StevenGuthmiller

I'm just not feeling the black top with white and red. But for some reason I have the feeling that it would look okay with silver. Go figure. Yeah, after seeing the white presented with this option, I definitely feel that it needs a little more "flash". Bumble bee stripes it will be. Steve

No, you didn't mention anything about cheap. He was only offering an idea. Sugar is going to get you a lot further on this board than vinegar. Steve

Thanks guys!! Been spending time today refining the bucket seats a bit. Just general clean up, some re-shaping and re-scribing. I added new upholstery buttons and will add new seat tracks after they're done. Steve

I used a thinned mixture of black and brown acrylic craft paint for this wash. I mixed it to about the consistency of 2% milk and then just brush it on all over the parts. After the paint has dried for a while, I then took a slightly dampened Q-tip and wiped over the entire part to remove the wash from the high spots. I did this for the engine, engine bay and all of the chassis parts. Steve

The Johan 1968 Chrysler Imperial comes to mind. As far as I know, there was never a kit produced, only promos. Steve

I quite often clear coat engine parts with one of the Testors clear gloss spray lacquers. I use flat enamel colors very often for engine parts because I like the properties and workability of flat paints over gloss, and then I can clear coat to add the amount of shine that I want. This also protects the paint underneath as you stated. With the gloss coat method described above, you would be better served to apply your washes after the gloss. Otherwise your grime will be unrealistically shiny. Steve

There are no dumb questions James. Let 'em fly! Steve

Thanks Tom! I have a complete '64 Tempest rebuilder, but as is often the case, seat belts were glued to the buckets damaging the upholstery pattern. I just thought that if they were something that you really didn't need, a fresh set would save me a whole bunch of work trying to restore the ones I have. Steve

Yes, the buckets are from the AMT '64 LeMans. I would be more than interested in making a deal with you for them! Steve

Very true. That is the most daunting part of the transformation. But, all it takes is time and patience. Steve

I sand the treads as well. Another trick stolen from aircraft modelers is called "flat spotting". This is not particularly useful for a hollow tire, but it works quite well with a solid tire. Basically you just shave a little off of the bottom of the tire so that it sits a little more like a real tire would. Steve

Go for it!! You can look at it this way. If it doesn't go as planned, the MPC/AMT '69 interior is not hard to replace. Steve

That might be an interesting option. I might look into it. Steve

I was thinking more along the lines of a forum member who more or less “dabbles” with resin casting, but could do a satisfactory job, enough to offer a few examples to other members and friends without going commercial on the whole thing. I’m not interested at all in making any profit from something like this. My only interest is to help out. These are by no means professionally done masters. More along the lines of a “home brew”. ? Steve

I’m going to assume that being as the red stripe was available, it could be ordered on a white car. No idea if they are strictly factory, but I’ve seen numerous examples on line in white with red stripes. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be going with that. Steve

I would be more than happy to send these parts out to a trust worthy caster for duplication. Any ideas? Steve

Well, it probably won’t matter anyway. At this point I’m most likely going with the ‘68 dog dish caps from the Revell Charger anyway. Steve

In light of the information that I’ve received from the wonderful members here, I believe that I’ll be sticking with my original plan of white with red stripes and a red interior. I’ve had thoughts of silver with red, but if so, I had better decide soon because if I go with silver, I’m leaning towards a black vinyl top with it. Steve

Thanks Casey. Chief Joseph makes some awesome products, but I doubt that even his stuff will have stampings by the valve stem holes. I guess the A-12s will work perfectly for what I'm doing. Not using full wheel covers, but I guess it's a moot point anyway. Steve

I also learned that the Hemi powered Coronet was equipped with 15 inch wheels only, so it's good that I passed on some of the wheel covers offered by Fireball for the '68s, and Magnum wheels. Apparently, the only options for the Hemi were 15 inch wheels with poverty caps, or the special disc brake Charger caps, which I really don't like the looks of anyway. Luckily I made the right call inordering a set of 15 inch wheels and tires from Fireball Modelworks several weeks ago. They're supposed to be on my doorstep on Monday. The only question is, are A-12 wheels different from what would have been on a Hemi Coronet in '68? The A-12s are what I got. Steve

Thanks Steve. I've already decided that I'm going to go back to the Charger Dash. No vents in that, and I decided that it will fit better than the Coronet dash in the end. As you're probably aware, the tubs on these old kits tapered inward at the bottom of the tub making them narrower at the bottom and wider at the top. The new interior configuration will eliminate that, so the mounting tabs on the lower portion of the Coronet dash were going to stick out and be visible under the dash. It was either return to the Charger dash, or spend a bunch of time filing down and removing portions of those tabs. It will be easier this way, plus the Charger dash was a correct option for the Coronet anyway. The modified dash top/pad will still work perfectly with the Charger dash. Today I've been modifying a few more interior parts. The Coronet door panels were a little bit shorter than the Charger tub, so I added some stock to the front of the kick panels to fill in that gap. I also dove in to one of my least favorite jobs. Removing the molded in seat belts on the Coronet bucket seats. It wouldn't be so bad, but the seat belts cross over several creases in the upholstery pattern and a section of piping on the side of the seat. Though with some careful filing, sanding and rescribing, it's not too terribly difficult to make them look like they never existed. Now I'm considering drilling out and replacing the seat back upholstery buttons as well. God, help me!! Steve

I agree! That's part of the reason why I've really begun to enjoy heavily modifying and/or scratch building parts and assemblies, especially interiors. I really get a lot of satisfaction knowing that some of the highly modified and scratch built vintage interiors that I've been undertaking lately, are completely unique and something that nobody else will have. Although I have professed my willingness to offer up some of these parts for duplication if a good resin caster was interested. So far, no takers. Steve

I think that I may have found the answer to my question Tim. According to the link that Mr Mopar attached, "The center console, or fixed center cushion with folding center arm rest, are optional at extra cost". I guess that means I can do whatever I choose. Thanks guys!! Steve

Thank you! That information will come in very handy! Thanks Tim! I guess at this point, the only other item that I was curious about was "console delete" info. I have the option, using the Revell Charger interior tub, of either using the provided console, or just eliminating it and going with a 4 speed without it. I was kind of leaning towards building it without the console, but am unaware as to whether or not the '68 R/T could have been ordered without a console. What can you tell me? I also have the option of removing the console from the MPC kit and retrofitting it to the Charger floor, but that's my least likely option. Steve

Does anybody have any information on what colors were available for interiors and bumble bee stripes on the 1968 Dodge Coronet R/T? Thank You!! Steve