Deuce Woodie Roadster Pick Up

[Don Garrett]

Good points Steve. I probably owned the only '34 Plymouth with a solid walnut and birds-eye maple dash in existence back in the 60's. It had a Studebaker V8 for power, wasn't that far off the wall at the time.
I wanted a custom dash but didn't have the metal working skills at the time to make one, but I had learned wood working from my grandfather. The Stude engine was a running junk yard find and I couldn't afford a new engine anyway. That's what Hot Rodding was all about......

[hemifarris]

In the February 1965 issue of Rod & Custom (the first 'Cars & Models' issue after the demise of 'Rod & Custom Models') George Barris wrote a how-to article on building a walnut dash for a hot rod. In that article Barris says "Dash design runs in cycles and we now seem to be in a wood cycle."

Personally, I like the occasional use of wood because it reminds me of 1960's muscle cars (which used a smattering of wood in the usually black interior) and also European sports cars. I feel the use of wood is a styling technique that more 1:1 rodders might have used (in the day) if they posessed the talent and resources to do so. It just seems that most post-war hot rodders were machinests, welders and mechanics. Just my opinion - I could be wrong.

Regardless, my personal use of wood as a styling technique was never meant to replicate a trend or fad from a particular era. I just like wood. I'd like to think that had I been a hot rodder in the 50's or 60's that I would have at least tried using wood.

Also, I wouldn't use wood (in my models) if I couldn't make it appear as good or even better than 1:1 . I do that by using actual wood and by finishing with decopauge instead of varnish. I feel the additional depth achieved using decopauge gives the finish a more 'automotive' look.

I'd like to see Rob build his woodie roadster pickup and if I can be of any help, I'd be happy to assist. Rob has always been an inspiration to me and I always look forward to his posts.

Steve

Steve, point taken, but MAN has been working with wood for thousands of years. George Barris still wears gold rimmed glasses and a shiney gold jacket. Not many of George's builds were what I call traditional ie:The Monkey Mobile,The Munster Coach ,ZsaZsa Gabor's car,the Batmobile ,etc,etc,etc. Probably the most famous custom of all time was the Hirohata Mercury,owned by Bob Hirohata and built at Barris Custom in 1952 with Sam Barris being the bodyman. The real beauties that came out of the Barris shop were built by his brother Sam. Ed Roth is considered a genius,yet couldn't do metal bodywork.My point was ,as I put it in my post,my opinion. To be fair,I'm entitled to it just as you are entitled to yours.Many have posted regarding their 1/1 builds. I've won 1st in class at Detroit's Autorama 8 times,junior best of show 4 times and best paint once. This occured between 1960 and 1968 in the days of Stan Yee,the Alexander Brothers,etc.. My best friend ,Al Bergler, won the first Ridler award and was recently a feature car in Rodder's Journal as was my friend Dan Webb's track roadster. Dan also won the Ridler in 1990. I guess what I mean is I don't respond on here just to take someone's time. When I write something on here I talk from the experience of being there.I think we can all bring up a magazine article somewhere to back up an opinion, but [B]my response was not intended to put[/B] [B]anyone's build down[/B].Fortunately for me I've owned at least one hot rod,custom,hemi-car every day of my life since 1959 and I still own 14 vintage and hot rod cars including the 2 that I've posted on this site.My concern now is that everytime there is a question regarding the build on someone's post the same 3-4 guys reply to every post and "in a gentle way" defend someone.I agree that none of us think alike regarding the way something should be built but I think we're all entitled to our opinions.Again, no offense meant......just my opinion
.....Mike

[EstebanLoco]

Mike,

First, I'd like to apologize. I probably took your response a little too personal when I should have just taken it for what it was - an honest opinion from a fellow SMC member.

I encourage you to continue offering your opinion, especially regarding anything I do. I know I can learn a lot from guys like you and I'd feel bad if I knew I offended you in any way.

Happy New Year,
Steve

[hemifarris]

Mike,

First, I'd like to apologize. I probably took your response a little too personal when I should have just taken it for what it was - an honest opinion from a fellow SMC member.

I encourage you to continue offering your opinion, especially regarding anything I do. I know I can learn a lot from guys like you and I'd feel bad if I knew I offended you in any way.

Happy New Year,
Steve

Steve, no apology needed at all. I'm just an old salty dog hot rod guy with skin thicker than the rust on several of my old car chassis. The great thing is that we've all got our own opinions and are allowed to voice them..........Take care,Mike

[Rick]

I like to think this way......whether its a Ridler contender or an out of the box 8th scale build, we're all winners because the excitement comes from the build. Its not about winning a trophy, its about that smile when you look at the car in the shop or the model on the shelf.

Mike, your last post says it all. One of the reasons that this site is as good as it is, is because we CAN voice our opinion.

[robjos32]

I am really lookiing forward to starting on this build, as it presents new challenges to me such as scratch building, using wood on a build.

The first thing that I am going to do is to wash all the Pontiac engine parts and put them into small plastic bags, so that I don't lose any parts that may be vital in the build.

[Don Garrett]

Howdy Rob,
What you are doing is smart. Gather up as many of the parts and materials that you think you will need and get as much prep work done as you can. It will save you lots of frustration and delays later.

I'm glad to see you are getting back into big scale modeling.
I'm sure that Jeff, Steve or I will be able to help you if you hit a snag with the woodworking or scratch building. Take your time, think it out and most of all...enjoy what you are doing.

Let's start by giving your project a name.....Rob's (name?).
Start a thread and post your pics, questions etc. in that thread.
Let's put it in the Hot Rods/Customs section.
That way you will have your own thread instead of your posts getting lost in other threads.
It'll make it easier to get to your build without having to search through other builds that are piggy backed.

[hot ford coupe]

Let us know if you need some help, Rob. We'd be more than happy to help. This will be like your thesis build, the build that catapults you into greatness. Looks like we all have one of those kinds of builds. This is really great. Hey Rob, what's the secret color?