Albie D

Another great build Carl. Smoooth paint..

Cool model and great back story.

Any more pics Junior?

I have to remember to close my glue bottles all the way...

Id love to have it ready Charlie. March 17th. right? If not, Id like to bring the 61 Impala. Looking forward to it! As far as color goes, green would be cool. It all depends what I feel like when Im ready to spray. And what the car wants too! They do talk to me after a few hours at the bench, is that weird?!?

Very nice! Good call on the pill bottle..

Thanks guys. I agree with you Glu. Some detail painting, scratch built tail pipes, a little voodoo, and it will look presentable. Hot Rodding at its purest, hack up what ya got! Good Doctor, a vintage Parts Pak grill sacrificed it's life to donate a single slat to be sectioned and reshaped for the Riviera. It would appreciate your interest. thanks. Always dig your builds Ray.

Thanks Mike!

Bringing up the rear is a mishmash of the two roll pans included in the kit, all stuck together with CA glue. ">http:// ">http:// Those round scars are the result of a botched tunneled taillight operation. Emergency surgery was performed and I'm pretty sure the butt end will survive. Speaking of taillights I'm at a loss, but I've been playing with 5 minute epoxy mixed with clear red acrylic. My first time doing it with moderate success. Some trials. ">http:// ">http:// ">http:// These are from some vintage Parts Paks I scored on E-bay. Its neat to build vintage models with obsolete parts. I'm going to practice with the epoxy a little more before I subject , err, treat, the last ones to their red lenses. Not much to the interior yet, but I have made up some headrests. When you look at a custom in profile, the seats, and dash should not be in view. I'm making a exception in this singular, funky case. And speaking of funky,... ">http:// I hope to pull off a hairy interior. Thanks for looking, updates as they happen

So, whats a street sweeper without body mods? Fortunately the Rivi needs little more than a shave and cleaning up. The door handles and emblems have been attacked by the 420 grit, then polished back up to 12000 to hopefully prevent any ghosting. The front headlights have been shaved with the pieces from the kit and have been CA glued and molded. The front grill is a modified unit from the kit, hogged out, dechromed, and fitted with a custom floating spear that I found and modified from my stash. ">http:// ">http:// ">http:// The shell will be body color, while the spear with get a dose of Alclad. And headlights?? Lets just assume they are hidden somewhere behind the grill...

In my humble opinion, the line drawn between customs and lowriders in the 70's was a blurry one. Maybe a hazy one is more apt for the decade, but I've been interested in that pre-Dayton era for a few years now. The first gen Riviera is probably Detroit's best factory custom effort (with the 58 Impala coming a close second) and needs little to cruise the streets in style. A gray plastic AMT 65 Rivera is the (un)lucky subject of this build, so less writing and on with some pics okay? Like most AMT kits of the era, this one has a basic floor pan with all the detail molded in along with those rudimentary metal axles. Since customs are all about stance, this baby is low. And that would mean a metal axle piercing though the heads of the motor. Since its a Nailhead and not a AMT Axle head, the axle had to go. ">http:// I used square stock to make a stut type thing, drilled holes for the cut down axles and called it a day. Not very real looking, but niether is a axle going though the engine bay. I hear some guys saying already, " But chassis XYZ will fit with a little spit and elbow grease". Ehh, I cant really be bothered ">http:// Looks unobtrusive from underneath and I built in a little negative camber for some added stance realism The rear was done in the conventional metal axle way with the top of the wheel house lopped off and the mount moved up. ">http:// So we got a grounded stance, now we need some shoes. Im not into product shots but these new wheels from Pegasus deserve at least one ">http:// The Astro's on the left are period perfect for this build, the reverse on the right are next in line for a earlier 60's custom project. After a little shaving of the body mounts, and some persuasive measures to the interior tub we got a great parking lot pose. ">http://

Nice build, good foil work and stance.

I love this kit. Have fun with the build, I sure it will look great in violet.

Man, this thing is more real than my fullsize project cars! Probably with more detail too. Incredible to say the least.

I've been owned by a 1:1 '52 Chevy for YEARS now and I'm really digging the '57 hooded headlights. I'm now on the hunt for full scale '57 donor fenders lol. I like the passenger side trim spear idea and it might be neat to graft a '55 Chevy egg crate grill in there. What are the hubcaps? They are really cool looking. Looking forward to more progress..

This is bordering on perfect, I don't want to believe this a quickie build. It would take me months to build to such a high standard ( if I could achieve it at all). Keep 'em coming!

Cant wait to see this sprayed up. Another stunner in the making for sure.

Great build Matti! Awesome smooth paint, foiled and flocked interior, and an injected W motor. Talk about a street beast...

Your not kidding around about being kustom. Great, original ideas...I recognize your vision, keep it going. And keep the decked stance too!

Great build Mike. That engine looks like it could be fed some hi-test and rumble to life!

Nice vids and crazy, awesome flake!

Just when you think everything has been done to the venerable 32, you keep innovating new styles... You should plunk a Big Block in this beast. The rat gets the "swiss" cheese!

Great job!

Sits way nice. Great color too..