customline

Yes, I know...I know ?. I just really hate doing a black paint job. I was thinking a patina job. Just satin black with some sand-through spots and primer. A work in progress, a rolling project car. 100% shade-tree. ( Ohhh...the innocence ? ).....and much easier than all that tedious polishing. Or a flat light green, very shabby. The bright, shiny red wheels tells you what the owner is thinking. He just needs time and money. I think I need to pick out a Navajo blanket ? Thanks for checking in.

Well anyway, I spent a few hours trying to make sense of the interior. I needed reassurance on the interior fit so I tried taping it all together but....so I "tacked" with CA to get a "tub" that I could work with. I'm happy with it. As you may recall, it's a marriage of the two interior parts ( and the addition of a pair of high-end front seats.) The '60 door cards are nicely rendered and I want them accessible for detailing. A "tub" is difficult to detail and the '57 T-bird kit gave me the idea to split it in two with the doors and dash as one piece and the floor and seat the other. Thanks for strolling by ?

Thanks for your input, guys. This technique has been used successfully by many builders and everyone has their own way of doing it. I will give it a serious trial because, when it works well, it looks fantastic. It's almost fool-proof. ?.

Yes, I have BMF gold foil sitting right here in the drawer. I don't want to remove the foil I put on because it worked so well. Dam. I just might remove the scripts altogether and go for the shaved, street custom look. Shave the gravel shields too. Make skirts. I dunno, it's a work in progress. I kinda like the example below. Edit: OK, Greg, I just ran through that thread. I'm just going to leave the "Starliner" scripts the way they are and follow through. I will, however, clean off the scripts after every coat of paint. The thicker it gets on the foil, the more likely it will be to screw up the paint adjacent to the script trying to get through a heavy build-up of paint. The solvent swab needs to be only damp to avoid wetting the surrounding paint. It requires a little practice but it's a good method with plenty of room for experimentation.

Yeah, Greg, very often, it seems, I will see something in a photo that I didn't see previously. The kit roof looks wrong but it may be the angle is slightly different in the two broadside shots. But the resin top will be my choice, for sure.

Somebody here promoted a technique on this forum for foiling scripts before painting and, after the paint is dry, revealing the chrome under the paint. I thought I might try it ?. I think this play will work best when foil is applied to bare plastic. I don't recall much so I jumped right in and foiled the "Starliner" scripts and the hood badge. Then I did the same thing to the T-bird, which already had primer on it but the scripts are well cast so why not. Dragged a bunch of stuff out to the garage and got everything primed. I was eager to see how well my new technique works so later last night I did some revealing of the "Starliner" script. It looks terrific! But....but....aren't they supposed to be gold ? Oh yes, Jimmy, they're supposed to be gold. ?

I got the bird in a fresh coat of primer yesterday. I am trying a technique some of youze are familiar with; foil before paint. I haven't removed the paint on this one but I did on the Starliner. It worked quite well. But I used chrome foil instead of gold ?. The bird has foil on all badges and scripts and also the fake louvers. The first photo is with the modified kit roof. Below that is with the resin unit. Regardless of correctness, the resin top looks the best. The next two are the kit roof first and below that is the resin. The front fender/bumper mod was very easy and it's a big improvement. You can see I have added some shimming to the tail light sockets. That's it. Paint weather is about 60 days away. Maybe I can do some interior stuff to keep busy. Or.....nah.

I got a bunch of stuff in primer yesterday and this project was some of it. I need to mess with the interior but this one is close to wrapping up. My current thoughts on color are still a bit unsettled. I have a MCW black cherry enamel. Basic black is another choice but I really hate dealing with a black paint job. If I go that way, I may use flat black with clear on top. Anyway, here's a mock-up for you mock-up geeks. Following that is a couple of "looks" that interest me relative to this project. How about primer gray with red wheels and interior and black up-top. No? Black cherry with red rims? Or like one of these....

It's a hot rod now so the 12 V battery is OK, Len. I think the Accell stuff was sorta tan....but the yellow looks nice. (Wifey suggested a shade of pink but that wouldn't fit the time period in any believable way.) What is the time period depicted here? And it's a "no" for me on the air cleaner. There's no wing-nut. ?. Gotta have a wing-nut, Len.

Yeah, Bob, that's the icing on this cake. The up-top is another cool item. I'm not sure yet on the finish. The WIP scenario seems like the lazy way.

I thought I would see if I could build a full-fendered model A, Dave. Just to see if I could. ?.

Yeah, it's a problem...

That explains a lot. The chrome rear end assembly makes sense now as well as the lack of a chrome front suspension set-up. The Kart had coils up front! So why not keep that? ?

Yeah, I know, Harry, I get it. But the old hemi (which definitely is cool) mounts in the front directly on the crank pulley. ? I dunno......

Well, I just can't get over how often I run into stuff that makes no sense. I do, however, enjoy an odd-ball like this one with the old Red Ram hemi. I should look up the history on this kit. The kit wheels and tires have been transferred to another project where they will look better than anything else I have for it. Much better.

I know, I know.....I'm a sucker for a topless model A hot rod. ? especially in primer. A work in progress. That's the plan. I'm down-grading from high-buck show rod to a high school kid's hot rod in 1955. Strictly shade-tree engineering. But the kit designer wanted a blown and injected red ram hemi. No slicks, just big fat street tires on big offset chromeys. No alternator, just a blower drive. No distributor, a magneto. A blown injected hemi in a model A? Some street rod. Who would drive that on the street? The kit included a chrome banjo on air bags but the front axle was not dropped or even plated. Huh? The idea of a street rod with the engine provided in the kit (with no alternator and no engine cooling and no way to make it streetable unless you build it stock)....anyway, I started playing around with it and before I recognized what was happening, I had the engine glued together and.....well....here we go again ?. This is a bit more realistic. Keeping the fenders and running boards is a new experience for me. I figure it's time to give it a try. I could rethink the plan, though. We'll see. Thanks for checking in and, as always, your input is welcome. ?

No pressure, Bil. ?

Yay! ?

Oh she's a beauty, Len ?! Don't forget the battery!

With my luck, Andy, I didn't want to break the resin top too. Thanks, though.

Oh no....? It doesn't matter on the engine, just the rocker arm covers. Who would know anyway? I'd like to get a big six for it. Wouldn't that be cool? Gotta look into that ?. A stick six Galaxie. That's a yummy thought.

I don't know if I would characterize it quite that way....(??)...but thank you, Gary

Ya know, you might have something there......you're totally mad! ?

It's a big engine, David! It's a screeeeeming 340 horsepower Thunderbird 390!.....sorry ?

There were two in my youth. A '58 Custom tudor we got in '61. Dad had rocker panels made in his employer's sheet metal shop (bought it from his boss.) Then around '64, my older sister got a black (with a white roof) '58 Sunliner. A very cool high-schooler's ride That one was a "headlight case". Did the bondo work myself ?.