1934 Ford Pickup

This is my granfather with the truck I remember and was inspiration for why I decided to build this 1934 Ford Pickup.

I was only about 6 or 7 years old so my memory is vague; however, I do remember going to a junk yard with my dad and getting a headlight for this truck. I then remember watching and trying to help my dad replace the broken one on my grandfathers (my dad's father-inlaw), truck. My dad was amazing! He had so much patience with me and always spent time with me, letting me help him with anything. When I got older I used to tease him. I'd say, pop... you taught me everything I know. Then I went to school and learned the right way. It was all in fun. He was willing to try anything and taught me the same. His philosophy was, a man built that, that means I can do it to.

I'm fairly sure my granfathers truck was not a '34 Ford, but the AMT '34 was the closest model I could find.

The photo shown here is the finished version of my '34 Ford PU.

I decided to build a 1934 Ford Pickup as my 3rd project. I picked this because I remember my grandfather having a pickup similar to the '34 Ford. I have vague memories of the pickup and ask my mom about it. She didn't remember it, but said that my uncle, her brother, had a coal business before he joined the Marine Corp to fight in WWII. Before he left, he apparently gave the truck to his dad, my grandfather. Therefore, I decided to build what I remember. I remember it was faded black with a little rust on the edges of the front fenders. This will give me a chance to learn how to age and fade the paint.

I've been watching a lot of model building YouTube video's that teach how to fade paint and show rust. I will provide links to the video's that were the most helpful.

All the needed parts are off the sprew and will need a lot of sanding and filing. I've never seen as much flash on a model as there is on this one. It was so bad I did a video about it. If you're interested, you can watch the video on my YouTube channel: Skip's Messy Workbench or directly to the video about large amounts of flash: All parts are off the sprews.

The next several pictures is of these parts. At this time I'm not sure which wheels I'll be using; however, I'm leaning toward the solid steel wheels because my memory tells me that my grandfathers truck had solid steel wheels. I might change my mind. We'll see.

Needed parts are removed from the sprews and in the process of having all flash removed, injector holes are either being filled with putty or sanded smooth.

Needed parts are removed from the sprew and in the process of having all flash removed, injector pin marks either filled with putty or sanded smooth.

Needed parts are removed from the sprew and in the process of having all flash removed, injector pin marks either filled with putty or sanded smooth.

Needed parts are removed from the sprew and in the process of having all flash removed, injector pin marks either filled with putty or sanded smooth.

Needed parts are removed from the sprew and in the process of having all flash removed, injector pin marks either filled with putty or sanded smooth.

Parts being primed with Badger SNR-402 Gray Primer.

Parts being primed with Badger SNR-402 Gray Primer.

Parts being primed with Badger SNR-402 Gray Primer.

Parts being primed with Badger SNR-402 Gray Primer.

Parts being primed with Badger SNR-402 Gray Primer.

Parts being primed with Badger SNR-402 Gray Primer.

Parts being primed with Badger SNR-402 Gray Primer.

Parts being primed with Badger SNR-402 Gray Primer.

With all parts in primer, I started cleaning areas that were brought out by the primer. After fixing these areas, the parts will be re-primed.

While the primer is drying I started working on some additions I wanted to include that are not part of the kit. Some of the 1934 flathead V8's had metal conduits to enclose the spark plug wires while routing them to the distributor. The distribuator is mounted to the front of the engine. These conduits are not included with the kit. I used some 0.096"/2.4mm styrene tube to make these wire conduits. I inserted a piece of solid bus wire in the end that attaches to the distributor. I then drilled holes in the distributor and will insert the bus wire into the holes to help support the conduits. The holes in the distributor can be seen in this picture. Small holes will be drilled along the conduits to insert the spark plug wires.

I plan to use the bench seat in the cab and want to cover it with a blanket suggesting that the seat is very worn. After doing research on depicting blankets on seats I found a method that seems to work really well. I found this method on the YouTube channel; Throttle Power. Here is a link to the video I used: ADD a Mexican blanket to ANY scale Model How To...

