213 replies to this topic

[Casey]

The interior floor halves are now one, and I'm happy with how they matched up since the only visible cut lines are located under the door panels. The seat base riser area from the stock kit was slightly higher than the Hemi's floor, but it won't be an issue once the interior is assembled and finished:






The interior base/floor was welded to the chassis/floorpan tonight, so I will get to work sanding, filling, and smoothing out the transmission tunnel and toeboard areas tomorrow. There's a huge ejector pin mark and some filler pieces will be necessary around the transmission hump:







I need to find the headrests from the '69 kit, too, and install them on the '68 bucket seats, and I've removed the kit's torsion bars and started cleaning up the molded in overlap areas on the steering linkage, too. I think the strut bars are going to be removed next, as they don't look very good and shouldn't be too difficult to replace with some rod stock and scratchbuilt brackets on the K-member.

[Custom Mike]

Chuck, count me in with AMT's '50 Chevy Pickup. The current plan is a real wood bed, functional gas cap, modern (Read: BIG) rims and low profile tires, and a bunch of wiring and plumbing. Now, does anyone have any tips on adding a blower to a Chevy straight 6?

[Michigan Madman]

Liking what I'm seeing!
Mike- you could actually get special manifolds for putting a Roots-style supercharger on a six, but how cool would a front-mounted piece be? I used a Paxton centrifugal blower on a Stovebolt I used in an Olds roadster I built years ago.

I might start on an off-the shelf project, as I haven't been able to get the Flathead six for the coupe yet. Need something to keep me going in the interim.

[Custom Mike]

Chuck, you got a picture of that set-up? I want to do something different with the engine, I just don't know which way to go yet, so point me in a direction!

[Michigan Madman]

I think I still have the model- I'll see about snapping a photo.

[Casey]

Finally, a test fit of the Slant Six in the engine bay. I will need to blister the firewall for bellhousing/starter clearance...forgot about that 'til now:

[Olskoolrodder]

That's gunna look perfect in there

[Casey]

I did a little more work on the K-member tonight, removing the torsion bars and strut rods (both of which will be replaced with rod stock) and brackets, then cleaning up more of he "overlap" areas where there is excess material between parts. I will add engine mount brackets to the topside of the K-member after I get it positively located against the frame rails.

I also glued the 3-speed A-230 trans together, so this one's gonna be a three-on-the-tree. I have to admit it was a great idea on Lindberg's part to create both an auto and a 3-speed manual transmissions to go behind the Slant Six.




I decided to use the '68 Dart's Super Stock style hood, which required filling the scoop opening with sheet styrene and eliminating the hood pin depressions. I drilled the depressions through and plugged the holes with styrene rod, then welded it all together. The filler piece is slightly lower than the rest of the hood, but a skim coat of body filler should take care of that:




I wanted to use the smooth, base model rear tail panel from the '68 kit, so I cut the '69 tail light buckets free from the '69 bumper (the Revell '69 GTS kit's bumpers have molded in bumper guard depressions, so you have to use the bumper guards...no thanks! ). I will use the '68's rear bumper, remove the '68 buckets, add the '69 buckets and the '68 plain tail panel, and hopefully do it well enough that it won't need to be rechromed. I don't think the thin filler strip will be used with the plain tail panel, but I will see how it looks without it, and add it if necessary:




The trans tunnel filler pieces I glued in last night were roughed into shape, then I discovered a small gap where the tunnel and firewall meet, so I welded two filler strips to the backside of the firewall to close the gap. The filler strips will also provide a little extra thickness where some of the firewall will be removed for bellhousing clearance:

[Olskoolrodder]

Nicely done

[Casey]

Thanks, Stephen, it's moving in the right direction.

My plan to keep the rear bumper chrome intact didn't last long, so it will need to be re-plated. I was able to get the '69 tail light bezels and plain tail panel test fit against the body, then welded all three pieces together with Testors liquid cement. I need to add two small filler strips beneath each bezel and better tail panel-to-bumper attachment points, but it all fits pretty well at this point:




I fine tuned the firewall blister and did another test fit with the engine and trans, so I will make any final adjustments once the engine is positively located:

[Custom Mike]

Casey, you're doing some awesome work on this one, the attention to details that most people would never notice is unreal. How many of you guys would honestly have noticed the missing blister on the firewall for the starter? I know I wouldn't have, what other little gems have you got in store for us?

