microwheel

I finally got time to start working on the cuda's power plant the past few days. So here is where things are so far. I got the hemi and tranny painted. Though the pic quality isnt the best, the engine is painted hemi-orange. Got the shaker assembled and painted (this is gonna be removable for displaying detail) got the carbs plumbed for fuel and vacum, and carb linkage configured. Using real car photos, I made sure to set the carbs up with the correct 2 return spring system and painted the springs the correct colors of red and green. Added the alternator bracket. oil dip stick, negative battery cable, and decal for the oil filter. De-chromed and Painted the valve covers and drilled them out for the plug wires and vacum lines, and also added better wire lumes for the the back two plugs on each valve cover. (Still need to make and install the plug wires), I replaced the kit supplied distributor with a spun aluminum pre-drilled one from Scale Repro's Plus (this guy makes some good stuff. Do a google search for him). Even though it doesnt have the ribs on it, It does have a vacum advance, and besides the kit supplied distributor doesnt have a vacum advance, and only has 7 ribs, so I thought the distributor I went with was a little better trade off when it came to issues. And it fits the hemi pretty good. Moving on to the tranny. I desided I wanted to detail the tranny as well, so I scratch made the 4 speed linkage, and also scratch made the clutch linkage. All this was test fitted in the car with the exhaust manifolds tacked in place to make sure there wasnt gonna be any clearence issues. Pics of the progress below. I still have to detail and install the starter and belt and pully system. As well as the plug wires. Anyways thanks everyone for the comments so far. More to come as the work continues. Hey Fred, like we were talking about;, Notice the better clearence between the distributor and shaker for plug wires with this distributor.

Hi Fred, sorry it took so long to get back with you, the wife and I went camping this weekend, so I didnt get time to work on the cuda. I finally got the chance to start on the engine and engine detail yesterday and am finally at working with the shaker. You are correct as far as the excess needing to be trimmed off the mounting posts on the shaker filter, but you shouldnt need to do anything else with it. However the angle of the distributor needs to be dead on for the shaker to sit right, and even then there really isnt clearence for adding plug wires. A fix for that would be to trim a little off the distributor shaft to make up for the extra space that adding plug wires take up. I am using a aftermarket spun aluminum pre-drill distributor with a vacum advance on it, from Scale repro's plus, he makes some great stuff. The distrib isnt ribbed like the kit one is, but then again the kit one doesnt have the vacum advance either, as well as it only has 7 ribs instead of 8 like it's supposed to, so it isnt really accurate either. I will have to trim the distributor shaft to give extra room for the shaker with the plug wires added, and I'll have to make sure I get the angle right, but it should work. I do alooooottttttt of test fitting everything as I go just to be sure. That's why this build is taking me so long. I'll be posting a few new pics of my engine work over on my build in the next few days.

Hi Fred Thanks for the heads up on this issue. I haven't gotten to the shaker yet on my build, but I'll let you know if I run into anything like your issue with it. I did a test fit this morning on my engine, fan belt assembly, and radiator and shroud and all is gonna go in just as I planned. I been working on getting the engine ready for detail and paint today, But weekend plans with the wife is gonna sideline my build time this weekend.

Hi Fred thanks. Yup the engine is test fitted every step of the way. The plan is to drop the engine and radiator and shroud all in at the same time. With the radiator and shroud just slipped over the fan as the engine is being lowered into place, then the radiator can be cemented from the grill side after it is seated in place. Thats why I havent cemented the grill into place yet. As for the lower radiator hose. I plan to use aftermarket hose material which can be bent to shape for a better fit, and put in place before permently fixing the front suspension into place.

