Modlbldr Posted March 20, 2022 Share Posted March 20, 2022 (edited) I got this body from my Buddy, Mike Flynn's "estate" and I'm wanting to finish it up. I tried for years before he passed away to get him to finish it. I always liked the paint work on it. Unfortunately, it has suffered a bit over the years on his bench and the paint isn't as pristine as it once was. I recently got a 69 Nova kit for a few parts that I'll need but the more I mull it over as to how I want to finish it I doubt I'll use much from the kit. Tonight, as I sat his body next to a stock one I was surprised to realize how much he had modified the body. More to come. Later- Edited April 20, 2022 by Modlbldr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted March 20, 2022 Author Share Posted March 20, 2022 Here are the pics of the difference between the stock body and the modified one. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted March 20, 2022 Author Share Posted March 20, 2022 My plan is for something similar to this beast! Later- 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted March 20, 2022 Author Share Posted March 20, 2022 Making a start of it. This might cause me to go insane... Later- 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisc63 Posted March 20, 2022 Share Posted March 20, 2022 Ambitious. Best of luck! Will look mean as heck when you pull it off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted March 20, 2022 Author Share Posted March 20, 2022 (edited) 6 hours ago, bisc63 said: Ambitious. Best of luck! Will look mean as heck when you pull it off! Yeah, I think that this is going to be my next "stalled project"! Lol. I do believe that I am going to finally have to learn how to solder, which means I should probably convert over to brass. Not so sure what I am doing at the moment will work. This is just superglued together as a quick test. I went through a couple of bins of Mike's stuff that I got and pulled out anything that was tube or rod of approximately the right size. The picture is what I came up with. Time to start sorting! Later- Edited March 20, 2022 by Modlbldr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 (edited) I noticed one door doent have a decal, are you going to Change the color?? Edited March 24, 2022 by slusher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted March 25, 2022 Author Share Posted March 25, 2022 19 hours ago, slusher said: I noticed one door doent have a decal, are you going to Change the color?? Carl, Both doors are decaled. Must have been the way the photos looked. My plan is to keep the paint as it is. I've been looking high and low for my butane torch so I can practice my soldering. Haven't found it yet. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian McLaren Posted March 27, 2022 Share Posted March 27, 2022 The body looks great and will be a solid foundation for this project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted March 28, 2022 Author Share Posted March 28, 2022 I figured since I needed to buy Flux for soldering that I would make my trunk hinges tonight. After an hour and a half I successfully made one and failed on two more. I'm done for the night!! Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted March 28, 2022 Author Share Posted March 28, 2022 Anybody know of a kit that would be a good starting point for the chassis and cage? Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 Looking for a complwte chassis/suspension or complete kit of the Pro Street Beretta, 57 Soff Seal Chevy, 55 Pro Sportsman, Hot Rod Lincoln, or the Dobbertin J 2000 to use as a start for the cage and suspension. Couldn't sleep tonight so I did some work on the hood. Now I'm ready for sleep while the putty dries. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B. Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 Very cool project! Thank you very much for posting the article on the nova; it will serve as reference for a pro street camaro that I'm finishing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted March 30, 2022 Author Share Posted March 30, 2022 (edited) On 3/29/2022 at 8:29 AM, John B. said: Very cool project! Thank you very much for posting the article on the nova; it will serve as reference for a pro street camaro that I'm finishing up. Cool! Glad I can help. Let me know if you need better pics of the article. I saw this in the mag years ago and was amazed by it. Glad I kept the mag all these years. Later- Edited April 1, 2022 by Modlbldr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted April 1, 2022 Author Share Posted April 1, 2022 Got the hood sanded out and I switched over to soldering brass together for the framework. Going to be a chore but I think I'll enjoy it. Haven't soldered anything major before. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted April 2, 2022 Author Share Posted April 2, 2022 Trying to get the hang of soldering. It may not look good but I'm having a lot of fun. I figured out that if I cover the previous solder joints with poster tack I don't have problems with them coming undone while soldering the next area in such close proximity. If you do any soldering with brass, how do you keep the heat from undoing your work? Since this is a new venture for me I'm curious to hear any tricks. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted April 10, 2022 Author Share Posted April 10, 2022 (edited) I got a built up J 2000 to see how it would work using the chassis and suspension on the Nova. Pic #1 and #2- It was narrower and shorter than I thought it would be (just as one person on this site said it would be). So, I got an unbuilt 55 Chevy Pro Sportsman kit in the mail yesterday to see how it would look. This morning I got up early. I made coffee before my wife and the dog got up and sat down for about 40 minutes to begin working on it (you know- the peaceful part of the day) Here is what I found. Pic #3 and #4-The 55 floor pan is about 1/8 inch wider and it will need some removed behind the rear wheels. Also looks like I may need to lengthen the floor a bit to get the fire wall where it needs to be. Probably as much mods needed for the 55 as for the J 2000 but the 55 has much more detail. Pic #5 and #6-With a bit of eyeballing, some measuring, cutting and sanding I started making progress. Then my wife got up.... oh well, time to get the dog up and start my day. Later- Edited April 10, 2022 by Modlbldr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADmodelDOCTOR Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 On 3/20/2022 at 6:34 AM, Modlbldr said: Yeah, I think that this is going to be my next "stalled project"! Lol. I do believe that I am going to finally have to learn how to solder, which means I should probably convert over to brass. Not so sure what I am doing at the moment will work. This is just superglued together as a quick test. I went through a couple of bins of Mike's stuff that I got and pulled out anything that was tube or rod of approximately the right size. The picture is what I came up with. Time to start sorting! Later- I thought I had a mess on my bench 🙃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattilacken Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 Nice build! That door is extensive!! Interesting to see the chassis. How would the Revell Iaconio Camaro chassi be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papajohn97 Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Soldering a brass chassis from scratch looks like quite a challenge. It reminds me of how we use to build 1/24 slot car chassis from scratch back in the 60’s. You might want to do a search on the web for videos on building soldered brass rod/ piano wire slot car chassis for tips on soldering materials and methods, alignment jigs & fixturing, heat sinks, etc. I saw JJ win the night at OCIR in ‘69 in this car. Last drag race I attended in the 60’s, good old days! Looking forward to seeing how you make this chassis come together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted April 19, 2022 Author Share Posted April 19, 2022 The 55 Pro Sportsman I bought was missing the tube frame. I thought I had unused parts for a Pro Sportsman Firebird in my stash but wasn't sure if I had gotten rid of them. After searching, I realized that I had moved them on but I found this glued up frame that I didn't remember having. This morning I cut the frame off the chassis and checked the wheelbase length using my narrowed chassis pan. Looks almost spot on! Now to clean up the road rash from the frame and get it ready for paint. Later- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted April 20, 2022 Author Share Posted April 20, 2022 Here's where it's at tonight. I had a couple of issues with the interior tub. If the rear tubs were in place, the cabin floor was not level. It rose up in the rear. Also, the cabin was almost 1/8 inch too short in the foot well. To fix the rising floor i cut the trunk floor free and cut about 3/32 off of the bottom of the rear of the wheel tubs. This allowed the rear of the cabin to sit level without the trunk floor hanging below the rear fenders. Later- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted April 20, 2022 Author Share Posted April 20, 2022 (edited) To fix the short foot well, I cut the firewall off, added almost 1/8 inch of styrene and glued the firewall back on. I am not re-attaching the tranny hump to the firewall because in my 1:1 example the forward portion of the tranny hump is missing to expose the Lenco tranny. I like the look of it, so I am going with that in my build. Both problems fixed. I'll remove the extra bit of styrene in the floor in the morning once everything has firmed up good. I'm off to bed. Later- Edited April 20, 2022 by Modlbldr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattilacken Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 Nice progress and that chassi is nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 This is a very cool build! Your friend did real nice work on the body. I'm sure he's looking down on this build and enjoying all the work you are doing. The 55 Pro Sportsman chassis is a much better choice than the Dobbertin chassis. I'm currently building a Beretta Pro Street kit. The kit's (Dobbertin) chassis needs a lot of work to make it resemble a real world chassis. If I was to start the build again I'd most likely use the 55 Pro Sportsman chassis instead of the one in the Beretta kit. For the framework inside your doors have you considered using styrene rods? Gluing the styrene rods together should be easier than soldering the brass rods. Keep up the great work on this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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