96 replies to this topic

[Rdkingjay]

This is the re-issue kit. Built the original one 30 years ago and quickly discovered it did not have the same durability as the tv versions always seemed to have. Ahh, to be young and stupid again... Anyway, since there is really no wrong way to build these cars unless you are targeting a specific episode, I have decided to build it to a more streetable level, then its Nascar underpinnings will allow. So I bought a big piece of sheet styrene that is the same gauge as the car and the cutting and sanding has begun. I have mocked in rough wheel house inserts for the front fenders and have started cutting and shaping an actual engine bay that will also include only part of the engine cage, simply to house the dual shocks. More to follow.

Attached Files

•  001.JPG   111.24K   317 downloads
•  002.JPG   68.7K   375 downloads
•  003.JPG   57.04K   277 downloads

Edited by Rdkingjay, 29 January 2012 - 12:06 PM.

[stump]

That's a nice start on the fender reshaping Jay. Seen a few get made more "streetable" but don't think I've seen anyone worry about the front fenders...I like where you're heading.

[Rdkingjay]

Engine bay coming together.

Attached Files

•  005.JPG   68.93K   212 downloads
•  006.JPG   65.65K   285 downloads
•  007.JPG   69.49K   218 downloads

[crowe-t]

Jay, the engine bay and fender openings look great so far!

Keep up the great work.

I started building one of these many years ago but unfortunately never finished it. I remember I liked that the rear window was correct(compared to the 1/25 General Lee kit). However the fenders' wheel openings looked strange and it was more of a NASCAR then street car. Both the 1/25 and 1/16 General Lees weren't correct out of box. One of these days I'll get around to building one of my Revell '69 Chargers as a General Lee.

Edited by crowe-t, 10 August 2011 - 10:32 AM.

[Rdkingjay]

Got the chassis painted. Decided that since this is a "custom" built car, I would paint the whole under-carriage, rotary style, as opposed to just fogging the color in, like it would appear from the factory. I then airbrushed in the black "undercoating" that a builder of a real car might do. The orange is real EV-2 Dupont Hemi orange.
The rear axle has my first attempt at a chalk mark, a scratch built sway bar and brake lines going to both sides with a proportioning valve in the middle. All the suspension components are painted and ready to be assembled, this was the last piece. Once assembled, I'll set the ride height and look for clearance issues with the new engine bay. Hopefully, there won't be any. Thanks for looking.

Edited by Rdkingjay, 29 August 2011 - 03:56 AM.

[RodneyBad]

Nice body work and engine bay.
Chassis is looking good too.

[Rdkingjay]

Front suspension is complete, except for the shocks, which will be mounted later when the modified engine cage/shock towers are painted and installed. No big surprises with the front end. The upper "A" arms were painted in an aluminum shade to give them an aftermarket appearence and the rest of the suspension either got satin black with a light coat of gloss or a shade of raw cast. The front wheels will be poseable and the suspension has some up and downward play. The thin steel line coming up from the drivers side is the rear brake line that has yet to be trimmed and bent and mounted to the brake booster. Thanks for looking.

[Rdkingjay]

Fabbed up an exhaust system. The header collectors are styrene tubing that I stretched out on the header side, to get around the headers, leaving the tip with a tapered appearence. The pipes are stainless tubes, as are the tips and the pipes around the rear end are actually made from the thickest pipe sweating solder I could find. The mufflers are made from aluminun tubing that was actually shaped like an airplane wing, so they required a little re-shaping. I then added styrene ends and drilled holes for the pipes. The whole system still needs to be cleaned up, painted etc. But I will attempt to polish the tips.

[Nova-ss]

Good job!! I like what you are doing to this kit.I've myself put back fender the fender shapes they had in the real car.you are doing good.Thank you,Chris

[Rdkingjay]

Aside from a few touch ups from handling it while building and adding detail, the engine is complete. I added, fittings to the fuel lines at the carb and a fuel filter, as well as supply and return lines at the pump with fittings. The block is painted in Testors Chyrsler Engine Red. I de-chromed a number of items, including the oil pan, timing chain cover, oil filter and mount, as well as the ignition and coolant over flow can, which are not pictured. Hoses/wires left dangling and yet to be attached are the red positive cable going to the starter, upper and lower cooling hoses, ignition wire and supply return fuel lines. This is the big key to finishing the chassis. Once mounted, I can then mount the new exhaust, hard fuel lines to the tank, and rear suspension.



