1953 Ford Pickup Flipnose Street Machine - updated 12/1

[IceMan555]

So I decided to start a few more projects. I'm going to build three 53 Ford pickups all different styles. In this thread I will show he progress for two of them. The work one I have to keep to myself until closer to the contest for my forum. It'll be for the April MOTM.

Anyways. Here are the three diferent cabs. From left to right
1. Stock cab for a work truck - shhhhh it's a secret
2. Resin chopped cab from Frontier Design - hot rod
3. Flipnose version - street racer.

[IceMan555]

Here's is the chopped cab. Shave door handles. Found a hood and shaved the emblem as well.



And the Flipnose. I have a feeling I'm going to end up modifying that hood for a bigger engine.

[fireguy14]

Very cool! Really looking forward to the flip nose. Started one years ago, but never did much with it.

[IceMan555]

Well I put the Gibson engine together. I'm starting to think I'm going to cast this engine. So easy to work with and fits with a few other future projects.

[robert1]

That is an interesting series of builds on the same truck! Like that engine.

[harron68]

Scale Auto Enthusiast magazine decades ago did a comparison using the 3 kits from major companies. Your work will be as interesting! Hope your energy is up for 3-at-a-time. Good luck!

[IceMan555]

Thanks Robert.

I sure hope so Harron.

Small follow up this afternoon. Flipped the valve covers to the right position. Here's the planned look one more time. The engine block is now even at the bottom so adding some Squadron green putty to even it out.

[Eddie]

Wow, I can't wait to see how they turn out!!

[IceMan555]

I laid primer on the engine. I wanted a very thin layer of it so I used Alclad filler n primer for this one. Drilled out the holes for the plugs and distributor.

[IceMan555]

I'm going to see if I can cast this one since it's probably my favorite one. Didn't work on the engine today but I did find the wheels I'm going to use. Had been waiting for a build to use some PE wheels and this will be perfect. The wheels are from MAS, the sleeves are some of the old Details Master ones. They are pretty hard to find now and pretty expensive when you do find them. I cast some almost identical ones to these that I have in my ebay store. Two different sizes. I'm going to use the tires from the Pegasus Spiders. They are a perfect fit for these sleeves. In the pic where theyre assembled, the ones on the left are the rear tires. The difference is that I inserted the wheel through the back of the sleeve to give it slightly more depth.




Here are some stance shots. The front wheels will fit just fine but the rears will need some mods to make them fit.




I started cutting up the bed to make room for the tires. Marked up the fender and some clearance guides. Getting there.

[IceMan555]

I have a pro street build in mind for next year and I think those rims and tires will go great with it so I'm changing over to these. Still using EFX MAS parts. The rear sleeves are the resin ones I have in my eBay store. They fit perfectly into the rear tires from the kit.



And now that the first 53 pickup is done in coming back to this one. Just some small updates since I spent most of the time gathering the left over parts from the other one.
For this one here I'm trying to blend in the from grill housing with the fenders. See how it goes. Added the clips to the front so I can test out the flipping action. And finally added the firewall.

[Eddie]

Looking good!

[IceMan555]

Thanks Eddie

Here's last nights work. Darkened the door panel lines while removing some mold lines. Cab and front end drying from a fresh coat of primer (not pictured). Engine received a chrome treatment. Black wash and some detailing coming up. Chassis received same treatment and it is on all fours. Here are some pics.

[IceMan555]

I'm trying to get back to the bench for this. I did manage to do a quick mockup of the front end.

[IceMan555]

Ok guys so I got rid of most of the yellow. Not planning on painting the body yellow so I have no idea what I was thinking. But I wired it up added the belt and some pulley faces to give it a different look. Does anybody know of a kit that has the "392 Hemi" decals for the engine?






I think a black wash will take care of the rest. Cut the transmission from the engine and the oil pan that came with the kit. Also took the headers from the Revell 41 Willys kit. And here it is sitting on the chassis.

[Eddie]

Awesome!!

How do you make your spark plugs?

[IceMan555]

We're hosting Thanksgiving this year. While the wife and daughter are busy ion the kitchen I am tucked away in the garage working on this baby. I already took care of what I was responsible for.

The spark plugs are just wire casing I have specifically for this. It comes in black but I painted it along with the engine so it would all match. PM me for more info.

So I wasn't planning on detailing this one so much but I saw the PE parts that came with the Gibson engine and I got to researching a bit. I'm working on it as we speak but I was so excited that I pulled this off. Might not be 100% accurate due to missing nuts and bolts or whatever, but I think I got it just right. I'm like a little kit right now, "Look what I can do!" haha. I tried sharing with the fam but they dont see what all the fuss is about lol so I want to share it with you guys. Here are some closeup pics.






I'm patting myself on the back for this one. Now I feel like I have to keep running lines everywhere.

Oh the body is in the paint booth drying as we speak also. Those pics coming this weekend.

[IceMan555]

Worked on this one some more today. Tackled the interior. Steering wheel from Detail Junkees and the Sun tachometer from Model Car Garage.

[IceMan555]

So here's the interior done and a pic of them cab. Gloss black.

[IceMan555]

I was working on final assembly but I miscalculated my original work on the front end. The blower head clears fine but the upper pulley and belt are hitting the hood. Will have to make a few cuts and respray. Needs the tailgate and the exhausts which I have ready to add in the final step. Getting pretty close though. Clear also need to gas out completely to avoid fingerprints. You know how black paint is...

Here's a couple of shots of where it sits.

[Nacho Z]

This is really coming together nicely! The black paint looks great.

[IceMan555]

Thank Nacho. This one is all done. check out more pics in the Completed section.