"Little T" restoration and cool store display

[jbwelda]

i imagine most of you folks already know about the guy on ebay who makes and sells these kool replica store displays for a lot of vintage models, but if you don't already, look him up on the bay sometime. he doesnt always have auctions for them running but most of the time he does.

anyway that brings me to the point of the post: i have recently started (like 2 evenings now) rebuilding a Little T that ive had for some time, plus i just took delivery on a store display for the car, so that caused me to get inspired. unfortunately the kit i have of it is missing a good number of parts, though whats there is in decent condition and now pretty clean and straight after the quick rebuild.

what i really need are the front axle and associated gear, and the four wheels and tires. and the exhaust pipe arrangement hanging off each side. i do have the mufflers and pipes that go under and connect to the cut outs of the headers i am missing.

the wheels are basically chrome reversed with baby moons, thin in the front and kinda thicker in the back. whitewall tires front and rear and i believe a slick in the rear. i tried to take pics of the box illustration etc but my camera died.

what i would like to know is whether these parts were ever reissued in something easier (read: less expensive) to get your hands on. the "little t" kits typically sell for 50 or 60$ on ebay and thats more than i want to spend on this car. but even if i could get some pretty close wheels and tires i think i would be happy. the axle and brakes and headers are gonna be the hard part.

thanks in advance for any suggestions or pointers! this really is a neat old kit and pretty delicate and advanced for its age. the six strombergs are very well detailed and with just a wash it really brings out the linkage and other details. very nice engraving.

heres the one photo i did manage to get before my camera dumped. you can see what i mean about the display, they are really kool with a kapital K! and no i have no connection other than being wowed...ive bought about 5 or 6 over the past year to put my re-builds on and they look killer!

what i really want to do in the future is buy a perfect kit and build a "little drag" replica using the turtle deck that comes with the little t kit. that would be neat to display with the 1/8 scale one!

[Corvette.Jeff]

are these the kind of tires your talking about??

[Casey]

The tires you're asking about are the same as those in Monogram's "Orange Hauler" and "Lil Coffin" kits.

Here are some pics of the Little T built up on Bob Black's blog: http://rodburner.blogspot.com/2009/08/monogram-little-t-by-ron-s-124-scale.html

[jbwelda]

thanks for that casey. and emokid, those arent really close, the correct ones are more deep dish and have a baby moon center. i havent yet but you will probably see what i mean if you check the link casey provided.

thanks everyone and keep em coming...

ive actually been looking for a little coffin for awhile. i figured they might be plentiful since i think they got reissued not too long ago? i will put in a search for the orange hauler now.

especially if you happen to have some in your junque box maybe we can set up a trade (i apologize for posting this in an inappropriate forum if it is).

ive had a couple of pms asking for the guys contact info, his name is "3names" and heres a link to a typical recent auction. i dont know what the usual routine is but he sold me 3 displays including postage for 90$. they come already assembled and very expertly folded and glued. kinda origami.

black widow

forty ford truck

anyway, again, dont want to seem like a shill for the guy, im just very impressed with these real novel displays. i remember them on the drugstore counter in belleville illinois when i was a kid!

[jbwelda]

oh so i looked at the link to the built little t and i notice one thing about it: the little t came with chrome wheels (or i am assuming it did since i dont have the wheels...but all the illustrations on the box (i dont have the instrux) show chrome wheels. but the one in the link is actually more accurate to the Big T in that it has red painted wheels with the baby moons. very cool build and you see what i mean about this being a pretty well proportioned and detailed little kit for its day.

thanks again!

[Howard Cohen]

You can use the Monogram Street T kit, or any of it's variants, to get the parts you need. I restored a Little T a few years ago and that was the kit I used for a few small bits. I did mine with the turtle deck as it was glued on with so much glue that it was beyond removal. The kits are fairly cheap and easy to find.

[FordRodnKustom]

Nice! Glad to see another one of these classics being restored. The display piece looks great too! That's my T resto that Casey's link points to. I ended up using two ebay glue bombs to get all the Little T specific parts. I tried the Orange Hauler wheels but you're right, they are too shallow and didn't look right to me. The tires are correct though. Besides that and the Coffin the Don Edmond's sprint car also has the tires you need. You might not know it but this kit and all it's variants are basically the same kit. The front suspension is identical except for the brake backing plates that aren't there. Most of the chrome trim parts are the same too.

