1956 Ford Thunderbird Modern street rod

[Haubenschild]

This kit arrived in the mail today. It will be built box stock with the exception of plug wires and interior flocking. I want to get alot done before I head off to europe for 2 weeks so expect alot of updates in the next 3 days

I have assembled the block and intake , I am having trouble finding all 4 spark plug wire holes in the block , if somebody could help me find them it we be greatly appreciated!

I also got a little body work done , the body should be in primer tommorow

Edited July 18, 2012 by Haubenschild

[BOSWELL891]

Great work so far

[Haubenschild]

Great........ I guess I'll have to make my own plug holes

Also , Trailer park boys ended 5 years ago , so I have had alot of free time!

[Haubenschild]

The exhaust manifolds and mufflers have been brush painted with steel metallizer

The body after 1 coat of primer

[Haubenschild]

I wired my first distributor today! It is by no means a nice looking distributor , but I am fine with it.

[Haubenschild]

I have been into this hobby for just over a year and today was the first time I have wired an engine , and I loved it!

The distributor sat a little high so I chopped off some of the stem to get the height I was looking for

[JunkPile]

Engine is looking good. You have done a great job with the proper routing of the spark plug wires....running under the exhaust manifolds where they belong instead of over the top of the valve covers and then down. I think alot of builders run them over the top just to make sure everybody can see that they wired the engine.

[BOSWELL891]

Looks great, wiring an engine is always an easy way to add a lot of detail

[Haubenschild]

Well , the engine wouldnt fit in the engine bay , the chrome is fading like crazy so I am deciding to ditch box stock and go for a mild custom / pro touring look. Im thinking about either a 5.0 EFI , or 426 hemi setup with maybe a corvette? suspension with either wide whites with mags or low profile tires , I am a budget so I am just trying to use parts from the parts box ( which is basically nothing )

Edited July 16, 2012 by Haubenschild

[Ace-Garageguy]

Your engine wiring looks good, as noted above. The Ford Y-block had the plugs under the headres and you did the wiring just right. Nice work.

Is this the Monogram 1/24 kit? I've never built it, but I have several built-ups on the shelf waiting to get re-worked. I'm wondering what is the fit issue you're having with the engine in the bay.

Is the distributor fouling the firewall?

[Haubenschild]

The issue I was having was fitting the wired engine into the bay , the firewall was the main cause of the problem.

[JunkPile]

Adjust firewall (modify it) Nothing uncommon

[Haubenschild]

This will now be a Moder street rod build based off this car http://www.rkmotorsc...d/133105/179318

So back to the drawing board....

I am beginning to sand off the trim

Edited July 18, 2012 by Haubenschild

[Haubenschild]

I am not a fan of the molded in exhausts on the kits frame so I am considering modifying the chassis heavily , or scratchbuilding a whole new chassis which will be a huge project for me. I am also wondering if there are any chassis that would fit under this kit , thanks

[IronMunkie]

The '66 Mustang Chassis might fit - you'd need to modify it, but it'd be close judging by the look of it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I am not a fan of the molded in exhausts on the kits frame so I am considering modifying the chassis heavily , or scratchbuilding a whole new chassis which will be a huge project for me. I am also wondering if there are any chassis that would fit under this kit , thanks

I just looked at my Monogram '56 'Bird chassis, and the only part of the exhaust system molded in on miy issues is the mufflers and a section of pipes inside the chassis X-member. It would be relatively easy and straightforward to remove only this section of floor and replace it with sheet styrene.

If you happen to have a Monogram Predicta kit lying around, it also has an appropriate chassis (based on a '57 'Bird), and the molded-in exhausts are outboard of the frame rails so it MIGHT be easier to modify, but I'd go with the original chassis.

While the Mustang chassis might fit sort-of, it is for a unibody car, and the 'Bird is body-on-frame. If you care at all about engineering accuracy, it would be a tremendous amount of work in 1:1 to mate the 'Bird to a Mustang. Still, it is possible and might make for a very interesting updated concept.

Edited July 17, 2012 by Ace-Garageguy

[Haubenschild]

Wow , Thanks alot guys! I really appreciate this since this will be my first time doing any chassis / body work. What tool(s) will I need for cutting the chassis?

Edited July 17, 2012 by Haubenschild

[JunkPile]

Razor saw, Dremel tool, files, sandpaper, sidecutter, patience and measuring device

Edited July 17, 2012 by JunkPile

[Haubenschild]

This will be the stance I am going to go with , with a slight raise in the rear ( I currently dont have a rear suspension that will allow the rear tires to fit in the wheel wells ). I plan on having a street rod exterior with pro touring style engine / suspension. I also really really want criticism since this is my first pro touring / modern street rod style build.

front / rear bumpers , grille , steering wheel , fan , and windshield housing are off to the dechroming bucket

Edited July 18, 2012 by Haubenschild

[Haubenschild]

The windshield housing has been attached and the front bumper is being modified

[Casey]

I would suggest you remove the rear fender skirts, Liam. The T-bird body will look a lot sportier without them, and it will visually take away some of the body's bulk.

[JunkPile]

Remove skirts vs leave skirts. My vote is to leave them

[IronMunkie]

I'd vote Leave them if you're going for a stock body - and it also helps tuck the wheel to achieve more "Low" visually.

HOWEVER.

With cool wheels - you wanna be able to see them right?

[bryan_m]

it looks like you resolved the plug wire issue. looks good to me!

bryan

[Casey]

Well, maybe not the wheels, but the overall look is there. The T-bird has so me really clean styling lines, so you don't need to do a ton of reworking to get it to look even better.