Andrew D the Jolly Roger

Thanks! The new engine arrived Friday; smaller-block engine from AMT's 71 Duster, will be heavily detailed and wired. Still needed modifications to the front area with making an attached alternator and other mounts for the pulleys. Also drilled out holes for the spark plugs and wires (very time consuming on a tiny distributor). Also modified the engine mounts so it could accomodate the smaller engine block. Not a perfect fit, but it's better.

They started with a '73 or '4 RR for the first few episodes. In the 11th episode of the first season they swapped for a modified '71 Satellite with the same paint. The Satellite was used for the rest of that season and the majority of the second, and was used FAR more than the RR. Some prefer the RR, but to me the 71 is just nicer and sleeker. Gotta be true to oneself....

Thank you! I originally thought this would be straightforward; just get the correct car, get the right paint job, and voila. Nothing has turned out to have been further from the truth. Almost everything has had to be modified or even rebuilt (engine, engine bay, suspension, exhaust, dashboard, steering wheel, tires, wheel hubs etc).

Well, unfortunately I'm totally ditching the engine....finally the evidence was overwhelming that I needed to go with the smaller-block engine, finished in blue. So I purchased the engine parts from the AMT Duster. Starting over. In the meantime, here's what happened with the interior. Two modifications to be made: the steering wheel and the air vents. In one episode (Gold Fever S2E2) the instrument panel is visible, showing the dashboard to be the style with two air conditioning vents. Thanks to y'all in here for pointing that out to me! I discovered this after I'd started painting, so, strip the paint, add the parts and start over. Steering wheel should be a more standard type instead of the stock racing item in the kit. I started with the steering wheel from a Chevy pickup, carved down the central spokes, added a third spoke plus some other detailing. The wood paneling color is done by painting it Military Brown, then going back over it with Tamiya Smoke. This is basically a transparent black, and when applied unevenly over brown actually looks like wood paneling. An all-black interior is a problem since if you just paint it black, then almost zero details will show. Here's how I bring it to life: -Flooring/carpet flat black -All the rest in semi-flat black -With a wide brush, drybrush dark gray all over the semi-gloss black areas to highlight and bring out the details -Mask carpet and then spray semi-gloss areas in a satin/flat clear mix -Drybrush dirt onto some of the carpet, especially driver's area. Again, wood paneling done by painting first in Military Brown and then going back over that with Tamiya Smoke transparent black. Scratchbuild a CD radio for under the instrument panel, and voila!

Perfect, thanks, got one ordered! (just the engine) So, the round air cleaner option for that, then, and not the oval? I'm assuming the oval air cleaner was specifically to cover a six pack, yes?

Do you mean the AMT '71 Duster kit? I see that one and another by Revell. And how noticably different do you think it will it look from what I've got now? And, if it is the AMT, I see it has 2 options for carb/air cleaners; I assume I'd go with the round air cleaner and smaller carb, yes? Instead of the oval air cleaner and six pack?

Already on it. Think I can pull it off with brass rod. More worried about how to lengthen the leaf springs themselves without weakening them. Right now I'm extending the frame to support it, since the kit chassis has no frame in that area.

Thanks, that helps a lot! Was able to find some pics based on what you told me here. Nice to know I wasn't seeing things...not so nice to know I'll have to extend the leaf springs....and reinforce them....

Trying to make out what's happening with this 71 Plymouth and what to do on my build of it. Was test-fitting the partially completed rear suspension and exhaust, noticed that 1) the leaf springs seem greatly extended nearly to the end of the chassis, and 2) the exhausts do NOT extend as far out as seen in my plastic. I'm tempted to clip back the exhaust and leave/ignore the suspension unless there's a reasonable, not-too-crazy solution. What are y'all seeing here and what would you do?

Kewl! So, this'll be kind of like when I used to actually paint the boots and laces on the pilots of an aircraft only for them to be hidden under the instrument panel. But WE all know they're there

Definitely! The trouble is, the way I want it built is somewhat accurate...hoping to avoid something COMPLETELY fictional even for a Hollywood subject.

Oh, I know...took an entire evening of sandpapering to clean up the axle/exhaust bit. I'm not as worried once it's cleaned up since the bottom will be coated in dust, mud and grime, which helps hide a lot of that kinda stuff. I already drilled out the exhausts, have yet to compare it to photos. Probably should've done that first though....

Yep, and I'm at an additional disadvantage not usually being a car builder, specializing in aircraft all my life....what you know fluently is foreign to me. So, can I get away with the fact that the carb won't even be visible with the air cleaner?

Crud, was afraid someone would say that after everything I'd done...LOL ? I was actually counting on the fact that the carb will be completely covered up by the air cleaner, totally invisible, only there to hold up the air cleaner...so can I get away with that?

One more for today. For the filming, all identification logos/scripts on the vehicles were removed (i.e. all the "Charger" logos, the "FORD" from above the grill and tailgate on Jesse's truck, "PLYMOUTH" and "DODGE" from the Sheriff cars, etc). Most of this is easy for Daisy's Plymouth, except for the grill and in front of the hood. We'll deal with the grill later. For the removed emblem in front of the hood, there is a recessed area that was left untouched once the emblems were removed, and then painted over. I tried removing the bit inside the recessed circle with a roto-drill, but I couldn't make it into a flat disc surface. So I cut a tiny circle of sandpaper, smaller than the target area, and glued it to the end of a toothpick. This, with a tiny dab of putty, exactly did the trick. There was CONSIDERABLE bodywork to be done with the Front Body Pan; this appears seamless with the rest of the body, so I wanted to install it before painting. The rear one will be blended in after assembly and carefully retouched. Additionally, the Front bit didn't completely fit, and the trim around the wheel well had to be rebuilt onto it and everything blended together.