A little more work done on the Cuda engine bay the past few days. Not alot, but a good start. Sorry about the pic quality. I made a wiring harnass that will run along the firewall and end at the core support on the passenger side. This is for the horns and headlights and such. Also finished the engine bay area brake lines and painted, detailed and installed the brake master cylinder and boster and made a vacum line for it. Detail painted and installed the wiper motor and fluid bottle and scratched made a battery to ignition relay terminal that will have lines run to it when it is time to install the battery. In the first pic I made the wiring harness out of twisted thin copper wire and then shaped it for placement. This was covered will tefflon tape and then primered with tamiya white primer. In this pic, after the primer was dry, the harness was painted with Tamiya matt black In the next 2 pics, near the master cylinder you can see the battery ignition relay block that was scratched made. As well as the brake lines running from the master cylinder to the transition block down on the frame. The next few pics show the wiring harness running along the firewall, splitting off to the firewall ignition box, and around to the passenger side inner fender splitting off to the horns . It continues on below the washer bottle to the core support for headlight wiring to be made and added later. More to come as I get it done. I started adding the kit supplied engine bay decals today, and the drivers fender decal went just fine, the core support decal messed up on me for some reason, so I'm gonna try to see if Revell will send me another one. If they wont, well then It will have to be finished without it.. :-(

Great build on this one. Love the galaxies.

What a great job. R&R's stuff is really difficult to build and you did it proud

Your Build is really coming along nicely. Looking forward to seeing it under glass.

It's looking really nice Tom. Clear coat turned out good

It's coming along nicely Tom.

Really Looking good Fred. A sunny day really makes a good paint job pop! Dont ya think LOL.

Hi Tony, Like you, I have just recently got back into the hobby after many years away. So welcome back. Your build is looking nice so far. As for clear coating. It depends on the type of paint you applied. Try to go with the same type of clear coat. Just a suggestion, but I would have clear coated and polished before applying BMF. Some clear coats tend to dull down the BMF. Acrylic clear coats seem to go over it just fine, and can even make it look brighter. But you never know, you may have to do a little wet sanding to remove orange peel or imperfections after clear coating, depending on what you use and how you apply it. If you do, it creates the risk of sanding through the BMF.

I did a little work on the cuda the past couple days. I didnt have alot of time, but got some things done anyways. Before I post pics let me discribe a little about why and what I am doing. I tack assembled the engine as seen in one of the pics I already posted. And also tack glued the drivers side exhaust manafold on it. This is to check for fit and ease of assembly as Im working on the engine bay detail. It's taking me time because I am carefully planning out my detail and assembly steps as I go. I want to make sure my engine bay brake and fuel lines mate up to the engine correctly, and that, when I am ready the finished engine and radiator and shroud, all assemble into the car at the point I want them too with as much ease as possible. This weekend I got the glass installed as well as the sunvisors, dome light, and rearview mirror. Then I carefully installed the interior into the body. Now I know the kit instructions, at this point, call for installing the engine into the chassis and then installing the chassis to the body and interior assembly, but as I said, Im doing things a little different. After a little pre-planning of detailing and test fitting, I decided to install the partially completed chassis at this time. Once this was done I test fitted the engine to make sure I could still slide the engine into place. Dont worry, I have a plan to make sure the radiator and shroud will fit into the car and clear the engine fan once I get to that point, as well as making sure I can still install the lower radiatior hose without a struggle. I also received my BF Goodrich TA tires from Fireball Modelworks this past week. These tires come as solid rubber tires, so I had to carefully cut the inside rubber out of the tires, without damaging the outer front and backside lips, so the kit rims would fit. I used a new exacto blade in my knife and it was very time consuming. But the tires look great once the rims were paint detailed and the lettering on the tires were drybrush painted with tamiya's white primer. Here is a pic of the finished wheels and tires: Next I assembled the wheels and tires on the front suspension and the the rear axle. So now the cuda has her feet. (I got a little tuch up paint work to do on the front suspension once I get the cuda close to being done). Full pics of the car will be posted with her on her feet in later posts. Sorry to keep you wondering.. LOL! Next was to add the exhaust tips to the rear roll pan and install the rear roll pan onto the car. (it's easier to fix the exhaust tips to the rear roll pan before assembling the rear roll pan to the body, then slide the exhaust tips into the exhaust as you place the roll pan into position). Also in these pics you can see the rear tires I installed earlier. I painted and installed the steering gearbox at this point, checking the fit and clearence of the engine and exhaust manifold as I did. And to make sure I had room to run the brake lines past it from the master brake cylinder to the transition block I made. Sorry about the pic quality I moved a little when I took it and it blurred a little because of it. You'll notice in a few of the pics it will look like the front suspension is installed. It is not, it's just test fitted for clearences. You get the idea. These next few pics are to show you how the engine will slide into the car and clear what I have done so far, as well as to show it still fits in the car as it's supposed to. To slide the engine in, it has to be tilted and turned just a little bit to clear the steering gearbox. But it does with no problems. Here you can see it resting where it is supposed to in the car. by the way if your wondering why the engine isnt painted and detailed yet, It's because I need to do more detailing in the engine bay and it requires alot of handling of the engine for test fitting as I go. I prefer to handle my competed engines as little as possible one I get them painted and detailed. I wear cotton gloves even when I handle the car for the work Im doing on it now just because I dont like cleaning off tons of finger prints later. And even doing that, I still have to touch up paint that tends to get worn off of parts in spots due to handling. But thats the nature of the beast in model building. And here from under the car, to show how the exhaust still lines up nicely. As I said before the front suspension is just sitting in place for now for test fitting everything. You can see where I need to tuch up the paint on the suspension yet. More progress to post soon......

