customline

Yeah, it's a whole interior re-do for a stock car. Stripped of upholstery, skeletonized.

There's not much space between the floor and the transmission mount. Look how small the kit tyranny is. AMT wants you to install the engine on the frame and the floorboard goes on later. If you choose to glue the floor to the frame in order to paint as a unit (like I did), and install the engine after, you may have a problem. It's tight but a little filing of the mount was the answer for me. Your 3D transmission may be bigger and longer (and probably is). That may give you some re-engineering work to do. But that's why we do this, right? The front suspension lacks precise joining of parts. The sway bar is wrong and the tie rod is a mystery. The fun never ends ?. I built the Bel Air as a lead sled custom and didn't use the air ducts due to a V8 engine swap so I don't recall having trouble with the engine bay assembly. But I sure did this time. Again, the parts don't have a precise fit.

Yeah, me too.....just waiting on the weather, John.....like a lot of us here ?. We do get some good days, though. I just need to be patient (something I'm not good at ?.)

This sort of modification work is what elevates my enthusiasm, Dave. It "gets the juices flowing", to use a well worn cliche. Once I get the "main idea" done, the project becomes routine and my enthusiasm sorta fades. Then I start thinking about the next "big idea". ?. I have another Fleetline kit that I decided will get the kustom treatment but I need to finish a half dozen other builds before I can put my hands on that one. It's quite a mess I have going here ☺️.

I think the '51 would make a great short track car. The kit's not great but the car is worth the work. I hope to see it soon, Bob.

Moving along with the chassis, exhaust system, and rear end, and the interior, I figured it was time for a mock-up since I had the body ready for paint (almost- I spotted a few glitches that I may or may not try to smooth out). I should have the dash completed in a few days but it's just waiting on guage faces. Just an FYI on paint. I obtained 5 "jars" (?) of Revell Aqua Colors to see what that was all about. First, I gotta say whoever designed the containers has never, ever used paint and probably graduated from some tech college in East Germany at the bottom of her class. I have made a habit of cleaning my paint bottle threads and caps to prevent difficulty opening them. I'm afraid, with these strangely designed vessels, that will be way too difficult for my.....somewhat compromised dexterity. So no more of that, I don't need another paint spill in the dining room. And just so you know, I'm not real crazy about Tamiya bottles either. Even if I liked this water based paint for models, the cans(?) are the deal killer. Thanks for listening ?. I wired the tail pipe to the floor and cut about an eighth inch off the manifold end to get the system up tighter against the bottom. I pinned it at the manifold. The pipe was painted with MM metalizer "magnesium ". Soon it will be no more. ☹️ The interior is just primer gray.... nothing to see here..... The inner fender/ firewall/ radiator/air ducts thing is a bit askew but it's staying that way as a reminder ( I scored another one of these kits ) it's not obvious to the casual observer (I hope) I think there's a slight twist affecting alignments but it's too late to fix it now ( I don't care ?). Thanks for looking!

Thanks, Roger, that's where the fun is ?. Now I wait for the weather to let me paint all that. This kit is, let's say......not the best. After much awkward manipulation using tape and glue, I was able to assemble the firewall/ inner fender/radiator/air ducts. Now it can be painted as a unit. The assembling of this kit, I think, must be completely re-sequenced by the builder in a way that makes painting a priority. The instructions are weak and in some instances wrong or confusing. This Millennium version provides an instruction sheet made like a road map ( remember those?) and handling it gets old very quickly. I don't usually build OOB so maybe this is why I'm struggling ?.

Just a couple of things. I didn't like the air cleaner from the kit - it didn't seem correct so I found a replacement in my stash. Now it looks more like what I see in web pics. I hope it clears the hood. I tried to find an add-on oil filter in my kit inventory without success so I used my infinite talents and made one ?. wooo hoooo! Then I tackled the rear end/shocks. I discovered that I would not be allowed to sneak the exhaust system under the installed rear axle housing so the axle must be painted by itself and installed in the painted chassis after the exhaust system is in place. I also discovered the shocks would not fit nicely without some cutting away of the spring to axle mounts and thinning of the lower shock brackets (It seems it was designed to have the lower shock mount join the top of the spring right on top of a u-bolt (?) and on an angle. It could not possibly work like that ?) I positioned all of that with tape and I glued just the lower shock brackets to the springs at the front of the modified axle mounts. This makes painting and assembly a bit easier. I hope. Then I checked to see if I could slip the engine in after the floorboard was assembled to the frame. Yes- but with a slight reduction of the trans mount. So I glued down the floorboard and hopefully I can get paint on this stuff tomorrow. Thanks for coming by ?.

