You won’t find a more American hot rod than a ’32 Ford! It’s a car that was a hot rod straight from the factory, with the then all-new V8 flathead engine that famously made it a favorite among gangsters like Clyde Barrow who appreciated the engine’s capabilities. Over the years, the ’32 Ford became a staple in the hot-rodding community.
Revell introduced a new plastic model kit of a ’32 Ford three-window coupe hot rod in 1996, and the Tudor followed close on its heels, last seeing the light of day in 2011. Now, the Revell 1/25 scale 1932 Ford Tudor Sedan plastic model kit is back with new box art and decals, and including big and small kidney-bean style wheels with knock-off spinners.
Build options in this 2 ’n 1 kit are a full-fender street rod or a fenderless highboy hot rod. Engine choices include the old-school, hopped-up flathead or a more contemporary Ford 302 four-barrel crate engine. The latter builds from 18 parts and features headers, custom valve covers, and a performance-style chrome-plated air cleaner attached to an automatic transmission. I went with the flathead, also 18 parts, with custom headers and an Edelbrock 3 Stromberg carb intake manifold with Edelbrock finned aluminum heads. It also attaches to a more modern Ford automatic transmission.
You’ll have to eliminate a seam through the oil pan and transmission from gluing the engine halves together. Otherwise, the flathead goes together pretty smoothly. I stripped the chrome-plated heads for a more appropriate cast aluminum look. I had to make the locator hole on the generator mounting bracket a little bigger to accommodate the part.
If you build the full-fender version, the fenders need to be glued to the chassis. I suggest attaching them before painting. When building the high boy, remove a couple of small fender-mounting tabs from the bottom of the frame rails for a smoother, cleaner look.
If you are fitting the flathead, the instructions note adding a front engine mount, but neglect to call out removing the engine mounts for the 302 crate engine molded on the frame — do so prior to painting. When attaching the engine, I trimmed 1/16 inch from the exhaust pipe junctions for a better fit.
There are a few ejector-pin marks on the floor pan as well as the Revell trademark and production date underneath that you’ll need to remove.
The detailed rear suspension features a contemporary Ford 9-inch rear end with airbags, coil-over shocks, and ladder bars. Everything assembles well and attaches to the chassis positively, but the airbags had small holes in them that needed a dab of filler.
The platform-style interior comprises a separate floor pan, bucket seats, door panels, and steering column and wheel. Optional dashboards are provided — one with air vents and one without. Both have a separate chromed gauge cluster along with nice dials on the decal sheet. The door panels show a deep pleated pattern but lack window cranks and handles. For realism, source some from another kit or the aftermarket. The panels were a tad fiddly when fitted to the rest of the interior. The front seats come in halves and the seam will need filling for a cleaner look. The rear seat is molded to the floor pan.
The body required hardly any cleanup with just a couple of mold lines between the side windows and the rear glass. I wasn’t using the small lights on the cowl, so I filled the recessed locators.
Mating the interior and body was a little nerve-wracking because it was a tight squeeze. Start by inserting the rear seat and elevating it past its final position. Then you can carefully slide the front part of the interior tub up into where it needs to be and drop the interior into place. I found that installing the firewall after the interior tub was in place made things easier. Fortunately, the body mounted onto the chassis with no issues.
The remaining details go on easily, but if you build a high boy, there are no easy taillight options. You’ll need to modify the kit’s stock taillights to fit or find replacements. On the other hand, Revell really stepped up the decals in this kit. The sheet provides multiple stripe graphics options to personalize your hot rod.
If you are looking for a well-designed hot rod with plenty of options, the Revell 1/25 scale ’32 Ford Tudor Sedan plastic model kit is for you. I recommend you have a few kits under your belt before tackling it to cope with the minor assembly challenges. I am happy to see Revell bring back this kit after more than a decade, especially for the exceptional hopped-up flathead!