StevenGuthmiller

I built a '58 Buick kit a few years ago that came with both front screw posts twisted off. I repaired them by simply gluing them back in place at final assembly & "pinning" them to the chassis. worked just fine. The nice thing about using pins is the fact that you don't have to worry about twisting off or breaking the posts, & if your pins fit tight enough, you don't have to glue them in either. Just as a side note, as of the past year or so, one of my first tasks with any old annual with an engine, is to remove the front screw posts anyway. They're just completely unsightly in the finished engine bay, so I get rid of them. There are other ways to attach the chassis plate without screws. Steve

You can always just "nix" the screws & do some pins too Bill. I don't worry much about the screws. If I have them, I use them. Otherwise a plastic pin, or whatever, will work just as well. That is unless you're planning on disassembling later on. I don't do much of that. Steve

Thanks guys. I only ask because after getting the mesh cut & in place I thought it looked pretty nice without painting it black. But I do want to keep it accurate if possible, so I'll most likely go with black. Steve

I have a piece of stainless steel wire mesh cut for the background of my '62 Chrysler 300 grille & now I'm confused as to what color it should be. I've looked at several pictures on line & I'm getting mixed results. Some look like aluminum, and others look like their painted black. Does anyone know what color it should be? Steve

"floyd426rt" has a lot of 80+ chassis screws, axles & hood clips for sale on ebay right now. Should take care of you for a while if you want originals. Probably quite a bit more expensive than a modern replacement if you can find a good one, but he has them anyway. Steve

Just keep your eyes on Ebay. The glass from any of the AMT 1959 or 1960 GM annual kits should fit. Chevrolet Impala, Pontiac Bonneville or Buick Invicta. Steve

Some of my favorites have always been the AMT BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires. I'm not 100% sure which kits they were all included in, but I do remember them being in the AMT '51 Belair hard top kit. Steve

There you go! I've lived in the "Peoples Republic of Minnesota" for nearly my entire life, & have paid their exorbitant taxes during that time. Up to this point, I have never taken a penny from any government entity, & I consider that a badge of honor. If or when the day comes that I may need to use any of the state of Minnesota's or any federal programs, all I can say is, "they owe me"!! The only thing that really makes my heart ache is the fact that most of these programs have been so severely mis-handled for so long that our generation may be the last to take advantage of them, & the next generation, our children, will be saddled with paying for something that they will never be able to use. Steve

I thought of trying that, but they really get no handling. These lenses that I used in the '62 never touched my hands. I did everything with a tweezers. They basically went straight from the mold to the bezel. I may try a shot of clear next time though, just to shine them up a little. Or I may try the melted clear sprue technique again. That yields a much clearer & shinier lens, but it's also more work. Steve

Yeah Rick, I've tried that a couple of times. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work. It's just more difficult to make a mold that way. It's easier just to press a lens into the mold material. Otherwise you get all of surrounding parts from the grille or bezel as part of your mold & it just seemed to me to be more difficult to cast a clean part. No reason why you shouldn't give it a shot though. Might work better for you. Steve

I don't think the problem is the reflector. The Laser Bond is not as clear as kit plastic & after molding, it's not shiny like clear kit plastic. This will have to do until a better alternative for lenses comes along. There's always room to do something different with the reflectors if needed. Steve

No Dale. Bought it from MCW. They sell it as Chevrolet "Jewel Blue", # 6104. Same color, same code. Steve

I have to say that I'm a little amazed at all of the problems people claim to have with BMF. I've been using this stuff for probably 25 years, & outside of the issues with some of the specialty foils, I've never had a problem with it that I can think of. I've probably used up 6 or 8 sheets of the new & improved foil just in the past 3 or 4 years with zero problems. It just escapes me. Steve

Laser Bond & Bondic are pretty much the same animal. Both are UV cured adhesives. You can squirt a little bit into your mold, hit it with the light for a few seconds & it's cured & ready to use. I use it for anything where I need an instant bond as well. Works great for mock ups & things like installing glass. You can pick it up almost anywhere online. I believe I got my last tube on either Amazon or Ebay. You can pick it up in the US for around $10.00-$12.00. If you don't mind waiting forever for shipping, you can get it from China for about $2.00 a tube on Ebay. Steve

That's the nice thing about using Laser Bond or Bondic for lenses. Once you make an impression of a given lens, you have the mold on hand & it takes a matter of a few minutes to make a complete set of lenses. I have molds made for several different size lenses. The trick is to find lenses with the "waffle" detail ridges in the outside of the lens. Most kits have them on the inside making them unacceptable for making a one part mold. Steve

Here are the finished headlight assemblies. I'm happy with this technique. Steve

Here are the finished product. Steve

Well, here's a basic overview. It is basically a drilling out of the old headlights & replacing them with a bucket & lenses. The difference is, that you're making the bucket from basic aluminum tubing & the lens from "Laser Bond". 2 different sizes of tubing are required. Sorry, but there was no size on the package of tubing that I bought, they just looked about right. I did my best to measure them & the smaller tube looks to be about 5mm O/D, & the larger about 5.5mm O/D. Anyway, what you're looking for is a piece of aluminum tubing that is the correct size for the headlight retaining ring, & another piece that slides tightly inside of it. Basically, the large tubing will be the exposed trim ring, & the smaller tubing will slide inside for the lens to seat on. Then a piece of plastic rod or sprue, with the end covered in foil, slid into the smaller tube as a reflector. Then, a lens molded from Laser Bond dropped in. It's really not a difficult process, just a little more complex than a ready made bucket & lens. The most difficult part is drilling the bezels to the correct size. Steve

That's a good looking '59 Sam! Nice work! Steve

I've been struggling with half way realistic looking head lights in old annual kits for a long time! I think I've finally cobbled together a solution. It's a little complicated, involving aluminum tubing & "Laser Bond" cast lenses, but I finally found something I like the look of. It could still use a little refinement, but I don't think it looks half bad for a first attempt! If people like the look, I'll try to put together a tutorial at some point. By the way, you could leave out the reflectors if you're inclined to build something with working lights. Steve

Thanks guys! I'll possibly post another update tonight. A long time nemesis of mine with these old annuals has been realistic headlights. I think I may have finally stumbled upon a system that works. It's a little involved, using aluminum tubing for the tubs & "Laser Bond" cast lenses. I had to drill out the head light area of the body after the body was finished, which was a little bit of a harrowing experience, but I think they will look good when finished. Steve

Either way, you'd have to be willing to shell out a couple hundred at least! Steve

Oh well, still a cool looking car. It would still make a great project. I guess the kits exist to do one of these instead. Steve

I would use white primer under the paint as Nick said, but for the chassis, I would use gray if it's to be over sprayed. Chrysler would not have used white primer on the 1:1. I believe most cars of the period would have had body color over spray around the perimeter, but something tells me Mopars may have been painted underneath entirely. I'm sure one of the true Mopar gurus will be able to tell you for sure. Steve

Hang in there Harry! We need you back! You're in my prayers & I have confidence you'll be back on your feet soon! Steve