Tim at Throttle Power used images of blankets from the web. Being anal, I decided to take a picture of a real blanket, shown in this photo. I then measured the width of one of the stips and calculated the 1:25th scale width. Using Gimp GNU Image Manipulation Program, I scaled the image until the stipe was the correct scale. Using a color laser, I printed the scaled image. I then cut the paper image to size and crumpled it as Tim described in his how to video.

This photo is another blanket. It's actually the blanket I plan to use on the bench seat.

I wanted to make the seat, on the driver side, worn through to the springs. To start, I took my Dremel tool and roughly cut open the front corner of the driver side of the bench seat. Once the seat was open, I needed to make springs. Making the springs was fairly simple. I took some 22AWG (American Wire Gaughe) solid soft drawn plated copper bus wire to form the outside perimeter of the spring frame. I formed the wire to fit the contour of the seat. I than took some 26AWG soft drawn plated copper bus wire, and using a tapered center punch for a mold, I made four spirial wraps around the taper of the punch to form each spring. Using the tapered punch made the springs cone shaped. I then wrapped the coiled springs to the frame with some very small gauge copper wire and soldered the springs in place. I didn't care if it was a bit sloppy, because I wanted the look of the srpings to have the appearance of being repaired, possibly with baling wire. (Growing up in a farming community, baling wire was ued to fix a lot of machinery). I then used a couple of drops of Loctite to hold the spring frame in place under the seat.

I wanted to make the seat, on the driver side, worn through to the springs. To start, I took my Dremel tool and roughly cut open the front corner of the driver side of the bench seat. Once the seat was open, I needed to make springs. Making the springs was fairly simple. I took some 22AWG (American Wire Gaughe) solid soft drawn plated copper bus wire to form the outside perimeter of the spring frame. I formed the wire to fit the contour of the seat. I than took some 26AWG soft drawn plated copper bus wire, and using a tapered center punch for a mold, I made four spirial wraps around the taper of the punch to form each spring. Using the tapered punch made the springs cone shaped. I then wrapped the coiled springs to the frame with some very small gauge copper wire and soldered the springs in place. I didn't care if it was a bit sloppy, because I wanted the look of the srpings to have the appearance of being repaired, possibly with baling wire. (Growing up in a farming community, baling wire was ued to fix a lot of machinery). I then used a couple of drops of Loctite to hold the spring frame in place under the seat.

I did a lot of research on the engine in the '34 Ford Pickup and found it was almost impossible to find what an original engine looked like. The color variations were endless. It seemed that a lot of the engines were green. I didn't care for the color because I didn't want it to look like a John Deer, (there is nothing wrong with John Deer, they make a wonderful product). That said...I mixed and matched what I thought looked good to me.

I decided to make the engine block flat black using Tamiya XF-1, the transmission housing and intake manifold using Model Master Steel, and the valve covers flat green using Tamiya XF-5. This photo is the valve covers and the intake manifold. I'm not sure I like the flat green? I'll see how they look after more detailing of the bolts and spark plugs.

I brush painted the engine block with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and the transmission housing with Model Master Steel. Since the last photo, I did find that the orinial Ford engines were green. I'm leaving my block flat black and calling it creative license.

I started detailing the engine using a silver sharpie to top off the valve cover bolts and Model Master White for the spark plugs. I'm not as stable as I used to be, so I did get some white in the spark plug wells. I didn't fix it because once the spark plug wires are attached, it won't be noticed. I also painted the exhaust manifold in Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow. I thinned it so that it did not cover properly and allow some of the flat black to show through. I think it makes the pipes look more realistic as being used. There will be further dirtying. I also painted the starter with Model Master Steel, the fan belt with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black, and the pullys and generator in Tamiya XF-5 Flat Green.

Another photo of the engine.

Another photo of the engine.

Another photo of the engine.

Another photo of the engine.

Another photo of the engine.

