Whiskey a Go-Go!

[Tommy Kortman]

I got this idea from some photos that were sent to me from a fellow club member. It was this beautiful black 40 ford std coupe that looked bone stock from the out side. But...when you opened the hood, there sat a beautiful Cadillac V-8. Talk about the ultimate sleeper. Well I thought that the set up would be perfect for a moonshiners car. I used the Revell 40 std coupe, and the motor from the 49 Merc kit. I plan to display the car on a small landscaped base with a small still. There are only a few changes from a box stock build. First is obviously the engine. As previously stated it is sourced from the Revell Mercury custom kit. I am going with dual quads thought instead of the trips. The second change is the dropped front axle which was taken from the Revell 40 deluxe convertible. Finally the trunk was cut open and bracing was added to the underside of the deck lid, and the hood. I will be adding a load of the "recipe" to the trunk and another behind the seats. Fellow PACM (Philly Boyz) member gave me the cardboard cases, and the resin jugs. He also gave me a line on getting scale mason jars. So without further eloquence, I give you the Whiskey a Go Go! (at least until I can come up with a name I like better)

Here is the car in a mock up stage.

Hood and trunk will be positioned open, but removable for transport.

The Caddy does fit...with some...uh...adjustments.

A shot with the hood on. The carbs are not completed yet. I just have them there for the pics.

I hope you like it, and I'll post more as I go along. I'd like to have it done for NNL East, but I'm not sure i can pull that off.

Thanks for looking.

[Tommy Kortman]

Here are some more photos.

Another couple engine shots. Still working on the headers.

Interior:

Goodies:

Under hood and truck bracing:

Thanks again

Edited March 18, 2010 by Tommy Kortman

[Nick Winter]

That would be perfect for a older project of mine,

I really need to do better tree's for it, and well, a car too.

[Ryan Quantz]

Nice looking interior!

Funny, I'm building an almost identical 40 Ford. Same engine, axle, wheels... spooky.

[Joker]

Other than seeing a Caddy engine.LOL:lol:The under trunk and hood details nailed it for me. Shades of Jimmy Johnson the original Runner and NASCAR hall of Fame inductee. awesome build ...James

[RodneyBad]

DUDE!!!!!!!!!

That looks Sweeeeeeeeet.

Great Looking Engine

Awesome looking Interior.

Deck lid looks Great.

Excellent looking Truck fillers.

Just watched an old time Moonshine Flick.

They had an Extra tank hidden in the truck with a Drain Valve for dumping incase

the Lawman caught up with them..

Great work..

[dwc43]

Just watched an old time Moonshine Flick.

They had an Extra tank hidden in the truck with a Drain Valve for dumping incase

the Lawman caught up with them..

Great work..

Is this the one? I bet it is. Very good movie too.

"Thunder Road" starring Robert Mitchum

The film was based loosely on an incident in which a driver transporting moonshine was said to have crashed to his death on Kingston Pike in Knoxville, Tennessee somewhere between Bearden Hill and Morrell Road. Per Metro Pulse writer Jack Renfro, the incident occurred in 1952 and may have been witnessed by James Agee, who passed the story on to Mitchum.

In the film, Mitchum drove a hot-rodded 1951 Ford 2-door sedan with a custom tank in the back for moonshine and later a 1957 Ford coupe with the same alterations. The '51 Ford was modified with a '49 hood and grill and with the rear taillight trim removed. The film's dialogue refers to the car as a '50, but it is not, although at least one exterior shot, when the car spills oil on the road, is of the trunk of a '50.

Most of the scenes were filmed in Asheville, North Carolina and some at Lake Lure.

The movie's theme song, "The Ballad of Thunder Road", was later recorded by Mitchum and became a popular single record, although Mitchum's rendition is not the one in the film itself.

Edited March 18, 2010 by dwc43

[whale392]

And here I thought you were going to be building a bar!! Somewhere, in my stash of magazines, I have the article about a shine runner and Junior Johnson; detailing these very cars and his 'still' operations.

Build is looking beautiful; and I will be keeping my eye on this (when it is not blurred by either Whiskey or 'Shine!).

Oh, and according to the article on these cars, they had light cut-out switches mounted lower on the dash, to either kill just the brake function of the lighting, or kill all lights. Also, to give the appearance of an empty car, the rear springs were beefed up with extra leaves to bolster the car. Just thought you might want to know that if you were doing a full-on 'shiner ride.

Edited March 18, 2010 by whale392

[RodneyBad]

Is this the one? I bet it is. Very good movie too.

"Thunder Road" starring Robert Mitchum

That's the one.

Thanks.

[dwc43]

And here I thought you were going to be building a bar!! Somewhere, in my stash of magazines, I have the article about a shine runner and Junior Johnson; detailing these very cars and his 'still' operations.

Build is looking beautiful; and I will be keeping my eye on this (when it is not blurred by either Whiskey or 'Shine!).

