Dave G.

If I was buying an airbrush only compressor right now I'd be entertaining the idea of this one, which is $92 at Amazon: California Air Tools CAT-1P1060S Light & Quiet Portable Air Compressor, Silver

I recently stripped some chrome parts from the chrome tree of a kit from out of the 80's era. I used Drano gel formula ( it's in a red bottle). It took the chrome off in about 3 minutes, just dissolved it and I rinsed it down the drain. It stripped it to bare plastic and the plastic seemed untouched and took primer very well the next day. I probably wouldn't leave it to soak over night, not sure what would be left in the morning but my experience was such that just a few minutes is all that was required anyway. I'd probably just sand down and paint over the flat black personally.

Casy, the backing plate are small, they should mount to the axle ends and the steel axle slides through them. The hole is larger than the holes in the wheels so the axle can rotate inside them. The custom wheels are a front dish on the tire basically like the stock front wheel ( chrome though etc). And on the front you would use the wheel back and the stub axle. for the rear I see no such thing. Two of the wheels should have a hole for the metal axle or else a backing with a hole for the axle but there is none as near as I can tell. The stock wheels have the hole, the deep dish racing wheels have the hole, two of the Cragar style wheels have the hole but not the custom wheels..

If you don't mind my asking what is the big attraction to white primer around here anyway ?

I see, it shows " axle pins" in the front wheel assembly. I;m sure it's there but I don't see a rig for mounting the custom wheels in the rear, not yet anyway.

Well I have to say I wasn't looking for stubs, wow you sure got back quick, thanks ! I'll look into that ..

For those who have built this kit in it's latest release. I recall the old original release of the 49 Ford back in the 1960's having two metal axles, this kit I just received has one in it. i see two shafts on a tree in the packaging about the size of the metal axle, by chance are those meant to be axle shafts ? The instructions make no mention of this but show a metal axle for the rear and that's it. Second question: there are no holes for an axle in the multi spoked custom wheels ( not the Cragar style wheel but the flatter ones) . What is with that ? Again no reference in the instructions so I appeal to those who have dealt with this kit already..

I would go with a mid gray primer personally, it's a color that pretty much covers any color molded and works well under most every color paint, except maybe pearls in lighter shades.. Primer coats can definitely effect color shade of your sprayed paint, mid gray is neutral ground as a starting point. Sometime when you have a few minutes to play around you should prime something in white, gray and black, then spray something like a powder blue metallic over them and see the difference. Especially the difference how long it takes and how many coats to build the color you want. I think white pearl paint as a base coat is the only time I like white primer.

I don't even care for 40's and 50's Lincolns but that thing is awesome !

Nice job ! I'd love that Olds engine for my 49 build lol. I like your build but really like that interior shot of the nice detail you put into it. Back in the day I must have built 8 or 10 of these things if I built one ( most circle track stock cars), the nicest one was a custom, candy red over gold as I recall then my 2yo cousin came along and squeezed a half a tube of Testors glue all over the roof. I had built it to enter a contest, so that was the end of that idea.

I made working suspension a passion in the 60's, used pen springs for coils in my 49 Ford builds and cut up pieces of tape measure for leaf springs, cut peaces of flat styrene for shackles. But that was then and this is now, sorry no photos exist.

I foil with foil tape actually, which in principle applies and works basically the same as bmf ( tends to be thicker). There is no reason to have large sections overlapping into the interior of the car regardless of the foil brand. Much as the others have indicated I have found the A pillars to be covered the most.I just paint over it. My headliner paint is usually Liquitex soft body paint which is very flexible/bendable when dry and bonds fine to metal. You would want the metal free of your skin oil of course. But Liquitex is not an out of the tube or bottle application it has to be thinned in model use. I have in stock bottles of the additives required to spray it well, including varnishes I add in to get the sheen I want.. I can't speak for other acrylics or lacquer. Liquitex sticks and enamel should, I know it stuck in 1:1 painting when we goofed up masking. As to cementing to the foil, I don't think a standard Testers plastic model cement is your answer there. It may stick initially but not over the long haul because plastic model cement melts plastic together, bmf is not plastic but metal.

