stewart Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 (edited) I recently found a picture of a dodge dakota custom that I really like so I am going to do a buildup of something along these lines. Well, I thought to myself, I will take a break from high-level detail and since the dakota is the Lindberg snap kit, I will just do some body mods and interior mods, relocate the holes for the metal axles, and have a lowered truck. Nice and easy. NOT!!! The chassis has details that stick out below the level of the lower valences on the truck so now I have to switch out the chassis. It will be a spare I had from the Revell Saleen speedster. Now, since I am doing the build full detail, I need to pick and engine. I don't want to do a hemi. Might to a V8 but I was thinking more along the lines of a V6 or Inline 6. Anyone have any ideas for a good, unusual engine I could use? Here is what I have going so far. Slung some putty last night for the body mods. Have the tonneau(however you spell it) cover on. Painting on the seats is real sloppy so I have to go back and repaint the black. These are the decals I am using. STewart Edited December 9, 2010 by stewart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan White Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Looking good so far. I would suggest going to your local hobby store or craft store and purchasing a semi-gloss black paint pen to touch up the seats and dash. As far as engine goes, try and find a Dodge Slant-6, with a 4-barrel carb and chrome air cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Wow- I've been seeing this kit pop up quite a bit lately! Maybe it's time for a reissue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whale392 Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 Those are NICE Mark! What did you use for rolling stock? I drive a 1997 Dakota Sport V8 daily, and have one of these kits in my stash for a later build. I might need to get a few more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverstopdreamin Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 deff is going to look good!cant wait see it done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewart Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 I have finished most of the body work. Still trying to figure out what to do with the hood. I could just do a cowl induction like they have but I would like to be able to do the air vents on the hood as well and am not sure how. Anyone have any ideas? I decided on the DOHC twin turbo V6 from the Dodge stealth and I ordered a dodge viper for the wheels. Body work done except for the hood. Made it into a single cab. Pretty easy conversion. I also think that I have found a great color combo!!! Going to start the painting soon. STewart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewart Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 Body work is complete!!! I made a cowl induction scoop in the hood. Next, the paint goes on. Going to be a 2-tone lime pearl/metallic black scheme. Decided on an engine too. It is going to have a custom intake similar to the sonoramic long ram intakes on Mopar 383s of old. [] It is a 440 with a modern pulley system and mopar 4-speed. STewart Engine Chassis Hood and completed body: hood is removable STewart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whale392 Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 Thanks for the info Mark......I will squirrell that away for future reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewart Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 It has been a while but I have done some serious work on this. First of all, the body is nearly complete. It was my first time airbrushing a paint job and it turned out ok but for some reason, it attracted a lot of unwanted particles in the paint job. But for my first custom airbrush job, I think it lookes pretty good. I like the colors. the engine is also nearing completion. I decided to use the pulley system from the Revell Saleen speedster to give my Mopar 440 big block a more modern look. I also used the manifold and part of the air filter from that kit as well as the supercharger and my own custom bits. However, I have run into another problem. The wheels are about a quarter inch to small. They don't look quite right. I might have to go with another combo. I will look at what pegasus has and hope theirs are a little larger. STewart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewart Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 Well, it is all finished. The chassis from the dodge Ram VTS actually required quite a bit of modifying to make it fit the new single cab dakota. rear axle was moved forward and so were the front wheels. The engine is a supercharged 440 with a modern intake and serpentine belt system. Wheels are from the Revell Dodge viper SRT10 kit and sprayed metallic black. STewart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Roach Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 WOW that came out great! I really like what you did with it, looks awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Very interesting build and a nice job making that into a regular-cab. Had I done this, I would have used a Slant Six with multi-port fuel injection or a fuel-injected first-generation Hemi. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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