Black '32 Ford Highboy Roadster Street Rod

[Bernard Kron]

’32 Ford Highboy Roadster Street Rod

This is a Deuce Highboy I just finished done in what I think of as the contemporary Traditional style. It’s got all the Right Stuff: a period correct full dress Flathead, 50’s style solid Halibrand mag wheels, skinny big ‘n’ little bias ply tires, quick change rear end, and a deluxe custom stitched leather interior with a Bell sprint car steering wheel. The stance is raked and the bodywork and paint is straight and shiny.

The base kit I used is the Revell 1/25th scale ’32 Ford Highboy. The Flathead V8 and finned oil cooler are from the Revell ’32 Ford sedan kit. A Revell ’32 Ford 5-window provided the tail lights, hairpins and smooth hood sides. The Halibrand mags, front and rear, are from a Revell Orange Crate which also supplied the front tires. The rear tires are from Herb Deeks. The distributor and coil are aftermarket bits from Morgan Auto Detail. A Revell ’29 Ford Roadster Pickup provided the chrome rear axle bells, rear radius rods and the headlights (modified with clear epoxy lenses). The quick change is from my parts box, as is the fuel block under the hood. The grill is a photoetch piece from Model Car Garage. The cool up-top is an old resin aftermarket item I got many moons ago from the now-defunct Carbon Copy Resin. It’s finished with Testors Acryl Radome Tan applied to simulate a twill weave fabric top. Recently I learned this top was originally cast by Ed Fluck at Drag City Casting which explains the superb quality. (Drag City also did the stock appearing firewall I used.) I chopped the kit windshield about 1 ½ scale inches to fit the top. The kit interior is lightly modified. The dashboard was smoothed and filled to accept a 6-gauge photoetch panel from Replicas and Miniatures Co, of Maryland, the Bell steering wheel is from a Revell ’29 Ford roadster, and the rear seat bolster notched so that it sits above the cockpit molding. The faux oxblood leather finish was done using Testors Acryl Insignia Red paint and various black washes. At the front a v-shaped spreader bar was fabricated using butyl covered wire. At the rear the stock fuel tank has been deleted, the rear ends of the frame rails shortened, and the rear pan rolled using ¼” quarter-round styrene stock. The body is finished in Duplicolor Universal Black and Krylon Gloss Clear.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

 

Edited April 7, 2020 by Bernard Kron

[alan barton]

You make it look simple, Bernard.   You've brought together a great selection of parts to produce a rod  that would look right at home at Pleasanton. I'm going to have to look at my Orange Crate box to see if I have any spare wheels!

Cheers

Alan

[Intmd8r]

I love it!

[Kararic]

Wow! What an amazing build! I love it! Good job.

[falcon wagon]

Wow that is an amazing build 

[espo]

Beautiful  looking build. Dark color are hard to photograph and show how good the finish is. Just look at the first picture and a few of the others, and you can see a perfect reflection of the headlight in the hood. Sort of says it all there. As others have mentioned the way you blended the parts from different kits adds to the caricature of this build. The interior looks like well worn leather and the finish on the top looks like very expensive cloth. 

[crazyjim]

Very cool hot rod.

[donb]

8 hours ago, falcon wagon said:

Wow that is an amazing build 

Agree. 

[Phildaupho]

Your very traditional Deuce is excellent

[Bernard Kron]

Thank you, everyone! Your very generous appreciation is most encouraging and welcome. Battling to keep this build as clean as possible, given my very improvisational build style, was, as the expression goes, quite a "learning experience". For years that up-top sat in my stash waiting for the day when I could use it properly and this is certainly the build for it. Even the little oval window gives it a slightly contemporary touch that fits it. The shiny black & chrome theme was inspired by the Doane Spencer roadster and Bob Morris tribute to it built in the 90's. Despite the iconic status of the hardtop on these cars I preferred a cloth top and that's when I was inspired to use the CCR top I had.

Speaking of up-tops, Ed Fluck at Drag City Casting, who I mentioned in my write-up, will soon be offering a handsome bop-top style up-top for the Revell Deuce roadster. It's being mastered by Dennis Lacy and he's shown some pictures of his w.i.p. I'm in for at least 3 which I'll finish in buff, white and black and circulate on various Deuces on my shelves. Can't wait! 

Edited April 8, 2020 by Bernard Kron

[Richard Bartrop]

Looks great!

[Ace-Garageguy]

Very nice. A contender for the dictionary illustration under "hot rod".

[Plowboy]

You already know how I feel about this model Bernard. But, I gotta say again that this is your best work yet! Congratulations on pulling off one fine example of a hot rod!

[curt raitz]

Very very nice young man!

what's next?

 

[slusher]

Good looking 32!

[Bernard Kron]

Again, much thanks to you all. It's great to hear from so many modelers whose work I respect and admire. I'm really pleased you like the result.

On 4/7/2020 at 8:40 PM, Plowboy said:

You already know how I feel about this model Bernard. But, I gotta say again that this is your best work yet! Congratulations on pulling off one fine example of a hot rod!

Thank you Roger. Coming from a master of Sanitary Execution I'm pleased you dig it!

On 4/7/2020 at 8:46 PM, curt raitz said:

Very very nice young man!

what's next?

 

Thanx Curt! Dunno. I had started a Chaparall 2e but I've somehow "mislaid" the motor, believe it or not. Maybe another hot rod of some sort,,,,

On 4/7/2020 at 6:41 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Very nice. A contender for the dictionary illustration under "hot rod".

Thank you! My intention was to get as close as I could to the archetypal Deuce street rod as it is currently defined in this era where TRJ is so influential.

[Koellefornia Kid]

Awesome roadster! Love the Flattie!

[PappyD340]

Sweet!

[ChrisR]

Very nice!

[Bernard Kron]

On 4/11/2020 at 3:03 AM, Koellefornia Kid said:

Awesome roadster! Love the Flattie!

 

On 4/11/2020 at 5:33 AM, PappyD340 said:

Sweet!

 

On 4/11/2020 at 6:37 AM, ChrisR said:

Very nice!

Thank you everyone!