I made a somewhat major modification to the kit radiator. The radiator shown on the left is the one that came with the kit. The one I scratch built is shown on the right. I really hate the radiator that came with the kit.

There are several video's on my YouTube channel that show how I scratch built the radiator modification. If you have insomnia, these video's will be the cure. A link to the full playlist is under the page title above. The following links are to the video's that address the radiator modification:

• 03 1934 Ford Pickup Video Part 03
  
  
• 04 1934 Ford Pickup Video Part 04
  
  
• 05 1934 Ford Pickup Video Part 05

This photo shows the scratch built radiator with two hot side hose couplings and two cold side couplings. I used Evergreen Rod to make the couplings.

Another view of my scratch built radiator.

The engine had to be modified to include radiator hose couplings between the idler pulleys and the valve covers. These couplings were made using Evergreen Rod and placed between the valve cover and the belt idler. There is a hose coupling on each side of the engine as shown in the next photo.

This photo shows the two radiator hose couplings at the valve covers of the engine.

The scratch built radiator is a-bit larger than the orininal kit radiator; therefore, I had to modify the frame by cutting a notch out of the front cross member.

Another view of the notch I had to cut from the cross member of the chassis.

The notch in the cross member was cut out to allow clearence for the lower radiator hoses. These lower hoses are part of how the cooling system on an actual flathead V8 from 1934 was cooled.

Spoiler alert: When everything was assembled, there was not enough room to insall the lower radiator hoses. I did some research on a real '34 Pickup that had the flathead V8 installed and it looks like the scale of the model is not 100% because the front suspension is in the way for installing the lower hoses. The radiator I scratch built is to scale for the radiator used in the 1934 flathead V8. Maybe that's why the kit radiator did not provide an option for the lower hoses?

The frame is getting ready for the first coat of a rust layer. The differential, drive shaft and rear spring is a one piece assembly. I then used the standard front leaf springs, steering rods, radius rods and drag link.

I will be using the solid steel wheels because I remember my grandfathers truck had solid wheels. When using the solid wheels, the back ring is a modified version of the spoked wheels with the spokes cut out. The wheels are also getting prep'ed for the first coat of rust color.

The interior floor pan and bench seat was dry fitted to the frame before the first coat of rust color was applied to the frame and fenders. The truck will only have a few rust spots on the fenders and wheels. The rest of the body and fenders will be weathered, faded black.

I started adding spark plug wires. Most of the 1934 flathead V8's did not use spark plug boots on the wires, but used a ring lug under the screw top of the plug. I simply made a loop with the wire and wrapped it around the post of the spark plug. I will then top the plug with a spot of silver or brass.

Another photo of the spark plug wires being added.

This photo, and the next couple of photo's show the first coat of Tamiya XF-64, Red Brown, for the first coat of rust.

This photo, and the next couple of photo's show the first coat of Tamiya XF-64, Red Brown, for the first coat of rust.

This photo, and the next couple of photo's show the first coat of Tamiya XF-64, Red Brown, for the first coat of rust.

This photo, and the next couple of photo's show the first coat of Tamiya XF-64, Red Brown, for the first coat of rust.

The spark plug wires were placed in the scratch built wire conduits. A drop of Loctite was used to hold the wire in the conduit entry hole. There are some shiny spots of Loctite showing that will be removed during the aging and dirtying process. Hindsight tell me that I should have dipped the end of the wire in the Loctite and then inserted the wire into the conduit hole. Lesson learned.

The spark plug wires were placed in the scratch built wire conduits. A drop of Loctite was used to hold the wire in the conduit entry hole. There are some shiny spots of Loctite showing that will be removed during the aging and dirtying process. Hindsight tell me that I should have dipped the end of the wire in the Loctite and then inserted the wire into the conduit hole. Lesson learned.

