125 replies to this topic

[mrmike]

Bart, to there are those who don't care if you have manners or not, I consider it to be polite to others.

I have decided on a color for my A100...Testors One Coat Fiery Orange. I know that I have had issues with this paint in the past on my '32 Ford Sedan Street Rod. Maybe I can do a better job with it this time around.

I had started cleaning up the body of mold lines and flash when I decided to do a mock up and to see if the wheels and tires would fit within the wheelwells. That is a definite YES!

These wheels are gonna look great!


More to come...

[wraith]

Nice choice of color!!!!!!!!!!!!!
as with most of your builds Mike, I am sure you will not dissapoint!

[Gluhead]

No argument from me on the wheels, although I'd like to suggest some more meat on the rear. No idea what they came from at this point, but I stretched some nice rubbery Michelin MXX3's over mine (after making a deeper a dish from a pair of sacrificial rims). I suspect not only will YOU like it a lot better, you'll also get a lot less nay-sayers. heheh

Seriously, though. It would just bring the whole thing home. Nice choice on the color, too.

[crazyjim]

I feel SHINY in the future. Good choice on the wheels too.

[hotrod59f100]

Looks great . I so want one of these in my collection .

[Rob McKee]

Hey Mike, I can't wait to see the color on this little wagon.

What kind of problems did you have with the paint the last time?

Rob

[mrmike]

Thanks guys! I don't have any tires in my stash that are "meatier" than the ones on the rims now. And, my idea for this pickup does not include big and little wheels and tires. My paint issues were of the poor coverage as the paint looked more like streaks after making a pass while spraying. I know that many of you like the Testors One Coat, but I am still not crazy about it. We shall see what happens when I get around to spraying it. I will change my way of applying it with lighter coats.

[Gluhead]

Fair enough. I think, though, that you are possibly misinterpreting the suggestion. I don't mean to go to what most would think of as a big n little, just a little thicker sidewall than on the fronts. You said you were after an "Overhaulin'" vibe...if you leave those anemic little rubber bands on the back, it screams "tuner" not "overhaulin'". If that's the look you're after, that's how you accomplish it. If the look you have now is what you're after, that's fine too...but it's something different than you said.

Your truck, your build. Just trying to help, but you do seem a bit on the defensive side. Makes it difficult to comment other than shallow "looks great", ya know?

[mrmike]

Christopher, I'm sorry if I seem to be a bit defensive, it comes from having to constantly tell people my reasons for doing things in a certain way. Elsewhere, on another project, I had a person tell me in no uncertain terms that I should call the Dodge paint I was using by the Plymouth name (same paint code). I started to lose control of my thread and basically had to tell everyone that they needed to start their own threads to discuss paint codes and Elastromeric bumpers and such. I didn't name names as they knew who they were and they stopped bothering me with their nonsense. While I do appreciate suggestions, some suggestions come across as demands and it urks me greatly. I do appreciate your suggestion on the tires and I have taken it as such. I am more use to explaining a process that I used more than explaining why I didn't do something someone's elses way. Again, I'm sorry.
You are correct when you talk about the "vibe" and the "vibe" I want is more towards Overhaulin than tuner. I personally don't like the tuner look and to me a tuner is more of a foreign car or small truck with the wheels and tires tucked up under the fenders and cheap body add-on that are falling off than something American made and big like the A100. Your suggestion of a tire with more meat on it is how I had interpreted it and I simply do not have any tires in my parts box that would fit these rims. I envisioned the A100 lowered a bit but not tuner-like. Don't let the pic of the mockup fool you into thinking that I am going for the tuner look as the body with floor pan was sitting on top of the tires without any suspension componants added. I want this truck to look more like it is driven daily in comfort and not banging down the road with an ultra-stiff suspension like I see the tuner cars doing.
So far, I have removed about 98% of the flash and mold lines. My plan for this build is no bumpers, so I set about filling the holes for the front and rear bumpers. I opened the holes just enough to insert a short length of styrene rod and some ProWeld.


I have yet to remove the bracing from the bed and cab since I don't want to take any chances of compromising the body while I handle it. I then glued in the rear panel which added to the strength of the rear of the body.

I will sand the rod ends smooth and then coat the holes and rear panel seams with putty.

More to come...

[W-409]

Is that Ambroid Proweld liqui cement rare or something? I haven't seen it here in Finland, maybe I should order it from the States... Where do they sell that stuff? Great bodywork!

