The Monogram SweeTee by Tom Daniel

[Mr. Metallic]

For those of you that didn't follow along on the build thread, this is the first in a personal build series of the Tom Daniel designed "true" hot rod kits. I say true in quotations because these were the only kits that he designed for Monogram that were based on already existing tooling (to my knowledge). The SweeTee, Boss A Bone and Son Of Ford were all based on Monograms tooling of the Little T, Blue Beetle and Little Deuce respectively. I've been on a quest over the last few years to capture buildable versions of these kits, and the SweeTee is the rarest (not that the other two are common by any means) so I was extremely happy when I stumbled onto this mint SweeTee kit on ebay one evening with a reasonable Buy It Now. It sat on my shelf for a couple years, and I thought that this kit would be a perfect return to my bench after a long and protracted build slump. This is the first model I have completed in over a year. 

Heavily inspired by the upgraded-box-stock builds of Bob Spedding @TooOld I set about to build this nearly box stock with a few upgrades. The upgrades I added I feel maintain the look and feel of the boxart while giving the observer a little something to spark interest. One major thing was that I made the turtle deck and pickup bed interchangeable with the use of strategically placed magnets since i couldn't decide which option I liked better. Now I have both. here's a list of the changes I made

Swapped in the tires from an AMT Gasser wheel/tire pack

Custom mixed paint color to match the molded plastic

Stripped the chrome off some parts to reveal the yellow plastic and then replaced some of the chrome with Molotow (note headlights for example)

drilled out the ends of the exhaust headers

Morgan Automotive Designs pre-wired magneto

Lowered rear suspension

Lowered front suspension

Flocked interior floor

A special thank you to Bob for the inspiration to build this, and supplying the custom SweeTee licence plate.

 

And here it is sitting next to my Little T, just to illustrate the differences between the 2. Also note the dramatic lowering of the front achieved by a combination of lowering the spring perch and the wheel/tire package.

 

Thanks for following along. here's a link to the build thread for those interested in the details and stay tuned for the other builds in the series.

 

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

Great to see. So rare! Have never seen this. Stance is all business.

[afx]

Very nice.

[Slotto]

Great color combination

[Bullybeef]

Well done Craig, can’t wait to see what is in store for us viewers next! 

[espo]

Great looking builds. Like how you can change the bed for the turtle deck rear. 

[karbuildr]

Outstanding build. Beautiful color, engine and overall details. I remember this kit but I believe yours is the first I've ever seen actually built.

[Mr. Metallic]

33 minutes ago, karbuildr said:

Outstanding build. Beautiful color, engine and overall details. I remember this kit but I believe yours is the first I've ever seen actually built.

Thank you. The color is the plastic, just polished out. 
There have been a couple built here over the years, but this is the one that influenced me in my build. 

 

[Yeah Nah]

Superb model! Turned out a real beauty.

[Rattlecan Dan]

Really nice! Great job!

[Zippi]

Daddy like.  

[slusher]

Great looking classic build!

[TooOld]

Your lowered ride height and tire choice really improve the appearance , overall an excellent build !  Well done Craig !

[Koellefornia Kid]

Well done, looks great!