StevenGuthmiller

"Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!" Steve

Correct! Steve

"I just ride 'em, I don't know what makes 'em work". Steve

Very good Snake! Steve

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those with guns, and those who dig. You dig! Steve

Usually you can tell the difference between styrene and acetate plastic just by the feel and sound of it. Styrene is usually harder, more brittle and many times thinner. Acetate is softer, more flexible and dense feeling. If you drop a piece of styrene plastic from a short distance it will have a high pitched, almost tinny sound. Acetate will make a more muffled thud. It's a little hard to describe, but this is my observation from dealing with kits, versus promos. I'm sure that there might be variations, but these are the types of characteristics I look for. If I had to guess just from the photos, my guess would be some sort of styrene plastic. I make this observation purely from the shine & thickness of what I see in the photos. Plus I don't see any warpage which is a hallmark of early acetate models. Steve

My suggestion would be to contact Fireball Modelworks if you want a really good carb. Joseph entertains ideas from people all of the time to add to his line of products. Chances are, if he gets a few people asking for these carbs, he'll do them. Steve

Or you can get the really nice stuff from Fireball Modelworks. Steve

That's part of the reason why I like the '68/'69 Skylark. It's unique. When I look at a '67 Skylark in profile, there is little to differentiate it from a Chevelle. The '68/'69 Skylark has it's own unique styling. Just my opinion. Steve

Point taken. But we still have no idea what we're dealing with from the OP. I would be interested to see what it is. Until there is more information, it's hard to give good advice. Although my original post still stands as far as glue goes. CA, clear parts cement, epoxy. If I can't glue it with that, I'm not building it. Steve

While we are on the subject Buick Grand Sports, we have models of nearly every muscle car ever produced from 1968/'69, yet the Buick GS is conspicuously absent from that list. How about one of those? Steve

If there are no screws at all, I question whether it is really all that old or "vintage". A description or photos would be nice, but my guess is it's not that old & it's made from styrene plastic just like any other kit. Steve

Let the modifications begin! Started out by getting the body prepped with some sanding and shaping, scribing, & adding some fender flanges under the hood. Then I really had to address the front seats. First off, this is one of these kits where the bucket seats & console were molded together as one piece, so the first task was to separate them. Then, I ground off a good portion of the lower "skirt", added a piece of trim around the edges of the seat back & some panel "lines" to the back of the seat. Next, I hacked up a Monogram '59 Caddy seat base to fashion one for the Ford. (hence the bright pink base) I have a little bit of sanding and detail work to do yet, but as you can see from these before & after shots, they are beginning to look a little bit more like a car seat! Before. After Before. After. Steve

I've been just getting parts together to see what I have. I got to looking at the wheel openings on this body and realized how small they seem to be. I was originally thinking that a set of the Moebius white walls from the '65 Plymouth Belvedere kit would most likely be the answer, but after checking the original Firestone Deluxe tires from the AMT '67 Galaxie kit, I found that they were extremely dirty, but in pretty good shape. After giving them a good scrubbing, I found that they were much nicer than I had originally thought. They have printed white walls on one side & red lines on the other. The red lines are a little sloppy, but the white walls look great. For the first time in forever, I should be able to use the original kit tires from a vintage annual kit. They are rarely this nice. Steve

If it's an old annual kit from the 50s, chances are you won't need much glue. Most of these old kits were "promo style" kits that were generally designed to go together with screws and had very little necessity for glue. That being said, they are not much different than any other model, and my simple answer would be, if you can't get it done with a CA glue, some clear parts cement and maybe a little 2 part epoxy, it's not worth doing! Steve

Of all of the parts of this build, the glass was the biggest problem. The windshield, especially, was full of pits! I polished out what I could, but they seemed to go all of the way through the glass. The tint band across the top was not a problem, but I did mix up a very light tint for the entire glass from clear & transparent green acrylic paint. I wanted to try to replicate the light green tint evident in most of these older cars. Well, it didn't work as well as I had hoped. Especially being as the glass was so pitted in the first place. Steve

It's been quite some time since I ordered this paint specifically for this project. I'm excited to finally get to open the jar! I hope it goes well. Steve

They absolutely are nice Wayne! I am extremely proud and humbled to have them! Steve

Thanks Kevin. I'm not terribly worried about it. If nothing else, I can always do a little work to modify the one from the AMT '63 Galaxie kit. Steve

I saw this photo online while I was doing a little snooping around for ideas. This one was my main inspiration for the color combo. Now the question is, were the Magnum wheels an option in '67? Looks nice with them, but I'm assuming '67 was a little early for them? Steve

That's what I assumed I needed. The photos that I have been able to find online were the same. Steve

I'm going to hit this project next. It's a beautiful unbuilt AMT 1967 Ford Galaxie XL. Just getting a start on it today. I started out by getting the trim around the base of the top going. I'm planning on Lime Gold with a black painted top. No vinyl on this one. I also got the headlight buckets done. I drilled out the originals and had the grille/bumper rechromed some time ago. I got lucky and found some parts in the box that worked perfectly for the buckets. I have no idea what they are supposed to be & couldn't find them in the instructions so I glued them in place, hit them with Molotow chrome and viola, instant head light buckets! I have some extra kit lenses, so I won't have to make buckets and lenses this time around. I think I might scrounge around and see if I can come up with parts to put an R code 427 under the hood. The badges do denote a 427, but it is the single 4 bbl variety. The kit does come with a dual quad intake and carbs, so the only thing I should need is something close to the correct air cleaner. Anybody know where I can find one? Steve

You just never know. Oh, mine was beginning to show surface rust towards the end of the 3 years that I owned it as well. By the way, you can make nearly anything run forever if you replace engines. Steve

I didn't have major issues with mine either, but it was more than I had learned to expect from a virtually new vehicle. When I traded it, it had a front wheel bearing going out & the power steering pump was about shot. (leaking all over the place) After decades of owning Hondas & Mazda trucks & never having to make a trip to the shop for anything other than tires & oil changes, these little things were enough to scare me off. There is nothing I hate more than repair bills. Steve

I loved the look of my 2003 Ram 1500. Unfortunately, mechanically it began to give me cause for concern after about 30,000 miles, so I traded it for something that I knew would last forever with no issues.........a Honda Civic. Steve