113 replies to this topic

[Casey]

Whatever you do, please don't lose the "forward lean" of the front end. It would be cool to incorporate some sharper peaks into the headrest blisters, to tie them in with the quarter panel peaks.

[AUGIEDOGGIE]

NICE!! ill be watching this one

[pharr7226]

Bill,

Incredible work on what was an ugly duckling. I have not been to an ACME meeting in a while... life kinda got in the way. But I plan on coming to the next one. Do you plan on bringing the Dart to the next club meeting?

[route66modeler]

nice work. Where do you get the scale fiberglass mesh at? Thanks,Steve

[Ace-Garageguy]

Again, thanks for the interest in saving this little car. It was such an oddball, I really didn't expect it to be very popular.

Casey, I'm definitely keeping the forward lean of the front fenders, but I'll probably stay with a more rounded look for the tonneau to harmonize with the door tops.

Rick (pharr7226), I'll definitely have it far enough along to bring to the next ACME meeting. Hope to see you there.

Steve (route66modeler) The glass cloth is something I've had on hand for a while. It's not really scale, but it's the finest weave I've seen yet. We use it to repair control surfaces on sailplanes where weight is absolutely critical. I'll contact my associate in Arizona and get a supplier name for you. OR, I have enough to last me a lifetime, and I'll be glad to send you some if you want.

I've got progress shots, but my last camera battery died just moments ago. I'm sure the tail-lights will not be to everyone's liking.

[Casey]

Again, thanks for the interest in saving this little car. It was such an oddball, I really didn't expect it to be very popular.

It's such a bizarre car, styling wise, as there is so much going on at every corner, and along every edge. You'd never think it all works together, but somehow, it does.

Keep up the nice work. I have a feeling this is going to be one of the nicest builds of 2012 here on the forum.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Thank you Casey. That's quite a compliment.

A bunch of chassis work.....had to c-notch the frame so much to get the stance I wanted that the frame rails needed extending upwards over the notch. Here they're beginning to get roughed in. There are also holes that need to be dealt with and the iinner fenders need to be extended upwards to clear the tires.



New panel to go up-and-over the new rails and clear the pumpkin and new raised tunnel. Inner fenders have been extended .100" with styrene strip, and pockets for the coil springs are fabbed in.



Semi-complete rear suspension with the new "sheetmetal" in place, and springs living happily in pockets.



Top of the chassis showing the rear mods and the new front tubular crossmember. It was necessary to fab this type in order to clear the new front pan. The revised front suspension shown much earlier will work with this setup. Also, the firewall has been opened up more, allowing additional engine setback. I think I may need all the room I can get ahead of the engine. The piece of angle stuck to the block is just for temporary setup.



This is pretty much the final mockup of the new nose treatment.



....and here's a better shot of the rough tail design, which mimics some elements from the front.



....and the taillights. I decided to go with the kind of rocket-ship look that this car seems to want, but with a little restraint to keep from becoming cartoonish. The lights, 4 of them to echo the quad headlights, are vintage Revell Parts Pack pieces I've been saving for something special. The peaks in the center of the pans will be softened slightly to better match the curves of the hood and rear deck. They won't be eliminated though, because I like the tension the slight mis-match of some of the design elements creates in the overall theme.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy, 15 July 2012 - 01:27 PM.

[c-man405]

whats the rear end set upfrom?

[Ace-Garageguy]

whats the rear end set upfrom?

If you look halfway down page 2 of this thread, there's a shot of the rear-end setup before modifications. It's a generic Nascar truck-arm style rig with a reinforced Ford 9", available sometimes as part of a donor kit from GMS Customs on ebay. One of the reasons I decided to use it was to give me room to route the exhaust system after the severe lowering job. The leaf springs would have been in the way, and it would have taken a LOT more chassis mods to make that setup work.

[Ira]

GREAT PROGRESS BILL!!!

[S. Svendsen]

That thing is looking wild!!

[Psychographic]

H O L Y C R A P is that nice!

You my friend, have a great build on your hands, that is absolutely stunning.

[Scalefinishes]

When you decide on a color email me. That is a wild looking custom, I LOVE IT!!!

Jameston
Scalefinishes.com

[Tony T]

Coming along great...love the overall look of this...fantastic...even the taillights!

[David G.]

This just keeps getting better with each update.

It also looks like it would make a great hover-car.

David G.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Thank you all again for the interest and kind comments.

Not a jell of a lot of progress, but some is better than none. I've extended the front and rear cowl panels.

In front, I'm moving the windshield back, so I need more sheetmetal under it. Also, the windshield frame is going to be more of a removable roadster style, so I want the illusion that the cowl flows all the way into the top of the instrument panel. Think Porsche Speedster.

In the rear, the very thin strip between the backlight and the decklid was just too narrow, so it got widened too. The body is also very fragile, and adding this little reinforcement will stabilize things, a lot.



On the underside, I've reinforced the fitted styrene filler panels with fiberglass and epoxy resin. I've also reinforced the insides of the front and rear pans or valences the same way. There's a lot of bodywork to do everywhere, and I hate to have things cracking as I'm working, so I go for overkill at this stage.

[Road Runner 79]

Thank you all again for the interest and kind comments.

Not a jell of a lot of progress, but some is better than none. I've extended the front and rear cowl panels.

In front, I'm moving the windshield back, so I need more sheetmetal under it. Also, the windshield frame is going to be more of a removable roadster style, so I want the illusion that the cowl flows all the way into the top of the instrument panel. Think Porsche Speedster.

In the rear, the very thin strip between the backlight and the decklid was just too narrow, so it got widened too. The body is also very fragile, and adding this little reinforcement will stabilize things, a lot.



On the underside, I've reinforced the fitted styrene filler panels with fiberglass and epoxy resin. I've also reinforced the insides of the front and rear pans or valences the same way. There's a lot of bodywork to do everywhere, and I hate to have things cracking as I'm working, so I go for overkill at this stage.

Very nice work!

[Johan020]

This is a great Looking Dart in progress
Cant wait to see it in paint

[Ace-Garageguy]

Trimmed up the extended front and rear cowl fillers, began lengthening the copied Saleen hard tonneau, and found a nice Impala dash that picks up the shapes of the head fairings, and echos the quad taillights.



This is pretty much the final top-down profile, seat location, etc. The black on the windshield is a mockup for a somewhat thinner surround similar to that found on the last production T-bird.

EDIT: Think I may have to raise the extreme rear of the bottom of the quarter panel just a little.......and the fairing for the headrest needs to come forward a bit, and up just a bit to more fully shroud the seat. It needs to be a little stronger and cleaner.......and the taillight lens is drooping just slightly........yeah, that'll fix it.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy, 05 August 2012 - 02:00 PM.

[Dr. Cranky]

That's a killer look. Wow.