StevenGuthmiller

I guess my main point is, if you were looking for an engine to transplant, why not go with something a few years older with a little horse power. By the time these things came out, the V-8s would have made a better boat anchor than a power plant. A friend of mine back in school had a '70 Satellite with a 318 in it. Definitely not a monster by any stretch, but it held it's own for a little small block. In 1970, a 318 two barrel put out about 230 horses. By 1974 a 440 four barrel rated about the same. We had a 1975 Dodge Monaco wagon with a 440 when I was a kid. My dad fumed every time he drove it because it couldn't get out of it's own way. Steve

I wonder why there aren't any around any more? Is this worth saving? All the style & flair of dry white toast. Is it any mystery that nobody is hoarding these? By the way, I owned a 1972 Plymouth Fury & my mother had a '78 Chrysler LeBaron, both with the 360 engine. Biggest dog either one of us ever owned. Now that I think of it, the styling was closer to white toast than I originally thought! Steve

Thanks Jon. I knew that the automatics were aluminum. Just wasn't absolutely sure about the manuals. & I'll bet every manufacturer did it differently. Steve

With the pan on the bottom steel, or also painted? Just not sure which parts were installed before painting from the factory. Steve

Just a quick question that I believe I already know the answer to. Would the '69 Mopar 440 4-speed bell housing be painted the engine color? Steve

Sweet! I've always thought that those wires with the spinners were some of the nicest wires ever produced in 1/25th scale. Refresh my memory as I haven't seen any in a few years. Were they from this kit? Steve

Welcome Michelle! It always surprises me a little to see a woman who's not only interested in cars, but in model cars. Given my wife's reaction to them anyway. Steve

While I was monkeying around with the interior today, I started contemplating how I would do the wood grain on the console & part of the dashboard on this project & a kind of goofy thought crossed my mind. I remembered that a couple of projects ago, when I was building my '65 Dodge Monaco, that there was a sheet of self adhesive wood grain that was included in the kit. So I went to dig it out. To my great surprise, after over 50 years of sitting in a box, the adhesive was still good! I cut a small piece from a corner and applied it to a piece of plastic & it stuck great! The grain is a little large in spots, but in the finer grained areas in the bottom of the sheet it looks much closer to scale. It's well worth a try anyway. If it doesn't look good, I can always just peel it off. Steve

Thanks Bill. I doubt that I'll get that involved. If I get too much into the weeds, this project will wind up sitting on the bench with a couple other projects I've gotten stalled on. Steve

Thanks for the suggestion Mike, but I'll make one of the ones that I have work. Don't want to make this project into too much of a money pit. Steve

So, it's just not as "pointed" in the center, like the '68 Charger dash. That will be pretty easy to straighten out. I'm going to have to stop talking to you guys. Every time I do, I get more work added to my list! I already had to add the grille on the dash top as there was nothing molded in. I just ground out a square hollow area & will add a piece from a PE Edsel grille. Not 100% accurate, but it's something. I could add the two smaller ones on either side, but the one I did was already too much work. Steve

Thanks Bill. I missed the lack of the "thumb wheel" radio on the Roadrunner dash. I really wasn't planning on using it anyway as it would take too much modification to make it fit the Coronet interior tub. Funny thing is, the AMT '70 Super Bee dash does have the thumb wheel radio, although it's understandable as the original MPC Dodge kits all shared the same dash board. So, at this point, I'll probably use the AMT Super Bee dash & probably the spoked wood wheel. I'll take your advise & fill those dash vents. I need to fill a couple of sink marks on the top of the dash any way, so filling those will be no problem. I want to thank everyone for their input on this project so far! Although I love these cars, I'm no expert on them & a lot of these cars from this era had a lot of variations that would be very difficult to know all of them. I'm sure I'll have more questions as the project moves along. By the way, I have most of the clear coating done on the body parts, but I think I might give it one more coat just to level things out a little more & save some elbow grease when it comes to polishing time. Starting on the interior & a little engine work this weekend. Steve

