Tombstone!

[Iron Mike]

There's an idea been rolling around my head for several years, a bare bones, chopped T with a souped up mill and what better to call it than Tombstone!

I figured the venerable AMT 3 in 1 Model T Ford provides a suitable platform to start with, combined with parts from Iron Mike's Boneyard, to make a ride for Doc if he was still with us!

Tikikat Kustoms rides again!!

 

[Gene]

Of course ya know if you're gonna do one, you're gonna have to do all 4!!!!

 

[moon puppy]

 

[MrT]

Very cool I will add you to the list.

 

[panzerace007]

:drinks

"I'll Be your Huckleberry" ..... COol Ride !! I'm lookin forward to seein this !!! "You're a Daisy if you do" ...

 

[SA Dave]

really cool idea. You guys know I will be watching all your builds in anticipation

 

[Bagge]

 

[Iron Mike]

"My hipocrisy knows no bounds" or should I say "I have no yet begun to defile myself."?? I'm going to have some fun with this one, when, I don't know!!

 

[Iron Mike]

OK, the when came sooner than I expected. I started looking at the kit and of course, the ideas start flowing and you know what happens! I started digging up additional parts to replace some of the odd stuff that AMT included.

AMT still means Always More Trouble for me and this kit is no exception. The body had a wicked seam line and divots in the top, so spent a while block sanding and filling the roof.

Setting the body aside, I started working on the engine. I've opted to do the Lincoln motor that came in the kit, but with a Tikikat upgrade.

The Lincoln has a tri carb setup, but that has to go!

I drilled out the spark plugs and getting ready to perform surgery on the heads.

These resin and aluminum pieces have been in my stash a long while, finally getting the chance to use them. I cleaned up and painted quite a bit of the running gear, still out in the paint booth. I have hashed out the paint scheme, now if I can just maintain the momentum!

 

[jknaus]

Looks cool. So whats a tikikat?? and what are the extra pieces for?? I'm a total doofus when it comes to cars.
James

 

[Iron Mike]

Tikikat Kustoms is the name of my fictitious rod shop, the parts are for the induction system, replacing the kit intake manifold and carbs. Fun, fun, fun, until Daddy takes the T-Bird away.

 

[jknaus]

uh huh.. :hmmm I see :huh:

 

[moon puppy]

Son you're going to drive me to drinkin' if you don't stop drivin' that hot rod Lincoln....

 

[jknaus]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qEG9EnHnw0

 

[Iron Mike]

Thanks, James! That one brought back memories of my dad, sort of funny that all my car builds are one piece at a time. :drinks

 

[Iron Mike]

Brought the block and heads in, time to plumb and wire! I used a bit of solder to make the fuel line.

My favorite aftermarket piece has to be the distributor from Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland! I found these years ago and have used on on almost every one of my car builds. They are pre drilled, come in different colors and Detail Masters Ignition Wire fits them perfectly. Start by drilling out a hole through the intake for the distributor to sit in and then fit the shaft to the cap, I like the Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive for this, the cap sometimes gets off center and the glue lets you move it around until you get it right.

As I said before, I like Detail Masters Ignition Wire, there's lots of sources for this wire, but the Detail Masters product drapes correctly to my eye. I cut eight pieces 1 1/2" inches long and one at 1", that's for the coil wire. I also use some small diameter tubing for the spark plug boots, cutting them about 1/8" long. Using the Scotch Adhesive again, put a dab of adhesive on the end of the wire and insert into distributor. It will look a little like Beaker, but that will change as we go along.

At this point, let everything dry for a bit, go have a beer, listen to some good music or do some more research. We'll finish Wiring 101 tomorrow. Thanks for checking this out!

 

[moon puppy]

NICE!
And source on the tubing?

 

[Iron Mike]

Leftover from a Tamiya bike kit, but you can strip insulation off small gauge wire too.

 

[jknaus]

Cool gen.
James

 

[Iron Mike]

I guess it goes without saying that you CAN wire a plastic kit distributor, but a lot of kits do not have good ones or are even left out altogether. The easiest way to use a kit distributor I've found, is to carefully trim off the molded lugs where the wires go, then center punching a small pilot hole so the drill doesn't walk. You can then very carefully drill out the wire holes.