am73grand Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) The '73 Pontiac A-body is my favorite car of all time. I've owned 5 of them over the years and even built a model of the one I had the longest: I always wanted to do a model of the car I would have built if I had kept mine. I picked this resin body up off a member of another forum. It's his first attempt at casting. I am VERY pleased with the results as it captures the look of the 1:1 car very well and is a much more accurate replica than mine. It comes cast as a Grand Am but he included the GTO nose for me. First steps were to open the windows and cut the G/A nose off: Here is the GTO nose: Edited June 2, 2018 by am73grand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am73grand Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Next I opened up the grilles and headlights on the nose. I also made new grille shells I also started on the interior. I'm using the basic bucket from a Johan '75 Cutlass. I cut the floor out to remove the crummy seats and wrong console: I'll replace the floor with the one from a "Superfly" Grand Prix. I'll also use the dash after modding it: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Nice start Ron, I'm looking forward to watching your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogfish_7 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Coming together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disabled modeler Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 very very cool Ron....always liked the Grand Am and GTOs of that year. We use to own a 73-76 grand Am the red/white/blue one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedfreak Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Nice project Ron, can't wait to see what you do with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Great project Ron, this will be cool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Can you still buy that resin 73 GTO/Grand Am kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Wow! Nice to see a '73-'77 GM A-Body being built. Your builds are always very enjoyable so I can't wait to see more of this. Your modifications on grille area are looking really good, so keep it coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studebakermike Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Can't wait to see progress on this model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am73grand Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Can you still buy that resin 73 GTO/Grand Am kit? The body was made by Larry Belcher. Here is his e-mail: lbelcher@stetson.edu Tell him I sent you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am73grand Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Big update. I'm using the chassis from the AMT '69 Olds 442. I cut the back of the floor pan off so I can use only one piece of plastic to extend it. I also removed the front inner fenders because they are too tall. I cut down the firewall and inner fenders from a Revell '72 Cutlass. they fit better under the Pontiacs hood. I've got to cut down the cowl to fit under the hood. It will have to be tomorrow as I'm waiting for some glue to dry. Here's a mock up with a Pontiac engine: Lots more to do but it's really shaping up! Thanks for looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Looking great Ron.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKerry Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Very kool Ron!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am73grand Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Got a lot more done on this today. First up is the nose. I filled the parking lights in the bumper and removed the molded in headlight bezels I'll use a set of headlights/bezels from a Johan Cutlass The Johan interior has been glued to the Cutlass floor. I'll use the Grand Prix dash, console, and some Ventura seats. Next step is going to be grafting the '72 rear inner fenders to the '69 Chassis pan. Thanks for looking!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
om617 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Interesting subject,looking forward to see more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Man, you make this level of styrene surgery looks soooo easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorLarry Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Ron, I have Grand Am "horsecollar" seats and console done in resin and dash will be done this weekend, if you want to try them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am73grand Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Got some more work done on this one. The engine bay is DONE! It's going to be a challenge to put this together but I think I have an assembly sequence worked out. Here's the engine bay: I still need to add the radiator core support but that shouldn't be a big deal. The chassis is ALMOST done. I've added the wheel wells from the '72 to the '69 chassis pan. All that's left is to add the filler piece in the rear and this things ready for body work: Next up will be fabbing up the tail lights/housings and engine work. Thanks for looking!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Great fab work Ron, very nice progress.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric N. Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Wow! This is cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w451973 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Nice to see a 73-77 a-body being built. Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am73grand Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 Nothing makes or breaks the look of a car more than wheels and tires. I knew from the start of this project it was going to get Rally II wheels with RWL tires. The problem is I wanted the Rally II wheels without trim rings. Monogram does some nice Rally II wheels without trim rings but they are 1/24. After some thinking I decided to make my own wheels. The best 1/25 Rally II wheels come in the MPC Ventura annual kits. I started by de-chroming the wheels. Then I cut the trim rings off with a razor saw. Then I took the custom wheels from the Revell '68 Corvette roadster kit and sanded the backs until the centers fell out Then I painted the wheel centers Then I glued the painted rings to the wheels And here they are with the tires mounted. These should make all the difference in how the finished model looks. Thanks for looking!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumpyDan Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Wow this is great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 (edited) Great work on the wheels Ron... Edited March 25, 2015 by slusher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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