'65 Nova Pro Street Update 11/14/22 Completed Chassis Photo Pg. 5

[NOBLNG]

I’m not a fan of hood scoops at all… but I gotta say the cowl thing is just UGLY….on any car!? Sorry Roger, it’s your build and you can do what you like…but that’s JMO.?

Edited May 1, 2022 by NOBLNG

[TransAmMike]

11 hours ago, Plowboy said:

The body is now ready to be sanded and painted! The only problem now is, I don't like how the hood scoop looks. It just doesn't look right to me with the added height. So, I'm going to cut it back off again and make an outlaw cowl hood for it.

I figured out what my off center engine problem was. It's the chassis instead of the engine. Easy fix. So, I can have the option of leaving the top of the engine open if I happen to not like the cowl hood. 

Well Roger, just my 2 cents worth (thats more like 1 cent) I'm partial to the lower version of this scoop.  I'm really liking the build tho Buddy!!

[Steve H]

Roger, I’m with Mike. Not that our opinions matter. I actually really like the cowl scoops but,  to my eye, the front of the scoop looks too high relative to the back? It may be that you need that height for clearance though?

That’s my 2 cents… however, this is one fantastic looking Nova, and I know it’s going to be killer when done. 
 

Cheers, Steve

[Vintage AMT]

nm

Edited May 2, 2022 by Vintage AMT

[Plowboy]

11 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Well Roger, just my 2 cents worth (thats more like 1 cent) I'm partial to the lower version of this scoop.  I'm really liking the build tho Buddy!!

Thanx Mike! I liked it too until I had to raise it 2mms and move it forward 3mms. Then it had an awkward look to it.

[Plowboy]

10 hours ago, Steve H said:

Roger, I’m with Mike. Not that our opinions matter. I actually really like the cowl scoops but,  to my eye, the front of the scoop looks too high relative to the back? It may be that you need that height for clearance though?

That’s my 2 cents… however, this is one fantastic looking Nova, and I know it’s going to be killer when done. 
 

Cheers, Steve

Thanx Steve! It is higher in the front than the rear. It has to be that high in front to clear the breather on the front carburetor. I patterned it from this scoop.

This car has me thinking about going with a similar color. I can get close with Tamiya Light Blue and a coat of pearl. 

I'm going to try Tamiya Light Blue Metallic over Mica Silver to see what it looks like also. I got the hood in the first coats of primer last night. It made it look quite different. Not nearly as jarring as it was in the raw. 

 

 

 

[Plowboy]

1 hour ago, Vintage AMT said:

Don't shoot!! But this car would be so BADDADZ withOUT a scoop of any kind. Your work on it is just awesome..leave the scoop off...

I can't. Or rather, I won't. If it were only the carburetors sticking out, I would consider it. But, the hood wouldn't clear the blower snout and belt. The belt stuck up just enough to interfere. But, didn’t come above the hood. 

[Steve H]

Hi Roger, I figured there was clearance issues. The best part of that scoop is that it screams aggressive, which suits the car perfectly. 
Those Novas look fantastic in medium metallic blue. My ‘66 slammer in Bahama blue…

Cheers, Steve

[NOBLNG]

3 hours ago, Plowboy said:

I'm going to try Tamiya Light Blue Metallic over Mica Silver to see what it looks like also. I got the hood in the first coats of primer last night. It made it look quite different. Not nearly as jarring as it was in the raw. 

It does look a lot better painted. I notice on the blue Nova that the back edge matches the slope of the windshield. I wonder if that would make it look sleeker on yours? Just a thought.?

[Plowboy]

That's a sharp little Nova Steve! Is that Dupli Color Bahama Blue? I'm thinking the Tamiya Light Blue Metallic over Mica Silver will be about between the color of your Nova and my F-100. 

Getting the hood in primer made a big difference! This scoop actually has a lower profile than the raised scoop in the front. 

I like it! Don't care who doesn't! It was good thing I test fit the rear bumper. The piece I added to the rear of the chassis interferes with it. I just gotta cut a notch in it for the license plate recess. I was concerned that the chassis might hang below the rear bumper. But, it's tucked up like it should be.

One last thing I need to check is the grille. If fits fine as it is. But, it looks like there's reflectors that mount to the back side. I want to make sure they won't hit against the the radiator support. 

[Steve H]

Looks wayyyyy better in paint Roger. Looks really good,and aggressive now. I do have dupli colour Bahama Blue, but i also have another brand which I think I used on the Nova. I will check and get back to you. They are essentially the exact same colour though. 
 

Cheers

[slusher]

Looks great now Roger and will look better in color..

[Steve H]

Hi Roger, the paint on my Nova is Plasti Coat car colour Bahama blue. The light blue with pearl clear sounds like it will look sharp.

