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AMT 1963 Impala - Advanced Custom Version


Impalow

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WOW!

I just saw this thread last night while checking wips on the forum during commercial breaks on Street Outlaws.

Today I went through the whole build sequence.  Unbelievable!  I love the paint job...  on top of all the great fabrication...

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12 hours ago, absmiami said:

Youre quite good with the BMF  ….  Ive got to apply some to the forward frame section of my Delage - what tool(s) do you use to burnish the foil … ?? 

Hey Andrew! Thank you! My tools are really super simple, a few Qtips and a couple flat toothpicks.. (using the big round end) the main thing with the Bare Metal Foil is that the base surface is smooth and shiny to get it to stick well. 
 

Speaking of bare metal foil… covering these ribbed ramps was quite a challenge. 😬 At some point I should probably do a YouTube video showing all the weird stuff I do with BMF.. haha

63DAA0CF-82DE-4F57-8CD2-DF5A7F3180E8.thumb.jpeg.bc29090049c3f73a4c654ccf7bb58628.jpeg
the “Impala” is pretty much done with the exception of the bumpers! 

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Hello Eric, I have to admit that I haven't strayed very far from the drag race forum, but it's obvious  that I have been missing out on some increadable projects.  Your model is a truly inspired  creation  with outstanding workmanship, attention to detail  and engineering. This is a fantastic project well done!

 

 

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On 3/15/2022 at 11:43 PM, CabDriver said:

Oh man, you were brave BMFing those ramps instead of just Alclading them…they look great tho!

The ramps were easy compared to an entire body... 🤣... That's the plan for that old bronco leadsled build... which i should be back to soon. 

Well after I finish a manx and build a dragster... hahahaha

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Thanks guys!  The first show went very very well!

Hauly6.jpg.44f53f160dfd24e712b09324c2dc3f17.jpg

A little issue did pop up... the battery life on the headlamp/tail lamp battery was not so great. While it somewhat stayed lit all day within a couple hours the color bar effect had dwindled to flashing off and on and only the red color working. (I assume this has something to do with each color frequency demanding more power to produce the color light, I think?... I'm not sure, its over my head)  I still had room for one of the larger cells in the rear compartment, so when I got home from the show I swapped out the batteries and rewired. Now the larger cell operates the Head/Tail and the smaller is for the flickering interior screens. Initial tests seem better, we shall see how it holds up Sunday in Detroit!

So last night I started playing with dragsters... I scoured the vendor side of the Columbus show looking for a Hemi-Sphere/Garlits dragster, or the Tommy Ivo FED with absolutely no luck.  There was a nice build up of the Tommy Ivo kit there, and I realized the length of the rear body work is probably a bit long, as well as the overall length being way-way too long.   So I returned home empty handed and started cutting up a "Young American"  kit I had, figure I'll just fabricate the rear body work myself.

First thing I realized is this is going to have to be pretty short... So I shortened the front body work, then pie cut it to narrow down the width, then angle cut the bottom off  to make it a little more low profile, like my inspiration. (not going for any sort of replica, just trying to hit an era and look, gives me some freedom to be creative.) I did glue the windshield/cowl on too far back in this mock up, and that was resolved after the photos.

f1848abdbd8f4c15bc5da54d7f306a09--slingshot-racing-team.jpg.934b60729ca2c12dec1bf2dfe6a94f87.jpg

D1.jpg.31290ce21341dcaf4d3f29ac2875fa27.jpg

d2.jpg.e5b2d08dd39169cf920a2fd36b834cb4.jpg

And it actually fits!    Lots more work to do.. but its a start!

d4.jpg.6061850d7e7a42e4d58e6be4c8137211.jpg

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On 3/24/2022 at 8:29 AM, Impalow said:

Thanks guys!  The first show went very very well!

Hauly6.jpg.44f53f160dfd24e712b09324c2dc3f17.jpg

A little issue did pop up... the battery life on the headlamp/tail lamp battery was not so great. While it somewhat stayed lit all day within a couple hours the color bar effect had dwindled to flashing off and on and only the red color working. (I assume this has something to do with each color frequency demanding more power to produce the color light, I think?... I'm not sure, its over my head)  I still had room for one of the larger cells in the rear compartment, so when I got home from the show I swapped out the batteries and rewired. Now the larger cell operates the Head/Tail and the smaller is for the flickering interior screens. Initial tests seem better, we shall see how it holds up Sunday in Detroit!

So last night I started playing with dragsters... I scoured the vendor side of the Columbus show looking for a Hemi-Sphere/Garlits dragster, or the Tommy Ivo FED with absolutely no luck.  There was a nice build up of the Tommy Ivo kit there, and I realized the length of the rear body work is probably a bit long, as well as the overall length being way-way too long.   So I returned home empty handed and started cutting up a "Young American"  kit I had, figure I'll just fabricate the rear body work myself.

First thing I realized is this is going to have to be pretty short... So I shortened the front body work, then pie cut it to narrow down the width, then angle cut the bottom off  to make it a little more low profile, like my inspiration. (not going for any sort of replica, just trying to hit an era and look, gives me some freedom to be creative.) I did glue the windshield/cowl on too far back in this mock up, and that was resolved after the photos.

f1848abdbd8f4c15bc5da54d7f306a09--slingshot-racing-team.jpg.934b60729ca2c12dec1bf2dfe6a94f87.jpg

D1.jpg.31290ce21341dcaf4d3f29ac2875fa27.jpg

d2.jpg.e5b2d08dd39169cf920a2fd36b834cb4.jpg

And it actually fits!    Lots more work to do.. but its a start!

d4.jpg.6061850d7e7a42e4d58e6be4c8137211.jpg

Your cuts to the rear of the dragster body leave it with a look similar to Ed Roth's Yellow  Fang dragster from the '80's.

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