[Casey]

Casey, you're doing some awesome work on this one, the attention to details that most people would never notice is unreal. How many of you guys would honestly have noticed the missing blister on the firewall for the starter? I know I wouldn't have, what other little gems have you got in store for us?

Thanks, for the kind words, Mike. I think people would've probably noticed, though, as the engine would've been tilted even further to the passenger side without the clearance blister.

I try to improve upon the kit parts without completely replacing them when possible, as sometimes just thinning, cleaning up around each part, or giving the individual parts a bit more definition makes a difference when viewed as a whole. Things like thinning the steering wheel rim, drilling out frame drain holes, and separating parts which were molded together but should be separate help to add some realism and are relatively easy to do.

Still undecided on the battery tray, but I've been looking at members' projects over at FABO.com, and I see some more changes I want to make on the '69. I may try to whip up an 8-1/4" rearend, too, as an 8-3/4" rear seems like overkill in a Slant Six-equipped car.

I'm really enjoying this build and have been very motivated to keep working on it, so kudos to Chuck for getting this CB started.

[Michigan Madman]

Casey, you're doing some awesome work on this one, the attention to details that most people would never notice is unreal. How many of you guys would honestly have noticed the missing blister on the firewall for the starter? I know I wouldn't have, what other little gems have you got in store for us?

I know! If I were doing a project like Casey's, I'd have just ham-fisted a Deora six into an otherwise box stock Revell Dart and called it a day.

[Michigan Madman]

Chuck, you got a picture of that set-up? I want to do something different with the engine, I just don't know which way to go yet, so point me in a direction!

Here it is... remember, I built this about seven years ago, my standards are a lot higher now!

[Casey]

While sanding the trans/bellhousing, the light bulb came on and I remembered the parts came from one of the Lindberg '64 kits, both of which are B-bodies. A- (and F-)bodies used a shorter tailhousing on the trans, so I pulled out my AMT '71 Duster kit to see if AMT got it correct:

 Mopartranslength.jpg   74.01K   0 downloads


Looks like they did, so I will need to shorten the Lindberg tailhousing a few scale inches and clean up and slightly modify the linkage, too.

[Casey]

After looking at the tail picture I posted earlier, it was obvious the left bezel was slightly misaligned, so it was adjusted until I was satisfied with the fit. Tomorrow I can add the filler strips, align the bumper and adjust the bumper-to-panel gap, then decide how I want to attach the bumper:




I also cleaned up the steering wheel and removed the horn ring, assembled the headrests from a '69 Charger which I will use with the '68 bucket seats, cleaned up the steering column (but did not yet add the column shift lever), and snagged the battery, 2-speed windshield wiper motor from the '69 Charger kit, too:

[Casey]

I attached the tail light bezels and trunk panel to the body shell tonight, added some styrene rod from behind to strengthen the joints, cleaned up the gaps a bit, then cut, fit, and glued the little trim pieces beneath each bezel. The trim pieces will need to be thinned slightly once the glue has cured, but the back end of the car is almost done:



The rear bumper will need to be re-chromed, but I should be able to mask the bezels and preserve the chrome finish.

The lump on the left inner fender where the battery tray should reside was cut out, so I will patch that area and make a battery tray, then place the modified battery from the '69 Charger R/T kit on top:




I need to start thinking about interior and exterior colors soon, too.

[Michigan Madman]

Tan with a black vinyl interior! Green or brown would also be acceptable.

[gray07]

Looking awesome Casey

[Casey]

Looking awesome Casey

Thank you, Darrin. I'm happy with it so far, and still motivated to work on it, which is good.

Tan with a black vinyl interior! Green or brown would also be acceptable.

I would prefer not to do a black interior for a number of reasons, so that will probably be a last resort interior color choice. Black carpeting, maybe.

I'm leaning toward a gold/beige exterior, with a gold/beige/light green interior.

I'm still working on the trans tunnel, and need to apply another primer coat tomorrow:




I have to remove the extra muffler locating pin and research how the A-body /6 exhaust was run, so I can start planning that out.

I did another rear bumper test fit after I sanded down the filler pieces a bit, so that back end is done, and the bumper will be sent to Chrome Tech USA for re-plating:




I worked on both side of the now-flat hood, too, but nothing exciting, really. Just sand, prime, and repeat.