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1968 Firebird - #3 of 4 (blue street car)


Chris D

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Hello again,

This weekend I not only finished up the #1 car but also the #3 car.

The #3 car represents the car after I "Restored" it by replacing all the sheet metal, interior, and engine (from 350 to 455 Pontiac). I didn't have any photos of the 1:1 version of this car in this state of its life so I had to go a lot on memory - as bad as it is.

To accomplish the 1:1 restoration, all the sheet metal had to be replaced on the car, here is a photo of some of the body panels in my bedroom at that time (Circa 1978)...

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I cut the door from the body so that I could pose it like the other photos of the car I have. The doors are not hinged, rather just fixed in place. You may notice the fake vents behind the doors have been removed. The 1:1 car had Camaro quarter panels on it as I could get those much cheaper than I could Firebird quarter panels.

Color is Tamiya acrylics, custom mixed with Royal Blue, Perl Blue, and black. Clear coat is Tamiya clear. The engine is from a parts kit I picked up at a swap meet, I think it was tagged 421 Pontiac which is close enough to 455 for me. Engine is wired and plumbed a bit. The interior door panels didn't match the 1:1 with regard to shape so I just did the best I could with the kit parts to replicate them by painting and flocking. Didn't turn out the best but it passes. Dash is detailed with the standard decals and some painting. Chrome trim is line-o-tape chrome 1/64". Center console and radio panel is hand painted to look like burl wood which is pretty close to the 1:1.

After having a lot of trouble with the exterior paint (about 4 attempts) I finally accepted what came out of the air brush without polishing it. On the last go around I had to paint the roof white prior to putting the vinyl roof on and when I did that, I masked off the blue and the masking appeared to have ruined the paint. Luckily, I left it alone for a week and the mess fixed itself - very strange but I was happy. The while vinyl roof was a bit easier to install than the black ones on the other cars - for some reason this came off the backing material easier.

I added the standard decals and Bare Metal Foil for the trim.

As I am building 4 cars at the same time along with dioramas, I can't say for sure how many hours I have in it, but aside from the paint job nightmares I created, it was a fun build.

Thanks taking a few moments to look at the car, as always I appreciate comments and suggestions.

Chris D.

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A photo of #1 (Factory original - Green) and #3 custom street car in blue after restoration.

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