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Posted (edited)

I bought some bodies from Jimmy Flintstone a while back and this was among them. My original intention was to do a full fendered car but, even though Flintstone says this is for the Revell '32, it doesn't fit either the chassis or the fenders properly, primarily because of the common problem with Flintstone resin, the body is too thick. I continue to believe that it's an open question whether aftermarket resin bodies actually save you any time on a build. I think mainly they should be bought because they're pretty, represent something unobtainable any other way, or because they involve work you either can't or don't want to do yourself.

So I decided since the body didn't fit the Revell chassis I would build my own frame which would be designed for it. The front crossmember is from an AMT Model A Ford roadster and the middle crossmember is a cut down Revell '32 Ford. The rest is made from Evergreen strip and rod. The front 2/3rds of the side rails was traced from the Revell '32 frame and filed to shape. The suspension is Revell '32 all around (without the airbags at the rear 'natch…).

Plans are to run hairpins at the front and parallel links at the rear. The motor will be the Hemi from the Revell '32 5-window with limefires. Not sure about the wheels yet, but the rubber you see, from Modelhaus, is what I'm using.

Grill shell will be a Deuce piece with a 4" chop. Paint scheme and interior are still up in the air.

Thanx for lookin',

B.

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Edited by gbk1
Posted

One of the, if not the BEST hot rods........chopped and slammed '32 tudor.......KEEP IT COMING Bernard!!!!!cool.gifcool.giftongue.gif

I agree completely with that !!! B)

What colors are you thinking about throwing on it Bernard ?

Posted

OK...I don't want to hear anymore from you regarding "I'm slowly getting my chops back".

Anyone who can sucessfully build their own frame, and a pretty nice one at that, IS a model builder. Period. :lol:

This is looking pretty cool, Bernard!!

But, I think I'd use the HEMI, (with a BIG old blower on top), from the Revell Willys kits just to see if I can make the engine stand up taller than that chopped roof!! :)

Later,

Posted

This is very good looking start! Great stance and tires are perfect to this, chop top and channeling gives a very great look!

Posted

Thanx for all the kind words, guys!smile.gifcool.gif

I've made a few changes to the chassis since the initial construction. I moved the rear axle back a smidge to open up the space between the rear door line and the tire. I also eliminated the crossmember that held the rear coil overs and substituted two tabs, leaving room for a gas tank which I fabricated from the two halves in the Revell '32 Ford kits. I also moved the center crossmember back quite a ways so that it supported the bearing on the transmission tailshaft as it was designed to do. The combination of these two changes to crossmember positions allowed me to run the Revell traction bars. This goes well with the overall look that seems to be developing: shiny paint and shiny chrome.

The wheels are probably what got me into the shiny paint & chrome thing. The fronts are Winfield "Terra Thrust" wheels from the AMT '25 Ford roadster and the rears are pseudo Cragars from the AMT '39-'40 Ford kit in its more recent releases. They all needed to be cut down some to fit. The front Terra Thrusts are pretty worn from bouncing around the bottom of my parts box. Absent a clean set of replacements, I'm hoping to get my hands on some proper Cragars with the logo in the center that aren't too deep to fit these skinny tires.

For the shiny paint I decided to do the chassis in Duplicolor Toreador Red metallic over gold, the result being a deep candy red. With the chrome wishbones and traction bars and the shiny chrome on the engine it's more of a show car look, reminiscent of Barris' Emperor chassis ('though not as much chrome!). The wishbones, from the Revell '32 Ford 5-window, will have to be shortened some because currently they interfere with the body's channel over the frame rails (see inset pic below)

The engine is nearly finished, with a gold block and heads. It will be pretty much the out-of-the-box version from the Revell '32 Ford 5-window with exception of limefire exhausts. I haven't decided yet whether to run the beautifully detailed set that Lyle Willits mastered for Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland, or to run the somewhat plainer but chromed version from the AMT Pantom Vicky kit.

Which brings me to the paint and interior. With this shiny show chassis I'm beginning to think pearlescent white to contrast with the frame rails. This is not without risk as I have yet to shoot a successful pearl white paint job. I did have success with a Tamiya pearl green so I'm thinking I'll go with Tamiya for this one. Any suggestions regarding a nice stable rattlecan pearlescent white would be most welcome. For some reason the Testors pearl white has never worked for me.