[Plowboy]

3 hours ago, Steve H said:

Hi Roger, the paint on my Nova is Plasti Coat car colour Bahama blue. The light blue with pearl clear sounds like it will look sharp.

Thanx Steve! The Light Blue with Pearl is what's on the '62 F-100 in the above photo. 

Right after taking the photos yesterday, I knew that I had to fix the scoop. So, I eliminated the peak, sanded the top and sides of the scoop back down to bare styrene and started over. Again! I extended the rear of the scoop with .040 and cut it to match the cowl and windshield. Then I added the peak back to it using .010 styrene rod and Tamiya putty. Now, it's finished! It only took four tries to get it right! I could've saved myself a lot of headaches by changing the induction on the engine. But, in my mind, it has to have this setup. 

Now it has a much more finished appearance! Something that's been bugging me on this body is the grille. The headlights look to be a bit small. I did a quick measurement with a ruler and they measure 6mms. If that measurement is accurate, they are small. Single headlights are seven inches in diameter. When I blow it back apart, I'll do an accurate measurement with my digital caliper and go from there. I really hope I don't have to fix them! I have the headlight assembly installed and the grille now fits. I did have to drill out holes in the radiator support for clearance. My rear bumper also now fits like it should.

All of the fitment work should be done now! Now, I can blow it apart and make some progress. Hopefully, there won't be any surprises when it comes final assembly time. 

I did a test spoon with Mica Silver and Light Blue Metallic. I really like the way it looks. But, I want to try another combination with white as a base and see if it will make it a bit lighter. 

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by Plowboy

[Keef]

What can I  say that hasn’t been said already? Absolutely beautiful build so far!! I can’t wait to see it in paint. Seeing all the great builders on here fabricating parts and body mods has me wanting to try it now. I have access to 4’x8’ sheets of styrene from .010 to .060 at work so I think I’m gonna bring home some pieces and start practicing. Thank you sir for the inspiration!!!

[bobthehobbyguy]

Really like the revised hood scoop. Definitely suits the car well. Looking forward to seeing more.

[ksnow]

That is really coming together nicely. You sure worked on that hood scoop enough. I like that you went with the scoop versus just a hole in the hood. Looking forward to seeing it in paint.

[Dennis Lacy]

I admit, I wasn’t feeling the new tall cowl type hood so I didn’t comment but now with it extended back to the windshield I think it looks really cool. That’s what it needed. Can’t wait to see this car in color!

[larman]

The last revision on the hood scoop makes all the difference! I like the way it fits up on the cowl now. The blue is an excellent choice also.

[Plowboy]

Welp, just as I thought/feared, the headlights are too small! They scale out to 5.9 inches. Why am I not surprised? My first thought was to use the AMT '65 Nova grille and drill out the headlights. But, the headlights on it are too small also. But, it looks like it may be easier to modify than the Moebius grille. I checked the AMT '63 Nova wagon headlights and they scale out to 7 inches just like they should. Too bad I can't just use that grille!

The way Moebius engineered the headlights on this kit is stupid IMO. The reflectors are so far back, they're only visible straight on. Not to mention the pegs that won't allow the lenses to be oriented correctly. It's best to just cut the pegs and tabs off. Another thing is the engraving on the grille section is so shallow that I'm not going to be able to open it so that it's see through. The vertical bars are barely there.

So, I'm going to have to do some thinking on how to fix the headlight issue. I think I have a plan. But, if it doesn't work out, I'm gonna be screwed. Open to any and all ideas! 

 

[mvadrag]

The new scoop is a definite improvement.  The spoon test color looks really good, but maybe a little lighter would match the '67 photo better.  I will keep watching.

[slusher]

Roger, if fixing the headlights does not go as planed I am sure you can buy another grill on eBay. You have fixed tougher things than this buddy…

[Plowboy]

I got the headlights fixed. Like the roof, they're not exactly right. But, they're better. I was able to get them bumped up to six and three quarters. I can deal with that much better than less than six.

The hood is in final primer now. So, I'll be squirting some paint pretty soon. It's about time!

[Plowboy]

First coats of paint! This is two coats of Tamiya TS-54 Light Blue Metallic over a coat of Tamiya TS-76 Mica Silver. If it dries down as smooth as I think it will, I'll go ahead and shoot the clear over it. If not, I'll sand, shoot another color coat and then clear. 

I'm thinking I'll lower the rear down just a touch. It has just a little too much rake to it for me. Hopefully, I can drop it two or three scale inches.

Maybe I've gotten used to looking at it. But, the chop doesn't seem to be as noticeable as before.   

The biggest improvement is the backlight. Much better than before!

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by Plowboy

[bluestringer]

Looks great. Love the color. The stance looks fine to me.