smellyfatdude

This is going to be great! You're right about the scale issue, and now I wish when I built mine I had thought of doing a chassis swap. The Trumpeter chassis, well let's just say it leaves something to be desired. Looking forward to more of your Falcon!

Thanks for the interest, folks. Nice to have my first build of 2017 in the case. Incidentally, what I ended up with from that two hundred dollar loan was a ' 63 Pontiac Laurentian 4-door sedan. Similar to this, but long past it's prime. Six cylinder, three speed, and I had to run it on 4 quarts of oil, 'cause the fifth would just come slopping out of the rear main. My mom wasn't too concerned that it needed more things fixed on it than the Comet. I think she was just happy 'cause she knew I wouldn't be trying to beat any other cars on the road, obviously. The price was $65, and the registration and insurance for a year was $68. I was too embarrassed to tell the other kids at school that my licence plates were worth more than the car.

Finally done this, though for me this was a fairly quick finish. The build thread is here. As I said there, this is a replica of a car from my past, with several liberties taken. A car I owned? No, rather one I wished to purchase, shortly after I turned sixteen. Sadly, said purchase was foiled by . . . . . who else? My mother. I'd already owned several good running vehicles, even before I turned sixteen. Some of these cars had to be registered and insured, in either my mom or my older sisters name, just so they could be parked on the street in front of the house, and mom could have her parking spot back in the yard. By the time I passed my road test, I didn't own a running vehicle. Just a couple of clunkers, parked in the back yard. Asking my mom to borrow her car was sorta like ducking and running, while someone was throwing knives at you. She had no problem with me fixing her car. Driving it was a different story, altogether. My sister eventually got tired of me borrowing her ' 72 Vega wagon, and I don't blame her. You knew once that odometer passed 50,000 miles that the engine probably wouldn't last much longer. Hers was at 53,000 and counting, and I actually felt guilty every time I drove it. One day, she offered to lend me $200 to buy a car, plus whatever the insurance was. So, the hunt was on. One evening mom was looking through the classifieds, and mentions an ad for a ' 65 Comet. The price is $250 firm, the seller says. I told her I'd seen the ad, and asked her what good it did to tell me about it, since I only had two hundred to spend. She tells me, "Well , if you want to phone the guy we can go look at it, and if it's in decent shape I can lend you the other fifty." So, I called the number and we drove over. The car was not a Cyclone, in fact it was originally a six cylinder.three speed with a bench seat. The seller had taken a very strong running 289 four barrel with headers, and the 4-speed from a wrecked Mustang, and put them in the Comet. The black bucket seats from the 'stang were in there, as well. The car had a new clutch, new exhaust and mufflers, new wheel bearings, brakes and shocks. The couple of things that he told me needed fixing, I coulda had done in an afternoon. Even though it wasn't plated, he let me take it for a spin around the block, since it was already dark by that time. I didn't get to bag the thing, but I pushed it hard enough to know that, oh yeah, this little car honks! Already the plans were in my head how it was gonna honk even better, once it was mine. When I pulled back in to his yard, I was going to tell him that I'd take it. When I approached my dear mother to get her to hand me the cash, she told me just to tell the guy that I'd think about it, and maybe let him know. I followed her to the car, trying to convince her that we shouldn't wait, and that it was worth what the guy was asking. But, she told me she was convinced that it was just an old wreck, bolted together with parts from other cars. The truth is, I think she heard that small block rumbling through those headers and glass packs, and decided that she wasn't giving her sixteen year old fifty bucks to buy a hot rod. The only thing I wasn't all that fond of about it was the color. It wore its original burgundy paint, which when it faded a bit looked to me like purple, even though it really wasn't. That's why I chose this particular color, plus I already have a burgundy ' 64 Merc on my shelf. So, to sum up, I decided to do a replica that was somewhere between what the 1:1 car was really like, and what I would have done to it had it been mine. As I glued the last piece on this morning, the side mirror, I though of our dear departed Harry. And how he's sadly no longer here for us to tease, about being the mirror police. I don't actually know if there is a patron saint of hobbies. If there is, Im sure Harry has that particular angel watching over him. Rest in peace, big guy.

So here they are together, hopefully never to be seperated (after epoxy and superglue, I don't think that'll be easy!) Again, the stance is too high for factory stock, but thankfully . . . . that's not what this is . . . . .

Finished all the chrome trim, just have to paint the door locks. The portion of the front and back windows that needs to be foiled is also done. Once I glue in the vent windows, sun visors and mirror it'll be time to let the body and chassis become close friends. Should happen tonight, at least that's the plan.

The interior is all done, and assembled. Just your typical b & b, black and basic interior. The car I'm replicating was not a Cyclone, and was originally built with a bench seat. Hence the lack of a console, since the 1:1 car had none. A little better view, showing the adjusted stance. Still too high for a factory stock car, but with the lowered front end it's just about the perfect street machine height. Win! Now, a quick final polish, foil and assembly. So far, no serious fit issues with this kit.

