StevenGuthmiller

I think if you get much larger, you're talking steel line for the "big" fish. Steve

My half of a trade with "mredjr" arrived today. The one I've had for many years is missing the interior after my dad tossed it out during one of his "basement cleaning tirades". Now I'll finally be able to build one.........if I ever find the time! Thank you Elvin!! Steve

Got my half of a trade with "mredjr". It arrived in record time! Thanks Elvin! Steve

Ok, I'm assuming that the 440 Magnum in the '69 Coronet R/T would have been painted orange. All signs point to yes, but I got a little confused when I looked at the box art on the Revell '68 Charger kit. I'm guessing Dodge made the color change for '69? Steve

I'm still waiting for an opening. I have my application in! I think I'll excel in that role as well. Steve

Nothing really magical about it. Just lots of masking tape. Start with the lightest color & work your way to the darkest. Steve 1959 Bonneville. 1961 Bonneville You can do some pretty nice stuff with a little time masking. This is from a '61 Buick that I built. Steve

I was a drywall sub-contractor for 25 years. Now I drive a delivery van full time for a Midwest grocery store chain. Believe it or not, it's a lot of work! But the perk is, I get some tips which I can spend on model stuff! Steve

I like the stripe too Nick. I was originally planning on either doing the stripe or eliminating it altogether. Personally, while I like them, I think the bumble bee stripes are over done. Everything seems to have a bumble bee stripe. If you do a google search for this car, it's very difficult to find one without the stripe. I thought it might be nice to be different for this one. Steve

I had no plans of going the Super Bee route. The Super Bee didn't have the R/T hood bulge & the tail light treatment was different. I would just go with the old Momogram kit for a Super Bee. That's where I believe I'm headed Mike. Steve

Thanks Spike. Thanks Mike, but honestly, it's not that difficult. Just a little practice is all it takes. And believe me, I didn't spend a whole lot of time practicing. Getting the plastic to the correct temperature is the key. Don't stretch the sprue over the heat. Just heat it until it begins to "sag" and then take it away from the heat. Then just gently stretch. If you stretch it fast, you'll get very thin rods. (this is how I make antennas) Stretch slowly for larger diameters. Once you get it to the approximate diameter that you want, stop pulling & cool the plastic for straight pieces, or pull over your "mold" for curved ones. It would need to be some very heavy fishing line Bill. And I don't know, but do you think that rigidity might be an issue? Steve

Thanks guys! that all makes sense & answers my question. Now I'll just have to make a decision between the 440 4bbl, & the Hemi. I can't imagine that there would be a problem with the 6 Pack fitting under the hood Richard. The engine I was going to use was coming directly from the '70 Super Bee kit along with all of the corresponding chassis & under hood parts. The '70 hood is almost completely flat & the '69 has the hood "bulge" in the center, so if anything, I would think there should be a little bit of extra space for an intake. But at this point it really doesn't matter. I'll most likely use the 4 bbl 440 from the Revell Charger kit, or at least the intake. Thanks again guys! Steve

Well, I'd prefer to stick with as stock as possible. I just know what it was like back in these days. I remember my folks ordering new cars in the early 70s & basically, the sky was the limit. As long as your pockets were deep enough, if they had it at the plant, you could order it. Just seems unlikely that some guy walking into a Dodge dealership with a wad of cash in hand would be turned away if he really wanted an R/T with the Six Pack manifold, carbs & air cleaner added. Seems as if it might have been a pretty easy thing to have added right from the factory. Steve

Ok, so I am of the understanding that the Coronet R/T was not available with the Six Pack engine in '69? I guess the Six Pack came along late in the year for the Super Bee. Well, my original thought was to use the 440 Six Pack right from the '70 Super Bee kit as long as I was already pilfering 75% of the parts from it anyway. If any of you can convince me that there wasn't the possibility of a few Six Pack motors making their way into a few R/Ts in '69, then I guess I'll have to make the decision between the Hemi, or the 440 4bbl from the Revell '68 Charger kit. Steve

