MGL

That's the kind of sleeper I'd like to drive, nice work.

Thank you for all the kind words and encouragement. My ship was supposed to sail a couple days ago but due to some generator problems we are stuck pier-side for a bit longer so I am going to wrap this one up for now and call it done. In trying to go from out of the box normal builds to something approaching some of the works of art I see on this forum I have been setting goals for myself on each build and my goal here was to improve my body and paint work, scratch build small details, and get some practice with BMF. I think it's time to move up to an airbrush, rattle cans are just too unpredictable and the available color choices are too limiting. I need to get a good magnifier, my eye's aren't 17 anymore. I like this kit and plan on picking up a couple more including the resin van body, and a slant six. My plan for the van is to build a machine shop delivery van and open at least the back doors to show an engine and other parts in the back. The issues I had with this kit were miner and easily corrected including the lack of a brake and clutch pedal, no gas filler cap, and the windshield center post being too thick. Tom Geiger got it right by replacing it with styrene, I think a small half round piece would do the trick but the windshield is made for a thick post. The only correct way would be to make a new windshield. Again, thank you for looking.

Last night I got the body primed again, you can't see how bad the orange peel really was from the picture but the first coat went on nice and smooth, after about twenty minutes on a cool day the second coat just wouldn't flow right. The color is going on okay this time for now. I added a little bit of weathering to the engine and chassis, and since the kit didn't come with a brake or clutch pedal a made some and added them along with a normal gas pedal. Tom, thank you, I did forget about the gas filler and that meant also making a cover for the fill hose that would be on the inside of the bed. I couldn't find a reference picture online so I assume it would look something like this. Also pictured is the retainer bracket for the spare tire.

The orange peel from the second coat of the first color was pretty bad around the dodge letters on the tailgate and on the front. Since I didn't want to spend the day sanding and I don't want to obscure the letters, and I really wanted to go for a ride down this amazing road called Mines road that runs between Livermore and San Jose, I put the body in brake fluid this morning, put Tom Waits on my mp3 player, and commenced to grinding foot pegs off on pavement. I don't think it is but there is an observatory along that road that looks just like the one in Rebel Without a Cause. Anyway, when I got home I cleaned everything up and just hit it with some primer and maybe tomorrow I can get some color on it,

The grill came from Kris at Morgan Automotive Detail. I cant figure out how to post the link to his site but the address is www.madmodeling .com. Kris is a member of this site and provides great products and excellent service.

I remember building that kit 30 years ago, if I remember right I destroyed it trying to put an engine out of a pro-stock car in it, maybe Bob Gliddens? Anyway, I can't wait to see were you go with it.

So yesterday I got the doghouse insulated. I'm not sure how they came stock but I had a 63 ford van years ago that was insulated like this so I assume they would be similar. I remember the Ford was loud so I couldn't imagine how loud it would be without insulation in there. I used some material that came wrapped around a bike stand we recently bought for the sides and foil from a yogurt lid for the top. I also wet sanded the body and got it ready for paint. This morning I sprayed it, I don't have an airbrush yet and I usually use Tamiya spray paints but I found the colors I wanted in Model Master. I don't really like the Model Master spray paints, they seem to flash off too fast and then take forever to dry without really flowing out like I like want. But that's okay, I have plenty of 1200 grit paper and some water so whenever it dries I will wet sand it and spray the second color.

Thank you to those that have followed along so far. Yesterday I scribed the panel line at the rear of the bed side and adjusted the doors. The right door was a mess but with some encouragement from some heat I got it pretty close and got the rest of the body cleaned up and ready for primer including narrowing the center windshield post. Chassis is done and engine installed. I was going to use a pre-wired distributor but even with opening the doghouse it's not visible enough to warrant the time and expense. The next one of these I think is going to get a slant six so more of the engine should be visible. Not pictured yet is the spare tire bracket and I painted white walls. Also, I lowered it by what would amount to about 1 1/2 to 2 inches.

I love this project and I can't wait to see the toilet!

I was wanting to do a quick build so I started this Dodge A100. I want to do the van version but I don't have time to get the body in and I also wanted a truck anyways. I am doing this stock with the 273. I was thinking about finishing it in grey primer but I haven't settled yet. I opened the doghouse and hinged it. Since the back is not visible, rather than build a hinge I used a small piece of rubber and shaved the top rear so it would clear the back of the cab.

Made a copy of the master cylinder from my sons "70 Torino kit, turned out ok for now. I just pressed it into some clay and mixed up some epoxy and poured it in.

Nice job! Did you hand paint the seat or make a decal, that thing is impressive.

Nice, my son is building this right now.

Along with the long bed, I would like to see the '80's style cab cast in resin. Along with GMC and Chevy grills.