I just watched a review video on the Gasman 49 Ford and I think I can use the slicks included in the kit and get them to fit inside the fender wells with the right wheel combo and some inner well trimming. etc..Actually alterations as already mentioned and spoken about within this thread. I just had an idea in my head that the Gasman slicks were larger than they are. Last I knew they had some of these kits listed at Amazon, if still so I'll order one up later today. Edit: Now purchased from Amazon for $21.99, should have it in hand Tues.

Awesome !

So guys, anyone know if the slicks from the AMT 40 Ford sedan are the same as the ones in the 49 kit ? I think my local hobby store has this kit and from it I get the Olds engine and slicks for the 49 maybe. Not that I really want a 40 Ford sedan right now but the stock build might interest me down the road.

I use a 120 count Eclipse gum bottle. A 1/25/24 body stretches over it well, put a couple stones inside but not water (water will leak out the flip section of the top if you lean the bottle too much)... My wife has a cake decorating turn table I can use but usually don't bother. On another note, the nice thing about switching now to mostly acrylics and craft paints is if I do get a flub up or boo boo, I just go to the kitchen sink run warm water and had rub the finish down the drain. And 24 hour old dried Stynylrez primer doesn't go with it. So I'm back to a primed body that just needs a shot from a hair dryer to paint it over again.

That look in a build isn't my cup of tea so to speak but man you did one phenomenal job on the weathered look. That thing looks nearly real.

That's a cool body, I wouldn't mind building one bone stock or mild rod/street machine. Nose high gassers aren't my thing buy I credit you with your ambition on this build though !

Interesting build !

Thanks. Yes I thought of the front sump but some hot rodders have run the pickup back to the rear on those in real already. When I drag raced them I went down with the sump, two extra quarts and baffled the pan but making an FE live the drag strip life is a message for another board. I will say I ran them hard.

Back in the day when I built a lot of these cars I made a lot of them as class B circle track cars and on those I cut all sorts of fender wells, put dents in the bodies with candle heat etc. But when I built the street n strip version I did not. I want to kind of replicate what I remember of that build. But today there are more parts available to work with. And I was probably 12 when I built that car, it would have been 1962 then, that's a long time ago lol ! I'm willing to cut inner fender wells and reconstruct somewhat in there but not outer.. I'm also thinking now the Olds engine I used in that kit may have come from one of the 40 Ford kits of that day, maybe the sedan ? I know it was an Olds not a Caddy that comes with it. And it wasn't a Buick nail head either. I know because Olds power was something my dad considered a big deal back then. I remember him bragging about his Olds 88 of the day. On this build though if I don't hooshcow an Olds I think I'd like to do an FE Ford or maybe a Y block and keep it all Ford . The thing is I drag raced with real FE Fords in my 67 Mustang GT so they have a little sweet spot in my heart these days..

Interesting, thanks again. I'll have the axle in the kit and will alter it if needed.

Indeed, looks doable to me. Move the spring hangers in slightly, cut the back wall of the wheel well and shape some thin plastic or even cardboard in it's place slightly further in board. A slice out of the frame. The springs might be a bit of a pain. But for more tire it looks like fabricating sub frames would be required, not sure I want to go there. I need to get one of these kits in hand to really tell. I probably can cut all this with my raza saw ( my dremel speed control box fried) Someone mentioned radiusing the wheel wells. No way, it's not a look I like at all, maybe elongate slightly but keep the stock general profile would be ok. Thanks for all the photos guys ! And ideas too.

I still like the 10-1/2x15 M&H idea at the moment, even if it means some alterations to get them in. But I also don't have the kit yet and the last one I built with slicks was some 50+ years ago, so I don't recall what the floor pan and frame even looks like right now. I know the frame is molded in, I remember that much but no clue as to space to hack out an inner fender well without cutting the frame and making it a more complex job or not. Most cars back then had some space there.

Those are probably close to what the original kit came with. I don't mind modernizing a little if need be, into late 60's or even 70's street n strip car. That would put on a wrinkle wall a little wider. But I'm not real fussy about it ! Wheels might be another matter, the offset will matter.