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Chopped 1939 Ford Sedan


maltsr

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Hi all

This is a project that stalled more than a year ago, but inspired by Dr Cranky's recent long weekend CBP for such builds, I thought I would resurrect it.

I started with the AMT 1939/40 sedan and gave it a modest (gentleman's?) chop of about 1/10th of an inch.

The chassis is the much better 1937 Revell unit from the 5-window coupe. The wheelbase had to be shortened and the rails narrowed at the rear to accommodate the wide rubber. A few panels were added to fill the gaps between chassis and fender unit.

Hopefully it won't be another year before I post an update :rolleyes:

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Hopefully I have the bodywork finished on this.

The side trim has almost disappeared over the 40-odd (?) years this mold has been in use, so I sanded off what was left and fitted new trim from Evergreen strip.

The firewall has been smoothed and the holes for bumper mounts etc have been filled. Hope to get it painted one evening this week.

Work on the undercarriage is also progressing, had to narrow the rear axle etc because the chassis rails were moved in. It all looks good now, hope the wheels will still fit in the arches :unsure:

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The fine work continues. Thanks for sharing this.

The mild chop serves to "dial in" the proportions of the car. It should be quite handsome when it's done.

The point about the side moldings is an important one. I've done 2 AMT '40 Fords in the last couple of years and the side trim BMF work was no fun at all! Your build will benefit nicely from the removal and reapplication of the molding.

Also, it looks like you took your chop from above the trunk line at the rear, using a wedge cut. Am I correct on this? The result, while quite good looking, actually, is a more hump backed effect. In my planned upcoming Tudors I'm going to have a more radical chop so I'll have to think about your approach. Perhaps for a deeper chop it might be advisable to shorten the trunk lid, or even pivot the trunk panel and lower valance forward as well.

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Thanks everyone for the kind words and encouragement. I've never attempted a chop on such a bodystyle before so didn't want to get in too deep.

For this reason and it being only a modest chop, I cheated a little and left the rear of the roof unchopped. I made a vertical cut just ahead of the rear window down to the horizontal cutline and simply dropped the rear roof section in place. This can be seen in the early photos.

Yes you are right Bernard, it does create a slight humpback effect, but I didn't have the courage/skills to lay down the rear window. Mebbe next time eh, if this one turns out ok ^_^

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The good news is the chassis is just about finished, bad news is some paint issues so the body still in progress, and it's raining today :(. The final colour will be Tamiya metallic Purple, as seen in the mist coats on the body.

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The wheels/tyres are from the recent Revell '36 roadster/coupe with Pegasus brake discs, driveshaft is aluminium tube and the rest is from the Monogram '37 coupe/sedan. Aluminium exhaust tips still to be added.

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Edited by maltsr
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  • 1 month later...

This project has fought me all the way, but I'm on the home stretch now. Covered the original colour with Tamiya's Translucent Purple to give a much better shade. Hope to have this finished real soon.

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