'32 Ford Full Bellypan Lakes Roadster - Updated 05-29

About every two or three years I have a swing at building a full bellypan 32 Ford hot rod. The first one was a gold roadster based on the old Monogram 1/24 scale kit which doesn’t have a separate chassis. Since putting a bellypan under a Deuce completely hides the frame when modeling one you may as well use the bellypan structure to s\erve as the chassis. This was the technique I developed for this initial build back in 2010. Unfortunately I wasn’t aggressive enough in showing the bellypan and the car landed up looking like a mildly channeled highboy rather than a bellypan car. Then in 2012 I tried my hand again and this time I wasn’t shy about showing the pan and the result, this time on a Revell Deuce roadster came out better, with a pretty nicely visible deep pan, although the rear section rose toward the rear of the body shell a bit too much for my taste. Then in 2014 I built a chopped Revell 5-window into a lakes car and pretty much got the visible bellypan look I was after. Here’s a composite photo of all three:



Now it’s time for another one. I started out intending to build street roadster but then got sidetracked thinking about using some Old School Indy Firestone tires and Halibrands like the ones found in the ex-Monogram Revell Kurtis Kraft 500 Indianapolis roadster kit. As fate one have it Indycals Decals has issued some super-sweet detailed aftermarket resin versions which are far more finely detailed and properly scaled which sealed the deal for me. The result was that I’m going for a lakes roadster look with a tonneau cover and roll hoop. The Indycals wheels and tires should be here tomorrow but in the meantime I’ve gotten to work on the very extensive fabrication and body work bellypan builds require. Part of the key to getting an aggressive enough looking pan, I’ve learned, is to make sure the curvature of the pan is fairly pronounced. It also helps to build up the real roll pan deep enough so that the bellypan doesn’t kick up too much past the rear axle. Here’s where I’m at so far. The basic “.chassis” cum bellypan has been constructed, built up from various shapes of styrene strip and rod, the rear roll pan fabricated and installed, the tonneau cover made and the roll bar fabricated from aluminum tubing. The lower surface of the bellypan will be fabricated once I’ve finished fitting the interior bits and motor. My plan is to do a yellow car with white side panels and bare aluminum tonneau cover and bellypan bottom surface.

These are the wheels and tires I’m getting from Indycals:



Below is my work so far on the model.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

Doing a bellypan hot rod sits somewhere between a scratch build and kit bashing. No kits or instructions for this one! Got some more fabrication done and the tires and wheels came from IndyCals. I fabbed the basic interior bits from styrene sheet and strips and added extensions to the roll bar to represent the interior portion visible from the driver’s opening using styrene tube. The tires are painted flat black and the wheels are in white primer for now. I made inner wheel discs from styrene sheet which will be finished in polished aluminum metalizer. The outer wheel surfaces will be painted to match the secondary accent color once I put down body paint. They’ll most likely be white. The tires will get their decals, which come with the wheel set, at that time. I also fabricated the front axle in order to get the nose down more like the blue roadster shown above. Next up choosing and making up a motor.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

Watching this one. Love the look.

Nice work Bern, this is gonna be a goodun.

Thanx!

Slow but steady on this project. I got the interior panels and seat (upper 2 images, below), with the exception of the instrument panel, cut, fabbed and finished, along with the bellypan underside panels (lower 2 images, below). The seat is a resin piece from Crazy Scale Auto Parts (http://crazyscaleautoparts.cybrarygoddess.com/). They’re all finished in Testors Buffable Metalizer Aluminum Plate which will be a thematic element of the car. The grill will have a solid aluminum panel as well. In keeping with the “enhanced curbside” approach to the build the dashboard will be fabricated to attach to the underside of the tonneau cover with only those portions that are visible in the completed model getting any detail. Along with making the instrument panel, I have still to determine the powerplant, build it, and fabricate the mounting bits for it. I’m thinking in terms of a top-mounted blown motor, if it’ll fit, either a SBC or an Oldsmobile. It’s really a secondary element in this car so I’m struggling as whether to “sacrifice” an Olds for this project. Once the powerplant issue is settled it will at last be time for finishing up and detailing the body structure, then paint, decals and final assembly.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

As always you make it look so simple. A real gift for breaking things down into small steps and components. Nice.

mgy125 wrote:As always you make it look so simple.  A real gift for breaking things down into small steps and components.  Nice.

Thanks. That's a very kind to say. I try to "pick my battles" and use techniques and approaches that are within my range of abilities at the time I'm tackling a project. The most important thing is for the completed model to express what I have in mind as I build it. The process is always somewhat fluid and improvisational. So I tend to break things down into bite-sized chunks I know I can do successfully. In the longer run my hope is always that each subsequent project will allow me to continue to progress and improve. There are always a few things in each project that are newer and less well proven that I hope to master.

This project seems to have developed a case of the stumbles as I’,m staggering along in fits and starts. I’ve gotten the basic paint done, a two-tone combination of Testor’s Daytona Yellow Lacquer and Duplicolor Oxford White. I also did some detail work on the bellypan, inserting a pair of ovoid holes in front of the rear wheels for the exhaust. With the basic body paint on the photos below include a rough mockup of the body showing the plain aluminum grill panel. Also included is a detail of the grill shell. I banked the radiator with a piece of styrene and finished it in aluminum Metalizer to represent a coolant tank which a lakes car like this would use to reduce the drag caused by the radiator core.

The motor is still fighting me. Although I have one built it just doesn’t seem appropriate to the car.. It’s a blown SBC but the 671 blower seems too big and dominant. I hope to have resolved things in time for my next update.

Thanx for lookin,
B.

Decals! I got the graphics designed and the decals made and installed. I’m waiting on some headers to get the motor done and then, at last, it’ll be time for final assembly.

Thanx for lookin,
B.

Between waiting for the headers to arrive and the current Photobucket dustup I haven’t lacked for excuses to move this prevent me from attending to this project. Despite these things I’ve gotten the motor done, the front suspension completes and the wheels done and the rear wheels mounted. In the photos below the front ones are just hanging in place on the axles but not glued and positioned.

The motor is a Revell Parts Block Chevy small block. The blower is one of small GMC 471’s from the twin Chevies in the AMT Double Dragster kit which is also the source for the Hilborn 2-port injectors. This would be a typical lakes motor circa ’59-’61. The tubular headers courtesy of VCG Resins have been extensively modified so they hug the block as much as possible to fit under the hood. The distributor is a “Frankenstein” style magneto from a Too Much dragster kit with a pre-wired cap from Morgan Auto Detail. The chain drive was adapted from an AMT ’40 Ford Tudor kit.

The wheels are now complete. Oddly, IndyCals does not provide knock-off spinners for them, even though an extension search on the Internet of photos of these wheels mounted only ever shows them with knock-offs. So I adapted a set from the Revell ‘32 Ford Highboy kit that is the origin of the body. They look like they were made for them! The details of the front suspension were all adapted from the Revell Deuce Highboy kit as well.

That’s it for now. The interior panels are glued into the body, as is the dashboard, gearshift and seat. The body is now glued in place as well. Not much to left to do except fitting the grill shell and hood and the usual final detailing and cleanup. Most likely my next post will be of the completed model.

Thanx for lookin,
B.

P.S. I'll attend to all the broken Photobucket links later today...

Nice.

Thanks!

This project is now done. Here are some final details including the finished out engine compartment and pictures of the idashboard and steering wheel and seats inside the bodywork as well as the final installation of the underside panels.

Thanks to all who followed along. I’ll post the final “beauty shots” in the next day or so.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

great job Bernard, the wheels really suit the salt lake look.