The spark plug wires were placed in the scratch built wire conduits. A drop of Loctite was used to hold the wire in the conduit entry hole. There are some shiny spots of Loctite showing that will be removed during the aging and dirtying process. Hindsight tell me that I should have dipped the end of the wire in the Loctite and then inserted the wire into the conduit hole. Lesson learned.

The spark plug wires were placed in the scratch built wire conduits. A drop of Loctite was used to hold the wire in the conduit entry hole. There are some shiny spots of Loctite showing that will be removed during the aging and dirtying process. Hindsight tell me that I should have dipped the end of the wire in the Loctite and then inserted the wire into the conduit hole. Lesson learned.

The chassis and fenders received a coat of Mission Model MMW-006 Standard Rust. My memory tells me that there was not much rust on my grandfathers truck; therefore, painting this coat of rust on the entire frame and fenders is an overkill.

The frame received a coat of Mission Model MMW-006 Standard Rust. I don't know what the frame looked like on my grandfathers truck; therefore, I'll be using my imagination. That could be scary!

The truck bed also received a coat of Mission Model MMW-006 Standard Rust. I remember the bed was beat-up on the inside from when my uncle used it in his coal business; however, the outside was in decent condition. I plan to make my own wood bed floor and attempting to show that it was damaged from hauling dry and wet coal.

The engine cooling fan is installed.

The engine cooling fan is installed.

The scratch built radiator is painted with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black.

I used a copper Sharpie to show some paint being worn off the radiator tanks. I also added some Tamiya Gray Panel Liner to dirty the cooling fins.

This and the next photo is the completed engine before dirt is applied.

Another photo of the completed engine before dirt is applied.

The exhaust pipe and muffler were painted with Mission Model MMW-006 Standard Rust and then lightly airbrushed with Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum.

The frame had a light coat of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black sprayed over the rust coat.

I used Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black on the underside of the frame, fenders and engine shroud.

The cab floor received a light coat of XF-54 Dark Sea Grey.

The bottom of the floor pan received a light coat of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black over the rust coat.

As I stated earlier, the underside of the engine shroud is painted with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black.

The inside of the radiator housing was painted with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black.

I sparsely sprayed areas of the bed with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black to start getting various layers of dirt.

The interior bench seat is painted with Tamiya XF-52 Flat Earth. I taped over the springs because I didn't want them to be the seat color. The seat will actually be covered with a blanket.

The cab received a coat of Tamiya X-18 Semi Gloss Black. Looking at this photo, it's hard to see this was semi gloss. Maybe it's because it still a-bit wet? I'm finding that Tamiya Acrylic paint may be dry to the touch; however, it takes almost a full 24-hours to thoroughly dry. I don't have a dehydrator or drying oven, but I'm seriously considering either buying one or building one.

The truck bed received a coat of Tamiya X-18 Semi Gloss Black.

The chassis and fenders received a coat of Tamiya X-18 Semi Gloss Black.

The tail gate, windshield frame, firewall, radiator shroud and dashboard received a coat of Tamiya X-18 Semi Gloss Black.

The solid wheels are lightly sprayed with Tamiya X-18 Semi Gloss Black; however, I did not fully cover them so that some of the rust color would show through.

The frame was rusted and dirtied by using 3000 grit sandpaper to remove some of the Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black paint. It was sanded just enough to expose some of the rust layer. I also used Tamiya pastel powders; sand, light sand, soot and silver. (I apologize that the lighting on this photo is not very good).

The seat was dirtied with Tamiya Panel Line Brown and Black. I'm second thinking whether to use the blanket covers? I don't think I want to cover the springs. Maybe I'll use the blanket on just part of the seat?

The perspective of this photo might be difficult to get oriented; however, it is the inside of the cab, with the back of the cab resting on the bench. I'm taping around the inside of the door panels so that I can paint the inside of the cab doors. My recollection is the inside of the doors were aluminum. I'll be using Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum.

This photo shows that I glued the wheel fronts and backs and then clamped them using small construction clamps.

