mrm Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Hi gang ever since I was little I admired Ferraris and they have been my passion for a long time. In my teenage years I discovered street rods (they are almost nonexistent in Europe) So I always wanted to combine the too in models. This is a model that was a challenge on a diecast forum. What I started with was a die cast toy from JADA, which they claimed was 1:24 on the box, but it was with caricature proportions, some of which almost reached 1:18 size. This is what I started with So after seeing how bad this thing was, I started cutting away. The worst part was that not only I had to cut metal, but the thickness of the molds in some places was just ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 First a strip was removed from the body from infront of the trunk Then another strip was removed from the forward edge of the trunk lid itself Then the entire rear was cut... and sections were removed And then everything was superglued back together, considerably shortening the whole model. The entire front was cut off and the sides thinned, which was A LOT of work. A new radius had to be cut for the rear tires which meant that I had to also remove the extremely oversize hinges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 The front is way too wide, so I pie-cut the hood and squeezed it at the front The entire front sides were narrowed too and mated to a Revell '32 Grill It took some massaging, but it all fit at the end Then a lot of automotive putty and sheet styrene and we finally have a modern stretched Deuce body with the exact track dimensions of a Ferrari California Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clutch Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Very cool, I don't think I'd ever chop into a die-cast. I know it would've been quite difficult to do but you made it look easy, well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 A lot more putty and self etching primer later.... At this time the rear underpannel with the rear diffuser from a Ferrari California (Revell of Germany) was grafted at the rear The wheels came from a Joueff 1:18 Ferrari 330P4. The rears are shod in the front tires from the die cast 330P4 and the front wheels were narrowed and shod in the front tires from a Tamiya Ferrari F360 The entire undertray from a Revell Ferrari 599 was grafted on the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 At this point the model started to look very WWII bomber like, because of the green primer. so I decided to run with the idea. I decided to stuff the 599's V12 engine under the hood. The first thing was to redo the intake plenum. It was drilled so the two halves could be separated and the throttle bodies and air filters from the sides were removed The engine block will receive some detailing too. some circles were punched from styrene and glued to tubing to make some belts pulleys Some other uses for the circles, were filling the back of the alternator for example Because of the cramped space under the Deuce's hood, the intake plenums were all smoothed out and the throttle bodies were moved to the front. they are built from various styrene tubing Then a new air filter box was scratch built. I tried to make it look sort of like an ammo box found on a military airplane (although I have no idea how they really look like LOL) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I LOVE surgery ... and cosmetic the most! I'm sure loving this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romell R Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 As if I didnt have enough to do already....then you come alone with the great lookng build, now im forced to watch it! LOL! Your doing a outstanding job keep the updates comming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 (edited) Thank you guys The floor from the Ferrari California was cut to shape and slightly modified A fire wall was made from styrene, with some strips to imitate reinforcement stamping some PE discs with the calipers of the California and then some scratchbuilt brackets for the brakes And the wired and plumbed engine almost completely ready Edited June 25, 2011 by mrm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 Test fitting the engine And here it is installed with the painted firewall behind it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 When the car was finished I was running out of time for the deadline, so I don't have that many pictures of the final assembly. Also some things did not get done the way I wanted them or did not get done at all. Maybe one day I'll take it apart and add some more detail and correct some other things. I was thinking to even hinge the doors. The hood will definitely need some hinges and then, maybe I'll paint the whole car some cool color. But until then, here is the wicked Wabbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewaskew Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I'm not a rat rod builder a all. However this is looking very cool and all the hard work is paying off to make it a very nice rat rod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 I'm not a rat rod builder a all. However this is looking very cool and all the hard work is paying off to make it a very nice rat rod Thank you. I would definitely not qualify this as a rat rod though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markus355 Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTMust Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 It takes a lot of guts to rip into a diecast like you've done and fit it with some high end parts (those wheels for example). Lots of respect from me and a great finished product. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixties Sam Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 VERY cool! A great blend of Ferrari and Deuce! Good work! Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaleb Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 After seeing this. I would love to see one of these in a 1:1 including the engine and interior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 After seeing this. I would love to see one of these in a 1:1 including the engine and interior. There are two Deuces in the past who have won the title "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" that were powered by V12 Ferrari engines, so the idea is not really new. Recently there was a car that debuted at Pebble Beach that was not a Deuce, but a V12 Ferrari powered Street Rod none the less. I have one project that was started 12 years ago and was finished about 3 weeks ago, which is a much better interpretation of the same idea. I rushed it for the Heartland Nationals and end up with some serious shortcomings in it, so it needs to be "retouched"- so to speak. Also on my project lists are three more Deuces that will use Ferrari power. One Phaeton inspired by the Coddington-built Bob Kolmos tub, one woody wagon, which although based on the speed wagon is my design and an all out modern interpretation of a Deuce with V8 California power. You will see them all in their own time. mrm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 I forgot to say a big thank you to all the encouraging comments. Also here is the aforementioned Phaeton, which I will make a separate thread about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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