customline

Greg, that coupe is BAD TO THE BONE ! and it looks great just the way it is! It's done! But I suppose you're gonna paint it, huh? Oh well. ?......orange pearl.

After having bought a nice '60 Starliner kit only to steal the chassis and firewall, etc. in order to build a decent model of a '63 Galaxie lightweight, I fell in love with the awesome body style of the '60. Being a cheapskate and somewhat thick-headed, I decided to use the discarded '63 chassis/floor pan under the gorgeous '60 fastback Starliner. This necessarily includes the '63 firewall which ain't too bad, really, but the chassis is pure dog poop. I started hacking away on the chassis and you could describe my actions as "going off half-cocked". I lengthened the chassis at the firewall.? - not sure why but I decided to leave it that way. It seems to work except the rear axle thingie was too far back. I suppose I could have just drilled holes a bit forward (I did ?) but I knew I wouldn't be happy with that (I wasn't ?). It was time to get serious and force my will upon this turd so I spent several hours today beating that P.O.S. into a real....um.....well, you decide. I attacked the blobular rear end with my sprue cutter. When the violence subsided, I closed the holes with some .015. I made quite a mess so I cleaned it up a little with my trusty Micro and patched in the somewhat vague frame over the axle area. I could not come up with a proper 9" Ford axle but was able to locate this nice Dana unit from the Revell '68 Dart GT. I replaced the cross member that I hacked out earlier and patched in the tail pipes (it ain't pretty but it's way better than what was there ?. The length of the springs is perfect but the axle locating pins are a bit off. On the axle housing, the spring pads are too far in-board also. Some minor evergreen work and it should fit nicely. I won't go into the wheel selection process but I will say that I'm grateful for the '41 Plymouth kits lying around here. I think I have the rear end located to my satisfaction now. Thanks for reading all this, you must be very sorry that you didn't just look at the pictures ? ? I'll bet you're wondering what this is all about ☝️

Mmmmmmm.....I dunno, Len. This one is a really good candidate for box duty. Not as a punishment but rather to save it for a time when I'm too feeble to finish it. ☺️ Well thanks, Greg, I need some kudos to keep this one afloat. It looks pretty good without a top so if all else fails....? You may be right on the resin top, though, I think that might be the solution.

The body work continues. I'm happy with the fender/bumper mod. Great idea, Andy. Getting closer all the time. Pretty soon it will almost be an authentic scale model ?. It's a small thing that one wouldn't notice if not actually involved in the hobby (Wifey would never understand this if I was ever stupid enough to try to explain it to her) but WE KNOW ! So I put that aside. After comparing the two tops, I'm not real happy with the way the resin top fits the deck so I decided to try and fix the kit unit again by replacing the section below the backlight. Result is fair, maybe acceptable. Maybe something can be done with the resin top to fit the deck better. I dunno. One step forward, two steps backwards. It is a convertible, after all. ? It's summer. I'll leave the top down.

Thank you, David. Gonna spend some time on the fenders today. It's Bondo time! ? I love the smell of Bondo in the morning. It's got that...that....Polyester smell ?

I knew that ?

Oh.........never mind ? How would one order a color that's not on their website? Factory codes?

Well.....I guess I'm in good company, Greg! ? I have another 'Bird on the way, Mgram '56, so maybe I'll get MCW's paint in two different colors and figure it out from there; just rely on my mood on paint day ?. I have paint coming out of my a$$ and I need to stop buying more and use some of what I have ?. There, I said it! ?.....but I won't.

Hey, the Drag City top from Spotlight came in today. The interface with the windshield is great but at the deck is too straight across the bottom, leaving gaps at both corners. I'm considering a more profound repair on the original top and see if it will fly. As far as the resin top goes, I wonder if it can be slightly reshaped in the area below the backlight by some process unbeknownst to me. On a lighter note, the paint I found in the garage could be a candidate but it's a bit too dark for my liking. MCW has one they call Willow Green/ *** and they don't show all the T-Bird colors. I sprayed the stuff that I have on an orphan body (Lindberg '38 Ford "van" ?) and it might be OK but I'm not totally happy with it. SCALE FINISHES has raven black....period. So it's MCW or Krylon. We saw a newish Ford Focus today in a very light minty green that Wifey and I loved. I may look for that! AAAUGH!!!