Hi Mike Thanks for the tip. I already have several types of excelta tweezers because I did computer repair work for alot of years and needed them. I dont use them much because they tend to bend easily and none of the ones I have, have grip teeth on them. My wife works in the medical field also and she turned me on to some really good tweezers that is used in the medical industry. I dont remember the brand right off hand. But they are good ones and work well for me. My favorite ones to use when I am doing small detail have the grip teeth which I like when working with photo etched stuff.

For chrome plated side marker lights that need a semi-transpartent lense look, I usually paint the crome areas that need coloring, such as amber colors, or if more of a silver color is needed, I use testors metalizer aluminum; for side turn signals and such first.. then when that is dry, I use a milk bottle cap lid and poor a little bit of tamiya acrylic clear in it, then add a drop or two of tamiya acrylic gloss white. Just enough to give it a opaque or semi-transparent look, then apply the mixture to the lense area you want to cover. You'll have to do a little trial and error with the mix and application to get it right, but it works pretty well for me. If the area being covered is recessed enough I sometimes even use a little bit of clear 2 part 5 minute epoxy mixed with a drop of tamiya acrylic gloss white, instead, and yes it will level fairly well on small areas, but make sure you get a brand that dries fairly clear as some brands tend to yellow more than others. Hope this helps.

Hey Fred, really love the interior. I wish I could do white as well as some of you guys can. White anything on a model always gives me fits lol.I really like the way this build is going. I cant wait to see it finished.

Hey Fred thanks. You better keep working on yours, I have been following your progress and like your build very much. I have been looking forward to seeing it finished.

More work done on the Cuda chassis today finally. It may not look like alot of progress, but every inch feels like a mile. In the first three pics I made the brake lines trasition block and then finished running the rear brake line up to it and then added the brake line over the chassis for the drivers side front. I assembled the engine block enough so I could use it to test fit for clearences with the transition block and lines. I have work to do on the engine block before it's ready to paint. In the next couple of pics, I assembled and painted the front suspension and then added the front flex brake lines. I went with the lowered front suspension, with the stock rear suspension, to hopefully give the Cuda a little more of a agressive stance. I havent had it together on wheels yet to be sure of the stance. Im just hoping it gives me the look Im after. I have the stock suspension on standby just in case I need to go back to it. And finally, In the next pic, I made the passenger side brake line that runs along the firewall. And though it doesnt look like it fits right in the pic, it is by design, so that everything could be tied together with little effort when the time comes. When mocked up it all fits tight and right. with the hook in the line on the passenger side fitting over the frame rail nice and tight. And the hook on the driver side fitting snuggly into the trasition block on the drivers side frame rail. You'll see the end resault once things go together. Also in this pic you can see the line straps I made in my earlier post. Next on the list of to do's; will be to install the front and rear glass in the body, add the sun visors, dome light and rear view mirror, and then mount the interior tub to the body. And then the real fun begins, The engine and engine bay detail!