[mrmike]

Niko, Ambroid is not rare for me as my local hobby shop has plenty in stock. I do not know if it is shipped outside of the US. Try contacting some on-line retailers to see if they ship this product out of the US.

[martinfan5]

Mike, nice work so far, whats the set time for the Ambroid?, I have been trying to get away from using the tube glue, and tyring to find better glue to use

[Gluhead]

I'm sure Michael can back me up on this when I say DO give Ambroid a try. Tenax is another great liquid cement as well. Liquid cements do require a different approach than you would use with tube glue, but with a little practice on some scrap that is easily overcome. A normal application where you are simply joining two well-fitting parts requiring a minimal amount of cement will set up very quickly.

Michael, I hear ya. I try my best to keep my criticisms or suggestions truly constructive and not nit-picky or irrelevant, and I think in general most here probably do a pretty good job at that as well, but there's always someone or a small handful who is ready and willing to spike the punchbowl. It's the internet, though...gonna happen now and then.

[mrmike]

Jonathon, I use Ambroid ProWeld only when I am joining unpainted, perfect fitting parts together. If you use it on painted parts, goodbye paint! Usually you can join the parts together and then apply ProWeld and it will flow into the joint with capillary action. Drying time varies with how much you use so use it sparingly.

Christopher, those few malcontents are the ones who irritate me the most. I usually don't mind constructive criticism and general inquires, only if they are just that. But, when the comment comes across as "telling" or "demanding", then I usually ignore the reply. I don't really know that many people on this forum, although I do recognize a few names and/or handles here. I will tell you this...if I want something done in a certain way and I can accomplish it within my skillset, it'll be done that way. I do like to think of myself as an open-minded person though.

[Evil Appetite]

Thanks guys! I don't have any tires in my stash that are "meatier" than the ones on the rims now. And, my idea for this pickup does not include big and little wheels and tires. My paint issues were of the poor coverage as the paint looked more like streaks after making a pass while spraying. I know that many of you like the Testors One Coat, but I am still not crazy about it. We shall see what happens when I get around to spraying it. I will change my way of applying it with lighter coats.

I get that streaking a lot with testors One Coat..with Fiery orange and Inca Gold. With Firey Orange though, for some odd reason...the streak disappears after a day in the oven...not with Inca Gold, it remains, not as prominent as it is when the paint is still wet, but noticable none the less.

Looking forward to seeing your end product. This kit is one of the many I have planned for this year.

[mrmike]

Thanks Mike! I hope you won't be disappointed.

I got the 273 CI V8 assembled and painted with Chrysler Engine Red. Since the engine will be covered, nothing extraordinary here.

Bodywork is almost completed. A coat of primer should tell me more.


More to come...

[mrmike]

I started working on lowering the front suspension this morning. I notched the front axle and the leaf springs which helped bring down the front a bit. I can remove a lttle more material from the springs and axle if needed. If that doesn't lower the suspension enough, I can remove the mounting blocks from the rear of the leaf springs.

Maybe a little more...


My goal is to lower the suspension, but keep the truck "streetable" as a daily driver and maintain a somewhat comfortable ride.

More to come...

[mrmike]

Last night I decided to do a little research on the Overhaulin' Dodge A100 and found a few pictures. I noticed that the tires all seem to have the same sidewall height which tells me that the tires are close to being the same size. The front tires are narrower in width.


This pictures shows a before and after shot of the Overhaulin' A100.

I would like to thank all those who have supported my choice of wheels for this build. Maybe it's just me, but I am getting tired of having to defend my choices to others. I was raised to respect others and if I have nothing nice to say...then I don't say anything at all. I really appreciate the replies to date and I hope for more as this project goes along. Harry P. is correct...this is my build and I will build it my way. Thank you all!

Edited by mrmike, 22 January 2012 - 05:06 AM.

[mrmike]

When I started this WIP, I knew I would have to shorten the mounting boss on the inside of the Pegasus wheels. I started with a Brad Point drill bit chucked in my cordless drill. I removed 3/16ths of an inch off the mounting boss. I then used a .089 drill bit in my pin vice and opened the center hole to fit onto the axles.


A mockup to see if the wheels fit within the fenders. Perfect! Now I can lower the suspension a little more.


More to come...

[vwrabbit]

I love those wheels. They remind me of what Foose would use. Currently trying my first attempt at making resin copies of those as I'd like to use them on a few more builds.

Love what you've done so far and look forward to seeing more of this one!

Tim