customline

Dave, you didn't see my coils? I made some from black bead wire. I took a length of 1/8" tube and drilled a hole through it. Then I stuck a length of 26 GA. bead wire through the hole and wrapped it around till I had enough for a couple of springs. Cut 'em and used my tweezers as a spring compressor and inserted them between the lower A frames and the chassis with a drop of CA for good luck. Not exactly to scale but I had fun doing it and that's what counts, right? Scroll back and look. ?..... didn't even need to paint 'em. Feel free to put up a picture of those things so we can see what you're talking about, Dave. I'm always open to inexpensive off-label items being somewhat of a cheapskate myself ?

I've got the rear as low as I can get it anyway; the shaft change isn't a factor unless I can lower it more. That would mean removing the glued-in unit and cutting off the badly molded springs and adding blocks ...then I would need to raise the top of the tunnel...ya think it's worth it? ? I appreciate your input, but put this one on the list right under "AMT '41 Plymouth" ..maybe if I had a 1/24 IRS setup....a 'Vette or Jag . Next time.

My feeling about the roof is that, as a full-blown show custom its a cool identifiable element. I think it depends on what else you do to make the picture complete like, say, monochrome treatment, rolled pans, a nice teak bed deck, slammed to the asphalt, billet rims, all that. Oh sorry....??

Oh yeah ?. Now we're cookin'!

Smaller tires on the front would put the tail even higher, Len. If I could get the the rear lower, your suggestion would have me hunting for some. Maybe I could put them on the back ?

Viper? Where'd that come from? ?....mmmmm naaah. But the door thing is not beyond your skills, Greg. If I can do it...? I use Dymo tape and a PE razor saw, you can keep the trim as is. Your way is a good one and it seems like you've already done some work to the roof anyway. If it's just the need for a roof, and the porthole is not specifically desired then yeah. As a "Kustom" though, I like the porthole. But then I would be compelled to make more mods for balance....and then down the rabbit hole I go ? don't get me started ?

I'll have to admit, Greg, it's tempting . It's not as wacky as the 3100 roof but it's a Ford thing and it would cause some emotional distress for the brand zealots. The form is well in line with the Nomad's. I may not be alone in saying that I actually like it. ? The risk may be worth the reward. The thing that hits me though, is that it resembles a car with no trunk lid, and not a pick-up. The proportions of the greenhouse compared to the body doesn't work. That was already discussed somewhere. I get away with it due to the '57 fins. My solution, if I was intent to make it work, would be to shorten the door to, let's say, a four-door length and move the roof forward. It might be enough to do the trick. You would need solenoids for the doors but shaving is always an option for me ? Unless, of course you can save the handles or make new ones. I can't wait to see what you decide ?

Thank you, Carl! I would like it to be level or slightly nose down, Bob, but I've reached the limits of the kit (without getting crazy) so I'll just live with it. For those of us wanting a low Nomad, this is not the kit to start with regardless of the low price (Ollie's ?). By the way, Bob, did you see that 1:1 with the truck cab roof? I wondered what you might have to say about it ?.

I'm not totally happy with the stance, the nose dropped but the tail is still where it was. The rear got lowered but not enough to overcome the "leverage." I tried "de-arcing" the springs a bit more but it's starting to look odd u. No matter, it's done. The biggest problem trying to lower this chassis is the driveshaft tunnel. It's not high enough. I can't raise the rear axle any more without the driveshaft hitting the floor. I cut the offset "gears" off the housing and repositioned it to center the shaft but it wasn't enough to allow any further lowering. I'm stuck with the ass-high attitude. The kit shaft was wimpy looking so I made a new one using a parts box shaft and a 5/32 styrene tube. Worked on the third member a bit, removed the shock mounts from the axle housing tubes (I can't believe they did that ?). I'll gaff something that looks better. Almost forgot... I added coils (I'm sure it was just an oversight) Thanks for stopping in.

I have got to stop buying kits.....it's a sickness. I wonder if there's a support group ?......

Calling it done can be hard sometimes but we're not getting any younger and there's so many kits to build yet ?.

Always liked this body style, Len. Do you add anything to the purple power or just use it straight out of the jug? A little birdie wants to know.

