thecrossguy Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Hello everyone. Well this isn't really on the work bench yet as my plans are to enter in the model car show in February. But, I do need some help. This wheel be my first time lowering a model car and I would like to keep the realism of it if possible. The rear end I have figured out. The front suspension is another story. A-arm is mounted to the frame and there isn't a lot of room to hack off the spindle. I was thinking of sawing off the A-arm to bring it up some but there ain't a lot of room to do that. So any suggestions, advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelbuilder Mark Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 You can either cut the arm off as you mentioned, or fill in the opening for the axle and blend it with the upper arm, then drill a new hole. I have also seen some folks cut the tab off the back of the wheel, re-glue it off center, then when you mount the wheel it sits lower. I am sure there other ways, just be creative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyrichard Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 (edited) i think mark is spot on glue the part together , fill the existing hole , maybe reinforce with a plate over that and drill a hole higher up ... tbh you also might consider making the inner wing / tubs thinner at the front to gain room to go a bit lower in the front ..or you could remove the inner wheel tubs at the front as they are detachable plastic ones in real life ... so they dont have any stuctural meaning ... then you could set it like you want in the front and remount the inner tubs (guards) at the right hight ..if the picture shows the final stance i think it looks lower in the back then the front , it should sit a tad lower in the front as in the back .. even if you would have to put it higher in the back ..i'm working at the same kit atm in weathered form and i know ou can also gain room by making all the parts fit together better , meaning the part have gap like you have between the suspension parts above the mounting hole in the front i like the look already with these wheels !! Edited July 23, 2016 by crazyrichard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can-Con Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Um, don't know what '69 Novas you've been looking at Richard but all the ones I've seen do indeed have metal inner fenders, not plastic ,,and usually rusty in this part of the world. And a Nova being a unibody car without a frame, they help keep the front fenders, radiator wall, etc in place and lined up properly. The only time you'd see one of these cars without inner fenders is if it's a race car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 Hello everyone. Well this isn't really on the work bench yet as my plans are to enter in the model car show in February. But, I do need some help. This wheel be my first time lowering a model car and I would like to keep the realism of it if possible. The rear end I have figured out. The front suspension is another story. A-arm is mounted to the frame and there isn't a lot of room to hack off the spindle. I was thinking of sawing off the A-arm to bring it up some but there ain't a lot of room to do that. So any suggestions, advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! You have gotten a couple of very good ideas on lowering your Nova. The last '69 Nova I built I also wanted a lowered front suspension, but used a little different approach. If you study your picture for a moment you'll notice that the upper control arm has a curved surface to meet the wheel mounting hole which would be the spindle on a 1:1 car. What I did was to saw the circle from the lower control arm. You will not get the whole thing but will be left with a flat surface just below the opening for where the tire is mounted. Then do much the same thing with the upper control arm removing the part that the mounting ring would fit into. Then revers their positions between the upper and lower control arms. If you look at the picture and imagine the two upright mounting surfaces reversed it will work out to about 2" to 3" lower than stock. The part you removed from the upper control arm will have a flat surface to mount on the lower control arm. The part removed from the lower control arm will also have a flat surface to mount to the upper control arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrossguy Posted July 26, 2016 Author Share Posted July 26, 2016 Thanks for the suggestions guys!! I will post pictures as it progresses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrossguy Posted November 23, 2019 Author Share Posted November 23, 2019 Soooo this one is back on the bench. 3 Years later lol. Over the road truck driver not much time to build models. But I am local now home every night yay!! Got the body sanded down and primed. Should get the first coat of paint on today. My original plan was to do all black. Black bumpers black interior black wheels. But that has changed. I've decided to go with True Blue Pearl, Black Wheels and Black interior with blue accents. As for the bumpers not exactly sure yet. Maybe a matte black or keep them chrome. Going for a smooth clean look. Shaved door handles and emblems are gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 Good to hear life has given you time to work on your model again. The smooth clean body look should be nice on this. As for bumpers, unless you prefer painted bumpers, I'd leave them chromed. They fit close to the body on this kit and the bumper ends lineup with the fender lines so you wouldn't want to narrow them. Since you're going for a mild custom look maybe cut the bumpers lower portion away and use the front roll pan from the Camaro kit for the license mount and put driving lights where the parking lamps are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straightliner59 