Thanks everyone, here are a few more detail shots in case anyone wants to see them

Adding a few refference pics on how I plan to run the front brake lines. You can see in this pic how the lines wrap under the front frame The next pic is a good shot of how the passenger side front brake line should be run along the firewall. The next pic is a good shot of the block where the lines tie together on the driver side. Mine wont look exactly line that but I hope I can make it look close. I thing mocking up the engine block and making sure the lines dont interfear with the exhaust headers would be a pretty good idea at this point. We will see how it goes when Im ready to get this all done. The pics are of a 71 cuda but the layout should be close enough for the 70 Im working on. Notice the master cylinder colors......

Thanks everyone, Sorry its been a while since my last update. We had a busy weekend so not alot of time to work on the cuda. I did manage to start working on the front suspension and front brake lines, and will post pics of the progress with it soon. I wanted to post some info for those that have asked about how I make my brake and fuel line tie down brakets. Please bare with me as I go and excuse the pic quality at times. In the first pic you will see the tools and materials I use to make my brackets with. I like to use the frames of leftover photo etched stuff for the raw material, however you LHS usually carries thin brass sheet that can be cut into stips narrow enough to use for brakets as well. Whats Needed: A good sharp pair of sprue cutters to cut the material to a close length. A straight pin to shape the material A good pair of curved tipped jewlers tweezers In this next picture you can see where I have cut a pice of the photo etched frame to use for the braket I am making Next using the tweezers carefully lay the strip over the straight pin. Be carefull! these things like to take off and fly on you! lol, I have lost a few on the floor at this point. Next, Once again be very carefull and patient, using the tweezers, and keeping everything on a flat hard surface, gently bend the strip over the straight pin. What you will end up with is something like this in the pic below. If you want a bracket that just lays over the line, you can use it at this point. Just use a little 5 minute epoxy to glue it to the line and area where you want it to be on the model. If you used a little too much material and the sides are too long, just trime the sides with the sprue cutter to length. If you want a tie down strap type bracket, just continue to wrap the material around the straight pin as seen in the pictures below and then slide them onto your fuel or brake line before fixing the lines into place. Then, once again gule them into place using 5 minute epoxy or clear laquar paint. And paint them if desired. And that's pretty much how I make my fuel and brake line straps and tie down brakets. More pics of work on the Cuda to come soon.

Thanks everyone for all the kind comments.

Thanks Peter, Its been alot of years, around the mid 90's, since I did any model building, I did alot back then and even did alot of shows around the midwest. But life threw me a bunch of curve balls and I had to give it up. A little over a year ago, I was able to get back into it, and have had to rebuild my supplies and tools. Im still not where I need to be with everything. I am also having to shake the rust off of my skills and it is taking time.. I do know what you mean about the doors. I love opening doors when I can. It took your comment to remind me of what I used to do years ago.. I still need to get a roto tool for grinding, but It is now on the top of my list. This build was a test for me to see if I could still do things the way I used too.. It helped me remember alot what I used to do, but I know I still have that rust thing to shake off as well as catching up on some of the new after market guys out there. And then of course there are all the kits that have come out since I got out of the hobby. Enough to make a guy's head spin lol.

Thanks Steve, I still have a lot of rust to shake off.. I was building alot back in the 80's and 90's, and even did some work with Boyd Coddington on paint color research back then when he would sometimes come here to Michigan. I attended alot of shows and contests around Michigan, Ohio and a few on the east coast (mainly New Jersey & Delaware) back then. Then one day I just decided I was burnt out and sold everything and got away from the hobby. I never realized how much I missed it until my current wife asked me to build a kit for her. This was just a little over a year ago. I have built around 7 cars so far since then, and with each one, a little but more of what I used to do starts coming back to me. That, and it's taking time to rebuild my stock of supplies and tools.

Thanks, the wife and I were at the hospital most of the evening with him today, he is doing alot better.. he is still not eating even though he can, he is afraid the food will make him hurt.. The doctor told us today that if he would start eating and had a couple bowl movements.. they would consider releasing him to go home.. But it may still be a couple days yet.