58 replies to this topic

[Ramfins59]

Hello all.  I put the '36 Ford HiBoy aside because it was fighting me at final assembly.  Instead of throwing it somewhere, I'll just come back to it at some point when I'm less aggravated with it.  In the meantime, I started working on the '58 Ford Fairlane kit from The Modelhaus, which I bought myself for Christmas.  It is a great casting with absolutely no cleanup needed.  I soaked it in Westley's for a day, washed it off and let it air dry for a day.  A thing I really love about this kit is that the interior is a platform style with side panels and not a tub casting.  The front seat is also a separate piece along with the dashboard and steering wheel.

My plan is to make this as if someone in the late fifties customized this car by throwing a J.C. Whitney catalog at it to see what would stick...  all Bolt-On Customizing.

 

I've pretty much got everything painted as of today, so here's what things look like at the moment.

 

The color is Tamiya Coral Blue.  I sanded off the name badges and the door handles which I'll replace with chromed ones from my parts stash.  This is a curbside model so I only sprayed the chassis flat black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I put '59 Dodge Royel Lancer 4 bar spinner hubcaps on the front (from Modelhaus).  I think these hubcaps are the ULTIMATE spinner hubcaps.  I detailed them with some white paint.

 

 

 

 

The interior is Coral Blue and white.  The side panels have been detailed with paint and BMF.  The steering wheel is paint detailed and has straight pin shifter and turn signal levers and a round pin head for a necker knob.  Istill have to flock the rugs black but I painted the floor flat black first.

 

 

 

 

I modified the grille by installing some pieces of polished aluminum tubing to make a tube grille and also mounted 2 pieces of round wound guitar string for curb feelers..

 

 

 

The continental kit is painted and the platform has some BMF on the ribs.

 

 

I have a sheet of gold BMF which I'll use for the side trim insert.  Then I'll clearcoat the body and when that is dry and polished I'll apply the chrome BMF.  I'll be mounting Bob Dudek lake pipes, dummy spots, mirrors and a swept back antenna on the trunk.  I also put tiny blue MV lenses in the taillights for blue dots.

 

I'm hoping to have this finished up in a couple of days.  Thanks for looking in on it.

Edited by Ramfins59, 28 January 2013 - 03:25 PM.

[High octane]

That is sweeeeeet lookin' so far.

[Doobie]

Rich thats cool that resin looks real good the corol blue realy suits it

[Bartster]

Stunning paint, Rich ! '58s are possibly my favorite Fords, & the blue really pops on these beautiful lines. Nice work on the tube grille as well. This should be a real knock-out when finished !
Bart

[Foxer]

I love the JC Whitney idea!  and curb feelers! (you might have to explain those to some of out younger members .

[Tom Geiger]

Lookin' good!   I tried throwing  the JC Whitney catalog at my car but it kept bouncing off!  

[TooOld]

Perfect timing ,  I've been thinking about buying one of these kits too !   I really like what you've done so far and can't wait to see more !

[Draggon]

Very very nice, and curb feelers...whoot whoot!

[jeffs396]

Very cool Rich, keep it going!

[Ramfins59]

Thanks very much to everyone for all the encouraging words.  I am just loving this paint color.  This is really my very first time using Tamiya spray paints and I'm thrilled with it so far.  It does tend to chip easily but is very easy to touch up with a small brush.  

 

Yeah... curb feelers...!!!  I had them on my '59 Dodge when I owned it and I got a lot of questions about them from "younger" guys at cruise nights.  I've always liked the "bolt-on" customizing that was done back in the 50's & early 60's.  It was a relatively cheap way to customize your car.

 

By the way, I tried putting the gold BMF on the side trim insert and...... well...... that stuff really s--ks...!!!  First I burnished it down with a QTip and then found that It tears really too easily when burnishing it into corners with a softened wooden toothpick.  I tried twice and gave up and just pulled it all off.  I wound up painting the insert with Brass metalizer which really looks pretty good.  I've NEVER had ANY problems with the chrome BMF in 20 years.

 

Tomorrow I flock the carpet, trim the vacuformed windshield to fit, and apply the chrome BMF.  This thing is just coming along great, almost like it wants to practically fall together the way I envisioned it.  I've only been working on it for about 4 or 5 days so far.  I highly recommend this kit if you like '58 Fords.  It is a little on the pricey side ($125 for the kit with the conv. up & down top, skirts & connie kit) but worth it for the quality.  That's still a lot cheaper than trying to pick up an original AMT kit, if you can even find one.  More pictures will come as the work progresses.  Thanks again for looking in on it and "cheering me on".  

[Doobie]

rich Ive had that problem with gold BMF and Ive never used it again all the rest are great

[vintagercr]

Richard, very nice!

[1972coronet]

1958 Fords are so gorgeous ; they take so well to customising , mild or wild !

 

Your drophead is looking great so far ! I, too , really like the J.C. Whitney idea . Maybe if you sent some pics of your finished project , they'd use it on their catalogue's cover .

 

RE : Curb Feelers : Back in the late 80's when I got my license and I started looking for a car , I wanted badly to find one with curb feelers ! I had my sights set on late 60's-1976 Darts , Vailants , Dusters , etc. , etc. , of which there were plenty to choose from

( Whittier Calif was full of "old timers" and most of them owned Dodges and Plymouths !) .

Oddly , I couldn't find a single , solitary car with the 'feelers ! And , no one --to the best of my knowledge-- was selling new curb feelers .

Why did a late teens male want curb feelers on his car ? Simple : I liked the idea of cutting down on the possibility of scuffing the tyres'  sidewalls on curbs !

 

Ne'er the less ~~

Keep up the great work , Richard !

[torinobradley]

Looking good so far! Don't forget the swan hood ornament with the light-up orange wings!

[crazyrichard]

cool , looks great already

[Ramfins59]

Looking good so far! Don't forget the swan hood ornament with the light-up orange wings!

 

 

Uhhhhhhh......No......  I don't think so...!!!

 

Thanks again for all the great comments everyone,I really appreciate it.  More photos to come later today when I get some more work done on this beauty.

[Johnny]

That is going to be sweet!

I think the 58' was the sexiest of the late 50's Fords.

[RandyB.]

Looks great so far. I need one of these in my collection. Did the bumpers come already chromed? And do you use the AMT '57 Ford Fairlane as a donor kit?

[M0par Jim]

I love the work your putting into this project so far man. Keep up the good work.

[Ramfins59]

Thank you Johnny, Randy and Jim.  Yes Randy the bumpers come already chromed, and if you get the continental kit, you also get the extended rear bumper which is also chromed.  Since this is a curbside kit you don't need to use the '57 Ford kit as a donor, although, if you wanted to put an engine in it you'd have to cut open the hood.  You could then use the '57 Ford kit engine and chassis pieces, along with the inner fenders, radiator and firewall, etc.  

 

I flocked the carpets black and clearcoated the body and connie kit platform with Duplicolor clear and they are all drying at the moment, so I don't yet have any updated progress pictures.  I want to give the clearcoat a good couple of days to completely dry before I start to handle and polish the body and apply the chrome foil.  I should hopefully at least be able to assemble the completed interior pieces tomorrow so I'll most likely have pictures of that to post tomorrow.

 

Thanks very much again for all the great and encouraging comments.