StevenGuthmiller

Thought you might like to see how I "tried" to tackle this interior. There was basically no way I was ever going to replicate the upholstery pattern on this New Yorker, but I did the best I could. The dash, steering wheel & tops of the doors are painted body color over dark gray primer to give a little contrast with the body which was painted over white primer. The dash pad is bare dark gray primer with a coat of satin over it. I began the seat pads & door panels with dark gray primer & then put on a random pattern of large & small "dots" with a silver Sharpie. Then I over coated that with a very light coat of light metallic purple letting the dots show through slightly. Finally, I masked off the seat pads & door panels & sprayed the rest of the interior with a slightly darker metallic purple. The purples were custom mixed from Testors metallic silver, flat blue & flat red. Not perfect, but if nothing else, it adds interest. Still have to do the rear package shelf & floors with charcoal gray. Then detailing can commence! The body is clear coated & ready for polishing. Steve

Got my '59 hardtop & a '63 convertible last night also. Got the pair for $25.00. My inclination is to do the '59 for our "build off", but if I do that it could be several months by the time I get my current batch of chrome back & then get another batch sent out & get that back! I guess if I join in, it will have to be my '60 hardtop. Steve

Got a pair of Lincoln Continentals from ebay for $25.00. A pretty nice '59 hardtop, & a '63 convertible, mostly complete but a few issues. Steve

I guess I'm game. As long as there aren't a bunch of goofy rules associated with it. And....no time limit. Got too many projects on the docket already! Steve

I agree! I like the color, but the smooth simple lines of the car would work better with maybe a simple mesh grille of some sort. The big "toothy" grille draws your eye away from the rest of the car. That grille would look better in a big 50s monster. Other than that I like it! Steve

Ouch! Someone get this one to the hospital! It obviously needs antibiotics! Steve

Sorry to ruffle feathers guys, with the "chick mobile" analogy. Sounds like I struck a nerve! I didn't invent the term. It's just there. It's a lot like the "Chick Bike" thing with the Harley Sportster. That's just the way it is. Do I even have to say it? If you can't stand the heat..... There are all kinds of "stigma" that go along with certain types of vehicles. All pick up drivers are red necks, All VW drivers are gay, you get the picture. Things aren't fair in life. Either you take it in stride, or you get bent out of shape. I prefer to be a little more laid back. Steve

I can see that too. I also see a little of the "Sucker Fish" that Miles mentioned. Looks like one that just woke up! I will admit, sometimes it looks like they're trying a little too hard in the styling department. Simplicity goes a long way! Steve

My '60 is in pieces ready to be started. May have to do that soon. Here's my '61 waiting for restoration. Steve

Looks a little less "Chick Mobile" to me now. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess. Steve

I've began taking before & after pics of my restos also. It is nice to give people an indication of what you started with. I just started doing this recently, & I usually don't bother unless the before shot looks pretty rough. This is one of the few that I have. Although, this one actually was in pretty nice shape. Steve

I'm not much of the competitive type Ron, but I do have a couple of new Continentals that are due to arrive tomorrow or Saturday. A 1963 & a 1959. The '59 has me a little intrigued. I have nothing that's ready for restoration at the moment except for possibly a '60. The rest all need parts to go for re-chroming. But I could probably fast track the '60 a little. No Suicide doors on that, but it's the best I can muster at the moment. Steve

Another beauty Al!! Here's another one I have to get to one of these days. I have the hardtop version. I've even already had the chrome parts re-plated. Just haven't gotten around to building it yet. Very nice! Steve

My mother was a station wagon fanatic when I was young, so I remember a lot of huge Mopar, wood grained wagons growing up. My dad was in the construction business, so it was all Chevy pickups with him. But I do remember one spring in 1973 when some how my dad found a chinc in my mothers station wagon armor & by some miracle, talked her into bringing home a brand new 1973 Dodge Charger SE! It was not a particular hot rod, having a 318 automatic but it's seared into my memory as being one of the coolest cars we ever had in our family! Triple black with the opera windows! My glee was short lived as my mother hated the car from the day we brought it home & by fall we had a brand new 1973 dodge wagon! Yuuch!! Steve

Here's the ones I miss! Johan saw fit to print them right on the box for '61, but they never introduced any of the convertibles that year. The real goody would have been the 1961 Chrysler 300, which has never been produced in any form. Steve

Depends on what kind of glue, how much, & what kind of paint. I've had instances where I've gotten a small amount of "super" type glue on one of my usual automotive lacquer paint jobs, and I just polished it out. Worked just fine. Steve

Well, it looks great to me! You can always change the wheels! Steve

Thanks guys! I'm working this & the '59 Ford together, so tonight I'm getting started on interiors. This upholstery pattern looks particularly tough, but I have a couple of ideas that might get me reasonably close. Wish me luck! Steve

Thanks Gary! Getting a start on painting the interior tonight. Steve

That would explain it. I do seem to remember the tires from that kit being pretty nice. Too bad the rest of the kit was trash! Steve

That's pretty Al!! I've had one of these staring me in the face every time I walk into my shop for a long time now! Plus, I just picked up a '63 on ebay last week. Sooner or later I'm gonna have to build one or stop buying them! Very nice job! I've always thought these Continentals of this body style screamed out to be painted either very light or very dark colors. Black or a dark charcoal gray on one end of the spectrum, & white or maybe a beige or pale gold on the other end. What did you use for tires? They're perfect! Steve

It was re-issued Emmanuel. Back in the 80s by a company called X-el. This is an example of an X-el model which is why there is no warp. X-el made their kits from styrene. Steve

I've used regular old garden variety corn starch to make a gloss paint flat. Works perfectly with enamels but I heard somewhere that you can use it with any paint. So, I would pick your metallic colors & mix in a little corn starch, (your guess is as good as mine how much) Experiment with that a little. Steve

Tommy. I did a little research on those colors & I see the pink was not available on the Desoto. But the Terracotta was. It was called "Russet Red" on the Desotos. Steve

My original plan on this one was "Petal Pink" with a "Terracotta" top. I'll bet those colors were available in one form or another on the Desoto too. The reverse might even look better, with the Terracotta as the main body color. Steve