The only reliable comparison would be an actual, proper, in-the-flesh paint chip or a car painted with that color, in the same light. It's close enough for my purpose but a test is always a good idea. The can is a few years old, I am guessing. I've re-read this thread to find who suggested extending the front fenders and modifying the bumper to look more like a 1:1 and still can't. I decided to do that mod last night and here's some pix. I hope it works the way I executed it. I'm pretty sure it will after Bondo. The bumper suffered some chipping of the plating but it still needs some fine tuning. I do see the point of this mod, though and I want to acknowledge the idea guy by name if I could only find it. Raise your hand, man! I used some evergreen strips and thin solvent to make a sort of lamination and this morning I reinforced the back side with CA. Bondo later but that's it for now. Wish me luck! ? Oh! I found it! It was YOU, ANDY! ???

If I can save some dinero on this one and use some of this stuff up before it solidifies in the can, I probably should. I think it's a very near match but I won't know until I clear it and polish it out. Then I'm stuck with it. ?....and then, Donald, I'm going to blame the guy that suggested it ? I believe I will, Alan, it's just so...so......um......ahh......so, um.....happy ? Besides, Wifey said it was good.....oh....I may reconsider ?.

My 2 cents: if the next paint job ends up the same way I would take Carl up on his kind offer and if you must put a scoop on it, use CA and give it a day or two curing time to be safe. This is so frustrating and who needs that? I'm so sorry, Dave; I know it would make me crazy ?

Hey, Andy, I just took a trip to the garage and lookie here! Okay, it's not the same exactly but it's in the ball park, ain't it? Probably made in the same production line ? It's a tad brighter but hey, it could work, couldn't it? It's a nice '50s look, right? I'm liking this a lot. I also have a can of "satin jade" for the interior dark shade. If that won't work,, I'll go with the all white....We may have a winner!

Today I got the dreaded detail painting on the chassis done as well as gaffing the exhaust pipes where I removed them earlier in order to get the engine to fit ?. I installed the new drive shaft and then I realized that AMT didn't see fit to mold in any rear shocks. I thought "Great! I don't have to paint them" ?......but then I thought "I should put them in." I couldn't find anything in my "chassis parts drawer" so I had no other choice but to fab 'em up. Sweet! ? So, okay, the chassis is done now and it's time to work on getting the body paint-ready. But for now, I need to put some deep thought into the color scheme ?. (The green is growing on me) exhaust pipe is just cold-bent styrene rod. I inserted .020 brass into the manifolds before attaching them to the engine in anticipation of this day Not great but better than the ones that were here originally. the new drive shaft and shocks ? ? Voila!......well, that's a bit strong......ta da? ? I thought about somehow connecting the tail pipes into the rear bumper by cutting off the last eighth inch and bending some rod or solder and inserting upon final but I will leave that for you. Good luck ?

Yes indeed, Andy! I propably have a can buried out in the garage somewhere (it looks familiar ?.) I should go look. Thanks!

I have no dog, Alan, but if I acquire one, I will keep this in mind. I put that sig line up there when I happened to notice how many Canadians were posting. Being of that heritage, I thought it might endear me to those unfortunate souls who were still suffering from the unfair goings-on north of our border at that time....I think. ? .......Anyway, I like the idea, Alan, and I'm sure the dog would be okay with it.

I laugh at myself quite often while re-reading what I have written, Len. I enjoy dumping my bucket on this venue full of car nuts and styrene geeks. Hopefully, everybody gets that. I know I'm not always clear, but I think most readers know I'm just having a little fun. There is plenty of good humor to go around with most of you, really, and I just hope what I write doesn't offend anyone. ?

I was just reviewing this thread and found your reply that I missed in real time. Sorry, Dave. Yes, I remember those days. Lace paint jobs. Teen-agers painting their rides with doilies and rattle cans. The psychedelic days. Oh wow, man! ?

Elliot, I am happy to know that our banter here is entertaining you and possibly others. For me, it passes the time when I am too tired to sit at my work station and get my fingers covered in CA or sliced with an errant swipe of a #11 surgical blade. If I am not yammering on this forum, I am bidding on kits that I neither want nor need. Retirement is not how I imagined it would be.....but it works for me ?. Coral Sand, Elliot. Roof color not decided yet; the new one should be here in a few days. Have not thought about the interior but there's still plenty of time. Thoughts?

Thanks, Len. I figured it was more complicated than I am willing to get into. It's not for me. I am glad it works for you, though, it looks terrific.

? Thank you, Lenny....

Nope. No excuses. ? ( the old lady ain't t here ?) I think it's nap time ?.

Ooooooooohhhhhh.... yeah, OK. Why didn't I get that?.....uh oh....?

Lenny! I have to have that Tasca badge. Is it MCG?

Good idea with that gorgeous tomato, James. Fried green tomatoes are delightful! A great Southern favorite! As far as the deuce goes, I think you should paint it the color of that tomato! ?