Yeah, Dennis, I can rob one of my kits but then...well, you know. I've got a '41 kit but wanted to do an "esthetically abandoned " job with it but who knows by the time I get there. Yours looks terrific. You have a lot of wires to connect. I'm gonna open that box since you pointed me that way. Yes indeed! Who will miss it? ?

I figured I'd get the chassis assembled so starting with the front suspension seemed like it would be fun. It was not. The parts fit is fiddly and difficult to to assemble. Because I did not want to paint everything first, I needed to ad lib and I'm sure glad I did. Anyway, I got the lower control arms, coils, and stock spindles all in place, leaving the spindles to swing free. They will be glued later. The instructions call for the wheels/tires to be mounted on the spindles and then assembled to the control arms . You can probably do it that way by forcing the spindles into place after assembling the the rest of the suspension first. The fit is pretty loose. The spindles are just crude square blocks with round pins and the wheels fit on the dowels and are retained by rings. I glue my wheels, I don't like wobbly wheels. Then I got to the sway bar ? . They made it with the links pointing the wrong way. Or maybe the anchor brackets upside down. Whatever. I had to fix it and I don't like how I did. I cut the links off and drilled out the bar ends so I could insert new links pointing the other way. It was a big mistake to use solvent to glue the new links to the bar ends. They split open. Should have used CA. Next time I will make the links more to scale and kill two birds. The pictures tell the story. Thanks for not laughing. (Oh...go ahead ?)

Here's the ol' Stovebolt in stock drag. As soon as the paint cures a little more I'll be washing with some brown and black stuff to give it a little age. The transmission looks way too small,, doesn't it? The crankcase is badly formed. Instead of having a boss for the distributor as part of the crankcase they made the boss like a stalk, a separate part like it was part of the distributor. Really goofy. They figured kids wouldn't know the difference. Good thing I'm not a kid, huh? I believe they should have provided an oil filter but, because it was a dealer-installed option ( thank you, Greg ), they didn't so I guess I'll have come up with it somehow (you know... builder installed ? ) According to many photos I find on the Web, the air cleaner isn't right either. W T F? Sorry....thanks for checking in ?

Dan, I am a big fan of these Chevy Fleetlines. The body style reeks of a mindset unique to that era. I have a Galaxie '46-'48 Fleetline kit waiting for me. I just love the idea of that body style. The archaic aerodynamic style. It's so post-war. I love it.

Bill, I just watched a great video. Check it out https://www.enginelabs.com/videos/tech-videos/engine/redline-rebuild-watch-a-chevy-stovebolt-six-come-back-to-life/ I was looking for some insight on detaili g the stovebolt when I found it. Less than 10 minutes. Do it!

Thanks, Greg. I always thought( because of apparent ignorance ?) that those old Chevies had splash oiling, not pressurized systems, which is what confused me because I kept seeing apparent add-on oil filters on these stovebolts. ? That is a shared observation, Bill, but I suppose the same could be said for a vast number of kits across the entire brand spectrum. To quote a famous physicist, "it is what it is". I really like the car so I've got to deal with the kit. I just scored another one on Fleabay this weekend ( planning a custom for that one. The Fleetline can be such a wicked cool custom) so that says something about my capacity for pain and anguish

Thanks, Ron. Got started on the stovebolt today. Found a few tiny issues that are easily fixed. If you build it "custom" the following won't be a problem but I'm going stock so I found the exhaust manifold does not cover the two inside "ports". The custom headers should fill all the holes but I had to plug them. Why they don't line up with the stock manifold is a mystery...also, there is no provision to align the intake on the exhaust manifold. You are shown, I guess, to just glue it on there according to the illustration. That's fine but I pinned them together and added the carb as an assembly which I will paint by hand. There is no oil filter provided so I will need to make one if I want one (was it an option? See bottom photo ?) I am happy the oil pan is a separate part; I think we all consider that a big plus but you only get a portion of the crankshaft pulley. I'm sure there's a good reason for that ?. The distributor is a two piece affair with a cap big enough to drill all seven holes. This will allow me to wire correctly according to the firing order (which I wont.) I drilled holes for fuel lines and ignition wires and for pinning various attachments. This is ? boring.....Anyway, this is what it looks like before I paint everything. Notice the instructions call for the exhaust and intake manifolds to be painted aluminum.....aluminum? I dunno ?.