Thanks for all of the info guys! So I guess the answer to my question is......there's no easy answer. I guess I can do whatever I want. So Bill, am I correct in thinking that the AMT '68 Roadrunner dash is the same as the standard '69 Dodge? It sure looks correct to me. At this point, I think I have decided to go with a green top & green interior. I know, sounds like a lot of green, but I've seen a lot of these B body cars in that type of color combo over the years. Seems to have been very popular & common back then. Steve

The interior tub is in fairly good condition for this kit, although the dash & steering wheel are a little shaky. Luckily, the dash & steering wheel from the AMT '70 Super Bee kit are exact replicas. My question is, in my research I found 2 different dashes & steering wheels in the photos I've seen. Some have the rectangular gauge face, which I assume is the "standard" package, & others have round. ( a deluxe or "rally" package?) In the same vane, some have the standard Dodge kind of "triangular" steering wheel, while others have the three spoked silver wheel with the round hub & the simulated wood wheel. ( I'm assuming another option) The steering wheels do seem to be interchangeable with both dash boards depending on the photo. Anyway, The dash included with the kit is the round gauge piece, & I have the option of either steering wheel. I assume the "spoked" wheel is leftover from the Road Runner kit, but it looks the same & I'm leaning towards using it because the other one is a little bent up. So I guess I'm just wondering, what's the significance of 2 different dash & steering wheel treatments in the '69 R/T? I was also curious about head rests. The original kit seats don't have them, but A lot of the photos you see do. I know that there was a "convertible / hardtop" distinction for a lot of cars concerning head rests, so I'm wondering if the hard top should have them. I'm pretty sure that I've seen this style of head rest in another kit that I could steal them from, but I'll just have to figure out what kit. Steve

Normally, I just hate most aftermarket wheels. Surprisingly, I like these! Take that as a great compliment from me Sam. Usually the first thing I do is start harassing people for their terrible wheel choices! Steve

A little drop of one of the new UV cured glues like "Laser Bond" works well. You cure it instantly with UV light so you can continue working right away. When your ready to disassemble, it peels off easily. I haven't really used it on painted parts, but it works great for bare plastic. Steve

I use mostly Tamiya tape with a little BMF on occasion. I usually airbrush the overall color & then brush paint the details. For instance, the '61 Buick interior started with white primer. That's the white areas. Then I masked those off & airbrushed the overall medium turquoise color. Then I masked off for the stripes & painted the pattern with a brush with thin pieces of tape separating the colors. Then the piping, which is also brush painted. I use a little tape with those as well just to eliminate any mistakes on at least the straight sections. Finally, I shoot the entire tub with a very light mist of pearl to give it that metallic sheen that many of these old interiors had. I pretty much use nothing for my interiors except Testors flat enamels mixed to whatever color I want. Steve

Nice John! I have the hard top version yet to build. I've always thought that this body style was one of Pontiac's best. I love them! Steve

In my experience, resin will never be as "perfect" as a styrene part. It's kind of inherent to resin. They were cleaned & as smooth as possible in my view. They were exact copies of original Johan parts made by Jimmy Flintstone. Problem is, it's very difficult to properly prep in between fine grille pieces & such. As I said, they looked good, but not as good as a styrene piece. All of the platers out there specifically state that they will not guarantee the finish of resin parts. I'm sure that there is a reason for that disclaimer. As an example, I have never seen a Modelhaus plated part that looked as good as a re-plated original. That's why I always have originals re-chromed rather than replace them with resin. Steve

Very nice Al! I picked up a pretty nice built kit of this subject some time ago. Been on a search for a set of stock hubcaps since, with no luck so far. Steve

Nice! Can't beat the color! Looks as if you had some paint "cracking" issues. Steve

I sent a pair of resin '61 Olds bumpers to Kustom Khrome with my last batch. While they turned out "ok", they were no where near the quality of the styrene parts. Steve

That I can handle! Steve

Welcome Guillaume! Your English is better than some people who were born & raised in the U.S. I'll never be able to pronounce your name though! Steve

Very cool! I've thought about buying one of these and doing a stock build......of course. Nice to know what kind of a casting it is. I bought one Flintstone kit a while ago. It's an absolutely beautiful casting, but is very thick, as his stuff can be. Steve