StevenGuthmiller

Exactly. I don't begrudge anyone for building something from scratch, but ugly is ugly. And as they say, "Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone"! Steve

Agreed! Brings to mind another exercise in pure ugly! Whatever happened to flowing lines & elegant design. Now it seems they have to make everything look like a "Transformer"! I just can't imagine who finds these chopped up things appealing. I don't care how much power it has, If I had it, I would spend my mega bucks on an original Hemi Cuda convertible before I would even consider dropping a dime on this mess! Steve

You could be right. It sounds a little high to me too. I thought he said no higher than 180, but I was having a little trouble hearing him on my phone. I would probably keep it lower than that myself. But a slow cooker would be kind of a moot point if you're only going to 90. I agree, I would never go that high with resin, but he was talking about stripping chrome & paint from styrene parts for re-plating. I may include a note with my order to clarify that suggestion. Steve

I'll have to try this. I usually don't have a lot of trouble when using Super Clean, but my soaking tub sits on my concrete basement floor. Not exactly a warm place to do it. Steve

Most of these guys are middle men. Your average Joe Schmo model car enthusiast, like us, is not going to have the resources to be able to afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that this process requires. The actual companies who do these model parts for us contract with our "middle men" who get us a reasonable price through volume. Chrome tech does not do their own plating either. I did a little research a couple years ago to see if I could work with a "vacuum metallizing" company directly to cut out the middle man. Believe me, the cost is prohibitive. By the way, Bob is the co-owner of Kustom Khrome. Steve

The current batch of parts that I'm getting ready to ship for re-chroming includes a pair of resin bumpers for a '61 Olds. When they come back, I'll try to remember to post photos to show how they came out. According to Bob, the plater he uses is the same company who did chrome trees for AMT & Johan for many years. They have been in business for 70 plus years & apparently are currently doing plating for some of the more prominent resin casters. Steve

Great looking old Pontiacs! I spent a good portion of my day getting parts ready to ship to the chromers. Among them were parts from a pair of old MPC Bonnevilles. A '66 & a '67, The '67 will be done in a dark purple called "Plum Mist". Steve

I also got a tip from Bob @ Kustom Khrome. Many people have told me that the Super Clean is much more efficient if it's warm, although I have yet to try it. He told me to get an old slow cooker, put a little water in it & heat it to no more than 180 degrees. Then place a container filled with Super Clean & the parts to be stripped into the hot water bath & let them sit at that temp for a couple of hours. He claims it really speeds up the process. I may have to try this one, especially for those stubborn paint jobs. Mind you, I wouldn't do this with resin. As we know, resin will soften considerably with heat & you'll likely wind up with warpage. Steve

I never read the book, but I've seen the movie a couple of times over the years. It was fun to watch for the cars, but the acting was just atrocious! The only people who were believable in the whole movie were possibly Harry Dean Stanton as the detective, the guy who played the owner of the junk yard & the old guy who sold Arnie the car. The leading cast was just horrible, especially the kid who played Dennis, Arnie's best friend! I wonder if he ever got another acting job after his appearance in that movie? Steve

Meaning this is what I use also. The Super Clean degreaser in the gallon jug. Steve

Very cool Wayne! I've never gotten a really good close up look at it, but I've seen it cruising around town a few times. It looks to be a real beauty! I'll bet he's the only one on his block to have one! Steve

I agree! This is the way a custom should be done in my opinion. Minimal changes to the original look of the car. Steve

Yes, they do resin parts. But according to their flier, they won't guarantee results. Quote: "Most resin parts do plate well, although the casting must be very smooth & clean of mold release. Clean the resin as though you were stripping it before it is plated using Wesley Tire Cleaner (Bleache White), then clean again with soap & hot water. If your resin parts look rough or dry & chalky, call us for further preparation details. Sorry, WE CAN NOT GUARANTEE RESULTS ON RESIN PARTS." Steve

Oh, don't get me wrong, I really do love that body style. There's a guy in town that I've seen a few times that has a '61 Phoenix convertible. It's white with a green interior. The 1:1 is really an eye catcher if you've never seen one in person. Steve

As a matter of fact Scott, I just got off of the phone with Bob about 20 minutes ago. He explained to me that they have been having major computer hacking problems & are just now getting things back in order. That would explain the delay in responding to my e-mail. We had a very pleasant conversation & I'm pleased to say that I'm looking forward to doing business with him very soon. Bob seemed like a terrific guy! If any one else is interested, I did get some information that may be informative, but I'll decline to start running at the mouth at this moment. If anyone has any specific questions that I can answer, I'll be more than happy to. After seeing their work at the show & hearing about their operation, I'm fairly confident that I will be pleased with the experience. Parts will start getting ready to ship this weekend! Steve

I think it looks great & I'm not a custom kind of guy! I am however, an ugly early '60s Mopar kind of guy!! I just love these '61 Mopars in all of their homely glory! Steve

X2 Steve

Where is it glued? Is it glued around the window frames, or are just the "stretchers" glued to the roof? If it's just glued to the roof, just cut out the stretchers & take the windshield & back glass out separately. Then you can either leave the stretchers in place, or grind them out with a Dremel. I usually have pretty good luck removing glass from old kits & have done it this way numerous times. But I'm usually very careful about buying any built-ups that have even an indication of glue around the A pillars or vent posts. They can be next to impossible to remove if they're heavily glued at those points. Steve

It would surprise me if someone out there isn't already casting replicas of the old Johan '58 Plymouth promo. I would bet that the body proportions on that would be correct. As long as it wasn't cast from one of those warped, twisted and mangled acetate specimens that we usually see! Steve

Absolutely! It has to be clean, clean, clean! Steve

Sweet!! Steve

Fair enough Bill. I really don't have a use for it at this point anyway. But I'll bet it would fit some of the other GM annuals from '61/ '62. Most of the GM cars that I have to build from those years are hardtops @ the moment anyway. Steve

Nice Bill! Hang on to that up top! You know me. I'll bet I could find a use for it if you're willing to part with it! Steve

I've built some curbside kits in about 3 weeks to a month, but nothing really shorter than that. Lately I've been building more detailed builds with engines & they've been taking me an average of around 2 months. But I am still employed full time so I only get time at the bench on the weekends & occasionally a little in the evening. I suspect I could crank them out in about half that time if I was retired. Hopefully someday! Steve

It probably will, but I would plan on doing some grinding to get it to fit properly. The Flintstone castings are pretty thick. The AMT '62 Belair glass will work in my '61 Olds but I had to do quite a bit of thinning around the windshield opening to get it to fit, & it's still not perfect. The fit would probably be much better with vacu-formed glass. Steve