Chopped '32 Ford 5-window - Louver-mania! (Final photos)

[Bernard Kron]

A couple of months ago I posted here about the louvered hoods for the Revell ’32 Ford 1/25th scale kits and the roof panels for the Revell ’30 Ford coupe that Jason Lookabill ([e-mail]) has created. I consider these an important addition to any hot rod modelers’ tool kit. The hoods in particular, as far as I know, have never been offered before. They match the louvered hood sides that came in the pre-Rat Roaster Revell Deuce roadster kits.

I decided to start a project to feature these parts. I settled on a Revell ‘2 Ford 5-window coupe. The car would be a street-Iegal coupe designed to run in the same class as street roadsters in the 1960’s, but styled to also compete in local rod & custom shows – show ‘n’ go as it was referred to back then. I chopped the top 3 1/2 scale inches and cut a hole in the top to take the louvered hood panel Jason is casting. Along with the hood sides from the aforementioned Revell Roadster kits I added one of Jason’s 5-row louvered hoods and the optional louvered rear deck from the Revell 5-window kit. It’s a highboy but, because it’s running in Street class, I added fenders from the Stacey David Rat Roaster.

The interior was adapted from the Stacey David kit with a scratch built roll bar and the Cal-Custom bucket seats that come in the Revell “Rat Rod” ’30 Ford Sedan kits. (See A & B below). The rear suspension was lowered by inserting 2 scale inch drop where the rear axle is located to allow the chassis rails to continue rearward to include the stock fuel tank. (See C below). The front suspension from the Revell 5-window kit was modified to lower the front end an additional 3 scale inches. The wheels and slicks are from the AMT Double Dragster kit with front tires from the Revellogram ’30 Ford Sedan kits

The motor is the Chevy Small Block from the Stacey David Rat Roaster kit with a 60’s period correct GMC 6-71 blower from a Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit. I’m still settling on carburation. The headers will be tubular block huggers.

The louvered panels are finished in Krylon Chrome to simulate freshly polished aluminum. The body surfaces and chassis, which are white in the mockup pictures, will be finished in Tamiya TS-96 Fluorescent Orange with an overcoat of Tamiya TS-65 Pearl Clear. (See inset E below). The overall look will feature lots of kit-chrome bling as part of the show car aspect.

I’m about at the midpoint now with the interior nearly finished (it will remain Aluminum and white as show below). The motor is also nearly there and largely what left is the paint and final assembly department.

Thanx for lookin’
B.

[kyledehart5]

This is looking wonderful. I love those louvered pieces.

[Bernard Kron]

Dec 11, 2022 3:16:45 GMT -8 kyledehart5 said:

This is looking wonderful. I love those louvered pieces.

Thanks Kyle. I'm amazed that, until now, no one ever made matching louvered hoods yo go with the other Revell louvered items. I've been bugging various resin casters to do it for years. I found them via the MCM board virtually by accident when Jason mentioned them in a comment on someone else's post.

[kyledehart5]

Dec 11, 2022 17:02:37 GMT -8 Bernard Kron said:

Dec 11, 2022 3:16:45 GMT -8 kyledehart5 said:

This is looking wonderful. I love those louvered pieces.

Thanks Kyle. I'm amazed that, until now, no one ever made matching louvered hoods yo go with the other Revell louvered items. I've been bugging various resin casters to do it for years. I found them via the MCM board virtually by accident when Jason mentioned them in a comment on someone else's post.

They certainly finish out the louvered look nicely!

[Bernard Kron]

Today was paint day. The Tamiya TS-96 Fluorescent Orange doesn’t cover very well, especially over the white primer I used, so I decided to put down a single coat of Tamiya TS-31 Bright Orange as a backer. It had the effect of darkening the color slightly but the overall contrast between bright aluminum and the strong main body coclor is very much what I had hoped for. The photo below shows the result with Duplicolor white primer followed by the aforementioned single coat of Bright Orange, 2 coats of Fluorescent Orange and two coats of Tamiya TS-65 pearl clear.



While the paint cures I’ll move on to finishing up the motor and then final assembly.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[Bernard Kron]

I started this project in December but then got sidetracked building a couple of cars for the Model Car Magazine forum TRoG California Drags community build. For 2023 I better assume they’ll be more “sidetracking” since I’ve got more cars planned for the TRoG build-off, LOL. But for now I’m back to the world of shine and bling for this show ‘n’ go racer.

When I put this project back on the bench I was surprised how much I had already gotten done. Even while building the 2 TRoGsters I managed to get the motor completed and the racing numbers applied and the paint clear coated. The gold numbers are part of a sheet I designed and which a friend printed for me a few years back. The scoop and injector plate on the motor are from the Revell Tony Nancy double dragster kit, finished in Krylon chrome. The headers are from the AMT ’65 El Camino kit and were bought on eBay.

In the last few days I managed to finish up the chassis, mainly the front end and the exhaust system. The racing pipes are aluminum tubing while the car also has a street system adapted from the Revell Tracey David Roadster. The front axle is the Revel Deuce tubular dropped piece which got my usual workover to drop it in the weeds- shaved spring and cut down mounting tab. The chassis pictures below show how low the overall stance is now, much more on the Show side of the Show ‘n’ Go equation. This is the first time I’ve attempted a rear end “z” lowering that is limited to the immediate rear axle area, allowing the use of the stock Deuce fuel tank location between the rear chassis ends.

I also finished up the interior with a dashboard which is reworked from the Revell 5-window kit dash, and a steering wheel from my parts box.

Basically, it is time for final assembly, which, the way I build, involves a fair amount of last minute fabrication for things like lighting and engine cooling and various other small details.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[kyledehart5]

Very cool!!

[tatocorvette]

Nice color! I've never been a huge fan of the ratty look on purpose. I prefer the shiny painted look.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks guys!

This project is now completed. The only new parts not covered in earlier posts are the grill which is the stock Revell ’32 Ford piece and minor trim bits, also stock Revell Deuce kit stuff. Still learning how to photograph this thing, but the color is fairly accurate in the pics below. But I must remember to make sure the roof panel, which isn’t glued down, is properly seated. Final photos as a completed model will be posted tomorrow.

Thanx to all who followed along,
B.

[tatocorvette]

Nice! I like the double exposure shot of the hood. Looking forward to the "official release"

Thanks,
Ismael

[kyledehart5]

Really fantastic work. Looks great. I really like how that orange sets off the louvered parts.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks to you both! Here is the "final release", LOL...

[tatocorvette]

Nice!
Love those front fenders.

Thanks,
Ismael

[kyledehart5]

Excellent!!

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks guys. Glad you all like it. This came out OK despite it fighting me big time at the 90% stage - which is typical for me. At least this time it came out relatively unscathed. The trick for z'ing the rear end and still keeping the stock gas tank is one I'll use again.