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Post by Fletch on Jul 13, 2009 13:59:24 GMT -8
The things people will do to avoid paying the $.25 fine for not bringing something to a club meeting. So, at 4am Sunday morning to avoid paying the fine here's what I came up with using the reissued '30 coupe. Hosted on FotkiThe fun part of the process so far was converting a '30 coupe to a '29 coupe. It would have been a whole lot easier if I'd had a 1/24 scale '29 Roadster Pickup. I'm sure the neighbors were wondering what I was up to out in the garage at 2:30 Sunday morning. I realized I had bought only 1 Monogram '29 rpu ever and I had given it away 6 months ago so one of the guys on TRaK could build a Blue Beetle clone. With no 1/24th rpu I used 2 1/25th Revell '29 rpu cowls to create the cowl area of the coupe. It is mounted on a Revell '32 chassis using the axles, wheels and tires from the '32 Roadster. The top still needs to be taken down 4+ inches and dig out a flathead from one of the Revell kits. I need to dig out a quick change rear end, and change the rear cross member to the '30 or something along those lines. Radiator wise I may see what's in the parts box in the way of a '29 surround or use one of the cut-down '32 grille and surround from MCG. No clue what the color will be, I know for sure that it won't be flat or satin black as I don't want to even remotely resemble a rat rod. Comments and suggestions are welcome as always
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Post by Fletch on Jul 14, 2009 0:47:10 GMT -8
Here are the results of tonight's building session. The roof line was dropped by aprox 0.160" (about 3.6mm). Both front and rear suspension were dropped as low as they would go without modifying the chassis using the process Tim Boyd used in the article of the '32 3 Window Coupe build back in 1996. The flat head is from the Revell '50 Ford Pickup with Offenhauser heads and tri-carb manifold from MCG. The front of the flat head has been modified to allow the use of a Chevy 409 water pump (this is an actual 1:1 modification), which on the 1:1 allows for greatly improved cooling on the overheating proned flat heads. Hosted on FotkiTime to allow the cement to cure overnight before doing some minor fill work then on to the rest of the build.
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Post by brizio on Jul 14, 2009 8:55:31 GMT -8
Looks good Fletch!
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Post by Fletch on Jul 30, 2009 16:48:25 GMT -8
This has turned into one of those builds where it's easy to loose interest. More often then not I need a reason to really get into a build, and I didn't have one other then to prove that I could graft a '29 RPU cowl to a '30 Coupe body. Not the reason I was looking for to stay interested in the build. Last month we had the Billetproof NW event in SW Washington and of course you can't go to those events without buying a new t-shirt. This morning I grabbed that t-shirt out of the drawer and there was my muse for this build. Mike Kerns had mentioned that the coupe needed more of a chop which it got, but after looking at the shirt it needs even more taken out of the roof. The body was mildly channeled it now sits quite a bit lower but still not enough. You really can't see much of the engine in the artwork on the shirt but my best guess it's a Small Block Chevy, or at least that's what it will be when built. Hosted on FotkiAt least the build wasn't so far along that it required buying a new kit.
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Post by Fletch on Jul 31, 2009 23:04:01 GMT -8
Chop #3 for this build, guess I never listened to the old adage of measure 3 times and cut once. I have no idea how much has been removed for the top at this point, but the total amount is the entire vertical rear of the quarter windows. All that remains of them is the upper and lower curved sections. One minor mishap occurred during the last chop, the blade grabbed and away went the bottom of the passenger side window. I spent the better part of an hour searching for that piece. It must be in the same place all the lost socks and keys reside. You wouldn't think that a piece of green plastic could disappear but it did. The next part of the project will be to replicate the lower window sill. Hosted on FotkiThe body now sits as it should on the chassis, but in order to get the ride height level the rear of the frame will need to be Z'ed. The tires and wheels will be the ever popular Revell wide white walls from the '29 Rat Rod Pickup. Still need to find a SBC and tri-power manifold.
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carnut
Junior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by carnut on Aug 1, 2009 9:01:43 GMT -8
The coupe is looking good Dave. I didn't know you were going for the coupe on the tee shirt, I hope I didn't talk you into going too far with the chop. Can't wait to see it finished.