The clearance lights and rear marker lights came in. I don't like the marker lights, they seem way to big and I have found better, PE parts online. The clearance lights are ok, I would have liked to have found the type with the chrome frame that goes around the top but I will live with this. I added insulation under the hood and a HOLMES plate below the winch cable. In the future I will start making my own hood hinges so the hood will actually go up properly. I am also going to invest in an airbrush later this summer. I wonder if I try this Future that I keep seeing y'all talk about will it help blend the edges of the decals better or should I make new ones and try trimming them closer?

Cool project! I've looked at this kit several times as I had a '76 long wheelbase E-150 when I was younger. Does it have a sliding door on the side or is it the barn door style?

Wow, I'm speechless!

Nice looking truck, I really like how its coming together.

Nice! What wheels and tires are you using? I think those are what I need for my current project.

The pre-wired distributor is from M.A.D. wired with the correct firing order. You can't really tell from the pictures but I remember putting a water pump on this truck so I left the water pump with fresh paint an added some orange rtv to it. This is where I/m at for now, I still need to finish the u bolts on the rear, the clearance lights, the rear marker lights, master cylinder, heater, and figure out what to do about the inner fender wells. I don't remember how the were finished. Also, looking at these pictures, the beacon light looks to be crooked so I will take that off, level it, and then use the BMF on it instead of paint. Thanks for looking.

I started adding the u bolts on the diff, I still need to do the outer ones but I ran out of paper clips. Drilled the exhaust, and I had to take about 3/8 " out of the frame, exhaust, and drive shaft, you can see plates on either side of both frame rails. After looking around here I get the impression most of you that know what your doing would have drilled and pinned it so next time I will try that. The transfer case had to be turned around to drive the pto but I think it works out ok. The kit came with an automatic but the real truck had a four speed. I didn't find a ford four speed until I was this far into it so for now this is how its going to stay. I can't say enough about the grill from M.A.D. I wish I had the confidence, tools, and skill to open it up or to finish it in such a way to do it justice but I don't. That's why I ordered 2 of them so I can come back to it later as I figure things out.

Slusher, its close, I've got clearance lights and rear marker lights coming, and tomorrow I'm going to make the HOLMES plate that goes below the cable on the crossbar. I would like to find the correct wheels but so far I haven't seen any of the 4 hole ford 8 lug wheels. My Dads shop specialized in VW's so it only seemed fitting to try it out on one. The 4x4 is just about the most important accessory for any sling truck, it keeps the hard parts off the shiny stuff. The chain is from the LHS, the hooks are fishhooks bent and filed. The brake lights are scratch built but the three running lights I trimmed out of the 77 GMC wrecker kit. The mirror's and horn were my first attempt with BMF, I wish I had tried that stuff years ago. I guess I didn't mention, I filed down all the trim and raised the top of the windshield to get it even with the door glass. I also didn't realize I missed detailing the inner door panels until I had the cab and bed attached and I really don't want to fight that again right now. The fire wall detail on this kit is pretty mediocre. No master cylinder or even a hint of a heater core. My son is working on a Revell "70 Torino which by the way is an impressive kit for the price, it even has a PE grill, so I am thinking about trying one of these resin casting kits from Hobby Lobby and copy the master cylinder from that. The battery cable is a paper clip, I flattened out the ends a bit to simulate the terminals. I think next time I will just put a bit of 2 part epoxy on the end and shape, file and scribe the terminals. The fuel line is also a paper clip but I can see now in the pictures it's a little bit too big.

Steve, Man I wish, could you imagine the tools you would have access to at NASA? I'm in the Coast Guard, just transferred to one of the ships here. It's funny how in the movies when people in the military are working on things they have all the latest and greatest tools but when I send somebody after a 1/2 inch wrench they inevitably come back with a 15 inch crescent wrench because its the only thing they can find. JB, besides the Hobby Lobby in Concord, the only place I've found is Hobbies Unlimited in San Leandro. They seem to be about the same as most internet sources and the remember you after one or two visits so I try to buy from them whenever possible.

The sling from the GMC wrecker kit was ok but I wanted articulate it and one of my kids just needed a new bicycle inner tube so I tried gluing a piece of rubber to a scrap piece of sprue and it worked great. So now the sling articulates and has rubber straps. The bed is pinned and would extend in and out except I didn't plan for that from the beginning so the cable doesn't flex so well. My next one I think I'm going to put a small hand winch up top in the frame and maybe use braided fishing line for wire rope.

Scratch built PTO driven off the transfer case that came with the kit. I tried to put a little surface rust on the muffler, this was before I really got to looking around on this site and found all the great tutorials on weathering and rust. At this point in the build I was planning on just using the 78 grill but then I saw Kris from M.A.D. mention he had just done the correct grill so I sent him an e-mail and he blew me away with the service he provided. I can't say enough about how happy I am with the grills and distributors he sent. The cable is picture hanging wire, the parking brake cable is one strand from the picture hanging wire. This was my first attempt at decals and I think I sprayed the clear on a little to thick. I also should have trimmed them closer.