Uze Your Illusion English

Cars

1937 Ford Sedan Delivery 1/25

"Uze Your Illusion"

by Brian Nehring

I built this model with a determination to win a best in show title. I spent a lot of time cutting and slicing on this model just to cut it again and do it different. After much tweaking and fitting of the 40' Ford body to the 37' the top had been chopped at 3 scale inches. Not pleased with the looks I chopped it down to 5 scale inches. Something still didn't look quite right when I noticed that the front appeared to be to short in proportion to the rest of the body, that's when I extended the hood and added 4 scale inches to the hood sides and I laid the cowl back.

Scratch building

After all the body work, sanding and priming I knew that this model was going to have to have a killer paint job to draw attention to all work I put in it. About the time I finished the body work was when color change paint also known as flip flop paint became more available for hobby use. That's when I gave Black Gold Models in Texas a call and ordered a jar of their House of Kolor Kameleon Green to Purple. I knew with all the curves on the Ford that the paint would be brilliant and provide me with the gotcha factor I was looking for.

Kit Sources
Body	1937 Ford convertible; AMT 1940 Ford sedan delivery; Revell 32' Ford taillights; AMT 39' Ford headlights
Chassis	Revell 37' Ford; Revell Dodge Viper brake calipers
Engine	Small block Chevy from 37' Ford kit; Intake and carbs from Revell Tweedy Pie 2 kit
Interior	Revell Dodge Sidewinder seats; Revell 37 Ford door panels, dash and back seat; Speakers from Revell's lowrider S-10 pick-up; Stereo amps from Revell Matt&Debbi Hays Thunderbird

Modifications
Body	Grafted AMT 40'Ford sedan delivery body to Revell 37'Ford fenders, floor pan and cowl; Top has been chopped 5 scale inches; Hood and hood sides lengthened 4 scale inches to give a longer appearance in front; Fenders, running boards and hood side seams filled and smoothed; Frenched headlights; Opened and hinged doors in suicide fashion.

Chassis	Raised rear cross member of frame to lower rear end; Front suspension lowered by shortening the shock mounting points to the lower control arms

Paint Color/Brand

Body

House of Kolor Kameleon Green to Purple base coat from Black Gold Models; PPG 2020 Clear coat

Engine/ Chassis/ Drivetrain

Testors Purple mixed witha couple of drops of Boyds Grape Pearl

Interior

Testors flat gray; Dash is House of Kolor Green to Purple

Scratch built items
Chassis	Hubs for front and rear made from aluminum; Rack and pinion steering made from kit pieces, aluminum and brass rod; Drive shaft tube and axles made from aluminum; Rear shocks made from aluminum tubing
Engine	Valve cover plates made from aluminum sheet; Oil fill cap, breather, ignition coil and oil filter machined from aluminum; A/C and alternator bracket made from brass rod and aluminum tubing
Interior	Speaker box of 3 woofers made by pulling mold off of S-10 speakers and pouring 5-minute epoxy in mold; Rear door panel made from styrene with clear styrene window covering amplifiers; Windows made of clear styrene; Door hinges made of brass rod and aluminum tubing

Aftermarket items
Chassis	Detail Master Eagle billet aluminum wheels; American Satco big-n-little tires; Detail Master vented disc brake rotors, braided brake lines and photo etched chassis nuts
Engine	Detail Master aluminum velocity stacks, aluminum distributor, plug wires and braided hoses
Interior	Billet steering wheel from Machined Aluminum Specialties

Competing...

With paint applied, parts put together and a title for the model, "Uze Your Illusion", it was time to try it out at a contest. I went to the Hobby Town USA contest in Grand Forks, ND where it took 1st place in the pre 1960's category and best in show in 2000.

Shortly after that, I took it to the Plastic on the Prairie contest in Fargo, ND where it won best in class automotive and also Best in show. The 37' was doing exactly what I wanted it to do, "win". The most recent awards won was 1st place and peoples choice in the BMOM online contest in May and 1st place street rod category at the "Back to the 50's" contest in St. Paul, MN I'm not in this hobby to win contests, I just wanted to see if I was able to be good enough for best in show.

The "Uze Your Illusion" 37' Ford has defiantly made me a better modeler and my building technique has improved because of that model.

Editor note

Brian lives in Mohall, North Dakota U.S.A. He was building this model during 2 years, approx. 500 hours