For the interior I'm thinking of fabricating panels that nestle between the frame tubing so that they show in the interior as well as underneath the car. The door panels would be tuck and roll and I have a small pair of 60's show car style buckets that might work.

That's it for now. I'll be away from the bench for a couple of weeks starting in a few days so I wanted to get as much of this going as possible so I could have some think time on how to finish it up.

Thanx for lookin',

B.

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Posted

Oh yeah...you've got the rake and stance dialed in on this one, Bernard!!

And, that big ol' HEMI looks awesome sitting prominantly out in front!!

Have a GREAT vacation...then get back to work on this little jewel!!

Later,

Posted

Looks good Bernard. I like what you've done so far. The front Cragars you need will be in the mail tomorrow. After seeing your pics I know they will work........ :)

Sully

Posted (edited)

...The front Cragars you need will be in the mail tomorrow. After seeing your pics I know they will work........ wink.gif

Thanx Sully! Can't wait to dial those puppies in!

Thanx to everyone for the extremely generous words.smile.gif

Forgive me if this post seems a little repetitive. Looking at the pictures from my last post I noticed that as a result of moving the center crossmember the motor sat nose up. I also realized that I had more rake in the body than I had intended because I hadn't clearanced the wheel wells after setting the rear axle a little further back. So, after making the necessary changes to the motor mounts and the wheel wells I also added the carburetors and exhaust pipes (those are Lyle's limefires mastered for RepMin, they're so nice I'm gonna use 'em) to get a more complete sense of how this thing will come together. I also discovered I had a can of Tamiya Pearl White so I did a test shot and the stuff is fabulous. Goes down without a wrinkle and sets up real smooth. So when I get back from a road trip in a couple of weeks I'll be ready to tackle the interior and body prep, but the overall look is nailed down now.

Thanx for lookin',

B.

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Edited by gbk1
Posted

...Forgive me if this post seems a little repetitive. Looking at the pictures from my last post I noticed that as a result of moving the center crossmember the motor sat nose up. I also realized that I had more rake in the body than I had intended because I hadn't clearanced the wheel wells after setting the rear axle a little further back. So, after making the necessary changes to the motor mounts and the wheel wells ...

Actually, I liked it better with the front of the engine kicked up a bit and the rake you had!! tongue.gif

Either way, this is going to be one killer '32 to add to your collection!!

BTW; I finished the Wagonrod this morning. I'll try to post some pics later.

Have a GREAT vacation!! cool.gif

Later,

Posted (edited)

Thanx everyone. cool.gifsmile.gif If I wasn't traveling I'd probably have this thing done in another week or ten days. It's really "talking to me"!

Stop NOW Bernard......

laugh.giflaugh.giflaugh.gif But darn good advice...cool.gif

...BTW; I finished the Wagonrod this morning. ...

Cool! cool.gifsmile.gif Looking forward to it!

Edited by gbk1
Posted

Great stance!! I'm liking the direction this build is headed in, and I'm a sucker for hammered '32 Tudors anyway, so I'll keep watching this thread.

I do, however, feel that I need to chime in on this bit:

even though Flintstone says this is for the Revell '32, it doesn't fit either the chassis or the fenders properly, primarily because of the common problem with Flintstone resin, the body is too thick.

The thickness of the resin isn't entirely the issue here. Jimmy's body is actually based on the old Revell 'Orange Crate' body(and subsequent reissues), so it is indeed smaller than the newer '32 sedan release.

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Posted (edited)

...The thickness of the resin isn't entirely the issue here. Jimmy's body is actually based on the old Revell 'Orange Crate' body(and subsequent reissues), so it is indeed smaller than the newer '32 sedan release. ...

Yeah, this was pointed out on the TRaK board, so I'm not being enitrely fair to Mr. Flintstone. After all he merely says "Revell '32 Ford sedan chopped Rat Rod" and makes no mention of which Revell '32 Ford sedan it is! I definitely enjoyed having to fab a new frame for it. But the resin is still rather rough on the inside and thick...

Edited by gbk1

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