The inside of the cab doors are painted using Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum. I purposely used a brush, using the fact that acrylic paint drys very fast and will also pull some of the bottom coat up. To insure that happened, I did not add Tamiya Acrylic Retarder TAM87114. Without the retarder, the paint starts drying while on the brush. Knowing this about acrylic paints allowed me to achieve the affect I wanted; that being, allowing the black to "streak" through, or pulled up by the brush aiding in showing wear and dirt.

The body and chassis parts are being dry fitted. I taped the frame to the chassis with the engine in place. The floor pan and seat are fitted, and the cab is placed over the floor pan.

This photo is another view, looking down on the engine bay. The worn seat can be seen through the windshield.

Another photo looking down on the truck. I can see in this photo that the roof needs some sanding, although, when I sand to show some rust, those small divots might had some realism to the rust.

The truck bed is dry fitted while carrying its tailgate.

Another photo of the body and bed being dry fitted. The firewall is not installed in this photo.

My plan for the upper radiator hoses was to use the insulation from 18AWG (AWG = American Wire Gauge) control wire; however, the inside diameter of the insulation was much smaller than the Evergreen rod I used for the hose port. I attempted to drill out the insulation to fit the Evergreen rod, but that did not work very well. Therefore, I ordered radiator hose from Design Master . It came today, March 28, 2022 and to my surprise it's nothing more than black insulated control wire, of which I have over 1,000 ft from when I was in business. So...I removed the Evergreen rod nubs that I had made from the radiator and the engine. I then took the insulation from my 18AWG control wire and inserted a piece of 18AWG solid soft drawn bus wire, shown in this photo. I then drilled out the hose locations with a drill that is just slightly larger than the 18AWG solid bus wire. This image shows that process in progress. You can also watch my, now failed plan, in my '34 Ford Video Part 05. The white insulation was then painted with Tamiya XF-85 Rubber Black.

I used 3000 grit wet sandpaper and wet sanded the fenders and chassis to show some rust and to dull down some of the surface paint.

I did the same wet sanding to the bottom of the chassis. I also used Tamiya dirtying pastel powders to dirty the bottom side.

The cab does not have any rust; however, it is chipped and scratched along with being slightly dulled from age and sun.

The tailgate was freshly painted and the chains were painted. After the paint thoroughly dried, it too will be aged and dulled.

I added some detail to the firewall, but will not be adding wiring and piping. It was also wet sanded and slightly dulled.

This photo and the next are of the floor pan and seat. The shifter, brake handle and peddles were installed. I decided to use a blanket on the back of the seat. The stuffing coming out of the springs is drier lint. Drier lint was perfect for the seat stuffing.

Anther view of the completed floor pan and seat.

The wheels, tires and axles are mounted to the frame but still need adjustment. I might end up gluing the wheels in place.

The frame was next glued into the chassis. I'm not too happy how the chassis is glued in. There are only two small points to hold the entire frame into the chassis. I'll see how that works; however, I might have to add some reinforcement.

Another photo of the frame mounted in the chassis. I have to do something with the front axle. It is definitely to shiny. I also do not like the way the wheels and tires fit. The tires are constantly sliding away from the rim.

I mounted the grill in the radiator housing and added some various colors of wash to dirty it. I also dulled the tailgate, added some scratches and also Tamiya dry powder dirt, rust and sand. It's difficult to see the dirt in this photo.

This photo and the next are different views of the '34 Ford Pickup with the engine mounted and the floor pan with seat are installed. Again... the seat stuffing is clothe drier lint.

Not seen here, the glass is installed in the cab and waiting for the glue to dry. The radiator hoses have been bent and fit and the engine shroud has been aged. The firewall, the dashboard, the radiator housing and grill need to be mounted. Work will then start on the wooden bed that will be installed.

Another view of the '34 Ford Pickup with the engine mounted and the floor pan and seat installed.

Not seen here, the glass is installed in the cab and waiting for the glue to dry. The radiator hoses have been bent and fit and the engine shroud has been aged. The firewall, the dashboard, the radiator housing and grill need to be mounted. Work will then start on the wooden bed that will be installed.