And then there's the ride height issue. Kinda high. Too much wheel well showing. It just so happens I am getting a second chance, and I will start at the front....without paint this time (almost.) With a brush I painted the front crossmember on the bottom where it will be impossible to spray after the bottom "suspension " is installed. Since there are no springs to hassle with, the lower A frames are welded to the frame for a nice firm ride. The hubs can now be relocated to the upper A frames ?. The hubs are 1/8 styrene tube filled with .080 rod and drilled for .032 brass. The A frames were drilled through into the frame for a good sturdy attachment so that the wheels might be adjusted simply by bending the wire to get alignment. The kit wheel retainers have 1/8" holes and are a nice tight fit with no wobble. I won't even glue them, just set'em and fuhgettem. Thanks for looking in and please feel free to do whatever. I'm outta here for now. ?

...but getting back to the um....well...because the exhaust is molded to the floor pan the best way to paint the pipes is prior to installing the rear axle/springs unit. So I paint the floor with Ace satin black that, despite being shaken using my recip-saw mix-o-magic thingie, dried glossy. OK, I have some satin clear. I do that after it's all together. Then I do the pipes and I get the wheels ready (it's all about getting it up on all fours, dig?) Then I struggle with the front suspension (do you know the 1957 Chevrolet Nomad has no front springs? Amazing!) And then I apply the CA in the rear spring locations and set the rear axle, with wheels attached (by now I'm super excited to get my awesome custom conversion Nomad standing up for the first time ?) and then....surprise, Jimmy! Houston, we have a problem ? Wait! I have another kit....maybe...maybe I can use that rear end (the flip-nose gasser can wait) from that one... Voila!....oh....?

Yeah, Dave, it's from a '50 or so Chevy 3100 5 Window, I think. Total incongruity. ?. It seems there's quite a variety of these wagon conversions. Some good, some not so good.

This 'Bird is looking awesome, interior is super!

That's a very good point, David. I'm sorry if my comment has offended.

Yeah....I know.....sorry ?

Well they are a very fine choice, Mike, and I was wondering where they came from ?.

Thanks for checking in on this, a Trevor, your take on it seems to be echoing. My dad was fond of saying "when in doubt, don't" and I should probably do as he said for once. The .040 half round is going to be difficult to foil around the backlight and the overhang mitigates some of that. But as others have opined, it's not an improvement.

Yeah, Rick, that's what we're paying here. I like the overhang look on the 4 dr ht, it suggests forward swift movement as does the swept B pillar of the nomad. The only way to mock it up properly would be to actually do it due to the bondo work. As a bonus to me, the overhang would avoid an anticipated issue with chrome trim at the top of the glass but once started, there's no going back.. That's why I'm asking and your opinion is appreciated, but you're probably right about cluttering. Thanks!

Mmmmm.....naaaah.....I was thinking like this and I could eliminate the two vertical elements for a full, one piece wraparound backlight. Thanks for your input, Eric, that's a cool pick-up!

David, I think I would just remove it if it won't ruin the "glass"( or the paint job) doing so. The blue clashes with the body color. Maybe if you have something more purple for the tint? Or just eliminate the tint altogether.

What I was referring to was a plate (a decal?) With the "Futura" script like on the 1:1 reference photo. I'm just a little down on Monogram these days, don't mind me ?

I just thought I'd stick this up to see if anyone feels like I do about it. The gentlemen in the photo seem to be discussing the esthetics of this interesting modification. The body language of the man on the right may just be due to some hot dogs he had earlier. Feel free ?. Anyway, I needed to mock up the engine room to see how much leeway I have so I can do something with this absurd firewall. To save work and avoid some frustration, I figured I would use the kit hinge but I would like to make it look more like an actual firewall. So I had to assemble the engine ? Nice, huh? I guess a half a starter is better than....no....no it's not. I also noticed the thing that represents the flywheel cover was also in need of....correction. I've got to be honest, though. I stole the original kit engine some time ago and replaced it a while back with an ebay find. Note to self: check the other kit. I glued a piece of sheet in the low area and removed the half starter. A piece of sprue solved the problem. Since this build is all about me pushing my scratchbuilding limits and not creating an accurate '57 Chevy, I'm going with the kit hinge and a patch-up job on the firewall and some other design flaws in the area. The next photo shows my attempt to add some backlight and bed trim using .040 half-round with varying results. This my prove to be a waste of time but I won't know until after it's painted and I start foiling. ? Then I installed the door solenoids ? The kit includes what they call a spoiler and its intended to be mounted on the top of the tailgate. I'm considering adding it to the rear edge of the roof as an overhang like the four door hardtops of '59 and '60. Please try to talk me out of it. ? As always, your comments are welcome and may actually change the course of this endeavor. Otherwise, thanks for looking! ?