'49 Ford Shoebox Retro Pro Touring Road Racer - Updated 07/12

[Bernard Kron]

I’m in the midst of building a very traditional ’49 Ford mild custom which I’ve posted on the workbench section. In the course of determining the stance for that car Raul Perez suggested using the rear suspension from the Revellogram ’32 Ford series with its air bags and Ford 9†diff as a quick way to get a fully engineered and lowered rear end. The picture he posted looked great but it was too modern for that build. However, I mocked up Raul’s suggested setup and I liked the resulting stance and concept so much I decided to build a Contemporary street rod based on the wheels, tires and rear suspension from a Revell ’32 Ford sedan I’ve got. I’ll be building it in parallel with the Traditional ’49 I’ve got going.

Another influence was Dave Zinn’s very cool ’49 Ford short tracker (http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19755 ). I really like the way race cars sit and the simple, no b.s. look they have. Dave’s build really nails it. Finally, Stevegt378 showed some pics of an uncompleted build of a ’50 Shoebox convertible he’d started that used a variation on the grill treatment I’m using on the Traditional ’49. My plan is to either use the same grille treatment on my Contemporary car as on the Traditional build, or perhaps use Steve’s approach where he trimmed the ends off the grille car and reshaped it so that the grille is completely contained inside the grille surround.

My grille treatment (click picture for larger image)

Steve’s grille treatment (click picture for larger image)

While this will be a street machine I want to capture a little of the race car vibe. For starters I’ve expanded the real wheel openings to show off the tires. I’ll remove all the trim on the sides, too, and probably leave off any bumpers. I haven’t decided whether the grille will stay chromed or not. The engine will be the modular DOHC Ford V-8 from the AMT Phantom Vicky kit. It’s beautifully detailed. However, I’d like to delete the modern fuel injection it has and use some sort of carbureted setup or a more traditional Hilborn style FI. I’d welcome any suggestions.

Below are some initial mockup pictures including a comparison of the stance of the Contemporary build with it’s more pronounced rake compared to the lowered all around look of the Traditional car.

Thanx for lookin’.

B.

Edited July 12, 2009 by gbk1

[Raul_Perez]

...The engine will be the modular DOHC Ford V-8 from the AMT Phantom Vicky kit. It's beautifully detailed. However, I'd like to delete the modern fuel injection it has and use some sort of carbureted setup or a more traditional Hilborn style FI. I'd welcome any suggestions...

Bernard,

Since you're already using many parts from the Revell '32 Ford for this build, (AND, you want a more traditional carburetion system), I'd use the 302 Motorsport crate engine from the '32 for this build. That's what I used in my '50 Ford. It fits and looks GREAT with almost no trouble at all.

Yes, the DOHC engine is pretty cool, but I'd save it for a roadster where you can actually see all of that great detail. You've seen my '49 Merc where I shoe-horned the DOHC engine into the engine bay. A lot of that detail is visually lost in the fact that the engine is such a tight fit, and that's after I move the battery back towards the firewall. And, these are the pics from before the body was attached. By the time you put the hood on, you see even less than what's in these pics.

Either way you go, it'll look GREAT!! The stance is right on the money!!

Later,

[Raul_Perez]

...something like the "crate" 460 from the '70 Torino GT kit would be cool too though!...

Dave

Or, I could send you one of those Revell Parts-Pack 427 Ford engines!! (If you don't already have one.) As you may recall from my stash, I have "extras"...

You can build it with either a blower or with dual quad carbs!! You'd have to come up with exhaust manifolds because the kit only comes with upswept headers.

Later,

[Clay]

I plan on using the 427 in my other Modified Stocker hauler build. Bernard, This will turn out to be great. Keep us posted.

[Tonioseven]

This looks to be a cool project! I'm researching ideas for the '50 Ford I just got in the mail the other day. Keep up the good work!!!

[RodneyBad]

That ford is looking good.

I really Love the grill treatment.

I feel like getting a 49 Ford and starting one

A lot have Great Fords have been built too..

[Bernard Kron]

More progress… To get myself into that “streetable racecar†mood I actually started by finishing out the wheels from the Revell ’32 kit which I had stripped of their chrome. They're painted out in Testors Metallizers: Buffable Aluminum Plate with Buffable Burnt Metal centers. I reversed the tires so that the smooth rounded side sits outwards, again for that racecar look.

(Click on picture for larger image)

That got me in the right frame of mind to finish out the bodywork. Having opened up the rear wheel area, I then removed all the trim. Finally, I wanted to avoid the protruding bumper-like appearance of the kit’s rolled front pan so I removed about 1/16th inch of material from the center. Here’s a comparison of the stock pan on the right (in blue) and the sectioned piece on the left. The material removed is called out in red outline. Once I french the headlight rims in, as is the case on the blue car, the slimming down of the pan area will become more obvious.

