason I think this is that the engine you received has two features that would immediately identify it as an engine from 1949 or newer. The #1 would be the distributer mounting point as the 1948 or earlier distributers were mounted low on the front of the engine. #2 The radiator hoses between the upper tank of the radiator and the heads are at the front of the heads instead of the center as in the 1948 and prior engines. There would also be a deference in the rear of the engine where the transmission would mount. All that aside there is nothing saying you couldn't upgrade the drive train since you're already making some good looking headers. Multi carbs and some finned aluminum heads would go good as well. 

[Mr. Metallic]

I love this idea. it's something I've thought about doing myself for awhile, so I'll be following along.

My first interaction with a hot rod was when my dad bought a black 40 sedan with a mildly warmed over flattie, around 1986. I was 10 and thought it was so cool bouncing around the back seat. He didn't keep it very long before he traded it for a 55 Crown Vic that he went full custom on. But that 40 sedan holds a special place in my heart and someday I'd like the build a model of what he had planned for it. The AMT kit is fine, but I'd love to go with the Revell underpinnings like you are.

[slusher]

Real nice work Jim, so far been checking out your great work!

[customline]

18 hours ago, slusher said:

Real nice work Jim, so far been checking out your great work!

Thank you, Carl, I'm glad you're interested. So far it's not a nightmare but there's still plenty of time 🥴.

[Bullybeef]

6 minutes ago, customline said:

Thank you, Carl, I'm glad you're interested. So far it's not a nightmare but there's still plenty of time 🥴.

Just as well to throw some 41 Plymouth parts at it if you want a nightmare 😜

Edited February 7 by Bullybeef

[customline]

19 hours ago, Mr. Metallic said:

I love this idea. it's something I've thought about doing myself for awhile, so I'll be following along.

My first interaction with a hot rod was when my dad bought a black 40 sedan with a mildly warmed over flattie, around 1986. I was 10 and thought it was so cool bouncing around the back seat. He didn't keep it very long before he traded it for a 55 Crown Vic that he went full custom on. But that 40 sedan holds a special place in my heart and someday I'd like the build a model of what he had planned for it. The AMT kit is fine, but I'd love to go with the Revell underpinnings like you are.

The Revell '40 std. kit is much better detailed in the chassis, suspension,  etc. So if you want a better detailed underside for whatever reason, it's do-able with maybe some work on the floor pan.  I will know soon enough,   Wish me luck ! 🤓

[customline]

On 2/7/2025 at 11:09 AM, Bullybeef said:

Just as well to throw some 41 Plymouth parts at it if you want a nightmare 😜

Stick around, Bil, that could happen! 🥴

[customline]

On 2/6/2025 at 12:15 PM, espo said:

As to the question of the engine, the engine that came with this kit would be from a later model car with a flathead than what would have been in this kit originally. The reason I think this is that the engine you received has two features that would immediately identify it as an engine from 1949 or newer. The #1 would be the distributer mounting point as the 1948 or earlier distributers were mounted low on the front of the engine. #2 The radiator hoses between the upper tank of the radiator and the heads are at the front of the heads instead of the center as in the 1948 and prior engines. There would also be a deference in the rear of the engine where the transmission would mount. All that aside there is nothing saying you couldn't upgrade the drive train since you're already making some good looking headers. Multi carbs and some finned aluminum heads would go good as well. 

That's a good analysis, David. It was not glued in.

  I bought 3 sets of Offy center port heads so that's covered. I'm struggling with the intake situation. I need an aftermarket unit that will play nice with the generator. I have the two 97s found in the Revell kit. I have the stock version of that kit so no intake manifold, just the vestigial carbs in chrome. I'm trying to modify an intake to mount the two carbs. The stupid fuel pump needs to be relocated. I suppose I could shorten the generator. 🤔

Edited February 8 by customline

[customline]

On 2/6/2025 at 9:41 AM, dino246gt said:

Here's the flattie I pulled out of an old '49 Merc that I rebuilt.

And here it is after I warmed it over:

 

Yup. I can smell the oil burning. That's some nice plumbing and wiring, Dennis.