I did paint my wheels body color because I always liked the look of painted steelies and caps on the Big T so that's what I went for. Here's a link to my build up album:

http://public.fotki.com/bigfordpilot/my_built_model_cars/built_models/little-t/

Good luck with your restoration!

[crazyjim]

Thirty bucks for a box?? Have you seen the box for the new '62 Pontiac Catalina? I saved it because I thought somebody might be interested in it - sounds like you're the guy! Would you care to trade something for it? Maybe a set of wheels or a couple of chrome air cleaners?

[jbwelda]

emokid, sorry it was kinda late and i didnt read your post right. the front tires you show are pretty close but the rears have wide whitewalls. thanks for the idea though...

crazy jim, well thirty dollars for a box might be one way to put it but a) they are not a "box" and b ) they are long lost store displays that originally no one but retailers got. yes they are repros. let me know when you find originals for $30 and i will buy all of them. not sure on your point about the catalina box so im going to let that slide. i aint that crazy.

thanks also on the tips on the street t and the revell t. i think i have the revell t on the shelf somewhere but i think i would like to search out the street t because since its from monogram it might have more appropriate parts. i looked into the orange hauler and the little coffin and while the tires seem the same (which is what Casey said) i keep reading into it that the WHEELS and tires are the same which they obviously are not. anyway thanks again for the tips and thats a beautiful build up of the little t and i will use it for building mine since i dont have anything beyond the box top illustration to go by otherwise.

Edited May 26, 2010 by jbwelda

[jbwelda]

hmmm did find one monogram street t out on ebay but the seller is clearly delusional: buy it now for 162$

that just aint happenin around this household!

oh and did i mention he wants 19$ shipping in the usa? insult to injury if you ask me. whatever this cat is smoking i want some of that!

i do notice the similarities between the street t and the revell offering shown in this thread: wheels look identical, front end identical, looks like the same kit. unfortunately it also looks like neither have the exhaust headers im looking for nor the wheels, though the front axle certainly looks workable...but the hunt continues.

my best bet is to pay my friend jerry amaral a visit and spend an afternoon digging through his parts bins. he is generous enough to let me do that and usually we mutually swap stuff so thats a possibility. on the other hand i am a patient man so maybe i will run up against a build up or parts lot fairly cheap if i keep my eyes open. Lord knows i got plenty of other projects to get to while i wait.

thanks again everyone and please let me know if anyone turns anything up.

Edited May 26, 2010 by jbwelda

[crazyjim]

What I meant about the Catalina box is that it has pictures on it - not just a plain old box. I'll try to take some pics for you.

[jbwelda]

thanks jim but i have the box right in front of me...just bought this kit last night. based on weight only its a real bargain!

[crazyjim]

Yeah. It is a nice kit and goes together well. You can see now what I mean about the box. I've been saving it because I thought somebody might want it. I guess it'll go in the trash can.

[jbwelda]

i am kinda obsessive so i usually fold up my boxes so they more or less lie flat and keep em on a shelf! that way, in 20 years, i might be able to recoup the cost of the kit! not really, mostly just to have em!

[Casey]

Just FYI, the Monogram Boot Hll Express kit contains the same rear slicks.

I would search through the Monogram model kits listed on eBay and see if you recognize the same steelies 'n' baby moon caps on a similar era kit. Maybe the Blue Beetle kit?

[jbwelda]

thanks again casey; i am doing just that! there are a lot of "junk yard" lots on the bay at the moment and a couple of them look promising.

[Corvette.Jeff]

so ive been digging through my parts boxes and found a few things that may be close to what your looking for..

i have both full sets of those.

then i have these rims....

theyre yours if you want them.

[jbwelda]

hey that first pic, the rim on the right, chrome reversed with baby moon, is exactly what i am looking for!

i will send you a pm and maybe we can arrange a swap.

thanks again!

[Casey]

hey that first pic, the rim on the right, chrome reversed with baby moon, is exactly what i am looking for!

Are those from the AMT '49 Mercury kit? I seem to recall that kit (at least the Customizing Series version) contained those wheels.

[jbwelda]

yeah actually i might have spoken too soon but they look like they might work for the rear.

i appreciate the offers too, thank you much!