32 Ford Salt Flats racer

[JonMW]

After seeing Pauls video on the new Ultimate Winter wash I got the idea that you could probably use it to simulate salt on a salt flat racer. I wanted to give that a try and started looking at my stash and parts boxes and found parts for a Revell 32 Ford roadster, can't remember if I got this at a swap meet or if it's something I started building years ago. I found most of the parts needed or good replacements like a flathead Ford engine instead of the modern small block that comes in the kit.



Also found a louvered trunk lid that I liked.



So after a bit of cutting.



Next up painted the body in a dark blue and the frame in satin black.



Found some decals for the number, these came from a 1/48 Tamiya BA-64B.



Next up was the engine, flathead Ford engine with Edelbrock heads and intake from some kit.



The 32 Ford kit comes with a tube front axle, not very old school, so I found an I-beam that I drilled a bunch of speed holes in.





The rear axle is also a bit too modern with a Ford 9" so that needed replacement. To make it a bit easier to mount it I used the ends of the Ford axle as these won't bee seen too much, and a Halibrand quick change center section.





Mock up of what it will look like, still need to find some wheels, tires and brakes for it. So far this has been a two day build and not too much left, mostly some engine details and then weathering.

[Danta2er]

Very cool, love the suspension work you did!

[chief5437]

Nice kit bash/scratch build! You must have a healthy spares box, lol!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ha, this is great....good thinking on the salt flat finish for the winter effect, brilliant idea
The build is spectacular as always, you have the touch and mad skills

Was that trunk lid already louvred or did you do that???
I have to do louvers for my brass Bugatti panels and it is a pain trying to figure out how

[JonMW]

Thanks for the comments.

Ha, this is great....good thinking on the salt flat finish for the winter effect, brilliant idea
The build is spectacular as always, you have the touch and mad skills

Was that trunk lid already louvred or did you do that???
I have to do louvers for my brass Bugatti panels and it is a pain trying to figure out how

The trunk lid had the louvers molded in. I made a brass hood for a model years ago, for that one I made the louvers the same way you do on full scale things. Cut a bunch of slits in the sheet and then using a pair of dies to form the louvers. Pretty much the same way thia guy did http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/thre ... es.568161/ only I used a hard wood for the dies. It takes a bit of time, or rather a lot, but looks pretty good when done.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Thanks for that, will try it though on a much smaller scale
I need to cut the slot first, that is the solution was looking for; Duh, I was just pressing into the brass and getting a sloppy imperfect louver
I have a 1 ton hand press for leather work can adapt something for this purpose

[JonMW]

A bit more work done, most things are ready for final assembly and weathering.


The engine is pretty much done, added some thin wires for the plug wires and added some washes of engine oil, engine grime and fuel.




Interior is almost finished, just need to find a steering wheel that will look nice.


For the brakes I found a nice looking drum and a good backing plate from two different kits and then made four resin copies. Still need to find some wheels and tires that will work.

[JonMW]

The building of this is done, no comes the fun part of weathering and trying the new Ultimate Winter wash.


Found two wheels that I liked, so made some resin copies, also found four tires that will work, the front ones might be a bit wide but they work.




All put together just needing minor paint touch ups before weathering. I'm pretty happy with how this is looking, especially since it's just put together from more or less random parts I had laying around and no real planing.

[Jack]

Looks great love the engine.

[JonMW]

Thanks!

Have started with the weathering by applying a thick coat of the winter wash to the tread of the tires. Then using a brush "feathered" the edges, still need to remove more on the sidewalls of the tires. I think it works pretty well for doing salt deposits, but I think I'll need to get some white pigments to add to some spots and get a 3D effect, like in the wheel wells.





Will continue to add more of the winter wash to the body.