StevenGuthmiller

I'm planning on using the engine from the newer '66 Riv in my '63. I think it is quite a bit better detailed. Steve

Finished up the '68 Olds door panels today. Steve

Moving on. Finished up the interior door panels this morning. Door lock buttons will be added during final interior assembly. Just to refresh, the door panels were cut from the MPC '69 442 interior tub. All trim was removed and replaced with styrene strip. Pleated upholstery was re-scribed for better definition. Arm rests were scratch built as well as door handles. Window cranks were cast in epoxy and chromed with Alclad. Window crank knobs are separate pieces cut from plastic rod and painted. Thanks for looking! Steve

Exactly my thought David. This never really was anything but an experiment anyway, so I'm not all that upset about it not working out for this project, except for the fact that it took up time that I could have spent on other aspects of the build. Oh well. As they say, it costs to go to school. Steve

At least now I can back out of this discussion about the accuracy, or lack there of, of red fender wells, gracefully. Steve

This is part of my issue with companies like MCW. I absolutely love the product, but their website leaves something to be desired. I really wouldn't expect them to have chips for every color they offer on their website. That would be nearly impossible. But their "cross referencing" is terrible! For example, if you're looking for a particular Buick color, very often they will have it in stock, but it might be listed as a Chevrolet color under a different name. This requires that you have to cross check by going to a paint referencing site like "PaintRef.com" to determine if the Chevrolet color is the same as the Buick color you're seeking. It's a real PITA!! This is another advantage that Scale Finishes holds over MCW. Scale Finishes has all of their colors listed by name for a particular make and year regardless of whether the color is the same code under a different name. It makes it infinitely easier to find the exact color that you are looking for. Steve

I already changed mine back to black. Steve

I'll bet I've had at least a half dozen of these over the years, and I probably have at least 3 of them still in my possession, yet I don't believe that I have ever finished one. Sad, because I've always liked the look of the '63. I really should build a Chestnut XL someday. A good friend of mine owned one right out of high school. Steve

Nice work Richard! I do have to ask the question. What differentiates a '49 from a '50? They look pretty much the same to me. Steve

Thanks Ray, but I think I have just resigned myself to the fact that this one will just have a lift off hood. In light of the fact that the body and hood are already painted, I don't think it would be to my advantage to start doing much for body changes at this juncture. I already have plans to use the operating hinges on my next project which will be a 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix. With the different cowl configuration, I'm pretty confident the hinges will work well on that one. Steve

Great stuff Ludwig!! Very nice work all around! Steve

Nice work Thomas! Seems like you don't see many of these built anymore. I suspect with the Round 2 re-release, we will begin to see a few more of them. Steve

Nice looking Ford! Steve

That might work!! Steve

We also need to keep in mind that any solution would still need to have the appearance of a stock hood hinge, otherwise it would be pointless. Steve

I agree. I think we're looking at it through the "lens" of the original '63-'67 Corvette, and expecting it to be a "copy". I'll guarantee you that this car would sell like hot cakes to the younger crowd in the states! Especially at around $40,000.00 versus $60,000.00 and up for a Corvette. Steve

I don't think it was meant to be a direct copy. Like the Mustangs, Challengers and Camaros of recent years, it's just supposed to be a "salute" to the original styling. Steve

Here are a couple of quick pics to illustrate the predicament. As you can see, unless you were going to use a very thin wire or the like for the rear arm,(and it's questionable that there would be adequate clearance even for that) a slot would need to be cut into the cowl for the rear arm to fold down into in order for the hood to close. I think these hinges would work very well for a car with a "external" cowl where the back edge of the hood is flush with the firewall, but in this case, it's not that easy. It could have been an option back when I was prepping the body before paint to add some shallow "wells" for the hinge to fold into, but at this point, I'm not going to start hacking on the cowl again. Way to many problems, and/or disasters, could arise from that. Steve

Thanks Joe. After doing a little more research, including trudging through the snow to my backyard garage to look at my 1:1 '69 Pontiac, I found that my original "scissor" configuration was correct. Duh again! Unfortunately, I'm beginning to think that working hinges are not possible on this particular model without some work on the cowl. Unlike the example that you posted above, the hood runs all of the way to the windshield and the cowl sticks out from the windshield into the engine compartment a good 1/2 inch. In order for the hinge mounts to be in the correct position, and not way too far forward on the hood, the rear arm of the hinge needs to fold back into the cowl area quite a distance. This would require either such a thin rear arm as to be nonviable, or for slots to be cut into the top of the cowl to allow for the rear arm to fold back into it. On my 1:1 Pontiac, there is enough of an indentation in the cowl and the hinge parts are sufficiently thin enough to allow for clearance, albeit very tight clearance! There is just not enough clearance present on this model to accommodate these hinges without some fairly extensive modifications that I don't want to get into at this point. With that, I believe it's in my best interest to abort the working hinge idea for this project. I really hate giving up on something like this once I have committed to it, but I just don't think it's going to be worth the effort. I did however learn a lot and I will definitely be looking back to this idea on future projects. I think it would work as slick as snot on the right body configuration. Sorry to disappoint folks, but I think the time has come to admit defeat and move on. Steve

Let's just say that it looks every bit as good as all of the other "retro" styled vehicles to come out in the past 20 years. At least it does in my opinion. I'll bet if Chevy would have done it first, everyone would think it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Steve

After some trial and error and closer examination, I discovered that I was constructing these hinges incorrectly. I couldn't figure out why I was having issues with working out how these hinges would mount in the car until I realized that I had them constructed so that the rear arm of the hinge was folding backwards, (like a scissor jack) instead of forward with the front arm.....DUH!! Now I'm much more confident that I should be able to get these hinges working as described. Unfortunately, in order to do that, I need to start over! Oh well, live and learn! Steve

I'm not going to kid anyone and say that these are going to actually "hold" the hood open. The springs, if I add them, will not be functional. The model will still have a hood prop in all likelihood. But the hinges should be sufficiently strong to function indefinitely and support the rear of the hood. Steve

There is a set of functionng PE hinges included in the Trumpeter 1960 Bonneville kit. I have no idea how they would look or function when assembled, but they do exist. My kit unfortunately came with one of the parts missing or I might have given them a go at some point. Steve

I use the basecoat. Sprays just as nicely as MCW. The Cinnamon Bronze used on my '68 442 is Scale Finishes basecoat. Steve

That was in Japan only. I'll bet they'd sell a boat load of them in the US. Personally, I think it looks pretty nice. At least it doesn't look like your average "super car" today with enough useless "gingerbread" to cover a large Victorian house. and a price tag to match. Steve