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[nybuilder]

Engine compartment is beautiful. Nice job on all the little details.

[Rdkingjay]

Well alot has happened since my last post, so I won't mince words here. Added a sway bar by bending a piece of styrene tubing. Added supply and return fuel lines that join up with the fuel pump. Full length exhaust. Pipes are aluminum tubing. Mufflers are oval metal stock. Pipes going over axle are actually solder and tail pipes are also aluminum tubing. Tank straps are brass stock, painted flat black. Any questions, just ask.

Edited by Rdkingjay, 29 November 2011 - 02:14 PM.

[Rdkingjay]

In an effort to continue to bring you all up to date, here are pics of the scratchbuilt dash and rear seat. I used the kits, 70's style nascar dash as a frame for the new one. In another day or two, I will share pics of the almost complete interior that also has a scratchbuilt roll bar and center console, followed by completed shots of the corrected front fender wheel openings. Thanks for looking.

[Mooneyzs]

This is looking great. You have some.very nice detail going on with this build. Keep up the freat work.

[crowe-t]

Jay,

This is a really cool build! I had one of these kits many years ago and never liked it as a General Lee since there were too many nascar parts. And the front wheel openings were just plain wrong for a stock Charger.

However, seeing all your modifications is making me want one of these kits. The dash is beautiful!

Can you post a picture of the kit's 'nascar' dash or rather, what's left of it. That is, if you didn't take any 'before' pictures. I'd like to see how it came in the kit.

BTW, you should make a rubber casting of the dash so you can make resin castings. I'm sure there is a market for a correct 1/16 dash now that this kit's been re-issued. It's just a thought.

Mike.

Edited by crowe-t, 30 November 2011 - 01:26 PM.

[Rdkingjay]

Thanks for the kind words. I too had one of the original kits 30 years ago and even then was somewhat dissapointed with all the nascar underpinnings. Even at 12 years old, I knew it was wrong, but I didn't possess the skill to correct them. Unfortunately, I do not have shots of the original dash, but what you see is pretty much intact except for being shaved on the bottom. Flat top, flat face, with a woodgrain pattern on the face. I never thought of casting my dash, because it has its flaws and is not exactly accurate compared to the real thing. I am proud of the almost finished product though. Here are the most current pics. The interior is not complete and is only loosely mocked for the picture. Aside from the dash and backseat, the center console and roll bar are also scratchbuilt. I still have to add some detail paintng, CB, shifter, package tray and maybe window cranks if I can fab them up. I will also be adding seat belts/harnesses from Pro-Tech. In my very first post, you will see the inserts for the wheel wells. The process was actually pretty easy. Epoxyed them in place, skimmed the fenders with bondo, inside and out, blended the lips, sand/prime, sand/prime again and VIOLA! Aside from some minor fine tuning, they look symetric from every angle I can see, so I'm pretty happy with them. Thanks for looking.

Edited by Rdkingjay, 01 December 2011 - 04:09 PM.

[crowe-t]

Very well done! The interior and fender openings look great!

Edited by crowe-t, 01 December 2011 - 04:06 PM.

[greymack]

Hey Jay thats good info I have a few of those generals in my store I'll pass this info on to my customers and use it on my 1/16 general too someday.

[Rdkingjay]

Well it goes without saying, but feel free to use anything you see here for your own 1/16th generals. I primed the package tray last night and painted the firewall. It will now get the brake booster installed and I will run both solid and rubber front brake lines and complete the engine bay/inner fenders. The body is really all that is left. I found a decent set of wipers and made a pretty good copy of the gas door from a 1/25th ford hub cap. Yeah, you read that right. May be a couple weeks before I have fresh pics.

[Rdkingjay]

Due to the very warm weather we have had in the northeast lately, I was able to paint and complete the firewall very quickly. I used the supplied brake cylinder, drilled it and attached the rear brake line coming up from the chassis, as well as fab up front brake lines, and a "proportioning" valve for the passenger side. I used quotes for that because it is actually an interesting unidentified leftover piece from a 1/24th kit that looked right, so I used it. The blunt ends will have fittings attached, followed by flexible rubber hoses, terminating at the front brake drums. The routing of the brake lines was dictated by the built, but yet to be installed inner engine bay and radiator support. Thanks for looking.