Backward Induction

Some time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, This picture was posted.




I thought it was a backward induction Ford Flathead. Later found out that it was a Caddy Tank engine. The intake and Exhaust are both on top because it makes it easier to work on the engine in the Army Tank. Anyway it started a Community Build with the theme being to build a model of anything and the Engine had to have te Exhaust and Intake systems switched. So this is what I came up with. It was great fun to imageneer my way through this one.

I know it's a little early to be starting to post our builds but I wanted to share my ideas. I think this will be a cool project.


I plan to use this kit as a starting point.



The body is warped in this kit and it has been robbed of it's decals but it's got the wheels, tires and chassis for a starting point.



For the engine I plan to use this Ross Gibson Engine.



I have a pretty clear idea of what the intake will look like but that's about it. What the exhaust system and what body to use will come around as I build on this "THANG".

Well I got a start. I opened the Ross Gibson Engine and did some test fitting. This thing will not even go between the frame rails. Another 1/25 Th scale engine that is huge. So back in the bag it went and plan B came into effect barely 20 minutes into the build. Here is what the engine looks like just in case you are interested.



Don't get me wrong, this is a great looking engine just to big for this project. I will use it later on for sure.

So plan B is the Small Block Chevy that is in the Tweedy Pie 2 kit. I got the basic block MEK'ed together and started looking for headers.



The T Bucket body in the kit was warped and broken. Instead of trying to fix it I am going to use one of the bodies that Bob Paeth gave me. Theses are "Test Shots" from the Tweedy Pie 2 kit. He was involved with this kit when working for Revell and gave me 3 of them. This one has no door lines.

Broken and warped.



Test Shot.



After getting the engine block together I went in search of a set of headers. I was hoping to find a set that would look cool and fit the build. So far I got nothing. Look like I might have to make some from solder.



That chopped coupe body in the background could still come into play. Haven't made up my mind 100% yet. So that's where I am at on it. Gonna look for more headers today and hope for the best.

A couple years ago someone gave me this can full of popcorn for Christmas. Three different kinds of old stale popcorn. Dude I ate it up. Any way I keep looking at one of the cars on it and wondering it the T Bucket is the way to go.



Max, I know what you mean about the coupe. I found a set of fenders from another kit and the two fit together like a glove. I hate to use that body I was kinda planning a Hot Rod that would look like this.



Now that The kit has been reissued it wouldn't be that big of deal to get another one I guess.

I guess what I will do is build the engine and then figure out what to put it into.

OK everyone this is where I am at. I looked for quite awhile trying to find some glue on parts that would look right. I finally just started sticking stuff together.

The runners on the intake are a set of exhaust manifolds I found while looking for headers that would work on top. The plenums are pieces of .125 x .250 Evergreen Styrene.





The above photo is just a mock up to see if it would all work. I am going to run a pre- wired distributor with yellow plug wires. I want to have room to run the wires between the valve covers and the intake plenum. The Valley cover is a piece of business card I cut up.

When I made the intake plenum I used two sided tape to mock up the Carburetors. Wanted to make sure they weren't to short.



After the MEK sets a little longer I will mock up the carbs on the engine and then when I see what that looks like I will work on the exhaust.

OK I finally found what I think are a working set of headers. I have no idea what they are off of. I found them in a box of stuff I bought from High Velocity57 when he quit modeling.

What I am thinking is to cut the tubes on a angle. with the rear tube being shorter than the front. That should fan the headers out away from the body.



You are right about it being fun Clay. At first I was a little scared being out of the box, but I have Geezerman, bad440 and dogfish7 with me so I feel safe and secure. ::) 8-) ;D

Well everyone here is where I am at on this one. I have the engine all worked out. Here is a picture of the first mock up.





Some time ago on the build I raised to floor of the interior tub .125" 1/8Th inch. That's 3 scale inches.I did this to get the body lower on the chassis. So then with the engine this far along I could see there was no room for a distributor at the back of the engine. So I notched the firewall .125" (again 1/8Th inch or 3 scale inches.





So that problem solved I put the rear end together. Gonna work on the ride height. Well with the body channeled 3 inches. It hit the differential. That meant reworking the back of the bucket so everything would clear.





