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1960 Dodge Phoenix Convertible


TooOld

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On 7/4/2021 at 9:31 AM, carbuilder1950 said:

 @TooOld

Watching your progress finally got to me, and I got the 'ol resin Polara out and 

started cleaning 'er up.

This will be fun. Like you, I will take my time and try to do her justice, as these are

rare ol' birds now. Maybe I'll do her with a vert' top, if I have one in my stash.

Fun watching your progress 👍.

Sounds great David !  Would really like to see one of those resin kits go together !

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17 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I’ll have to check out those Scale Motor Sports bolts and washers. I’ve been using Grandt Line washers for my antenna bases, but I have to paint those.

 

 

 

Steve

The one I did worked great , it fit perfectly over the hypo tubing I used for the antenna .

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I made up the sunvisors using .020" brass rod and styrene sheet , then cut .010" sheet that wraps over the brass rod when glued .  Then .020" styrene rod was glued around the edges . Also added the uniquely shaped mirror .

79

The sunvisors were mounted by drilling the edge of the extra thick windshield , a little scary but it worked okay .  I also added the strikers for the top latches . Made from some channel with a small rod glued to the top , they came out much better than I expected !

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Looking at photos online the Dodge sunvisors are larger than most other cars but I may have made them too big .  I think I can remove the piping without damaging the visors and trim them down a little . Still thinking about that .

 

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7 hours ago, David G. said:

Working sun visors? 😮 

Cool!

David G.

 

5 hours ago, carbuilder1950 said:

Hey Bob

I have made a lot of working features on my cars in the past, but WORKING VISORS??

That's a new one and so cool.

Like a lot of people, I will steal that idea - LOVE IT.

Glad I am following along. 

Your the teacher. I am the student.

Dave 

Thanks guys !   To be honest I didn't plan on making working sunvisors , I just thought it was an easy way to make and attach them .  That they actually work is a nice bonus !

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19 minutes ago, TooOld said:

 

Thanks guys !   To be honest I didn't plan on making working sunvisors , I just thought it was an easy way to make and attach them .  That they actually work is a nice bonus !

Looking great Bob!!

 

I'm kind of at that, "make it work, or not" stage with the steering wheel and column I'm working on right now.

It would take no extra work whatsoever to install the steering wheel so that it turns, but being as it won't actually steer the wheels, I guess it's kind of pointless, although it's going to be just as easy to do either way.

Same thing happened when I made the buddy seat for my Coronet.

Really very little more work to make it functional, so why not. :P

 

 

 

 

Steve

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Thanks Steve !  I also tend to go back later and change things or add details I forgot or never thought of doing in the first place , that's why I never paint anything until it's ready for assembly .

 

One feature of the dashboard I've always liked is the "See-Thru" speedometer , I remember as a kid sitting behind the steering wheel and just barely being able to see through it !  I've thought about this one a long time and decided to first see how a home made shroud might look .

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Satisfied that a home made shroud is possible I proceeded to modify the dash . First step was to fill the recess on the underside with some polyester putty .

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Once hardened I removed the molded-on shroud using a Dremel , a small pencil grinder , and some files .

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After a little trimming I set the new shroud in place with some Tacky Glue .  It still needs some refining and the front edge needs to be tapered but it will definitely work !

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Thanks for looking  !  More to come . . . 

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Oh my,        I learned to drive in a 1960 Dodge Seneca wagon, kind of the opposite end of the Dart line from the Polara convertible.  I remember that dashboard and the see-thru speedometer with the mirror on the dash. Space age styling at its most unique.

I've been following and enjoying your project.  Excellent building and looking fantastic!

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21 hours ago, David G. said:

Impressive!

Many times it's the smallest details that make the biggest difference.

David G.

 

19 hours ago, carbuilder1950 said:

@TooOld

I love how all the smallest details that we always overlook, are coming to life on this project, and your

giving detailing an interior a whole new meaning, and a higher bar of standards to attain to.

Can't wait to see what your imagination has for us next.