[customline]

On 2/6/2025 at 10:31 AM, LennyB said:

Nice idea for a project Jim.  I got one in the wings that I'm using a Vics resin 4-dr body on. Trying at least, the Vics resin piece doesn't fit very well.

I don't know what to think about that flathead.

Here is a pic of one from an early release molded in light blue. It's not the same as yours. And looking at some 80's kit releases I have a Lesney AMT39/40 Sedan kit that didn't  come with a flathead at all. Have an AMT/Ertl Coupe that has the same flathead as the light blue one.

 

Maybe the 'kid' took the flathead from something else as the kit didn't come with one.

 

How are the front wheel openings on the fenders? I've seen a number of the later castings where the openings are larger and not round. Wondering if that was ever fixed.

 

I'm using the Revell engine so that bright green unit will go in the "engine box," never to be seen again.  The fenders will be from the Coca Cola coupe I got at Ollie's last year; that's fairly late, right? I will compare them, Len, and put up photos.

[espo]

2 hours ago, customline said:

That's a good analysis, David. It was not glued in.

  I bought 3 sets of Offy center port heads so that's covered. I'm struggling with the intake situation. I need an aftermarket unit that will play nice with the generator. I have the two 97s found in the Revell kit. I have the stock version of that kit so no intake manifold, just the vestigial carbs in chrome. I'm trying to modify an intake to mount the two carbs. The stupid fuel pump needs to be relocated. I suppose I could shorten the generator. 🤔

A couple of suggestions on your flathead engine. I have gotten parts from Replicas & Miniatures in the past and they offer some great looking flathead accessories. There are also several other sources that also offer some excellent engine parts as well. With 2 97s the generator usually, not always, would stay in the stock location. In cases were say 3 - 97s were used or just clearance issues for whatever reason there were offset mounts for generators that moved them slightly out of the centerline of the engine and towards the passenger side.  The fuel pump would often be replaced with an electric in line fuel pump and a small block off plate would cover and seal the intake opening. This would give you something to consider as you could just run a fuel line up to a fuel block on the firewall and run fuel lines on to the 97s. When we were young and dumb and considered appearances before safety red clear plastic fuel lines along with a fire extinguisher mounted somewhere within easy reach. 

[customline]

11 hours ago, espo said:

A couple of suggestions on your flathead engine. I have gotten parts from Replicas & Miniatures in the past and they offer some great looking flathead accessories. There are also several other sources that also offer some excellent engine parts as well. With 2 97s the generator usually, not always, would stay in the stock location. In cases were say 3 - 97s were used or just clearance issues for whatever reason there were offset mounts for generators that moved them slightly out of the centerline of the engine and towards the passenger side.  The fuel pump would often be replaced with an electric in line fuel pump and a small block off plate would cover and seal the intake opening. This would give you something to consider as you could just run a fuel line up to a fuel block on the firewall and run fuel lines on to the 97s. When we were young and dumb and considered appearances before safety red clear plastic fuel lines along with a fire extinguisher mounted somewhere within easy reach. 

Thanks, David, your help is appreciated.  Have you ever seen the fuel pump turned 90 degrees ? It's driven off the cam, right?  With a pushrod. Why not turn the mounting flange of the filler pipe a quarter-turn to the east? 

[customline]

Mock-up time!  Spent some time cutting on the white fender module. The tudor interior tub needed room for the back seat. The inner fenders that are part of the Revell floor pan needed trimming.  More work is needed at the toe board/firewall area. So far, combining the various components from 3 different kits is looking like it's going to work (man, I sure hope so.) Dimensionally, the Revell frame suits the AMT body just fine. So far...so good.  🤞

Tamiya pearl green? Orange? Black Cherry?

Yup, they're different all right. A little cutting followed.

This is why I'm using the Revell chassis.

Thanks for checking in.

[slusher]

Looking really good Jim!

[Bullybeef]

I’m liking the process of this combination.

[customline]

32 minutes ago, Bullybeef said:

I’m liking the process of this combination.

It's not really a process, per se, Bil. It's more like stumbling in the dark while small angry dogs are nipping at my ankles and a swarm of mosquitos are feasting on my blood. Sort of. But that's normal. 🥴

[customline]

1 hour ago, slusher said:

Looking really good Jim!

Thanks, Carl.