1940 Ford Sedan Early 60’s Gas

[Dennis Lacy]

I started this project to participate in an AMT Trophy Kit group build on the niche forum, Traditional Rod and Kustom In Scale. The idea is to use an AMT kit that was party of their early Trophy series , either an original issue or subsequent reissues. I’m starting with the most current issue of the 1940 Sedan. 

Modifications to the exterior include:

- Hood and side trim deleted.

- Kit provided solid grill filler. 

- Running boards deleted. 

- Door and trunk handles from Revell 40 Fords. 

- AMT 40 Coupe custom rear bumper, front bumper brackets deleted. 

- Rear fender radii increased to clear slicks. 

- Kit stock front wheels. AMT 49 Ford rear wheels, printed tires and slicks. 

- Kit dropped front axle. 

The engine is the optional Pontiac from AMT’s 36 Ford kits with heads, valve covers and timing cover from AMT’s parts pack Pontiac, Lehman cam-driven water pump from AMT’s 40 Willys, chrome log intake from AMT’s 25 T’s and Revell 40 Ford Stromberg carburetors and filters. 

I’ve began making the plumbing from the water pump to the sides of the block where the forward core plugs would go. Note that in the pics below a water cross-over has been added but will not be staying because its connection points aren’t accurate. More on that later.

The headers are taken from Revell’s most current 32 Ford Roadster and while they are from a Chevy small block, the port alignment is very similar and will pass the first-glance test. They had to be shortened about 3/16” and the inner fenders were trimmed for them to pass through. Disregard the dual 4-barrels and belt drive as those were an earlier idea.

 

The interior is going to be simple. The roll bar comes from the kit and I added separate door and window crank handles. The steering wheel is AMT 49 Ford. I also scribed the door panel lines which were nonexistent. 

That’s where I’m at so far. More to come!

[Ace-Garageguy]

Remarkable what happens when a real live real car builder who understands what all the parts do builds a model.

Lovin' it so far.   

[Zippi]

The ole 40 Ford Sedan is taking shape there Dennis.  

[meechum68]

Following!!

[James2]

Great project!

[slusher]

A great project too follow!    
 

 

[sidcharles]

will the running boards stay gone?

i like it like that.

[DJMar]

Oh, I dig this. It's looking really sweet. 

[Dennis Lacy]

@Ace-Garageguy @Zippi @meechum68 @James2 @slusher @sidcharles @DJMar

Thanks, guys. I’m having fun with this project! 

I made some progress earlier today. Even though these old AMT kits have basic chassis’ I still want to paint things nicely but there’s one glaring feature that’s been bothering me, the big open slots on the “brake plates”. So, I went ahead and filled them all with scraps of .040” plastic and there was room in the back to add the custom brake drums found in AMT’s 32 Vicky and Phaeton kits. 

On the other forum that’s hosting the build off a member asked me how I was going to handle the stock exhaust pipes and muffler being molded to frame and I answered with 2 options. 

1) Ignore it and chalk it up to “it is what it is.”

2) Use the add-on left side pipes and muffler from the sister 40 Coupe kit and tie them into the headers. 

Gas class rules of the early 60’s state that the vehicle must be equipped with full exhaust pipes and mufflers but headers can have caps left open while racing. I sourced the add-on exhaust pieces, cleaned them up and glued them into the headers place. 

 

But, that wasn’t good enough. I wanted the car to have visible exhaust tips when sitting on its wheels & tires so I carefully carved away the molded tip and sliced off the add-on tip then spliced in tailpipe sections with hanger brackets from a Revell 40 Ford which also have separate chrome tips. The tips end up perfectly under the edge of the custom bumper. The splices and hanger brackets are reinforced with stainless pins.

Up front I made a pair of U-shaped connections from the bottom of the header cones to the front ends of the exhaust pipes. These were made from the front pipes in Revell’s modern 29 Roadster / 30 Coupe kits but had to be shortened in the middle of the humps 1/16” to fit up correctly. Again, pins were used to reinforce the joints. 

Here are some overall chassis shots with the axles in place. Once everything is paint detailed this should do just fine. 

Still more to come…

[Straightliner59]

Oh, hell, yeah! I don't know what else to say. That is super freaking cool!

[Zippi]

NIce job on those backing plates Dennis.  Nice progress on the Sedan.  

[stavanzer]

Just Awesome Work, Dennis!

[FoMoCo66]

Amazing! That car looks like it came straight out of the early 60s. Nice work.