Got some color on this afternoon. The color is good, although possibly a shade lighter than I expected. A little more orange peel than I was hoping for as well, but the paint will level a bit more as it cures. I'll possibly do the scripts on the trunk lid tonight & shoot the final color coat tomorrow. Then it's clear coats. Steve

You can do the same thing with these. If you look at the photos, you'll see that a length of heavier gauge wire is included for each distributor to be used for boot material. You could easily slip a piece of white plastic rod into the boot to simulate the plug. Steve

Hey now! I kind of like that idea! It would definitely be unusual, & I like unusual! Steve

I used to love watching the Barret Jackson auctions, but since the left the "Speed Channel" I haven't seen much of it in the past couple of years. I also enjoyed "Fast & Loud" & "Counts Customs" but they've both become a little too scripted & commercial. I've started watching a little of the spin off from Fast & Loud, "Misfit Garage" although it's not much different than Fast & Loud. Another new one that I've enjoyed is a new one that I don't recall the name of. It's another one much like Fast & Loud or Misfit Garage, but it's a bunch of guys in Louisiana. Steve

Well, I think all of the body mods & priming are done! I took Bill Geary's advice & modified the rear window openings & Mike Chernecki's suggestion & removed the body line from the doors. I think it helped greatly to improve the overall appearance of the body. A couple of coats of primer and a couple of primer/sealer, and I think it's looking fairly presentable. I'm really looking forward to color coats on this one! I'm hoping that will begin tomorrow. Steve

Bill has the right idea if you're a "Face Booker". If your like me, I don't even have a Facebook account. I use the Testors sanding films for a lot of things & I believe the finest grit in the pack is 600. That's as far as I went & it worked out fine. The guys at Kustom Khrome recommend 1000 grit. Most of my films are pretty worn, so essentially the fine is probably worn down to that at least. They don't recommend plating over fillers, but I do it all of the time & it's always worked fine for me. Usually just small sink marks & the like filled with Squadron Green. They do recommend using some sort of sealer over the filler if you use it. They say Testors clear lacquer will suffice. Steve

Mine was easy. I traded a 1961 Mercury promo for 20 pre-wired distributors from Morgan Automotive Detail. 20 builds will take me several years! Steve

Just be warned, I understand that solution refills cost as much as the original kit. Might be worth trying, but I think I'll wait a few years until the price comes down. Remember the $1,000.00 VCR? Steve

Got this '64 Bonneville convertible in a trade with "ToyLvr" Mike yesterday. A couple of minor windshield frame issues to work through & a few minor repairs from having a custom front & rear bumper glued on, but all in all a pretty nice starting point. Steve After stripping.

I've used this method on a '60 & '61 New Yorker, a '60 & '61 Plymouth Fury, a '60 Dodge and a couple of Pontiacs. I have some Chryslers & a boat load of Pontiacs to do these on yet. These are not all the best photos to high light them, but they will give you an idea. Steve

I don't mind either. In fact, I prefer it but always thought I'd save a few bucks mounting my own when I used Chrome Tech. I think I've discovered that the price difference is not worth the time & hassle. Bob at Kustom Khrome also told me that the silicone that we're told to use for mounting by Chrome Tech is a bad idea. Seems there is a chemical reaction between the silicone & the chemicals used in the plating process that can greatly affect adhesion of the chrome. They use all 2 sided tape to mount their parts. I used to get results like this from Chrome Tech years ago, but as of late, the quality has suffered. I've been getting far too many parts back with quality issues. Mainly the fact that the under coating is sprayed on way to heavily hiding details & in some cases leaving "ripples" in the chrome. When I got my parts back from Kustom Khrome, I was amazed at the quality! Aside from a couple of extremely tiny dust specks in a couple of parts, they were perfect!! Steve

Don't know. Is it perfectly round & the right size? Never tried it. Steve