Joe Handley

Ok, the body is ready for primer, I should have things pretty well filled, just need to see what needs fine tuning before paint. I do have the chassis, suspension, and engine/transmission already in paint, just difficult to tell since I had to shoot it in the dark, both paint and pics wise. The chassis, suspension, steering and drive shaft are all Testors’ Blazing Black Metallic while the engine and trans assembly will be all Krylon Chrome Silver with black accents. I do have plans to use one of the air cleaner housings and and the alternator from the Chrysler Cross Ram 413 in the Merc that donated it’s light buckets too.

Did a little more work on the car after work tonight! Got the resin on the fenders shaped about right to match the headlights and the lines for the trunk filled in and the valance cemented in place. Forgot to mention that I removed the vent windows and frames on the doors too!

Thanks! I may have a pre RC2 AMT/ERTL Version of this car that I was making a custom of as well somewhere in storage, I think Dad and I have 4 of these between the 2 of us floating around this house and/or storage.

Guess I never started a thread for this one, been working in it off and on for the better part of the last year, just an AMT ‘41 Plymouth with some custom work and Pegasus wheels. It was being built for my club’s Christmas party and was maybe 75% done by spring, but found other new shiny things to distract myself with and now need to do the last 25% by Saturday ?? here’s where I started, had been partially shaved by the time I took the first pic. Then decided to lose the running boards and add the Pegasus Crossbars with wide whites. here’s where I stopped, did a very slight body drop by sanding the bottom of the interior tub flat, fabricated my own drop spindles and lowered the rear by grinding away at its mounting points, then added some square styrene rod along where the running boards would but up against the body under the doors I had also hand carved pleated squares into the kit seats too! and this is where it stood after pulling it out of the box, plus a change of venue! I’ve blown it apart now and have everything but the body outside in primer Before I did the above, I attached the smoothed fender liners and firewall in place and started trying out the Frenched headlight buckets from AMT’s ‘49 Merc, which I liked the look of! getting those liners and the firewall to fit was such a pain, I did reinforce the joints on the backside with more of that Bondic UV Resin as well as fill in that gap in the with it too though! I also tried the mold in that valance pan that goes over the rear bumper and modify the trunk at the bottom, but that did not work out well, so……more on that later…… I started filling in around the top edges of the fenders with Bondic to get them so the chromed lip of the Merc headlight trim rings would flush up against them, though I’m still tweaking that. Now…..for that rear valance, I made a new one from .060 styrene that will be molded in once the front body work for the headlights is done. So here is where the body is as of right now.

Maybe being a Beer Holder might make it easier to look at?!

I should have the hood smoothed out, just don’t have the weather to go out and prime it or the Concords right now.

Fixed the issues with my getting rid of the “triangle” in the back door windows as well as got everything filled in for the door handles and door gaps for the 4dr version and cut the new gap for 2 door conversion. I’m really happy with how it looks and kinda disappointed that Chrysler didn’t at least try and do a concept car of this 25 years ago! I think I may have made a potential phantom NASCAR too……..

Thanks! All I did was cut out the center posts, sand them down, then cement them on the wrong sides just behind where the forward part of the window opening is. I’m also using Bondic for most of the filler on the door openings, handles, gas door, and gaps between these pillars and window openings………plus my screw up tonight?

I was messing around with the Slammerz Concord I’m making into a phantom 2 Door and went to grind out the “plastic triangles” in what were the back doors and make it look like a full windows by the back seat, but chose the wrong Dremel bit? what I did vs what was intended I am already fixing it with Bondic UV Resin though. just need to sand it down to match the window trim

Oddly enough, someone on Reddit did actually hit a deer with their 200 sedan (nearly identical to mine, but I think they had the fancier Limited model), I’m positive that will be totaled and mine may not have faired as well if we did hit that doe.

This would have written my 200 off if there had been any significant contact, it’s nearing 11 years old and I’m not sure how the body parts availability is any more, if the deer hadn’t gone up the hood and through the .windshield on impact if that happened.

Well, the big front brakes and big sticky all season BFGs on my 200 just paid for themselves tonight! Dad and went to get dinner after I finished with work and we had a deer run in front up us on the drive home. We got stopped about 3 feet from hitting her and it felt like the front suspension was on the stops and Dad is thinking that the right rear tire may have started coming off the road by the time I got it stopped?

Did some putty work on the Fury and Concord last night then a little filling with the UV Resin on the concord. Tonight after work. Plan on doing the sanding Sunday, want to give the putty plenty of time to gas out.

Not ours, but somebody decided to make sure Dad’s work turning his riding mower into a riding snowblower was up to snuff. Momma and the other kitten are hiding in the garage.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if it was warmer and/or we had a shop with a lift and could raise the car up so we were sitting on low stools or standing on our heads doing the work.

I'm not sure about the best way to describe his Dad's behavior towards the car, I think there was a lot of carelessness involved in that situation, bot there were aslo lots of deferred maintenance in the last few years of the car's life as well as general abuse beyond what one would expect to see.

I wonder how much was changed by the time that and all the other V6’s were dropped in favor of the 3.6l, a friend had an ‘08 Sebring sedan with the 2.7l and was the 3rd owner of it. His Dad was the 4th owner that I swear was also actively trying to kill the ran it well into the 200k range and it took him crossing into the wrong lane and hitting a F450 with a flat bed, which only totaled the car due to the crash damages.

I take it that yours had the 2.7l? Those has a horrible reputation for that.

Haven’t heard that, it did sound like someone brought in cookies that he was handing out to the kids that were also patients.

Broke out the other Concord kit, playing around with the pillar and rear door gap position and 23” Hollies on it, Already filled in the wing slots in the trunk too.

That looks fantastic, was that for a Mini-Z or one if it’s competitors?!

Pulled this one back out, decided to try a set of Pegasus Crossbars with narrow white stripes. These are a hair smaller than the box stock 3 spoke and the Concord’s 5 spoke wheels, but do fit the look better than the other wheels. I still need to do something for the hood, it has a bit of a dip in the hood where the engine hole is so I should have used more styrene in opening then sanded it down to fit the hood. I’m also debating about either removing the rib and either leaving the hood smooth or try to recreate it.

I’d have preferred that, to be honest, though we would have been standing on our heads either way.

I will say this though, that would be a much better job in Arizona this time of year bs the Midwest, especially when the battery is in the front bumper like it is on these and their siblings?

The factory battery in my 200 finally gave up…….. Can’t really complain though, the car is going to turn 11 y/o next month and that battery is likely already at least that old.