Hollywood almost always uses more than one copy of any featured vehicle due to tight filming schedules plus mechanical issues. Some features on these cars are often fictional. This said, in my Dukes builds I try to balance or combine the sometimes fictional features with reality. I went through all the episodes in question searching for even one photo of the hood up on Daisy's car, maybe parked in front of the farm with the boys doing some minor maintenance. Couldn't even find one; this actually made things easier; it means whatever I do can't be proven wrong. I did find one scene with the hood up on the earlier-used '74, from the episode "Limo One is Missing," but of course it was the wrong car, and we couldn't see much anyway. It was suggested that Daisy's character might have driven the Plymouth variant with the smaller engine, with a blue engine block. I'm not sure if any muscle car kits actually offer smaller, "tamed" small-block engines, so I went with what I had. Had to strip the paint and redo it in a more correct color. I added a few details for the wiring, plus an aftermarket set of belts and pulleys. There will be more hoses and wiring added after it's installed. I also removed the molded-on battery and water reservoir from the engine bay. See, the trouble with molded-on details is that they LOOK molded on, and therefore more toylike. So once removed their respective areas were rebuilt. Those specific items will have separate items installed to replace them.

Under expert automotive guidance from you good folks here, I procured a Revell '71 Plymouth GTX as the base kit, and ordered the correct hood from Harts Parts resins. I decided to make this a fully detailed build rather than the "curbside" closed-hood builds I've done for much of my Dukes of Hazzard fleet. It will feature a fully super-detailed engine bay, similar to what I did with The General.

Okay, on to my next project: Daisy's Plymouth! I much prefer the look of the SECOND car used, the one that went over the cliff (actually I prefer how it looked BEFORE, but nevermind). It just looks sleeker to me, plus it was used in more episodes (14 vs 9). First, let's dispel some rumors and falsehoods: -Rumor # 1: Daisy's second car was a Plymouth Roadrunner, either '71 or '72 depending on where you read. -The Truth #1: Apparently it was probably a '71 Plymouth Satellite Sebring with some '71 GTX features including a non-Sebring hood. Therefore, it shall henceforth be referred to simply as "Daisy's Plymouth". Thanks to everyone in here who weighed in on this subject to guide me! -Rumor #2: Daisy's first car ('74 Plymouth Satellite) was only used in the first five episodes, the ones filmed in Georgia. -The Truth #2: Actually, the '74 Satellite was retained for the first four California Episodes (Swamp Molly, Luke's Love Story, The Big Heist & Limo One is Missing). The Sebring/GTX's first appearance was in Episode 11, "Money to Burn." It made a nice first entrance on this episode. It finished the first season, and was used in 14 episodes of Season 2. -Rumor #3: Except for the dive off the cliff, Daisy's car was never really used much for stunts. -The Truth #3: Actually, besides spinning wheels and fishtailing to Daisy's fantastic driving, it was used for a jump in Season 2 Episode 2, "Gold Fever". Additionally, before its tragic dive off the cliff to destruction, it did a 2-wheel bank between the Hazzard Sheriff cars.

Thanks guys, VERY useful info, all. Ron, can't believe I missed that shot of the interior, it's from "Gold Fever", second episode of the second season, in which the car is even used for a jump (contrary to the belief that the car never did much until its demise). Thank you! As far as removed mirrors, yep, I've seen that's common for Hollyweird, makes sense that it increases visibility either of the actors within or of the action outside. It's a now-you-see-it-now-you-don't thing, as vehicles like the General sometimes had it for regular driving shots, but not for the closeups. I'm still undecided as to whether I'll put it in this one...I didn't put one on Daisy's Jeep, as it seemed never to be there on the show. Trying to balance reality with show fantasy. Also noticed on a closeup shot of the car with a flat tire that it had the flat/unribbed rocker panel trim. Haven't been able to discern anything else yet.

Okay, true....except in my second pic you can just make out the "GT" of "GTX" on the right side on the dashboard wood paneling....

Well, I'm using the Revell kit (yellow bodied release), and the interior padding seems to match Daisy's car....including the angled trim you can see running along the door panel, same as in the second photo.

Thank you....so probably I should assume wood panelling that's just too much in shadow to show up in the first pic?

Trying to do an accurate replica of Daisy Duke's GTX. The interior is black, but not sure if the one(s) used in the show had wood panelling on the interior door panels. Google *seems* to show it on every GTX interior I've found, but the few interior shots on the TV show *seem* to show only black where the wood panel would be. I don't know if the panelling was optional or standard. Compare the two following shots, one I took from the show (photographing the TV screen) and the other of an anonymous GTX I found via Google. Am I right that the Hollywood example has no wood panelling, or was it standard on all of them and it's just the lighting hiding it? You can see the debated area just under the chrome trim.

Thanks so much everyone, exactly what I needed! ?

Wonderful, thank you! What would y'all recommend then for this project given the photos above, maybe F60s and L60s? Or should I go with the E60s and G60s?