(Click on picture for larger image)

Below are some pics with the smoothed out body. I really like that tough Holman & Moody vibe it’s got. Now if I can preserve it and still create a nicely finished modern street rod, I’ll be pleased. Next is more chassis work and an engine. In keeping with the whole Revellogram ’32 Ford kit thing I may go with a small block Ford with either 2 four-barrels or 4 Webers….

Thanx for lookin’.

B.

Edited May 7, 2009 by gbk1

[Raul_Perez]

Bernard,

The wheels and the stance look GREAT!!

The reshaped rear wheel openings really show off those nice wheels!!

It also looks like you did a pretty good job of removing the side trim without adding any extra work for yourself in the process...I see too many people really gouge their way through trim removal, then they need to add a lot of putty to fix all of the low spots.

Yes, the small block Ford with either 2 four-barrels or 4 Webers would look awesome under the hood.

Keep up the GREAT work and keep us posted on your progress!! I really like seeing your design thoughts imprinted on this era of car.

Later,

[Foxer]

First, this looks really great , Bernard! I love all the thought and small things you are doing.

It also looks like you did a pretty good job of removing the side trim without adding any extra work for yourself in the process...I see too many people really gouge their way through trim removal, then they need to add a lot of putty to fix all of the low spots.

Now, isn't that one of those Mark Gustavson methods I've seen in countless magazine articles? I've never done more than just sand and file away any trim or "bump" off the body and so far it's never come back to haunt me. I'm a strong believer in KISS (Keep I Simple Stupid) and it makes me feel good to see someone of your caliber, Raul, is too.

[Bernard Kron]

First, this looks really great , Bernard! I love all the thought and small things you are doing.

It also looks like you did a pretty good job of removing the side trim without adding any extra work for yourself in the process...

Thanx guys!

Extra work is never anything but a big drag! I use big flat foam-cored nail files that you can get at the drugstore, going from 100 grit out to 280 to get the trim down. The size and flatness helps me stay true to the countour of the body. Then I wet sand the surface from 400 grit to 2000 and finally, once I'm pretty sure everything’s OK I smooth down the plastic using polishing cloths to check and make sure the body surface is straight. It’s a lot of work but way less work with way less risk than puttying up divots, etc.

Edited May 8, 2009 by gbk1

[Raul_Perez]

...I'm a strong believer in KISS (Keep I Simple Stupid) and it makes me feel good to see someone of your caliber, Raul, is too.

...Extra work is never anything but a big drag! I use big flat foam-cored nail files that you can get at the drugstore, going from 100 grit out to 280 to get the trim down. The size and flatness helps me stay true to the countour of the body. Then I wet sand the surface from 400 grit to 2000 and finally, once I pretty sure everything's OK I the plastic using polishing cloths to check and make sure the body surface us straight. It's a lot of work but way less work with way less risk than puttying up divots, etc.

Bernard,

If I didn't know better, I'd say that you did time like me as a professional bodyman!

Yep, this is certainly a case where less is better.

Later,

[Bernard Kron]

This project keeps evolving on me. Now that I’ve decided to go with the small block Ford and pretty much settled on 4 DCOE38 downdraft Webers, I can feel myself definitely drifting Old School on this thing. I think the whole thing was triggered by painting the wheels. This shows what I mean:

(Click on picture for larger image)

Very Mark Donahue…

For some reason I forgot to remove the drip rails but now they’re gone, further emphasizing the race car theme:

(Click on picture for larger image)

And then last night I had a brainwave and decided to run the exhausts out of the body in front of the rear wheels:

(Click on picture for larger image)

None of this is exactly Contemporary Pro Touring, I think! Even worse, I’m starting to think of a Cunningham style paint theme! Yikes, this thing is out of control…

Also quite evident in the pics is that, with a shot of primer on it you can see that there are ghosts of the trim that are still showing through. Sand, prime, sand, prime, etc.

[Raul_Perez]

...Now that I've decided to go with the small block Ford and pretty much settled on 4 DCOE38 downdraft Webers, I can feel myself definitely drifting Old School on this thing. I think the whole thing was triggered by painting the wheels.

Very Mark Donahue…

And then last night I had a brainwave and decided to run the exhausts out of the body in front of the rear wheels...Yikes, this thing is out of control…

Also quite evident in the pics is that, with a shot of primer on it you can see that there are ghosts of the trim that are still showing through. Sand, prime, sand, prime, etc.

Bernard,

Those downdraft Webers should look really cool under the hood!! From how you described their detail, I think that I need to get a set for some future builds, too!!

The exhaust coming out the side of the body is a nice touch for something that's lowered as much as this build is, plus it SCREAMS hotrod - evil, wicked, mean and nasty!!

