StevenGuthmiller

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

It's there Harry! It's a very pale purple It's very difficult to see even with the eye indoors. I'll bet it will be much more noticeable in natural light. I took these photos in my family room which is not particularly well lit & I played with the color settings on my camera a little to try to get a reasonable facsimile to the color. It's pretty tough when you're dealing with these very subdued colors. If you blow up the first picture & look closely at the C-pillar, you'll notice a slight variation between the top & the 1/4 inch wide stripe of white primer in the center. Steve

Well, the color coats are on! First couple of coats dried well enough today so that I could get my scripts foiled & get the final color coat on. Cleaned off the scripts & here it is. Still struggling to get a photo that does the colors justice, but I guess that's part of the grand unveiling when the build is finished. The top color is almost imperceptible, but if you look closely at the c-pillars you'll see the difference between the lilac & the white primer. Clear coats coming up!! Steve

Hey, Thanks John!! I was having very little luck finding any reference pics. The only one I could find was a 4 door with a gray interior. I like the Iris one in this photo! I might go that route. Although, replicating the upholstery pattern might be a challenge! Steve

I know Lee, but I could never seem to leave any orange peel on my builds. Call it an obsession of mine. Besides, I left enough orange peel on my models when I was a kid for both of us! Steve

I haven't been able to find a lot of reference material on this color for the '60 Chryslers. But the few pics that I have found show a 2-tone gray interior. I guess that makes sense with the grayish overtones of the Iris color. I might go that route. I have at least a couple of Chrysler 300 builds coming up that will have the black & white interior combo Harry. I wouldn't want to over do it. But thank you for the suggestion! I'm always looking for those. Steve

Blue, like......painters tape? Steve

The '60 New Yorker is getting a little more colorful today. I sprayed the "Lilac" paint on the roof last night & got the first 2 coats of "Iris" on the body today. Some foil on the scripts & one more coat of color should do until clear coats. May get that last coat done tonight if the previous coats dry fast enough. This is one of those colors that can be a little tough to photograph, especially indoors. It is metallic purple, but it's very "subdued". Looks a little more gray than purple. But, I guess too much purple & it would look a little too "pimp mobile"! Steve

Not 100% sure Chris. At this point, the only thing I'm not seeing for the '63 is the interior tub. Lots of parts in bags, so there could be other small parts missing as well. Steve

Reminds me of a computer game my kids had years ago. Racing Hot Wheels cars through the house on the orange track. Through the kitchen, jumping the dog, etc. It was great!! I think I may still have it. Steve

I just happened across a "buy it now" auction on ebay today with a complete, unpainted 1959 Lincoln continental hardtop "jr. craftsman" kit, as well as a nearly complete 1963 Lincoln convertible. The pair for $25.00! I had to take the chance & jump on it! Steve

You have more patience than I do John! My '59 is getting the interior it came with, & believe me, being a Jr. Craftsman article, it does leave a little to be desired as far as "crispness" goes. But, no project is getting any special treatment in my shop. You brought her, you dance with her! Steve

Could be one of those transformations that may be a little difficult to pick up. You know, one of those, "something's different, but I can't quite put my finger on it" moments. It seems to go together seamlessly. Very interesting. Steve

Although the cars themselves have been pretty much relegated to the dust bin of history, the 1960 & 1961 Dodge dashboards are one of my all time favorites. with the "see through" speedo & push button trans, not to mention the transparent steering wheels & that wild star shaped steering wheel on the '60, they should at least garner an honorable mention for being one of the most unusual! All of the Mopars from the late 50s & early 60s were definitely something that would be remembered at the very least! Steve