zenrat Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 I had an epiphany while in the shower. I shall be entering in a 1960 Bonneville which has had a coming together with my razor saw and a Parts Pack. Slight drawback in that I don't actually have the kit... Now, to Evil-Bay. Lets shop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 I painted all of the bolts from the engine, and installed carburetors. Still some painting to do, before I can install fuel lines and some other details too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Mind you, Allison's had been around since WW2... Great idea until you have to turn. Zen, it's great to have you. Due to Slant's theme this year, I've found that teh Cannonball once again fits the theme of a model already in the planning stages so I'm in once again. Looks like we have most of the usual suspects and plenty of new faces. It's gonna be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'08SEAL Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Here's the kit I'm using and what it has in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKcustoms Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Well I painted the body and started detailing the motor, But when I went to take pictures the camera died..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patami Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Some update on the Ac ace body. Only fear is that the grille is too big now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingo5162 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Seeing that the '62 date is the cut off I have know idea wot I'm going to put in as I don't have a car to build that is that old. Dingo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvairJim Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Being born in 1962, I have to get in on this one. I've been following it from the beginning, but I really didn't ahve any hard and fast ideas of which direction I wanted to take my build. I have three possibilities in mind, involving a kit I just got in trade and two more that are on the way: A Jo-Han 1960 Plymout station wagon (I'm primarily a builder, not a collector), a '62 Pontiac and a '62 Electra. I'm thinking primarily about the Plymouth: It's a couple of years old and a family wagon besides, two things that make it less likely to attract attention from Johnny Law. It has that big back deck with the back seat folded down for the third crew member to sleep while the other two are driving and navigating. It has plenty of room for spares and supplies. The "Deuce-And-A-Quarter" has a lot to speak for it too: Being a high-line car, it doesn't sttract attention like the Pontiac would. In '62, Pontiac was already developing it's performance reputation, but the old "Nail Head" in the Buick could be built to move a 2 1/2 ton hunk of iron pretty quickly! Just hook it up with some Police-spec tires and cut it loose. Cruisin' in style to Long Beach! Any comments about which way I should go would be appreciated.I'm leaning toward the wagon. There's one snag: Even though I am mostly a builder, it's still hard to tear the plastic off a 40+ year old kit that seems to generally sell for over $50 nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patami Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 There's one snag: Even though I am mostly a builder, it's still hard to tear the plastic off a 40+ year old kit that seems to generally sell for over $50 nowadays. Like old 1:1 cars are ment to be driven kits are ment to be buildt. So go ahead and build it is what i say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slantasaurus Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 Go for it Jim. I'm building an old JoHan 62 Dart and that kit seems to be a lot harder to find than the 60 Plymouth wagon. I was also considering the wagon for my build (kinda fits with my name...) but went with the Dart. Its only plastic after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunajammer Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I tend to be too conservative for my own good. My instinct would be to preserve the good stuff for collectibility or for a quality build later. In the spirit of the movie, stealth didn't seem to be anyone's concern. I would (am) build something worry free and have fun. No nagging second thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Winter Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Ron I'm in, not sure with what, but if I can't deceide on something I have or whats at the LHS have 2 shows in the fall that I should be able to get something at. Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Smith Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Any comments about which way I should go would be appreciated.I'm leaning toward the wagon. There's one snag: Even though I am mostly a builder, it's still hard to tear the plastic off a 40+ year old kit that seems to generally sell for over $50 nowadays. Go with the wagon! Tear into that box! I would love to see it built up. Think how lonely all those parts would be if you just left them in the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvairJim Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Y'know guys, that's just the response I expected to hear. Seems the kit is sitting right here beside me... Pardon me a sec here... um... hold on... Ah, that's better - no more shrink wrap. Hmmm... Pretty basic stuff here. Lots of flash. The old Jo-Han dreaded plastic straight axles - I'll have to do something about them. I'm assuming this is a 413 wedge in here - I have a Cross Ram setup that should work on here pretty well, or maybe I'll just go with a complete engine from the Lindberg Dodge 330 kit. Or maybe the Hemi from the AMT Chrysler 300... Oh yeah - This is gonna be FUN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Spark plug wires installed. I had little problems with gluing those wires to those valve covers, but managed to get them fitted pretty well. Now I'll be painting all of those other engine parts and then I can put everything together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirkpitt289 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 That is a sweet looking motor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgflatliner Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Anybody got any reference photos of a 55 Benz 300SL gulling? Specifically the chassis and undercarriage, and maybe some things like fuel lines, brake lines, etc Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvairJim Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) Well, here we go! Opened up the old Jo-Han Plymouth wagon last night and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a Fury Sport Suburban and not the Savoy Suburban shown on the box. The dressier looking car should blend in with the scenery better than a stripper, at least in my opinion.But... WOW! This is one PRIMITIVE kit! The interior bucket is so shallow that there's not even a driveshaft hump! It has a completely flat floor (something that I am used to, being a Corvair guy and all... ), but I know right off the bat that I'm going to have to do something about that! The engine has this thumpin' huge hole running right through it for the big ol' plastic axle. One more detraction from an already underdetailed engine bay. I suppose I can always close off that hole and rig the wheels independantly - the right