Yes, sometimes the more aggressive, lacquer based primers will create a bit of ghosting where you've sanded through the outer finish of the plastic. This seems to be more predominant with the softer plastics like the type AMT uses and less so with the harder, more brittle blend that Revell used several years ago. As long as your top, color coats are less aggressive than your primer, a good prime coat and sanding will get rid of it. I typically color-sand all of my topcoats at least once just for this reason.

The 40 Ford I'm building now is a good example of switching early in the process from primer to color coats. Once the rough bodywork was done and sanded with 220, I gave it a light color coat to find any remaining defects. The model was then painted again with a few color coats. This will dry for about a week before I color sand it with 400, apply a quick color coat, followed by a few coats of clear.

While this approach is a bit more expensive and time consuming, I like the result.

Later,

[Bernard Kron]

Those downdraft Webers should look really cool under the hood!! From how you described their detail, I think that I need to get a set for some future builds, too!! ...

Yes, sometimes the more aggressive, lacquer based primers will create a bit of ghosting where you've sanded through the outer finish of the plastic. This seems to be more predominant with the softer plastics like the type AMT uses and less so with the harder, more brittle blend that Revell used several years ago. As long as your top, color coats are less aggressive than your primer, a good prime coat and sanding will get rid of it. I typically color-sand all of my topcoats at least once just for this reason.

The 40 Ford I'm building now is a good example of switching early in the process from primer to color coats. Once the rough bodywork was done and sanded with 220, I gave it a light color coat to find any remaining defects. The model was then painted again with a few color coats. This will dry for about a week before I color sand it with 400, apply a quick color coat, followed by a few coats of clear.

The Webers are from Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland, Part No. RM-114, 1/25 Weber Carb Intake Kit. The kit is awesome. Here's a picturs of all the key parts (4 carbs, 8 velocity stacks, coolant pipe/fuel intake log, brass tubing for venturi detail inside carb) except the brass tubing. I just finished painting them:

Thanks for the tip on the paint. I've noticed before that a color coat can act as a very fine filler. Sanding color coats is definitely the thing to do to achieve a really nice finish.

[Bernard Kron]

...Your first pix reminded me of a build I did a few years back.:

Very pretty, Roger. I like the combo of chrome, the metallic paint shade you chose, and the modern wheels. Personally I think it looks just right as is. The hardtop treatment might just as easily opened up a whole can of worms and pretty soon you'd have been into a whole full-custom thing. Not a bad thing at all, necessaily, but a whole other car than the one you created - and a very nice one it is!

P.S. I notice what appear to be bucket seats in the inetrior. What interior treatment did you do?

Edited May 11, 2009 by gbk1

[Raul_Perez]

...Personally I think it looks just right as is. The hardtop treatment might just as easily opened up a whole can of worms and pretty soon you'd have been into a whole full-custom thing. Not a bad thing at all, necessarily, but a whole other car than the one you created...

Bernard,

You sure got that right about leaving the "B" pillars alone on the classic Shoebox design unless you really want to wander down the "full-custom" path...

I took the "B" pillars out of my custom '49, effectively making it a hardtop. In doing so, you then have to remove the window frame from each door. Once you've done that, the top edge of the quarter-glass looks too low with respect to the new window opening on the door because it stylistically "was" aligned with the large window frame that you just removed.

OK...reshape the quarter window to re-align with the reshaped window opening on the door...but then the back window looks too small with respect to the side windows...

When it's all said and done you'll probably wish that you had left well enough alone because you've completely changed the profile of the car by making the greenhouse look quite a bit larger. No, wait...now you can chop the top...

I decided to stop there and ended up with a custom Shoebox that I never felt look quite "right".

Oh well, I still have more of them in the garage to build!!

Later,

[dencon]

These are some great looking Shoeboxes, here. This is a car and a kit that I have always like but never built. Had an idea in my head for one for years and finally built it this past summer. Now with the reissue. I think that I am goignt ot have to pick up another one. BTW It was the box art that AMT used on this re issue that gave me the original insparation for my build.

[Bernard Kron]

Hey dencon, Nice One! It really captures the spirit of the box art but with a muddy twist!

In my Workbench post of the Traditional Mild Custom Shoebox(see http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19876 ), which I'm building simultaneously with this one, I commented: "Among the great Ford designs was the first “pontoon bodied†model, the ’49 Ford. It’s incredible simplicity and purity of line has meant that it’s become an amazing blank slate for everything from competition cars to ratted out rust buckets to full-on chopped, sectioned and channeled customs." Cool to see such a vaiety of approaches to modeling this iconic car.

I've made some progress on the chassis and engine. I hope to post some pics tomorrow.

B.

[Bernard Kron]

I've made some progress on the chassis and engine. I hope to post some pics tomorrow.

B.

