1932 Ford Chopped 4-Door Sedan Conversion

[Dennis Lacy]

This is a project that I've had in mind for quite some time and after recently acquiring 2 more Revell '32 Sedans I decided to make it happen. Follow along as I convert a Revell '32 2-Door Sedan into a chopped 4-Door!

I started by removing the original door "B" post plus sections of the upper and lower window reveals 1/4" in either direction from the original door panel line. At this time I also marked the windshield posts and rear body to be chopped 1/8" which is about 3 scale inches.

Both front and rear the chop cuts were laid out staggered and then the vertical separation lines cut through with the back of a new #11 blade. In the front the staggered cut allows the windshield post halves to be manipulated back together without having to stretch the roof and disrupt the original soft top insert detail. In the rear the staggered cuts are used because the ideal cutting locations for the side windows and rear window don't fall on a straight line. A bonus is that the staggered joints provide a far stronger glue joint than a straight butt-joint does.

The shaded areas are then systematically removed until the top is separated.

The  fit of the top section is adjusted to make everything as lined up and square as possible.

The top is glued back on using Zap-A-Gap CA and all of the joints are blended. The new 4-Door panel lines are cut in as well.

The previously removed door "B" posts are now chopped to match and then the carefully cut into the body creating the new rear door posts.

A second donor body is then marked to have its door "B" posts removed and enough window reveal area to fill in the gaps from removing the original posts.

The donor door posts are then chopped and carefully cut into the body to form the new front door "B" posts.

Next, lots and lots of careful filing and sanding to blend everything together. The original 2-Door door panel lines were filled in with strips of .020 x .020 square stock laid in like a diamond then sanded flush. The original door handle holes were filled and new door handle holes drilled in both doors. 

I also went ahead and corrected the interior panels to have a matching 4-Door layout. 

Lastly, a few mock ups to really get a look at how it looks!

[Lordmodelbuilder]

You make it look easy. Looking good Dennis!

[Modelbuilder Mark]

oh so nice, great bodywork

[Peter Lombardo]

great skill in the chop, love the small window in the back..... very cool.  should be a killer when complete.

[espo]

Great job chopping the top, just like the 1:1 cars. You really should think about casting this one. I like the Artillery Wheels.  

[Ace-Garageguy]

That side view is definitely the meat.   Stance is perfect. Nice work, really looking forward to seeing this progress.

[Dennis Lacy]

7 hours ago, espo said:

Great job chopping the top, just like the 1:1 cars. You really should think about casting this one. I like the Artillery Wheels.  

Thank you!

Coincidentally, I have a very high quality caster interested in reproducing and selling the body. But first, I have to make it good enough! Primer will tell the truth... 

Haha!

The wheels are Revell 1937 Pickup/Panel Truck. The rears are resin items that I mastered. They have had their outer diameter enlarged to fit those killer big Monogram 1941 Lincoln tires. The wheels are currently available from Ed at Drag City Casting. He also offers a solid steelie wheel that I mastered to fit the same tire. You can find him on Facebook or send him an email to “lowcab36@epix.net”

The front tires are from the factory stock version of AMT’s 1941 Woodie. 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Dennis Lacy

[Dennis Lacy]

6 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

That side view is definitely the meat.   Stance is perfect. Nice work, really looking forward to seeing this progress.

Thanks, Bill! It’s not dead on accurate but I wasn’t really stressing for that. I’m gonna use the Revell consumer defense logic of that it’s okay if it’s not totally accurate because it’s a hot rod. 

[Scott8950]

18 hours ago, Lordmodelbuilder said:

You make it look easy. Looking good Dennis!

exactly what i was thinking as i was scrolling through the pictures.

[Misha]

Wow Dennis, pretty darn slick! Great photos of the procedure... thanks.

Cheers Misha

[chris chabre]

looks so awesome!!! one of the few 4 doors I actually really like in hot rod form

[Shambles]

Day-yum! Awesome work. You're out of my league.

[Tom Geiger]

Very nice work!   A few years ago I saw a gorgeous metallic blue  1:1 '34 Ford 4 door sedan street rod.  With the suicide rear doors, it really made for a very cool rod. Especially because it was different.   Can't wait to see what you do with it.   I know I couldn't get all those lines to smooth out!

 

 

[DumpyDan]

Thanks for showing step by step, very well executed.  This maybe the new standers we all have to come up to.  Nice work, great skills. 

[bobthehobbyguy]

Nicely done. You make it easier than it really is. Its hard to make so many precise cuts.

[Dennis Lacy]

On 5/23/2019 at 7:56 PM, Tom Geiger said:

Very nice work!   A few years ago I saw a gorgeous metallic blue  1:1 '34 Ford 4 door sedan street rod.  With the suicide rear doors, it really made for a very cool rod. Especially because it was different.   Can't wait to see what you do with it.   I know I couldn't get all those lines to smooth out!

 

 

Thanks, Tom!  I love ‘33 and ‘34 Fordor’s too. 

I’m about to shoot the first round of primer tomorrow. We’ll see how well all those lines really line up. Primer tells the truth! Haha

[jaxenro]

Really cool and excellent photos showing how to

[Dennis Lacy]

UPDATE!

Yesterday I put the first coat of primer on to see how bad my work was. I honestly expected worse but there's still a long way to go.

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Wow, looks like you left yourself in a good place. There is very little work left for most of those seams.

[Tom Geiger]

Lookin good!

[STEALTHRUNNER]

Just read you're build thread Dennis, very good work, looks good on those roof joints! Very minimal clean up to me? 

[oldnslow]

Looks like a winner . The hot rod defense is good , a good metal smith could change a lot and make it look factory .

That being said , the back door window looks long and the rear side window looks short , but the door lines look right on ?

Were there 4 door sedans in different models ? Standard ? Vickie ? Model B ? Model 18 ?

Here's one from Star Models , but the door windows appear to be near equal length ?

 

[Dennis Lacy]

2 hours ago, oldnslow said:

Looks like a winner . The hot rod defense is good , a good metal smith could change a lot and make it look factory .

That being said , the back door window looks long and the rear side window looks short , but the door lines look right on ?

Were there 4 door sedans in different models ? Standard ? Vickie ? Model B ? Model 18 ?

There was only one style of 4-door sedan body and it was available in standard or deluxe trim, but the body itself was all the same. On the real ones the rear door windows are noticeably longer than the front door windows like your first picture. The front doors are the same length as a 5-window coupe (but not exactly the same door) so I measured them out using a Revell '32 5-Window body and then made the rear doors an 1/8th inch longer which is roughly 3 inches in 1/25 scale. What I did not do is lengthen the rear most small quarter windows which on the real car extend farther towards the rear corners of the body than on a 2 door sedan (there's much more of a blind corner on a 2-door.) I decided that I didn't feel like messing with it and I'm happy with the look.

So while they got the small quarter windows more in correct dimension on the Star Models body, they didn't get the door proportions correct. It's the opposite "problem" of the body I made. 

Edited May 28, 2019 by Dennis Lacy

[oldnslow]

Thanks , for the explanation , of course with every build , it's the builders vision that drives the design and yours looks great .

[Foxer]

that is a beautiful chop!