Dave

 

17 hours ago, Muncie said:

Oh my,        I learned to drive in a 1960 Dodge Seneca wagon, kind of the opposite end of the Dart line from the Polara convertible.  I remember that dashboard and the see-thru speedometer with the mirror on the dash. Space age styling at its most unique.

I've been following and enjoying your project.  Excellent building and looking fantastic!

Thanks very much guys !

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11 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I’ve got another idea for you to try Bob. 
If it doesn’t work, there’s no harm.

Put a little mold putty over the speedo face and make a cast with some clear epoxy.

If it works out, you could replace that as well. 😊

 

 

 

Steve

Good idea Steve .  I'm already working on one idea to replace the speedo and will also give the casting idea a try , I have some clear casting resin that I can use .  One of these ideas should work ,Thanks !

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I stepped away from this and spent some time thinking about my next step .  I really wanted to replicate the see-thru speedometer of the Dodge but once I remove the speedometer from the JoHan dash I'm committed to it , not to mention that I've ruined a really beautifully molded dashboard and this model would never be displayed with the top down .  I decided to proceed by making a mold and using some Clear Casting Resin make a copy of the speedometer .  While the casting itself turned out great it didn't look like I wanted , but it could always be used to repair the JoHan dashboard if I screw up .

My other option was to make speedometer face out of clear sheet and print a decal for the numerals , so I created some artwork using a photo of the Dodge speedometer as a guide .

88 - Speedo Image

Here's the actual printed decals (I always print extras).  They lost some resolution because of the inkjet printer but not nearly as bad as a photo would .  The printed border will be removed when I cut out the decal . They're printed on clear decal paper which is clear on a painted surface but when applied to the clear plastic it should have a slight frosted appearance just like the real speedometer .

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Next I cut the clear face from some .030" sheet  and after several attempts I settled on this one . If you've never cut clear sheet it's much more difficult than regular sheet styrene . I used some .010" x .040" strip for the top .

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Now I could remove the speedometer from the JoHan dashboard , I worked slowly taking several breaks to make sure I didn't remove too much material . Also removed the molded on compass , it was an option that my Dad's Dodge didn't have . With some finish sanding and some primer it looks pretty good !

91

And here's the new See-Thru Speedometer !  The shroud still needs to be lowered a bit to look correct but I'm very pleased with how it turned out .  Now I can get back to work and hopefully finish this build soon !

92

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5 hours ago, TooOld said:

So I stepped away from this and spent some time thinking about my next step .  I really wanted to replicate the see-thru speedometer of the Dodge but once I remove the speedometer from the JoHan dash I'm committed to it , not to mention that I've ruined a really beautifully molded dashboard and this model would never be displayed with the top down .  I decided to proceed by making a mold and using some Clear Casting Resin make a copy of the speedometer .  While the casting itself turned out great it didn't look like I wanted , but it could always be used to repair the JoHan dashboard if I screw up .

My other option was to make speedometer face out of clear sheet and print a decal for the numerals , so I created some artwork using a photo of the Dodge speedometer as a guide .

88 - Speedo Image

Here's the actual printed decals (I always print extras).  They lost some resolution because of the inkjet printer but not nearly as bad as a photo would .  The printed border will be removed when I cut out the decal . They're printed on clear decal paper which is clear on a painted surface but when applied to the clear plastic it should have a slight frosted appearance just like the real speedometer .

89

Next I cut the clear face from some .030" sheet  and after several attempts I settled on this one . If you've never cut clear sheet it's much more difficult than regular sheet styrene . I used some .010" x .040" strip for the top .

90

Now I could remove the speedometer from the JoHan dashboard , I worked slowly taking several breaks to make sure I didn't remove too much material . Also removed the molded on compass , it was an option that my Dad's Dodge didn't have . With some finish sanding and some primer it looks pretty good !

91

And here's the new See-Thru Speedometer !  The shroud still needs to be lowered a bit to look correct but I'm very pleased with how it turned out .  Now I can get back to work and hopefully finish this build soon !

92

THAT is to cool

Well done

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