lordgodbob

great project! I love it....definitely will be following this

What a fantastic build, and a great subject!

It's painted. The decals came with the black panel on the hood (which I didn't use) and you are on your own for the roof.

This is a pretty simple build, but I really love the car. Slixx decals, aftermarket front wheels, and a WJ Firebird kit as the starting point. Automotive clear so I can sand and polish for days....I didn't do a lot of my normal stuff to add realism, most notable I clear coated the tires to make them really shiny...not sure why exactly I did that, but whatever, the car looks good anyhow.

I'm just starting on the Butch Leal Black Firebird. This is easily the best looking Firebird ever, and I want it to be as low as possible. Stance is very important to me and the Firebird/Camaro kits just are not low enough. I modify the front spindles and shorten the rear shocks, and that helps. But at some point the headers and chassis are nearly on the ground, which is a problem in of itself. I use the Jukebox Ford headers on these cars, they tuck up much further and give me better ground clearance, but still the cars aren't low enough. On this one I'm going to try something different. In addition to the normal tricks, I'm shortening everything that attaches to the chassis pan by as much as is feasible so that the body sits lower on the chassis. This may cause a chain reaction that messes everything up, we will see! I shortened the firewall, and the cage sides, and next up is make the stringers that go over the rear end sit lower....I'll post pictures as I go.

you are absolutely right!

It's getting closer...Some more decal work and it'll be ready for clear, along with a few other bodies that are in process. Decals for this one are tricky and I can't determine where a couple of them go!

Yep, that car had a 385 series engine in it. Norm didn't go to the Hemi until he built the Jukebox Ford

So, I'm posting this to try and get myself to get back on this project. It's 80% done, but you all know that the last 20% will kill you. I've been working on this for literally 20 years, off and on. I get frustrated and put it away, then revisit it some time down the road. It's been a full year since I worked on it. I started with a stock 57 body, and a Jukebox Ford kit. Almost every inch of the body is modified, and the chassis took some tweaking as well. The hood is shortened, the B pillar was added, the bumpers are molded in, the grille is filled in and airbrushed, I drew the logo and had a friend make decals for me, the rear spoiler is scratchbuilt....I honestly can't remember all of what I have done! There are elements of the build that are not correct, but it's too late now, and besides, it captures the feel of the original, so I'll have to live with the inaccuracies. I'm wrapping up SIX cars right now, and I'll get this one next.....hopefully

Great looking build!

What a fantastic subject, and a great project! I'll be following this for sure.....

Great idea to take the pics at the race track! Looks good...

Yes, exactly. Those wheels are perfect for this build and a lot of cars from that era. I actually need another set for my Glidden Fairmont that is next in line to be built. More pics to follow, I had a bit of a setback with the paint, but it's moving along again.

OK, bodywork done, basecoat applied. I'm tweaking the stance, it's still not low enough in front. I'll need to build drop spindles, I can't set the body any lower over the chassis without the valve covers hitting the hood! I have my new airbrush arriving today and so the plan is to get the black accents and the decals done this weekend. Then I will have 6 bodies ready for clear coat...I use automotive catalyzed clear so I try to do it in batches so I don't waste paint. I have 2 Glidden thunderbirds, a Glidden Mustang II, a Glidden 67 Mustang Super Stocker, this WJ car, and a Sox and Martin Cuda all ready to go....I'll have a LOT of finish work to do after that! I love this car so much, I'm excited to get it done. The WJ vs Bob battles are some of my fondest memories of the old days when Pro Stock cars had personality and were unique. Pontiac vs Chevy vs Ford vs Dodge vs Olds with the occasional Mercury, Buick or even Cadillac....oh well.

Mavericks are criminally underrated. Great body lines, good looking cars, and yours is awesome!

Wow. I'm pretty much speechless here....this thing is amazing, and I have always wanted a car with a dual cross-boss!

This is all I have...hope it, combined with the other one posted here, can help!

Hey, I happen to have pics of the actual car that I got from the guy who painted it... the chassis and cage, as well as the padding, are all blue. Its a kinda weird blue, pretty much looks like if you sampled the blue from the middle of the door. I can post pics, but it will be monday before I can do that.

So...I am logged in on my desktop at work, and I have managed to forget my password, so I can't log in from my phone. I went in to my settings (on the desktop) and tried to change my password, but it says my current password is incorrect. what do I do now?

Exactly! Top Sportsman, Quick 8, etc. there was an organization called USSC that had absolutely the coolest cars out there. I’ve built a couple from that era, and I have another in the queue...

Love this! Very nice...

I can try to list them for you... front and rear bumpers narrowed and molded in. Front bumper is also mounted upside down. B Pillars added. Trunk opened. Hood resized, front portion of hood molded in.Grille area filled in, headlights molded in. Rear spoiler was scratch built, scoop is from the Jukebox Ford kit. there may be more...but that’s what I can think of!

Testors Italian Red With automotive clear over it. Hope that helps!

That thing is fantastic, love it!

Agreed, lots of good builders with good advice here...