Willy's Modified Completed

[David Bogard]

Thanks MB. This thread link shows how I got there.

http://www.shorttrackmodels.com/index.php?topic=1830.0

[Maineboy]

David, Thanks for the link. I looked at your build thread several times before I joined up. Thought your build was just out of sight, and I thought with this kind of modelling around this looked like a great place to join up with. Indeed seems like a great group of people. 

I have seen photos of quite a few S Mods where the bodies had been narrowed and altered in most any other way possible. Question:  Have you narrowed a coupe body before?  I am thinking you would have to cut it fairly accurately to have the 2 halves fit back together. Just wondering how you did it if you had done so. Thinking of a project and looking for ideas/techniquesl

[David Bogard]

Any time you start cutting up bodies into puzzle pieces they need to be as clean of a cut as you can make, just to minimize the amount of putty and filler. It depends on the body style and upon which axis you are working from that determines where the cuts will be made and what section(s) will be removed. I use dymo label tape (or sometimes good hobby masking tape) to give me a nice straight edge and I patiently scribe with an Exacto turned around backwards. I leave a few places together until I am almost through and then with my razor saw or micro blade saw, I will cut the piece to be removed. Keeping things together as long as possible minimizes floppiness and damage. I then glue one part/one section at a time back together with superglue, usually starting from the top down. Take your time and make sure you are working symmetrically, and you will find these major body modifications easier than you think!

[Maineboy]

David, thanks for all the good tips and sound advice.....from someone who has been there. I am pretty interested in the super mods as I saw them in Maine, more than a few years ago. More than A few I have seen had bodies that were made smaller in different ways. I saw them shortened, sectioned along the sides and narrowed. Pickup cabs seemed pretty popular for that purpose. I have seen quite a few 30's coup bodies that were narrowed by cutting a piece out of the center of the car. Been pondering trying that eventually.

Like you said I can see that the cut has to be carefully figured and done with the idea of making a clean cut as it would be easier to put back together that way. Marking the cut with tape, carefully seems to make very good sense. I have wondered if you could make a fixture to hold it like wood in a miter box so something would guide the saw but can't picture it. Got to cut it with a fine tooth saw for sure to get it fairly clean. I know you can't use power tools as the heat would upset the plastic. I think your idea of making several small cuts then cutting the pieces still holding last sounds like a plan.

Looking at a coupe body from the top it is narrower across the cowl then at the back of the seat area and the trunk also. So do you cut a straight piece out of the middle or make that kind of pie cut to make the sides straighter. Wish I could see some pics of someone doing this on the full size car as it would maybe give me some good ideas there. Thanks for giving me more stuff to think about.

[David Bogard]

MB- Can you use the Message option? I am sending you one.

[Maineboy]

Message received and response just sent. Thanks for your offer of ideas.

[Dr. Kerry]

Wow David! Still cranking out the kool builds!!

[ARCA Guy]

Nice creation there! Another beauty that looks fast like the other mod!

[Maineboy]

David, this car, and how you did it, especially the major bodywork, is very inspirational. I have a Maine Super mod in mind, from the late 60's. There was no custom chassis or anything else around here at that time. Every thing we saw then was built in the back yard. It is amazing to look at the sheet metal work those guys did in that era, with no MIG or TIG welder. All that they had was the torch and a stick welder. I have seen photos of guys doing custom work in the 40's and 50's and it is amazing to look at the work they did with relatively simple tools.

I have looked at some photos of midwest and Texas area super mods, of that time,  that were 30's and 40's coupes that were given the "treatment" and dramatically narrowed. Photos from directly in front or rear reveal a lot about the cars. There was a video posted by MarkJ back in Aug 2018 that showed some cars from Meyer Speedway in TX. I grabbed some screen shots and blew them up on my computer. Photo is grainy but the car looked like David B got at it.

This car has been seriously narrowed, not a simple task, in full size or 1/25. Gotta admire the ingenuity of the builders. They must have been thinking of the aerodynamics of the car at speed. Think I can see a crease where the two body halves were mated, in the roof. !/25 you can hold in your hands and work on it. Imagine doing that on a full sized car made of steel.
meyer3 by Nathan Pitts, on Flickr

I suspect that working in styrene is much simpler than on a full sized car. Nevertheless I will admire forever the skills these guys had in the 60's when they had little for tools to do sheet metal work with.

MB

[pdaly28]

nice build David!

[TLouis]

That turned out really well, I always wondered what a Willys coupe would look like as a modified! Nice building and paint.