StevenGuthmiller

Thanks Scott. Still getting the engineering done on all of these interior pieces. The door panels are pretty much finished, so now I'm able to start working on engineering the new door panels and original Coronet seats to fit the Charger interior base. I've already gotten the door panels pretty close to where they will need to be situated, with some tweaking to come. I've gotten the Charger rear package shelf shaped to fit the Coronet and added back the MPC interior locator tabs to help with final positioning of the interior. The rear seat is what I'm working on now. I've split the seat and added material in the center to widen. I've also decided to separate the seat from the back to make things easier to finish. Now I've begun adding some more material to the outer edges of the seats to get them to fit the tub appropriately. This is all a considerable amount of work just to eliminate the convertible top wells, but to me it's worth the effort, not to mention a lot of fun to stretch the brain a little. Steve

That's part of the reason why I love American cars from this era. Back when interiors had some character instead of just monotone gray. Steve

I agree with the others. You're opening yourself up for all sorts of problems using regular masking tape. I use Tamiya tape for the edges and then mask the rest of the body with masking paper. I've found from many years of experience that it's best to not let any garden variety tapes of any kind touch my painted surfaces. You can get perfect edges with Tamiya, so why risk all of the bleed under and paint lift that you can get with masking tape. Thin strips of Tamiya tape makes effects like this '61 Buick interior relatively easy. Steve

I think I may have found some 32 awg from an electronics shop in Iowa! ? Steve

The thickness is just a hair thicker than what M.A.D. uses for their pre-wired distributors. It's 30 AWG "wrapping wire" that I got on Amazon. If anyone can tell me where I can get large amounts of thinner insulated wire, I would be interested. I'm guessing maybe 32 or 34 AWG? Haven't been able to find any yet. Edit: I can get 32 AWG jacketed wire on ebay, but it appears that it all comes from China. Not my preferred trading partner. Steve

Another modification I wanted to do was to remove the molded in seat belts. Steve

Enough ignition wire to last me until the second coming! Steve

Continuing with the fabrication of the door cards. I need to finish these before I can move on to widening the rear seat and other interior mods. Steve

Scratch building door cards for my '68 Dodge Coronet project. Steve

Detailing carbs is a lot easier when you're starting with Chief Joseph's carbs! Steve

With Alclad paints, I usually mix one of the many aluminum shades with a little bit of "Pale Gold" for carburetors. Although I recently bought some Alclad "Pale Burnt Metal" that should be a very good option for carbs. Here are a couple with the aluminum/pale gold mix. This is the "pale burnt metal" that I'll try on my next project. Steve

Looks terrific......for a wagon! ? Steve

I was planning on using the wheels from the Revell '68 Charger, but I really didn't like the tires. They look too small to me and they're devoid of any sidewall detail, and I'm not sold on tire decals. So I was going to use them with a set of AMT "parts pack" red lines, but the wheels from the Revell kit are the "sleeve" type with no outer lip, so they really won't work very well with the AMT tires. So, I ditched the whole works and ordered a set of A-12 wheels and tires from Fireball, along with a set of "street hemi" AFB carbs. If I decide to use hubcaps, I'll use the Revell '68 parts. Steve

Here are the photos of the finished dash pad. Might get a little refining, but it's pretty close to where I want it. Steve

Yes. These photos show the pad with the left side modified and the right as it originally was just to depict what I was doing. I’ll post some of the finished pad in a while. Steve

No help whatsoever! But she tries. ?

Believe me, she’s no angel! ? Steve

Our beloved cat Lucy passed back in October of 2020. There was an instant void that needed to be filled, so the newest member of our family, Marcy entered the picture. She is currently a little over 3 months old. These are a few shots taken over the past couple of months. In a little more relaxed state. Steve

I agree with some of the others. Get the Super Clean instead of Purple Power. I have used both and Super Clean is far superior for stripping chrome and paint. Steve

Taking the suggestions above for the dash pad, I began thinning the Charger pad to more closely resemble the '68 Coronet. Jees! I guess I'd better trim my nails!! Steve

Agreed! Super Clean will take Testors enamel right down to squeaky clean, bare plastic in a matter of a few minutes if it's not too thick. Overnight will definitely do the trick no matter how thick. Steve

I'll vouch for this event! I participated last year, and I felt that it was run with the utmost integrity! I fully intend to participate again in April. I saw the "ballot stuffing" phenomenon first hand at another online show that I attended last year. It's a pretty lousy optic, and I won't be participating in that one again. But you can be assured that the boys at the Desert Scale Classic are on the up and up! Good luck with the upcoming event Danno! Steve

Never bought an extended warranty in my life. Never have, never will, and never regretted it. I buy Hondas! I agree with what others have said. If you don't recognize a phone number, don't answer the phone. If it's an important call, they will leave a message. It's a dead give away that it's a junk call if they won't leave a message. If they do leave a message, and it sounds suspicious, (which these scam calls always do) do some research online and you will almost always discover that you're dealing with a scam. Basically, my rule is NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, make any deals of any kind over the phone! And never give out any personal information unless you are 100% positive that who you're talking to is legit. (Like if you made the call) In general, I pretty much avoid the telephone. The less I use it, the happier I am. Steve

X 2. Steve

I understand, but the original dash pad had basically no detail at all. I figured that I would rather sacrifice some accuracy for a little bit better detail.