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1928 Lincoln Touring Conversion


mchook

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I've been thinking about building a model of this since I saw the picture a long time ago. This beautiful car was converted into a tow truck and looks amazing. I'm starting with an AMT Connoisseur Classics 1928 Lincoln Sport Touring I bought off ebay. The kit is awful, it's loaded with flash and a lot of the parts are molded a little crooked. 

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The engine went together fairly good, I just needed to check some 1:1 pics to see how it's supposed to look because the instructions are pretty vague. The chassis was a PIA because 1 frame rail was bent from packing. After I got the chassis pretty straight and the front & rear ends in, I had to cut the front axel back out. I didn't notice when I was putting it together but the passenger side spring had so much extra material it was like it had 3 extra leaf springs in it. I should have taken some pics but I was so aggravated I didn't think about it. So I got most of the chassis built & the wheels were next but OMG the flash & chrome are awful so they're getting stripped.

While that's happening I decided to hack up the body. I cut the rear off over the wheel wells & built the rest from styrene. It needed to be longer & straighter to look like right. The body was molded a little crooked so the sides up at the cowl didn't have any trim on one side. It didn't really matter I had to make my own anyway to get the curve at the back by the new top. 

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21 minutes ago, espo said:

Great idea, is this going to have one of your special finishes ? 

Thanks, I really want to make it shiny but if the paint gives me a hard time it just might end up with one of those "special finishes". I want to do a dark blue body with black fenders.

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19 hours ago, misterNNL said:

Looking very nice. I'm tuned in for sure.

Thanks Tom. 

19 hours ago, sjordan2 said:

This is a nice color combo, too.

Skip, if this thing turns out to be a decent looking model I just might do another of that maroon & black one. I like the closed cab look on it.

I started on building the roof next, I know I'm all over the place with my building process. I wasn't sure how to make it so I traced the body on a piece of paper and drew the top. Probably not the right way to do it but it's what I came up with. I cut it out and transferred it onto some styrene. At first I just glued another piece to the back, but the corners looked too sharp so I cut it back apart and used some tubing to get a curve to it. After I get the top covered I'll cut the rear window out next. I'm just going to trace the one from the kit, and that was molded poorly too it's missing a pretty good size piece from the bottom corner.

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Looking great, lots of stealable material here!  Thanks.

Something minor to annoy you:  both of the trucks pictured above have wooden "artillery" wheels, not the chrome wire wheels in the kit.  That makes sense, considering the extra weight of the tow rig and its loads.  Artillery wheels would probably stand the strain better than wire wheels. 

According to the article linked below about the '28 Lincoln, its options included:  "...wooden artillery wheels, Buffalo wire wheels, steel disc wheels..."  The photo below is a 1924 Lincoln Sport Phaeton with the artillery wheels. 

I'm trying to think of kits with those wheels.  For artillery wheels, the AMT Thomas Flyer or '23-25 Model T kit.  Or the old MPC Stutz Bearcat. I'm not sure the Model T wheels will look right on that big old Lincoln, but maybe.  Several Italeri 1/24 classic car kits have steel disc wheels, IIRC.  And the Hive Mind in here should have some other wheel ideas for you. 

1928 Lincoln Model L | conceptcarz.com

 

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The Beverly Hillbillies truck was built on an Oldsmobile roadster, so those wheels might be the right size.

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EDIT: I have a 'AMT '23 kit and the '28 Lincoln kit, and the Model T wheel is slightly larger than the Lincoln wheel, so you might be able to make it fit the Lincoln tire with a little surgery.

 

Edited by Richard Bartrop
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7 hours ago, Richard Bartrop said:

The Beverly Hillbillies truck was built on an Oldsmobile roadster, so those wheels might be the right size.

EDIT: I have a 'AMT '23 kit and the '28 Lincoln kit, and the Model T wheel is slightly larger than the Lincoln wheel, so you might be able to make it fit the Lincoln tire with a little surgery.

Thanks, forgot about that one!  He could also steal the toolbox on the Oldsmobile's running board and probably some other parts from that kit.  Which is way overdue for a re-issue, Round 2.  Hint, hint.

For a tow truck, the Model T wheels being "slightly larger" might work out just fine, if he can't get the Olds wheels. With all the re-issues in recent years, those 1923-25 Model T wheels should be pretty easy to find. 

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Thanks guys for the great comments & advice. I've been trying to figure out the wheel situation in the back of my head and you guys are giving great options. I've thought about the T wheels but I think the center is too small & the spokes too long. I could start cutting them to make them look right but I don't know if I want to go down that rabbit hole. Compare that nice Lincoln's wheels too my father's T wheels and you'll see what I mean.

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I haven't had a lot of time to work on this lately, I've been busy fixing the broken dryer, lawn mower and everything else that happened last week:angry:. I did manage to squeeze in enough time to get the top about done. I shortened the overhang of the windshield too, like "espo said it was a little too much. It still needs the inside finished but it looks like a roof now. The car to me is starting to look a little like the picture.

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Edited by mchook
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