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 On 7/24/2016 at 12:09 PM, espo said: You have gotten a couple of very good ideas on lowering your Nova. The last '69 Nova I built I also wanted a lowered front suspension, but used a little different approach. If you study your picture for a moment you'll notice that the upper control arm has a curved surface to meet the wheel mounting hole which would be the spindle on a 1:1 car. What I did was to saw the circle from the lower control arm. You will not get the whole thing but will be left with a flat surface just below the opening for where the tire is mounted. Then do much the same thing with the upper control arm removing the part that the mounting ring would fit into. Then revers their positions between the upper and lower control arms. If you look at the picture and imagine the two upright mounting surfaces reversed it will work out to about 2" to 3" lower than stock. The part you removed from the upper control arm will have a flat surface to mount on the lower control arm. The part removed from the lower control arm will also have a flat surface to mount to the upper control arm. This is how I would do it. Who am I kidding? I would most likely rebuild the whole the whole suspension, but, that's just me! Given your desire and circumstance, David's suggestion is how I would do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrossguy Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 First coat of blue. I’ve also decided to go with gun metal wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Is that Testor's Icy Blue? That coat sure laid down smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrossguy Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 Testors True Blue pearl over black. Not quite as dark as I was hoping but it will work. Gonnna sand it down a spray another coat or two this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrossguy Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 Work on the engine has begun. Got the holes lined up right for the spark plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills72sj Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Love the color. Following. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Nuthin' but good goin' on in here. Keep 'er comin'...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrossguy Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 Got a little more engine work done before I stuff my face. Happy thanksgiving everyone!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrossguy Posted November 30, 2019 Author Share Posted November 30, 2019 Second coat. Maybe one more coat and then clear. Not sure yet. Got a dust speck that needs to be sanded out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeBee Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Nice paint finish, I'll be watching your build up with interest, I've just bought a few of the Nova kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Love the color! Looks like the paint laid down nicely for you, I've had trouble with Testors paint in the past. David G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 That color coat just keeps getting better and better. Man that looks good. Engine looks good too but the sides of that intake manifold could probably be trimmed some so that'd it lay flat on the engine block a little better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Nicely done engine and the body color and finish look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrossguy Posted November 30, 2019 Author Share Posted November 30, 2019 8 hours ago, mustang1989 said: That color coat just keeps getting better and better. Man that looks good. Engine looks good too but the sides of that intake manifold could probably be trimmed some so that'd it lay flat on the engine block a little better. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I’ve got two builds going and over looked that. I also need to do a little more work on the spark plugs. I have some telephone wire for boots and distributor from Ted’s model. Will get that figured out but the heads need to come off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrossguy Posted November 30, 2019 Author Share Posted November 30, 2019 9 hours ago, David G. said: Love the color! Looks like the paint laid down nicely for you, I've had trouble with Testors paint in the past. David G. Thanks David. I spray testors and HOK. Over the years I’ve noticed that with testors if you sand it down with 3200 it lays very well. I generally don’t use primer but with this one I did as there was some body prep, which also got sanded before spraying the blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted December 1, 2019 Share Posted December 1, 2019 21 hours ago, thecrossguy said: Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I’ve got two builds going and over looked that. I also need to do a little more work on the spark plugs. I have some telephone wire for boots and distributor from Ted’s model. Will get that figured out but the heads need to come off. I take lots of Macro shots of all my engine builds and they make everything stand out. Can't tell you how many times I've done the same thing. Glad you took what I advised you in the helpful way I meant it Terry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrossguy Posted December 2, 2019 Author Share Posted December 2, 2019 (edited) Alright so my original plan was to keep this as close to realistic as possible, but with the chassis and wheels I have that is not possible. So I am think of using the chassis from the 66 nova pro street kit as it is tubbed and will give me much more room to work with front and rear. Edited December 3, 2019 by thecrossguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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