Then I made some header flanges out of .035" flat styrene. I did this to raise the headers up so they don't rest on the body.



They still need to be heated and tweaked just a little bit. I am going to hold off on that until I get the front suspension in it and some type of ride height established. Then I can start to fine tune things.

That's it for me for a couple days. I need to finish the "Give Away Truck" and the clear has been sitting for almost a week now. So I am going to finish it and then back to this one quick as a bunny.

Thanks for looking in all comments and question are welcome.

Thanks for the comments guys. This is turning into a fun build.


It been raining here for a couple days so I have a bit more done.
I made a wheel and tire choice. The Fat rears and wires from the Tweedy Pie 2 kit. Rear brakes only, the front ones just add weigh and slow you down.



Got the body work done and the body in primer.



here is the engine and body mock up.



I wanted to be able to locate the intake manifolds better and keep them more secure to the block (didn't want them breaking off while being transported to a show) so I drilled and pinned them with pieces of straight pin.



I have also decided to use the tube axle from the Tweedy Pie 2 kit. It has 2 front axles in it a straight bar and a tube axle. I decided to go light weight. It was all chrome so I put it in Bleach for a couple hours and it's ready to be put together now.



doing i n this way I have everything I need for the front suspension. So that's what's going on here. I am going to put the front axle together so I can find the final ride height. The body will be kept in primer I just haven't decided what color primer. See ya in a couple days. All comments and questions are welcome.

Thanks for the comments guys.

OK I have a little bit of an update. I went backward on the body. I painted it and then dropped it and cracked the body around the door filler piece I made for it. So I had to strip and repair the body and get it back in color. The color is Rustolem Sunburst Yellow.



I have started the assembly on the engine. I painted it Chevy Orange because that was such a popular color in the day.



I painted the headers in Testor's Meatlizer "Burnt Iron" I think they will look pretty good against the Yellow body.



Not much I know but I am working on it. Next time we should have the engine all done and the rest of the colors picked out for the chassis parts. I am thinking flat or semi gloss Black for the front axle and rear end. We will see.

OK, time for another update on this build. I have been making better progress than it seems. It just that to get things to look right I have taken this thing apart and changed it a bunch of times. I think I have it now. The only question is weather to add fuel line or not. I have decided to wait to make the decision.

Here is the painted Mock up. This will give you a better idea of my madness.



I wanted the fuel tank to look good as it will be the eye catcher in the back of the car. I found two matching Moon Tank ends in the junk yard. I soaked them in Bleach, painted them Black, clear coated them and then BMF'ed the tank ends. Then I used a piece of 3/8 Aluminum tube. I put it in the drill and sanded it with 600 grit paper. Then I cut it and epoxied everything together. Came out better than I expected. I am looking for a fuel cap to put on top.



The Stromberg's got a Black wash and some Gold Metalcast Dulpi-color paint on the stacks.



Decided on an interior color. Good old Red Primer with Dull Coat sprayed over it.



Then when I thought all was clear the inspector showed up and said "I need to check out them Tires"



And check them he did.



Then he said "The big ones go on the back and the little ones go on the front." with that said he was gone. I guess it passed.

I will try to have another update the first part of next week. It really is a lot closer to being finished than it appears.

Thanks for looking in all questions and comments are welcome.

Thanks for the comments guys. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The billetproof Show is this Saturday and my goal is to have it done for that show. That said I need to get busy.

I have the engine done. I scratched up a little bracket for the Alternator, I have some linkage left over from Ross Gibson engines and may add some throttle linkage we will see. I will try to get the carbs a little straighter, can't promise much they are drilled and pinned in place. But I have a plan.







Got the front axle all put together and in paint. I kinda like the tube axle, but wish I would have looked for an I-Beam style.



I like these headlights. They carry out a wing theme set by the intake manifolds and the headers. The problem with them is the light lens part is junk. Big pin holes in them. Really bad. So I tried to find some lenses that were small enough to go into them. So I am making some. It goes like this, hold the lens with needle nose pliers, file a little rotate and repeat, rotate and repeat. Here is the difference. They will look better when I have some future on them.



So that's about it. Make two more lenses and then start the final assembly. Be back soon with my final update.

Thanks for looking in. All comments and questions are welcome.