Thanks, Ron. Got started on the stovebolt today. Found a few tiny issues that are easily fixed. If you build it "custom" the following won't be a problem but I'm going stock so I found the exhaust manifold does not cover the two inside "ports". The custom headers should fill all the holes but I had to plug them. Why they don't line up with the stock manifold is a mystery...also, there is no provision to align the intake on the exhaust manifold. You are shown, I guess, to just glue it on there according to the illustration. That's fine but I pinned them together and added the carb as an assembly which I will paint by hand. There is no oil filter provided so I will need to make one if I want one (was it an option? See bottom photo ?) I am happy the oil pan is a separate part; I think we all consider that a big plus but you only get a portion of the crankshaft pulley. I'm sure there's a good reason for that ?. The distributor is a two piece affair with a cap big enough to drill all seven holes. This will allow me to wire correctly according to the firing order (which I wont.) I drilled holes for fuel lines and ignition wires and for pinning various attachments. This is ? boring.....Anyway, this is what it looks like before I paint everything. Notice the instructions call for the exhaust and intake manifolds to be painted aluminum.....aluminum? I dunno ?.

Looks like a barn find already ?....just add mouse droppings!

Looking at all this super nice work on the roof got me wondering if the '64s had the glass window. I learned to drive on a '65 (Chevy) and the rear window was glass. I think that was fairly new then. Have you thought about it yet? I remember not having to unzip it, just pop the latches and push the button. The plastic one on our previous family car, a '59 Ford, had to be unzipped first (Dad told me.) I just wondered when GM started with glass. It must have been around that time. This may or may not affect what you do with this roof since you are dedicated to authenticity ?.

I love a fat-fendered forty...(especially with a rocket under the hood)....proceed with extreme prejudice!

OK, now I want one ?

Lets be clear.....I didn't want to do this. It was just to fix the issues and then put it back in the box, put the T-Birds together, get some paint on the other four and oh...the Boss 302....and only then bring the Fleetline back to the table. The best laid plans of mice and men....I got primer on it yesterday so I could put some Mr. Surfacer on the other minor issues. The original plan was to build a stock, shiny example of this iconic Chevy but then I started thinking about doing a patina job on it and....well... as you can guess, once that thought landed in my head, everything else got pushed out and.....well....here we go ?. this is the rear bumper that was in the box. It appeared to have been removed from some other build so I scraped off the glue and stripped the chrome. I added a piece of .010 to the back side to facilitate filling the chunks missing on the top edge. If I go the patina route I will, no doubt, want a little rust on this along with well-worn chrome. (Anyone out there use that Revell chrome stuff? Fill me in please ?) Thanks for looking!

Bob, if you are referencing the ķit glass, this kit came with the front and back separate. I am not using the kit glass now. I had to go with acetate.

Yup. Totally get you on the airbrush. I have a detached garage for painting. Not the best situation. Winter is almost here. The Caddy looks fantastic, JR!

Yes it's pretty slick but it's pretty darn sticky. It's 2" wide and it's thin like Scotch tape. I can't attest to its ability to hold paint. One would need to experiment. I've only used it to tape seams on Tyvek sheeting (some sort of plastic.) And I put a cardboard spray booth together with a half a roll that's been out in the garage for about ten years. Still like new. Great stuff. It was just a suggestion. I suppose if it was me, I would use a primer made for plastic to test it.

John, are you decanting or spraying from the can? Your paint jobs look great and I wondered if you are using an airbrush. Also, why not go ahead and use some plastic or aluminum tubing and make a distributor that you can fill with 17 wires? Nobody really knows what a '33 Caddy distributor looks like anyway so why not fake one? The look of a wired engine has some wow factor and however you can fake the distributor is better than a sixteen cylinder engine with no ignition wires! ?