Oh, and according to the article on these cars, they had light cut-out switches mounted lower on the dash, to either kill just the brake function of the lighting, or kill all lights. Also, to give the appearance of an empty car, the rear springs were beefed up with extra leaves to bolster the car. Just thought you might want to know that if you were doing a full-on 'shiner ride.

Check the vid I posted in the post just above yours. You'll see the oil slick built into the back bumper of the 49 Ford the Mitchum drove in the beginning of that movie. And it's based on a real life story too.

That's the one.

Thanks.

Anytime. Go back and check the vid I added to that post if you like.

[jevries]

Really like what you did with the interior gives it a real feel.

[brett]

Your interior is superb, one of the best I've seen and all your other detailing is right on the money as well. Cant wait to see this one painted

[sjordan2]

Thought you'd like to see a picture of the Caddy engine supposedly used in Robert Mitchum's first car in Thunder Road (Don Garlits museum display). Your model's engine is very close to it.

http://www.angelfire.com/dragon/laura76/thunderroad.jpg

[cruz]

WOW!! I love this thing Tommy!!! Great detail work!!

[Dr. Cranky]

Great story line, love the engine and the trunk details. This thing is coming along real nice. Keep it going. More eye candy, please.

[Tommy Kortman]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. I consider it an honor after seeing the quality work that constantly shows up on this board.

Nick,

That dio base actually gives me some ideas. (Why do I expect to see an orange 69 charger there soon?)

sjordan,

Actually, that photo does help with some detail questions. Thanks.

Does anyone know where I can find some decent pics of stills?

Edited March 19, 2010 by Tommy Kortman

[dwc43]

Does anyone know where I can find some decent pics of stills?

This should help.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=Moonshine+Still&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

As you can see by those pics, there's no wrong way to build one ... lol.

[sjordan2]

The guy with the beard in the third picture above is Popcorn Sutton, probably the most famous modern-day moonshiner whose travails have been covered locally over the past couple of years, and is from my neck of the woods (Knoxville, TN, home of Thunder Road as described earlier. I can see it in the distance, across a small valley, from my apartment patio. The site of the movie's wipeout is now the location of the city's biggest mall).

The revenooers caught up with Popcorn and convicted him in 2008, and he decided to do away with himself a few weeks ago just before going to jail.

http://dekerivers.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/obituary-of-marvin-popcorn-sutton-a-tennessee-moonshiner/

Edited March 19, 2010 by sjordan2

[sjordan2]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. I consider it an honor after seeing the quality work that constantly shows up on this board.

Nick,

That dio base actually gives me some ideas. (Why do I expect to see an orange 69 charger there soon?)

sjordan,

Actually, that photo does help with some detail questions. Thanks.

Does anyone know where I can find some decent pics of stills?

It would be really cool if you could do the mushroom air filter on Mitchum's '49 Caddy engine. I couldn't find any more pictures of it, but if anyone lives near the Don Garlits Museum in Ocala, FL, that's where you can take pictures of it.

I might add that there are some kits and diecasts out there of the '49 Cadillac.

Edited March 19, 2010 by sjordan2

[rustybill1960]

Love the theme on this build!

I am gonna use a '69 Mercury Cyclone for my "runner".

And I really appreciate the back stories and all the photos too!

"Thunder Road" with Robert Mitchum is a GREAT movie as well!

Sorry to hear about Popcorn! He sounded like a Man to have known!

Thank You for sharing!

I am watching this one for sure!

Later

Russ

[Tommy Kortman]

Ok, I just finished fabricating one header. I still have to do the finishing work. Hopefully the passenger side comes out just as well.

And here's the link to the Fotki host album.

40 Coupe Fotki album

[Nick Winter]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. I consider it an honor after seeing the quality work that constantly shows up on this board.

Nick,

That dio base actually gives me some ideas. (Why do I expect to see an orange 69 charger there soon?)

sjordan,

Actually, that photo does help with some detail questions. Thanks.

Does anyone know where I can find some decent pics of stills?

Beleive it or not but I've never built a '69 charger of any kind. If I ever get to it exspect a '71 Ford with a 351 modified high performance engine in it and hurst 4spd. (from the movie White Lightning)

[dwc43]

Beleive it or not but I've never built a '69 charger of any kind. If I ever get to it exspect a '71 Ford with a 351 modified high performance engine in it and hurst 4spd. (from the movie White Lightning)

That's a 1971 Ford Custom 500. Here's a list of the cars used in that movie.

White Lightning was filmed on location in Arkansas (Wrightsville, Benton). The principal props used in the movie were automotive, and included the following: a 1971 Ford Custom 500, a 1971 Mercury Monterey, a 1972 Ford LTD, a 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu, a 1963 Mercury Comet, a 1962 Ford Fairlane, a 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 and a Chevrolet Camaro of undetermined vintage.

[hemithunder]

I built this from faded memories of stories from my Grandfather.

Edited March 27, 2010 by hemithunder

[dwc43]

I built this from faded memories of stories from my Grandfather.

Nice build you got there.