Nothing like quoting yourself! It's only 18 days later than when I said I'd post some stuff! I came down with a mild case of Builder's Block so I landed up working Verrrrry Verrrrry Sloooowwwlllly.

I did get some preliminary work done on the chassis, and the complete rear suspension finished. I removed the gas tank and spare tire well and substituted some Plastruct ribbed stock. The gas tank will be in the trunk and the spare behind the seats in the interior - real Old School road race style.

(Click on picture for larger image)

I got started on the motor. The manifold and fuel log are installed, the motor parts painted and the carburetors assembled. I'm thinking of ordering some braided line and connectors from ProTech to do the carbs justice. Here's a picture of a very rough mockup so far.

(Click on picture for larger image)

I made up some protective panels for the exhaust exits (what are these things called, anyway?) and mocked them up in Matte Aluminum BMF to see how they will look.

(Click on picture for larger image)

And lastly, I got started on the grill. I decided to do a variation on the approach steveqt738 took to adapting the stock grill to the rolled pan front end (see his pic at the top of this Topic). Like Steve I’m trimming the grill bar so it sits inboard of the grill opening, but I’ve added driving lights in the corners.

(Click on picture for larger image)

Thanx for lookin'!

B.

Edited May 30, 2009 by gbk1

[Foxer]

Good to see ya back on this one. I really like that grill treatment with the lights.

[Raul_Perez]

Oh yeah...that rear end and engine block from the '32 fits in there like it was meant to be!!!

Those MAD distributors sure are nice, too!!

Getting the gas tank out of the way was a nice touch!!

Don't stop now, Bernard!! You're on a roll!!

Later,

[CB]

Can't wait to see more pix of this here 'box, Bernard, but I know you got other Fords to work on........

Love yer new avatar, and yer siggy pix btw

[stevegt738]

Gee i've been a bit slack, i missed this build somehow. I like what your doing with this one. The extra lights at the front look good. With the engine, have you considered a cross ram weber set up like TransAm Mustangs had. Something like this

Might make the engine look racier.

[Bernard Kron]

I’ve definitely neglected this one but now I'm finally back to it. The detailing on the motor is a major concern. I’m moving very slowly. I’ve decided to stick with the downdraft Webers but the fuel lines , connectors and other engine stuff is new to me so I’m sure that will be the long pole in the tent.

In the meantime I finished the bodywork and shot the body with Duplicolor Wimbledon White (a kind of cream white) and striped the body using Pactra Racing Blue trim tape. This clinched the look on the car. It is now totally retro with this classic 50’s Cunningham racing colors scheme. With the stripes in place I'm now really glad I sectioned the rolled front pan to bring it in line with the nose of the hood. It really tightened things up. Here are a coupla pics:

This whole build has had an odd familiarity to it. Somewhere in the back of my mind there was an image of a classic custom I had seen in the “little magazines†when I was growing up. I finally remembered it. Here it is, from the pages of Rod & Custom, the Pete Brock ’46 Ford Convertible. If the name Pete Brock seems familiar it’s because he designed the Daytona Cobra coupe!

Next up is more work on the motor and a start on the interior which will have racing buckets, a roll cage, and a 50’s Mille Miglia/Mexican Road Race style spare tire mounting where the rear seat used to be. With two or three other builds going at the same time this one will continue to move slowly but steadily.

Thanx for lookin’!

Edited July 12, 2009 by gbk1

[Joe Handley]

I’ve definitely neglected this one but now I'm finally back to it. The detailing on the motor is a major concern. I’m moving very slowly. I’ve decided to stick with the downdraft Webers but the fuel lines , connectors and other engine stuff is new to me so I’m sure that will be the long pole in the tent.

In the meantime I finished the bodywork and shot the body with Duplicolor Wimbledon White (a kind of cream white) and striped the body using Pactra Racing Blue trim tape. This clinched the look on the car. It is now totally retro with this classic 50’s Cunningham racing colors scheme. With the stripes in place I'm now really glad I sectioned the rolled front pan to bring it in line with the nose of the hood. It really tightened things up. Here are a coupla pics:

This whole build has had an odd familiarity to it. Somewhere in the back of my mind there was an image of a classic custom I had seen in the “little magazines†when I was growing up. I finally remembered it. Here it is, from the pages of Rod & Custom, the Pete Brock ’46 Ford Convertible. If the name Pete Brock seems familiar it’s because he designed the Daytona Cobra coupe!

Next up is more work on the motor and a start on the interior which will have racing buckets, a roll cage, and a 50’s Mille Miglia/Mexican Road Race style spare tire mounting where the rear seat used to be. With two or three other builds going at the same time this one will continue to move slowly but steadily.

Thanx for lookin’!

Good looking build GBK, I love the idea!

Am I the only one who looks at that Pete Brock '46 and thinks of Greased Lighting