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Post by Fletch on Aug 1, 2009 10:58:22 GMT -8
The coupe is looking good Dave. I didn't know you were going for the coupe on the tee shirt, I hope I didn't talk you into going too far with the chop. Can't wait to see it finished. Actually Mike the chop that was made after your suggestion was not enough to get it down to what was needed for the Billetproof Coupe. So, no worries, just choppin' plastic.
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Post by brizio on Aug 2, 2009 11:58:40 GMT -8
It looks nice!!!
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Post by Fletch on Aug 5, 2009 21:36:58 GMT -8
Got some work done on the Coupe last evening after playing with a couple of other projects. Got the ride height set where I think it looks right, feel free to weight in on it if you like. The frame was Zed the depth of the frame rails to get the rearend to sit down where it should be. The front is a combination of the Revell '32 springs and the Revell '29-'31 dropped beam axle in order to get the pose-able steering. Still a couple of tweaks there to make it look correct. Hosted on FotkiI'm most likely going to use the Caddy engine from Revell's '49 Merc. It needs a carb upgrade, the addition of some RMoM stacks and a set of headers and would fit the Billetproof image perfectly. And Yes, I did find the missing piece, or should I say one of the cats found the missing piece and was carrying it around in their mouth. Good thing he didn't swallow it, it might have hurt coming out the other end.
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Post by brizio on Aug 6, 2009 18:07:40 GMT -8
You have a good cat!!! If my dog find a piece would be difficult have it back... ;D ;D ;D
And the Coupe lowered so looks perfect! Did you will keep on it the yellow wheels and white wall tires or is a test? Because looks nice on it if you will paint green the body.
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Post by Fletch on Aug 6, 2009 21:02:05 GMT -8
The yellow steel wheels and wide white walls are there of good. I had originally thought about painting the body the same color as the wheels but I picked up a can of Tamiya TS-42 Light Gun Metal that just might be the final color. Hosted on FotkiBut, by the time it's finally painted I could change my mind several more times. I have however decided on what motor to put in the coupe. The Caddy Mill from the Revell '49 Merc is a pretty nice bit of work and will go with the theme of the car nicely. I does however need a carb upgrade as the ones for the kit are not overly desirable. Then to build some headers and we should be good to go.
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Post by Fletch on Aug 8, 2009 0:09:40 GMT -8
The coupe is starting to actually look like the artwork from the t-shirt. I thought I'd give you a quick update. The Caddy mill from the Revell '49 Merc is a perfect fit for the build. It has the size, bulk and attitude need to truly represent Billetproof. The carbs were upgraded to those from the '50 Ford pickup, the stacks will be replaced with curved units from RMoM. The lower portion of the stock '29 firewall will have to be modified to fit around the Caddy Bell housing. Cut down a Revel grille to see how it would look, other then it could stand to be a bit shorter it fits the concept. With the firewall out of body it doesn't fit as tightly on the chassis so the body rocks on the stopper glued to the inside of the body. As a consequence the rear end is sitting lower in this photo then it will be in the final assembly. Hosted on FotkiThe black line over the rear quarter windows is to mark the location of the rear of the roof insert. For this build I choose the more "stock" configuration and will be using the entire roof insert instead of the insert that is only in the center of the roof as in the '30 kit. The Camel Yellow of the rims is a great color, but I'm not sure about the body being that color as well. I'm starting to think that it might be to much yellow. Your input and comments are always welcome. That's all for now.
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Post by brizio on Aug 8, 2009 20:43:29 GMT -8
Looks great with that kind of engine combination!!! I couldn't wait to see it done!!! Imagining it in a light gun metal, also I think it is good!
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Post by Fletch on Aug 11, 2009 23:00:17 GMT -8
Shot some color on the Coupe this morning, not really sure why other then to see what the Light Gun Metal looked like. Shot it directly over the plastic no primer, don't ask me why, sleep deprivation makes you do stupid stuff. One thing it did do was highlight all the flaws in the bodywork that still need to be addressed. Hosted on FotkiAt least I now know what the yellow wheels look like with the Light Gun Metal. The color is truer to the cap then Tamiya's color chart.
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Post by brizio on Aug 16, 2009 20:44:03 GMT -8
Nice in this color!
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