Another view of the '34 Ford Pickup with the engine mounted and the floor pan and seat installed.

Not seen here, the glass is installed in the cab and waiting for the glue to dry. The radiator hoses have been bent and fit and the engine shroud has been aged. The firewall, the dashboard, the radiator housing and grill need to be mounted. Work will then start on the wooden bed that will be installed.

The dashboard, firewall, windshield with frame and rear windows are installed. I really dirtied up the windshield and showing that the wiper was used. This truck is/was used at a coal company and everything was always cruddy.

I used 7mm wide balsa wood in strips to form the bed of the truck. I used Tamiya Dark Brown, Tan, Red Brown, and Black panel liner to dirty the wood. The wood was not glued in the bed because it fit very tightly between the walls of the bed.

I had forgot to install the exhaust pipe and muffler, so I had to rip the floor pan off the chassis and loosen the frame from the chassis. After the exhaust pipe and muffler was installed, everything was put back together. The method AMT used to mound the front wheels is horrible! There were two small, plastic nubs on the ends of the front suspension that matched two holes in the inner wheel section. After glue was applied to hold the inner wheels in place, there wasn't enough surface to hold the wheels to the suspension. After one move of the frame, those small nubs sheered off and naturally, the wheels with them. I modified the mount by redrilling the holes in the inner wheel. I than attempted to drill the suspension where the nubs where to insert some small wire pins. That did not work. The suspension is too small for the drill to work. I ended up scrapping some paint and installing the metal axle. To make the axle fit, the holes in the inner wheels had to be drilled out a bit bigger and deeper. I then installed the wheels and axle, and using a clamp to hold the wheels in place. I glued them to the front suspension with Tamiya extra thin glue followed by some Loctite. I have not removed the clamps as of this posting, so...I don't know if it worked. If it holds, the axle will get dirtied.

The next two photos show the engine shroud sides. I used Model Master GP00473, Ford Engine blue and thinned it to make a wash, than filled in the Ford emblem. After the wash dried, I used a silver sharpie to highlight the raised portions. I purposely skipped a couple of places and allowed the sharpie to go inside in an attempt to show wear. I also used the silver sharpie to do the engine shroud hold-down pins and the lift handle. Again, attempting to show some wear.

Engine shroud sides. I used a Model Master GP00473, Ford Engine blue and thinned it to make a wash, than filled in the Ford emblem. After the wash dried, I used a silver sharpie to highlight the raised portions. I purposely skipped a couple of places and allowed the sharpie to go inside in an attempt to show wear. I also used the silver sharpie to do the engine shroud hold-down pins and the lift handle. Again, attempting to show some wear.

These are the last three parts that need to be assembled. If the front wheels hold, the cab, bed, radiator and hoses will be installed. Also the front bumper, head lights and horn. The last thing will be the side mirror and door handles. All of these items are ready to go. I also have an old Pennsylvania license plate that I'll be photographing and scaling it down to mount on the license plate panel.

The radiator housing, grill and radiator were mounted and glued in place.

The upper radiator hoses were installed. They need to be touched up a-bit. Also, I should have installed hose clamps before installing the hoses. Getting them on now is going to difficult, if not impossible. Oh-well, a learning experience.

The license plate was added. I had a PA plate from 1954, the year I was born. I took a picture of it and using Gimp GNU Image Manipulation Program I increased the number of pixels to 32,000 and then resized the image to the 1/25th scaled size of the actual plate. The scaled size is (0.50"x0.289"). I then cut that size out of a sheet of styrene and using Elmer's School purple stick glue, glued it to the styrene plate. The plate was then glued to the license plate holder that is built into the tail light. I also used some transparent red and painted the tail light.

Finished build

Finished build

Finished build

Finished build

Finished build

Finished build

Finished build

PHOTO TEXT HERE

Finished build

Finished build

Finished build

Finished build

Finished build

Finished build