R. Thorne

Front and rear are done. Finishing up the side windows which are slow going.

Did this late last night. Used a #15 scalpel blade and a metal ruler to cut as straight a line as possible with the bare metal foil. Will have to cut a more narrow piece for the rest of the windshields. Looks much better. Finally getting around to the bench tonight.

A day of experimentation and efforts that did not pan out. The numbers and class designation first. Tried some blue marker on the white decals to approximate blue numbers. Didn’t like it. Then had some stick on numbers I “blued”. Not impressed. Finally, after some research, ordered some blue 1/4” and 1/8” numbers and letters decal sheets. The next less than successful outing was the chrome trim on front and rear windshields. I had completely forgot about the chrome trim when I installed the glass. I always do that first, but brain fade got me this time. Tried some chrome decal strips I had used before on the straight side trim. Looked okay, but had wrinkles. Then some 1mm (.040”) wide strips of chrome tape. Better, but the next step is 1 mm wide strips of bare metal foil. Will try that tomorrow.

Couple of chassis shots with wheels glued on. Also, the making of a rear license plate. Some scrap thin styrene sheet, some double back tape to hold it for individual decal application (thanks to Slixx for 1/8” letter sheet), and some semi steady hands and water. Oh, and a blue jel type pen I am going to experiment with to make blue class numbers tomorrow.

Got the driver and passengers side windows in with Mod Podge, ca glue on the front rims to chassis with testors bottles for alignment. Painted a helmet and glued it on. Gonna let stuff sit over nite , then trial fit chassis and more detail work tomorrow.

Thanks, guys. Well, I am not going to meet my goal of finishing today. Glued some windows in, superglued the front inner wheel halves on, painted the tailights bezels with modelmasters stop light red, some clear parts on the bumpers. Don’t know what I would do without my excellent sprue cutters on the clear parts that leave essentially no nubs protruding. Also, the rubber coated tweezers are great.

Glued rear tires on with some tacky glue for a trial basis. Painted the lower edge of grill. Also, used masking tape to pattern the driver and passengers side windows. Then cut out some .005” clear styrene.

Again, thanks, Roger. Some more progress. My goal is to finish this by Sunday night. We’ll see. Installed driveshaft, headers, dipped windows in floor polish, black washed grilles (needs another coat tomorrow). Trans pan got scuffed up somehow. Will fix tomorrow. Done for tonight.

Great model with careful detailing. My brother bought a new 1964 galaxie with the fastback styling. His was also Wimbledon white but with a black interior and a 390 with an automatic trans. I got to drive it on my senior prom night in 1964. Boy, I was in heaven. Still one of the most beautiful cars ever made.

Decided not to wire this engine for a number of reasons. Instead, painted the cap and coil with some testors enamel after loosening the lid with a few taps from my screwdriver handle (I posted this in the tips column). Driveshaft was too short (because I swapped to an automatic trans). Found one from a 1966 Chevelle wagon partial kit that I had ordered for other parts.

“Much ado about nothing”

Usually open ‘em with my large pliars after running hot water on the lids, but had one that wouldn’t give up the ghost today. YouTube to the rescue. Tapped on the top of the lid with the plastic handle 3 or 4 times, then turned it 180 degrees and tapped it again. Viola! High tech stuff.

Calling the interior done.

Thanks, Daniel. Drilled some holes in a parts box steering wheel that more closely matched Mike’s, painted with stynlrez primer and semi gloss black, painted shifter. Also, modified stick shift brake pedal to look like an automatic by using the clutch pedal. Closer and closer to the finish line on this build.

Some work on the front tires, what I am trying to emulate on the front end, MSD glued to the cage, installed seats and cage. Just finished gluing on the side panels, tach, dash, and gauges. Pic tomorrow.

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the replies.

Yes, I always do. Just one of my pre paint procedures.

Ok, my curiousity has gotten the better of me. There is a considerable difference in price between these 2 kits. One is Revell of Germany and the other is Revell Monogram. Other than one advertised as a W30 and the other a 442, what’s the difference and is the quality the same? Or is there a better kit of the 1971 Cutlass hardtop than these 2?

Since the Modelmaster 8872 is no longer available, you might try the Testors 3507 if you are looking for a thicker cement.

Hope to see him back soon. His daily YouTube junkyard “classroom “ shows are sorely missed.

My high tech smaller drill bit with sandpaper wrapped around to ream out a couple of thousandths.

Still working on the spacers. Made some shims from .025” rod to level out mounting the calipers/rotors. Reaming out the holes on some 19” rims to fit over my bushings, then will cut the centers out. Also, tried out my new xuron hard wire cutters I received today, to cut some 1/16” tig wire for axle stubs.

Thanks and I agree wholeheartedly. Made some wheel hubs out of aluminum and styrene tubing. A lot of tools and some head scratching later and I have 2 bushings inside 2 bushings which will have 2 more pins attached later to mount the wheels. Now I need another bushing to space the caliper back from the wheel.

Again, thanks for the kind words, gentlemen. My “builder’s block” not withstanding, I am trying to keep moving on and not be so particular. I had some 3D printed shifters that I got a while back on eBay. Though not an exact match for the TurboAction SCS shifter in Mike’s car (one of the most popular shifters used in current Stock Eliminator drag cars) no one makes anything like them that I know of. So, I am modifying one with some square styrene. I started to scratch build one, but decided against it . The shoulder harness kit that I had is not designed for the 3” wide belts that have been required for some time. The ends will not accept .120” wide harness material so, I think I am going to leave them off. Oh yeah, started on the front wheel .

Made a spacer to mount the cage 1/4” forward. Drilled some .035” holes for styrene pins in the main base of the roll cage and extended the rear bars and shortened the front bars. After that, applied some Rustoleum gloss gray to the cage and mr. Color iron to the seat bottom and semi gloss black to the back.