roadhawg Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 (edited) I finally started on another car project. This one is special to me. My dad was a Mopar man. Growing up, we always had a Plymouth of some type, or an occational Dodge. My favorite of all, though, came in the spring of 1968, when my dad came home driving a brand new Plymouth GTX. I was 13, and almost wet my pants. This thing was beautiful, it was dark metallic blue with a white interior, and powered by a 440 Super Commando with an automatic transmission. I can still hear that "lumpity lumpity" sound coming from the tailpipes! For this reason, the '68 GTX is my favorite musclecar of all time. Suprisingly, The '68 GTX has never been kitted, so I DO have a little bit of converting to do. This wouldn't even be possible without the excellent GTX decal sheet from Keith Marks, and the technical expertise from Fury3. I'm starting with an AMT 1968 Road Runner. The interior will be converted from an AMT 69 GTX kit, and I'm using the 440/automatic from a 71 Charger, along with bits and pieces from a Revell '67 GTX. I got started by adding the fenderwell trim and rocker panel molding. This will all be BMF'd after painting. The '69s seats are the right shape, but wrong pattern, so I sanded 'em smooth and started rescribing the correct pattern....(Kit seat on the left, rescribed seat on the right.) The pattern will be repeated on the rear seat. The console from the Revell '67 kit was grafted in place.... I also started reworking the door panels.... Thats about enough for now. Stay tuned! Edited October 20, 2009 by roadhawg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Looking good. What a pain rescribing seats. ehhe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nascarfan Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Looking very good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodneyBad Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 (edited) Looks like your off to a great start. I had a Yellow 69 GTX. Love the body style. Lucky me, I found an Original Johan 69 GTX kit Yup, that was the wheels I had. Edited June 16, 2009 by Zukiholic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhawg Posted June 16, 2009 Author Share Posted June 16, 2009 Got the door panels finished. Since I lost the molding in detail with all the sanding and whatnot, I made new window cranks from aluminum and plastic bits. Also got the seats finished, but don't have the optional headrests attached yet. This is probably all for a week or so....my job is calling. Lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodneyBad Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Interior is looking great.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diymirage Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 very nice work on the interior parts! i have a few of the AMT Roadrunner and GTX kits, but the weird hump on the quarter panels drives me crazy! Dave send em on over to me, ill build them for you i love the GTXs , specially the 70-74 models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 The interior looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhawg Posted June 26, 2009 Author Share Posted June 26, 2009 Thanks, everyone! Well, I got the interior finished now. I detailed the console by adding the little lights on the sides, made from aluminum rod with a drop of epoxy for the lenses, and made the proper automatic shifter gate. The shifter knob is aluminum turned in a dremel.... Next, it was the dash. The biggest challenge here was the radio....the kit dash has knobs, the actual car had the trademark Mopar thumbwheels. I drilled out the knobs, filled in the holes with Evergreen rod, and added the thumbwheels using Evergreen half-round. Evergreen strip was also used for the dash trim. I added pedal for an automatic, and used the correct steering wheel from the Revell '67 kit. The glovebox emblem is from a MCG photoetch set. The instruments, radio face, and A/C vents are decals.... Now, before anybody says anything about "Where's the seatbelts?", let me say I left them off on purpose. I'm building this car as it was in 1968. Yes, seatbelts were required to be installed, but nobody used them! They ended up stuffed down behind the seat cushions, completly out of sight. The ONLY time you see seatbelts laying neatly across the seats is at car shows....and this particular car never made it to a car show! Lol! Why add something that wasn't even visible? While I'm on the subject, one of my pet peeves are race car models with perfectly positioned seatbelts, draped neatly across the seats and buckled in the center, including the anti-sub belt. You NEVER see that in real life!!! LOL! Ok, enough of my seatbelt tirade. Here is the finished interior...not perfect, but hopefully close enough...... Thanks for looking.....next time, I'll try to get started on the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelguy( jeff) Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 your putting alot of hard work in this build interior looks great hope you put as much time on body and motor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefheart22 Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Holy detail Batman! That interior is looking like you took an ACME shrink-ray to a 1:1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 NICE work on that interior! .........And yes, you're right about the seatbelts! My Mom bought a new '68 Javelin, (in late '67) and I remember the seatbelts in the car, but we never wore 'em. They were ALWAYS smashed down under the seats! IIRC, the car also had a shoulder harness type belt for the front seats. Looked kinda hokey in a hardtop car with that strap hanging in mid air though. Hmmm..........amazing how we survived without the feds telling us we MUST wear our seatbelt, or if you're a kid under a certain age, you WILL sit in the back seat. Keep up the GREAT work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygre Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Thanks for looking.....next time, I'll try to get started on the body. This is fantastic work! Great job! I'm impatient to see how you handled the grille and the full-width taillight panel. Thanks for sharing with us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhawg Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 I'm impatient to see how you handled the grille and the full-width taillight panel. Thanks for all the kind words everyone. As far as the taillight panel, I have the Keith Marks decal for that, and it looks quite convincing. I might use some thin styrene to give it some depth, not sure yet. The unique GTX grille will be a challenge, so I'll tackle that next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhawg Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 Due to some non-modeling issues, time has been at a premium the last couple of weeks, and progress is slow....but I did get a little more done. After finishing the interior, I decided to make the unique GTX grille, since that was the next challenge I was unsure of. I figure if I get all the hard stuff done first, the rest will be easy! I started by stripping the chrome off the '68 Road Runner grille and sanding the detail off. I also drilled out the molded in headlights.... I then Alcladded (is that a word?) it. At this point, I could've used the decal grille that is supplied with the Keith Marks decals, but I wanted more of a 3-dimensional look. I decided to cut out the center and use a photoetch grille from a MCG '66 Chevelle set, which has almost the same exact pattern as the GTX grille..... I then installed some clear lenses from the parts box, and used the GTX emblem from the AMT '69 GTX grille....and its finished! Well, I guess its time to start on the engine now. Stay tuned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diymirage Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Well, I guess its time to start on the engine now. Stay tuned! thats what im waiting on there is a od pride on knowing you helped put one of these masterpeices together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george 53 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Tommy, GREAT thinkin on the grille, it came out REALLY good! So far she's lookin right Daddy-O. I got a feelin this is gonna shake up some memories!!! You GO dawg!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygre Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Beautiful job on the grille, Tommy. This is going to be spectacular when done, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Creative thinking on the grill and it looks really good! This is why I love recreating the 1:1's I had ... always these little details that need to be handled in some unusual manner. And glad you're doing a WIP because if you do TOO good a job, people think it's a box stock build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhawg Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Thanks, everyone. I won't be working on this for about 2 weeks, as I'll be away from home. When I get back, we'll build the engine and hopefully get the body painted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhawg Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 My current work schedule doesn't leave me with much building time, about 3 days every two weeks, but I'm still working on this! I spent this trip home getting some paint layed down....QQ-1 Electric Blue, followed by urethane clear. I also removed the molded in door handles, and will replace them with separate pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Hamilton Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Absolutey beautiful so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodneyBad Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 (edited) OMG!!!! I love the Paint Job. Absolutely Gorgeous Almost the car of my dreams, I want a 69 tho:D But I'd take that in 1/2 a heart beat. Edited July 28, 2009 by Zukiholic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygre Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 My current work schedule doesn't leave me with much building time, about 3 days every two weeks, but I'm still working on this! I spent this trip home getting some paint layed down....QQ-1 Electric Blue, followed by urethane clear. I also removed the molded in door handles, and will replace them with separate pieces. That was the exact color of my friend Bobby's '68 GetX. Stupidly he had it repainted Gold, heaven knows why - the blue is sexier. His had a black vinyl roof. Great work so far! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Well, I've seen some fantastic paint jobs, but that knocks it out of the park!! Of course, I'm biased to factory stock------and I see one beautiful paint job there! Keep up the great work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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