Thanks for the interest, it's appreciated. Just finished a quick mockup, minus the interior to check for hood fit, and ride height. I wasn't anticipating any hood fit issues, and it's always nice to see there aren't any. I'm glad I lowered the front end, 'cause I would have been quite unhappy with it the way it sat, straight out of the box. What I did was cut about a millimeter and a half off the top of the kingpins, then put some shims underneath them, so the spindles sit higher up. Those MRC wheel sets? What a great collection of assorted shims, some of those wheel adapters make! With the chassis sitting in the body where it will reside once it's joined, the car has that ever so slight rake in the back, which is exactly the look I'm after. The chassis, with it's lovely purple rear end, and yellow shocks. The kit exhaust needed only minor "adjustments", to work with the headers from the Trumpeter kit. I did a woodgrain treatment for the panels, steering wheel, and dash. Just have to add the guage decals, and do a little bit of foiling. Should have it done today, hopefully. The 289 wearing it's headers and twin 4 setup, nestled in the bay. Again, the manifold is from the Trumpeter Falcon, and the air cleaners are out of a Polar Lights ' 64 GTO snap kit. Interior, then foil, the assemble parts. A plan, I have . . . . .

When I started high school, quite a few of the seniors drove tricked out compacts like Falcons, Darts, and Chevelles. I think you hit the nail right dead center on the head, with this build.

When I first snagged one for myself, I took the unpreedented (for me) step of gluing the interior, firewall, and radiator support to the frame, and test fitting it in to the body. I found a couple spots where the floor pan needed a little trimming along the sides. Once that was done, the two halves fit nice and snug. I test fitted the front and back windows, after the paint was applied. Both look like a perfect fit. I am going to lower the front end, a bit. From the builds I've seen so far, it sits up a little high. I'll leave the back end as is, and hopefully that gives it the slight rake I'm after. The real car had Cragar SS rims and blackwalls, so I'll use the kit 5-spoke wheels, and call it good. No liberties there!

to start yet another project, with so many sitting here, some nearly complete. But if you're like me in that you have to wait for winter to go away, in order to paint ourdoors, you'll probably get it. When the warm days come, that bug hits hard! That's sorta what happened here. This is going to be a scale replica of an actual car from my past, the story of which I'll relate when it's finished. Plus, I'm taking some liberties with reality. The color is Testors one coat purple-licious, with Tamiya TS-13 clear over top (liberty). Black interior, and this will be a console delete, like the 1:1. The 289 will be wearing a set of headers, like the 1:1, and a twin 4 setup (liberty), both which came from the Trumpeter ' 64 Falcon kit. And yeah, dig my custom purple street machine type rear end, he (liberty).

Thanks for the feedback. I think it's safe to say that if AMC had built a 1:1 Ambassador ragtop, this is what they would have looked like. Doing the bodies on these old Jo-han kits is a real treat, with the details being so crisp. I really couldn't pass up the chance to build a convertible, even a non-esistant one!

Unless you have a mint ' 70 Javelin kit in your stash you wish to part with . . . . I'm good, thanks!

Thanks! Not too much done, but the engine is finished. It's the wrong engine, of course. But, I had no kit to rob for more accurate parts this time, like with my other Jo-han builds. Also finished the front and back ends, using a white jel roll pen on the headlight surrounds and some black ink for wash on the grille and back panel. I took advantage of an unusually nice day last week to give the interior a couple more coats of Tamiya Mica red. Got two weeks off coming up shortly. Finishing the interior will be my vacation goal.

Sharp looking, and of course it goes without saying that's quite the fine collection!

Thanks, fellas. This will be a nice addition, to my AMC stash.

You know, the car that AMC never did build, but that Jo-han went ahead and kitted, anyway. I bought this from Wayne Farmer (moparfarmer) a couple of years ago. Had a clean break in the w/s frame, and bent vent window posts. I tried two different adhesives on the frame, and neither held. Finally got lucky last week, with some Lepages super glue. Once the break was repaired, I added new vent window posts, made from .040 x .040 styrene strips. The body is all done, save for the paint on the side marker lights. Engine pieces are painted, so that and the interior will be next.

What he said. That's one sweet rod!

They all look great! But I'm in luv with that Camaro . . . .

Gorgeous builds, every one of 'em!

Now that's sharp! Did you take any interior pics?

Got the Bronco kit yesterday, at the lhs. I'm thinking day two, open top, Testors One Coat Icy Blue, no stripe and black interior. The Melrose Missile came from my favorite epay seller. No race car here, however. Going to do a (mostly) facory stock looking "what if" Hemi street machine.

Prior to this, my least productive year was 2014, with only three finished. Last year I did seven, but only managed to get these two completed this year. Still, as long as a person has fun, that's all that matters, I suppose. Had fun with these two, the Moebius ' 65 Belvedere done as a six holer, and an AMT ' 68 Galaxie, box stock except for wheels and tires.

A Jo-han ambulance, courtesy of the "vintage" shelf at the lhs. Never seen one molded in pink plastic before, but no matter. The price was decent, and the contents are mint.

Sweet! I'd always thought these cars looked better with the chrome bumpers, but I might have just changed my mind!

The last car my father ever bought, a 1967 Pontiac Grande Parisienne purchased in August, 1972.