StevenGuthmiller

Hmmm.......never?!!

It's a valid point Rick. I use these clips sparingly for assembly purposes. I use them primarily for holding parts for painting. Steve

I felt a bit guilty when I scored this one Snake.......but that feeling subsided quickly. I traded a derelict AMT '64 GTO that was given to me, and a Johan USA Oldies '60 Plymouth Wagon for it, along with a few miscellaneous parts. I considered it a very good trade for stuff that I was very likely never going to use. Steve

I guess at this stage of the game, I don't worry about it. There will be plenty of prep and sanding to do on the body before it's ready for paint. I never use them on painted parts. Steve

I guess that crease is something that I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to Mike. I just accepted the fact that Johan did such a nice job with proportions as a rule that it never crossed my mind to look at it. I wish that I could take credit for "making the carbs", but that distinction must go to the real creator, Joseph Osborn at Fireball Modelworks. Thanks to him, we have some really great detail parts that have absolutely no rival. His carbs are unmatched by anybody! Steve

Thanks so much David! I appreciate all of the nice comments by all! Steve

No problem Gary! If you're not looking closely it could easily be mistaken for a Hemi with that nasty looking cross ram! Steve

Thank you so much guys! Steve

First update. The engine compartment detail on the Johan kit is pretty much non-existent and the chassis is very rudimentary, so they will be the first to go. The cowl and radiator plate detail has been cut from the '69 and grafted to the '68. The chrome parts were re-plated some time ago and are ready for use. The color will be an unusual factory color called "Cinnamon Bronze" provided by Scale Finishes. Steve

And it's correct! Steve

Well, here we go again! The next project up to the plate is this very rare Johan 1968 Olds 442. I received this kit in a trade with our very own Claes Ericsson from Sweden some months ago and I'm ready to get on it. This one will get the full treatment as did the '65 Fury, but it should be somewhat easier as I will be able to steal a great deal of the parts from the MPC '69 442. There should be no scratch building of fender wells and firewalls required! The most challenging part will likely be re-working the interior to my standards. Any way, here is my start point. Steve

Thanks guys! I appreciate that Keith, but I have my doubts. Steve

At least you have spares! Steve

Thank you Ben! Steve

Hello everyone. It was brought to my attention by one of the members of the board that the radiator cap was not up to par. "Cartoonish" was the word he used, and I have to say, I had to agree with him. I guess sometimes you think something looks okay, but when it is brought to your attention, it is the first thing that draws your eye from that time forward. So, it was obviously ripe for modification. Luckily it is just a radiator cap and was not difficult to remove and re-work. It was a fairly simple operation of removing it, drilling out the "too large" center button and replacing it with something smaller, thinning the entire cap by sanding and painting the radiator "neck" portion black.....which I should have done in the first place! I believe now it will pass muster. I will replace the engine photos in the original post with the new ones. Steve Before After

Thanks guys! Steve

Thank you Randy! Yes, the scripts are done as I always do them, with foil under the paint. With these obsolete old kits, there are few options. Steve

Thanks Richard! I agree. Johan had so many great subjects, as did AMT back in the day. It's a shame that there are not more of these type of subjects available today. Steve

Thank you Bob! I agree about the wheels and tires. I think that the extra effort on the wheels paid off and the tires that Bruce so graciously donated are the cherry on top! Thank you again for your expertise and generosity with the gauge faces. they are just one more great addition to the finished product! Steve

Thank you so much everybody! I appreciate all of the kind comments! Steve

Thank you Brandon and Carl! Steve

Thank you so much guys! I really value your opinions! Not a Hemi Gary. It's a 426 "Max Wedge". Not factory correct for a '65 Fury either, but I took a few liberties with this one. Steve

Hello everybody! After 6 months of trials and tribulations, this project is finally complete. Those of you who followed this build already know what has been done to this original Johan kit, but for anyone else who may be interested, here is a brief over view. The only body modifications involved removing the skirts and adding a vinyl top. The interior was completely reworked including removing the convertible top wells and totally rebuilding the door panels. The chassis was stolen from a Lindberg 1964 Plymouth Belvedere kit and remains largely as it came from the kit with the addition of a scratch built exhaust system and a set of Torque Thrust wheels fabricated from 3 different sets of wheels. The engine compartment was largely scratch built using a heavily modified firewall from the Lindberg Belvedere, modified fender wells from the original Johan kit and a ton of scratch built parts including all of the wiring, radiator brace top, a hood latch strike plate for the grille, and torsion bar hood springs. Many other modified or scratched parts were added to the engine compartment that I won't bother listing here. The engine is a modified example taken from the Lindberg Plymouth with many added details including scratch built parts such as dip stick, oil filler and breather caps, fuel filters, etc. It has been completely plumbed and wired and a set of beautiful Fireball Modelworks carbs were added. Air cleaners (not depicted) are removable. I need to offer my thanks to a whole host of forum members who helped me along with this project through their advice and generous help with parts! Thank you to Bruce Coy, (Belugawrx) for providing the beautiful white lettered tires! Likewise, a big thanks to Bob Spedding, (TooOld) for contributing his expertise in photo reduction and making gauge faces for the dash! As well, thank you Dan Carlson, (garagepunk66)! He generously provided a nice package of engine parts, that though I did not use them on this project, I appreciate and will definitely use them on another Mopar build in the future. Again, thank you guys for all of your help! It amazes me every day how people on this board will go out of their way to help. It is greatly appreciated! So without further ado, the pics! As always, all comments and criticisms are not only welcome, but appreciated! Thanks! Steve A few engine pics. Indoor shots.

Hello all. I would like to take a moment and thank all of you who followed and commented on this project. As always, you were all a huge inspiration and help to me. I would also like to thank everyone for the information and parts that they provided to make this project what it is. Thank you to Bruce Coy, (Belugawrx) for the white lettered tires! They were exactly what was needed to give the car the look that I was after! I also want to thank Bob Spedding, (TooOld) for providing some very nice photo reductions of the speedometer and other gauges! They were invaluable! I also have to thank Dan Carlson, (garagepunk66) for the engine parts that he provided, and although I ultimately did not use them on this project, they were greatly appreciated and will be saved for another Mopar project down the road. Thank you all so much! I am surprised every day by the generosity and kindness of the members of this board. This project is now completed and photos will follow shortly. Thanks everyone! It was a blast! Now, on to the next project! Steve

Thank you so much guys! I appreciate the comments! Actually Al, I don't get nearly as much time at the bench as you might think. On average, I probably spend possibly of an hour or 2, possibly 2 or 3 days a week in my shop. Occasionally I might get in a marathon of 3 or 4 hours on a weekend if I have nothing else to do. Even on those evenings when I might get in an hour or two, I probably spend just as much time researching on the web or dinking around on the model boards as I do actually working on the project. This is why it has taken me 6 months to complete this build! Steve