StevenGuthmiller

I have my concerns about using Molotow chrome for anything large like bumpers or grilles. Not only because of possible issues with things like washes, but just for general long term durability. I have yet to hear of any real success with any top coats that protect the finish and maintain the chrome like reflectivity. The stuff works great for small parts that get little to no handling, but even with those, I find that I need to go back and touch up those parts after assembly because even slight handling can result in the dulling of the finish. It's just not trust worthy enough in my opinion for large external parts that will be possibly handled and marred over the long term. Steve

You'll have your work cut out for you with this one Al. She's a little rough. Just a little history on this kit. I originally bought it for less than $10.00 at an antique shop probably more than 30 years ago. It sat and literally collected dust since then. I bought a few parts for it from Modelhaus way back when, and then, unfortunately for you, I pirated a few parts from it to complete my '60 convertible when a better example presented itself. What your starting with is sort of a mish-mash of leftover parts accumulated over many many years. It might be a bit of a challenge and will definitely qualify as a "glue bomb" or "rescue" build. Good luck Al! Steve

Testors makes an aerosol #2949 "Transparent Black Window Tint" in it's "Custom Lacquer" line that works very well. Clean your glass well and spray light coats on the inside of the glass until the desired darkness is reached. Steve

It's hilarious...............and, a little disturbing at the same time! Steve

That's true, but in circumstances like the Johan '64 Dodge Polara, the promo had the correct split bench interior for the standard Polara. The kit came with a Polara 500 bucket seat interior. As far as I know, this interior was not pilfered from any other kit. Steve

It may sound pretty amateurish, but after I have my parts washed and mounted for painting, right before the paint starts flying, I blow off the surfaces as hard as I can with my mouth without spitting all over it! Sounds kind of stupid, but I haven't had dirt issues for years since I started doing this. I suppose a guy could do the same thing with your compressor hose, but I like to have the air brush all dialed in and ready in hand, blow off any dust, throw on my mask, and then immediately start painting before any more dust has a chance to settle. Works well for me. Steve

Not sure about the '61, but the ones on the right are definitely 1962 Chevy pickup caps. Just checked my '62 kit and they look the same. Steve

My favorite Stripes line.......... Lighten up Francis! Steve

Every time I see this scene, I almost hack up a lung from laughing so hard! The nervous "twitch/snort" from this guy is one of the funniest things I've ever seen! Steve

No Gene. It took a back seat again to other “more important” projects. Steve

There were some where the promo and kit had some entirely different parts, but I’m sure that the main body molds were shared. Some of the early Johan Mopars come to mind. As an example, the Johan 1964 Dodge Polara kit had an entirely different interior than the promo. There were instances where other parts were simplified for the promos such as molded in head light lenses, where the kit may have had separate clear lenses. Steve

National Lampoon’s Vacation. A quote from Roy Wally. Steve

I’m cheating a little because I’m currently on vacation in Cancun Mexico, but the temp here right now, (11:40 PM) is 79 degrees. In contrast, where we will be tomorrow night, at home in west central Minnesota, the current temp is -22 below zero. A 101 degree difference in a few hours is going to be quite a shock to the system! Steve

Hey now! That’s a revelation to me! I’m betting that this top will likely work on a lot of full sized Mopars from the late 50s and early 60s. I’ll definitely need to check this out. Steve

When I traded this kit to Al, the interior was missing. Steve

I would agree with that if he would have said “thanks anyway” and left it at that. But I guess I’m just a little too old fashioned in thinking that when someone offers you a gift, you either accept it, or not, without making a production out of complaining about it first. That’s just bad manners, period! Steve

I’ve used Tamiya primer before as well and I don’t get the hype. It seemed to work ok, but at nearly $10.00 for a 6 oz. can, it needs to work better than just ok in my opinion. People seem to swoon over the spray nozzles on the Tamiya primer cans as well? Don’t get that either. The fan spray nozzles on the Duplicolor cans are far superior. This is all just my opinion of course. Steve

Hobby paints are not perfect either. I’ve had enough issues with Testors paints and clear where I have stopped using them. The rule of thumb for me is to use a “good” automotive quality primer, but to be careful of how you use it. We’re painting over plastic, so keep in mind that if you’re using a primer designed for automotive applications, that it will likely be a hotter primer and will need to be handled accordingly. Once you have a good primer base, it absolutely does not matter what you put over it. A good primer like Duplicolor will give you no issues regardless of what you spray on top of it. If you insist upon using some cheap ass bargain store primer, well then you’re guess is as good as anyone’s what you’ll end up with. Steve

Yeah, your first mistake was using Rustoleum primer! Steve

That’s what I use. Steve

I kind of lose interest in the Bonnevilles after 1968. The changed body lines and roof line in ‘69 really didn’t do anything for me. If I had to pick my top 3 favorite Bonnevilles, they would be the ‘60, ‘61 and ‘67. Steve

Looking nice Al! Steve

Bumped for Steve Andrews, (Rodent). Steve

“Fair” is a relative question. I would “expect” to see the ‘68 priced in the neighborhood of $200.00 to $300.00. The ‘69 probably a little less, but not a lot. If you are that “person”, I would start the bidding on eBay @ around $80.00 each and just let the chips fall where they may. Of course, be certain that the auction ends on a weekend. Items always seem to do better when bidding does not end in the middle of the week. Steve

It’s a great alternative to scribing all of your body trim before painting. And even if I do scribe some of the trim, I still use this tape method . It insures perfectly straight cuts if done correctly. You should have no problem getting nice straight trim on your ‘64 Caddy. Steve