Modlbldr Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Once the '55 Chrysler 300 came out, I knew I could finally do a build of one of my favorite customs from the 90's. Richard Zocchi's 56 Chrysler Windsor was one that I drooled over when it first hit the scene and I am still crazy for it. I found an article on it in one of my old mags and quicky set about figuring out what I needed to do. Here are a few shots of the magazine article. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 I began by shaving all of the emblems and door handles and filling in the front turn signals. I had to add half round to the entire bottom of the body to get the roll that Zocchi has (his is from a 58 T-Bird). I have extended the front pan down and rolled it to meet the bumper. Zocchi added 1 inch to the bottom in this area. I removed the bumper guards from the front bumper and smoothed it all out. I found that the custom grille from the 49 Ford kit is just about as close as I can come to a kit piece to match the grille. I'll have to remove the nose in the 300 to make room for the grille and add a chrome surround to match the Windsor. Fortunately the custom wheels in the kit are very close to the ones on the 1:1 but I needed a center cap. As I was digging through my parts bin one day I came upon four nicely domed chrome caps. I have no idea what kit they came from, but they worked perfectly. More coming. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra98 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 I'm diggin" it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gluhead Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Oh yeah. Got me with this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Now this should be a fun one to watch Tom! Great start, keep it going! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 I have been trying for a while to figure out how to best modify the rear fenders so that the tops flow straight back instead if sloping down. Tonight I think I hit on the best way. I took out the Dremel and my diamond cut-off wheel. If you haven't bought one of these yet, get one. Much better than having one of the clay cut-off wheels break on you and parts go flying. I cut a slot about 1 1/2 inches long down the top of the fender and glued a strip of styrene into the slot. Then sanded the strip to make the top of the fender straight. On my next bench session I will build up each side of this strip and sand it to shape. Zocchi's ride has a 50 Caddy rear bumper. I need to order one from Modelhaus and mold it in. I got the suspension lowered and the chassis painted. Not going to be anything fancy there or in the engine bay. That will save a bit of time. I also need to chop the top, but I am saving that for a ways down the road. Pretty soon I'll be slinging putty on this and sanding till I can't stand it. Hope you enjoy the start of this. Who knows how soon I'll get updates on it. I'm still trying to finish my 53 Ford Vicky and my 67 GTX Street Freak a little at a time. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredo84 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Oh Man ! Keep Going ! F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 That is one cool ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 I'll be following this one for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.A.K Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 If you can pull this off.......wow I'd love to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Thanks for all of the kind words and encouragement. I couldn't wait to work on it a bit more. I've been real curious to see how the grille will look, so I got the diamond wheel out again and cut out the center grille split. Then I had to leave for a meeting, so I didn't get to finish it up or get any photos. Maybe tomorrow after work. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffs396 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 I'm likin' this Tom! Keep after it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Subscribed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58 Impala Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Looking foward to watching your build. That is a sweet looking custom. That's going to be a tough chop job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Interesting way to set up fins for the '56. That alone may help a lot of people start making 1956 300-Bs. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Great to see this car being built as Custom too. You do great job, can't wait to see more. The kit is really nice, keep coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Beautiful car, great start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatz4u Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 in the old days Revell made a 56 Chrysler, not sure what scale it was...IF you can locate one maybe you could use parts from it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 in the old days Revell made a 56 Chrysler, not sure what scale it was...IF you can locate one maybe you could use parts from it... It was 1/32, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 (edited) Just left the bench for tonight. Got the rest of the plastic strips on the rear fins sanded flat. They arenow ready for putty. I also finished opening the two grilles into one opening and started making the chrome grille surround out of half round. Not bad for one hour of bench time. Photos sometime this weekend. After looking at photos of a 56 Chrysler 300 on the web, Charlie is right. It wouldn't be difficult to make one out of this kit. You wouldn't even have to alter the grille like I am doing for this Windsor. I'll have to do that with my other kit. Thanks for the idea Charlie. Later- Edited October 26, 2012 by Modlbldr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Interesting!! Nice start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72 Charger Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 This is going to be super cool I will be watching for this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) Thanks for all of the nice comments. It is encouraging. I made a bit more progress tonight. I filled in next to the strips on the top of the fenders with a bit more styrene so that it won't take as much putty. I continued work on the grille. I cut between each grille bar and re-glued it back together to take out a bit of the height of the grille bars. I also made a grille surround with half round and a bit of flat stock. What a royal pain that all was. It is going to take quite a bit of clean up on the surround before it is ready for Alclad. I took pics of all of tonight's progress. It is bed time now so the pics will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. Later- Edited October 28, 2012 by Modlbldr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 I finally have some time to update with some photos. First off, last night I glued pieces of styrene to the tops of the fenders to fill in the area instead of building it up with so much putty. Then I focused on the grille area. This is what I am going for: The custom grille bars from the 49 Ford kit were too tall to fit correctly in the grille surround. They measured almost 9/32. I used my razor saw and cut between each bar, one at a time, one side at a time and glued them back together the same way. This way, at no time was it completely apart so I wouldn't have to worry about realigning the bars. By the time I was done the grille measured about 7/32. This is what it looked like before: and after: Subtle, but it fits better. The grille surround is next. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 For the grille surround I started with two pieces of half round glued at the center for a peak in the center. I tried to get the bends at the ends the same, but you know how that goes. I also had to glue two small pieces at the bottom corners of the grille opening because the grille opening angles in at the bottom. Next I glued two pieces of flat stock together with a similar peak in the center for the bottom of the surround. These I sanded the front of the bar so that it is thinner at the front than the back to match the 1:1. This is what I ended up with after an hour of hassle. This is what the beginning of the grille looks like in the car. Still lots of clean up to do on the grille and I will also need to extend the bars a bit with a second grille from a 49 Ford. Yippppiieeee! I would have puttied in the rear fenders in but I have some OLD two part putty that I was unsure about. I'd hate to damage my car. I mixed some up with the hardener I bought and slathered some on an olb body. If it turns out OK in a few days I'll feel safe enough to use it. Thanks for tuning in. Comments and criticisms appreciated. Later- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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