Ace-Garageguy Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) So, I broke down and bought a Revell Rat Roaster. Good stuff in the box, just not a lot of it. Love the wheels and tires, just like everyone else, and that was enough to set my little mind whirring. The idea will be a channeled '32 lowboy with a zeed rear frame and a stretched, suicide front end. Obviously mouse and rat motors are out of the running. Going to go radical-traditional, with as much out-of-the box as I can, and the rest vintage kit-sourced and scratched stuff. This was a start on a similar though still-born project a while back, but it's the general idea. Edited July 13, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 13, 2013 Author Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) Vermin Vaporizer? I like it, but with a name like that, it probably needs a turbine engine..... A little more on the chassis...Revell chassis modified with new rear rail sections to go up and over, tubular crossmembers front and rear, suicide front spring perch. I just checked the ride height with the RR body, and it looks spot-on, so i'll be copying this (upper) earlier chassis for the new build. Lots of exposed mechanical bits, like the front and rear hairpins from an old Monogram super-modified, and probably a champ-car rear end. Edited March 13, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy
Dave Ambrose Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 I like the look. One observation -- You'll have a hard time opening the doors unless you lower the rear radius rod mounting points.
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 13, 2013 Author Posted March 13, 2013 I like the look. One observation -- You'll have a hard time opening the doors unless you lower the rear radius rod mounting points. Thanks for a good observation, but it is still a mockup. The new door cut-lines drawn on the body were originally above the original hairpin mounts, which show in the photo. I later channeled the body (an early Momogram 2-piece '32, but actually more like a '30) deeper, resulting in the higher mounts on the body relative to the frame. The door cut-lines had not been re-drawn at that point. As the actual build will use the Rat Roaster '32 body channeled the width-of-the-frame, the cut-lines at the bottoms of the doors will be raised to clear both the frame rails and wherever the radius rod mounts end up.
Ace-Garageguy Posted April 21, 2013 Author Posted April 21, 2013 Days of looking and thinking and fiddling and all that have finally spit out what I think this one is going to be. Stretched wheelbase, suicide front end, track nose, Halibrand kidney beans, fat Indy car front tires on the rear and a blown Pontiac with a Cragar chain drive for the blower. Car is shown with a DuVall windshield, but I'll probably go with the R&M Hallock. Lots of fiddling to get the stance dialed in. I'm sort of thinking the lines of the rear quarter panel on the Revell '32 roadster bodies are a little off. More on that later. Chain driven GMC 6-71 just snuggles under the hood, is going to get an interesting side-draft carb setup for clearance. Suicide mount for the spring on the new tubular crossmember is visible ahead of engine.
slusher Posted April 21, 2013 Posted April 21, 2013 Awsume project Bill, looking forward to more. Keep up the good work..
Draggon Posted April 21, 2013 Posted April 21, 2013 I love this Bill. Super traditional! That front 3/4 view is fantastic.
TimKustom Posted April 22, 2013 Posted April 22, 2013 I like it. Building something "sorta" similar right now...
PeeBee Posted April 22, 2013 Posted April 22, 2013 This is going to look very cool. Where'd ya get the kidney beans?
Ace-Garageguy Posted April 22, 2013 Author Posted April 22, 2013 Thanks everyone...glad y'all are liking it. I'm tinkering just slightly with the length and wheelbase. Where'd ya get the kidney beans? They're from a vintage AMT parts-pack. I never really noticed them before, but a fellow forum member needed one to finish a period Cobra he's building, I happened to have some, and I got to thinking that they would be the perfect wheels to give this build a little different flavor.
Ace-Garageguy Posted May 6, 2013 Author Posted May 6, 2013 I'm running low on some kits, times are hard, and I wanted to try some more new techniques. I only had a couple of examples of the louvered hood and deck I want to use on this. Now I have more. Originals and molds... First set of parts. I have some micro-porosity issues with this first set, but a slight change in the lamination technique should fix it right up. Parts are only .030" thick.
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 13, 2013 Author Posted July 13, 2013 Induction system with side-draft Rochesters just fits under hood... Opened the decklid... ...and fitted a repop louvered glass unit... Also looking at maybe using a Jag E-type windshield, for a little more swoopy look.
cobraman Posted July 13, 2013 Posted July 13, 2013 That is one slick looking ride. Would like to see it finished.
vintagedragfan Posted July 13, 2013 Posted July 13, 2013 nice work Bill, looks like you have the molds down to an art!
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