way. Or I could take an engine from oner of the kits I have on my shelves. Hmmm... How about the early Hemi from the AMT '57 Chrysler 300C? Let's see... Where did I stash that kit... Hmmm... Oh yeah, there it is, in that stack of Mopars I'll probably never get around to building. Off comes the shrink wrap... Yeah, that looks like it'll do the trick, all right! Huh? What's that? That chassis looks a lot like the basic, underdetailed one from the wagon. I wonder... Where's the 300's floor pan? Oh, there it is - AND IT FITS LIKE A FLIPPIN' GLOVE! Long story short: That Chrysler 300 will be roughly a Chrysler 137 by the time I'm done with it! It's sacrificing it's frame, floor pan, suspension, firewall, inner fenders, and drivetrain to my Plymouth wagon Cannonball project, as well as other bits and pieces, most likely. Anyway, on to tonight's Happy Snaps... Pretty crude, huh? Check out the fit of the floor pan in the wagon body. It's just in sitting there, no tape, and it's not spreading the sides of the wagon body one bit. There is no gap at all between the inner fenders and the body's quarter panels! I'll be cutting up the wagon's interior bucket to use the side panels. I'll extend them at the bottom to match up with the 300's floor pan. The front seat from the wagon will be used, but I'll be fabbing up a flat deck behind it. The 2nd and 3rd seats will be folded down for the race for spares and groceries, and so the 3rd crew member can get some sleep between shifts at the wheel. (P.S. - Many thanks to Niko for showing me what an early Hemi is supposed to look like. I hope mine comes out somewhere close to as nicely as yours did!) Edited January 20, 2012 by CorvairJim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunajammer Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Okay Jim, I own all your ingredients. I'm going to be watching this very closely. We're two photos in and it's very compelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slantasaurus Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Jim, I have the same problem to tackle with my 62 Dart, the shallow interior would only be more noticeable on a convertible. As old as these JoHan kits are it makes me question when exactly people began to evolve legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 That is a sweet looking motor Thanks, Dirk! Jim: That looks like very interesting build, I'll be wathcing VERY closely. That Chrysler 300C chassis fits nicely on that body, it would be nice to have that kit- or at least body from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenrat Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 It's hard to build a bad looking donk out of the AMT 300's early Hemi. It's gorgeously designed. And $50 for a kit? We pay that for new ones so don't complain. I've not yet got my hands on a '60 Poncho to chop up. Better hurry I suppose - only 10 months to go... I've designed it in my head though - nose down, tail up, loud paint, louder engine and a big tank - As those of you who know me will attest I don't do subtle very often. I'll just out run the cops. After all, it's '62, how are they going to get organised to stop us without mobile phones and computers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvairJim Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Opened it two days ago. Looked at things yesterday and decided to kitbash it with an AMT '57 Chrysler 300C yesterday. I cut and glued some styrene today. I figured that the first thing I needed to do was to make sure everthing would fit the way I intended, so out came the ruler and I started measuring. Then I roughtd the 300's floor pan, interior sides, dashboard, firewall, back seat, and chassis together to test fit to see if everything would fit in the wagon body. So far, so good, so I got out my trusty X-Acto with the scribing blade in it (the tip snapped off a #11 blade) and scribed the engine bay sheet metal out of the 300. Then I cut what passed for the radiator wall out of the wagon and did my first test fit of the 300's engine bay in the wagon body. I found I had to cut it right in front of the radiator wall, so that's what I did. Two minutes with a razor saw and we're almost there. A little finessing with some of the plastic bits molded inside the wagon body in the hood hinge area and where the radiator wall used to be and we're nearly there. I got out the Dremel and took down the top of the radiator wall ablut a scale inch so the hood would fit and Voila! It was like it was intended to go there all along, like AMT was channeling the engineer that made the Jo-Han molds all those years ago when he did the 300 molds! Gee, ya think that maybe that Mother Mopar might have used the same basic car for these two? Now to get started cutting up that 40+ year old interior bucket! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvairJim Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I got a couple more hours in on the wagon last night after I signed off. I made a lot of progress on the interior. I decided to leave the 2nd seat in place, the way it would be at the beginning of the Cannonball. The floors are gone from the front and middle foot wells, and the 3rd seat was cut down to allow me to put in a flat piece of plastic for the folded down 3rd seat. I scribed lines into it to represent the three panels, and cut in the handle to lift the rearmost one. I also ground down the insides of the interior's rear side panels and the Chrysler's rear wheelhouses to allow them to fit together and still have the chassis fit up under the interior with everything in place where it has to be. After several test fittings, I made extensions to go on the bottom of the door panels to extend them down to meet the Chrysler floor. Would you believe the interior bucket was 3/8" too short??? I knew it looked too shallow, but that's almost half an inch, folks! 3/8" in 1:25 comes to 9" in 1:1! How would YOU like to have 9" less depth to the foot wells in YOUR car? Anyhow, I scribed lines in the bottom of my new side panels to represent the sills on the floor at the bottom of the doors. I still need to make kick panel extensions to go up in front of the doors, and extend the seats down to the right depth (the back one down to the floor and the front riding about 3" scale above it). In typical early 1960's Jo-Han fashion, the seats had sharp cutoffs at their leading edges instead of curving over. I took a few minutes to sand them to a more comfortable radius. I'll be cutting the pedals from beneath the Chrysler's dashboard and attaching them to the underside of the Plymouth's dash. I'll add my own dimmer switch. The Plymouth kit comes with a clunky piece that's supposed to combine the shift lever and turn signal stalk on one ring that goes around the steering column. Ain't gonna happen in this model! I'll make my own, thank you very much. Mine will actually look realistic, as opposed to the hugely out of scale things Jo-Han wants me to use! That ring even has a tachometer mounted to it's top! (How many 1960 Plymouth wagons do you suppose ever had a column-mounted tach?) I'll post a couple of pictures once it's closer to being ready for paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patami Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Jim sounds like you been a busy bee and done a ton of modifications to your car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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