Custom Mike

OK, we have an update...with pictures even! I got the chassis and body mated, exhaust mounted, and then got the front tires in place. Then I found that the master cylinder would not go where it was supposed to, since the 496 is in the way! So I added a drop of superglue to the newly smoothed back side of the master cylinder, and put it up higher on the firewall. And after test-fitting the air cleaner for the 1000th time, I still need to trim a bit more! I've got a bit of touch-up to do on the oil pan, way too much handling of the engine wore the paint off! Rear bumper in place, it's getting close now! The new location master cylinder, this may impact the valve cover bolts you wanted Sam, we'll see! And the *%#@ air cleaner, this thing is gonna kill me!

After looking at some reference pics on Google, I found that the distributor on the 428 is nearly centered on the front of the intake, Since I drilled my intake for the location AMT had on the part, I got a new intake out, drilled as close to center as I could, and put a notch in the front cover. I've still got to refine the hole in the block a bit so the distributor sits straight, but the mock-up shots look pretty good for about two hours work!

OK, after three hours of sanding, here's where it all comes together! Remember, the red is what needs to go away so the valve covers will sit flat on the heads...my arms are now tired! Some Primer/Sealer thrown at the beaten-down engine, I win this round! That big hole in the front right corner? That's for the distributor, this beast is getting wired too! And one of the valve covers, drilled out and ready for some wires!

OK, time to get to work! I broke out the sanding sticks and a Sharpie, and got to it. The red shows what had to be removed to get it looking like an engine! After attacking the driver's side head, I had a nice little hole where I removed too much plastic... A little strip styrene added to the inside of the head... And a bit of putty added to finish it off. I'm not looking for perfection, since you'll never see this area, just enough to fill the hole I made.

And of course, this is how the exhaust joins to the engine, that's nice and even, ain't it? Also note the height of the head compared to the front cover, yeah, this is gonna take some work! Not only is the head taller than the front cover, it's at a different angle too! Not too bad this way, at least it's even with the intake! Here's the other head, it's gotta be level with the block..should be real fun to do this part! Once again, this has to be down to the level of the block AND the intake so the valve cover will sit flat...yeah, I like a challenge!

OK, after looking at the stock version of this engine, I decided I was gonna go with the SOHC version. I decided no piece of styrene is gonna beat me, so I broke out a second one of this kit, grabbed the engine and SOHC parts, the dual quad intake, and put a whuppin' on it! Here's what this dog of an engine looked like before it got sanded into submission! All the SOHC parts were chromed, so they got stripped, then the engine was made to look like it actually fit together and the front cover was glued on. It actually was the only part that fit well... Intake mocked up, it looks like a good fit until you add the heads in... Yeah, the front cover and intake aren't quite a good fit... The front cover and intake aren't quite the same level on the other side either...the valve cover has to sit across both of these, so they have to be level, gotta do some work!

One and the same James, it's been sitting there staring at me, so I had to finally break down and build it. The body had an issue, It's in the tank right now, I screwed up on smoothing out the purple, so it's back to square one. I knew this paint scheme would give me fits, but it will get done! I did get some work done on the engine for it, and I gotta tell ya, this kit's engine is horrible! I wanted to go with the SOHC engine, but man, that is some poorly molded styrene! Not one of the three intakes in the kit fit properly, the two sets of heads were no better, and lots of sanding had to be done to get it to look good after I glued both halves together. I'm still not sure if I'm going to invest any time in detailing it, it's pretty much going to depend on how it looks once I throw some color on it. Look at the back of the intake...I trimmed the left side of it off, the right side is what it looked like before I worked on it... Trimmed up, much better than it was before. I've got to clean it up a bit more though... A shot of the front end...look at how well those heads fit...and that's after a bit of massaging and foul language! And the timing cover...just beautifully done!

Dave, I'm sure you're already done with the Hemi you wanted to do this on, but just in case someone else wants to try this, I figured I'd chime in. I used the actual Crinkle Black paint for full-size cars, it's not the easiest to do, but it can work. It's not as convincing as what Alex did, but I think it looks better than a flat black with no texture. Here's a pair of pics of the results I got, it took three tries to get it right, but it did finally work!

Ira, what meds are you on, I really need to get some for myself! You are the undisputed kit-bashing KING!!!!

Wow, it looks great already!

Brian, thanks for finally doing this, I've had this idea floating around in my head for years and never got around to making it happen! To be fair, yours looks much cooler than the idea I had, a straight Shelby Daytona update. I can't wait to see this baby wearing some paint, keep it going!

That's one wild idea Tom, finish it!

Doc, it's absolutely hideous! It looks good and worn out, I'm waiting to see it in all it's beat up glory!

Sounds like a cool one, and the paint is great! Now I've got to get some HOK Goldmine Pearl, that looks like a killer color!

Unbelievable work Harry, the screw heads look great, and all that work with the veneer really paid off, it came out beautifully! Now you'll really enjoy your next Pocher kit, when you gonna tackle that one?

Congrats John, you definitely earned it with this baby!

John, I feel pretty confident saying I don't think anyone has done this before, bring on the pics!

Go with the Ice Blue and #3!

Looks like a good choice Jamie, take your time and test-fit, test-fit, then test-fit some more! Converting a model to a Pro-Street model can be a real pain, but test-fitting the chassis a billion or so times really helps get a good looking result!

John, I'd go with #3 and a nice Gunmetal, that should look wicked with a dropped ride height!

Forget the purists Paul, that looks great so far!

The purple is not the primary color, that's all I'm gonna say about that. I had an idea for a cool (I hope at least) paint scheme, and just had to get started on it before I lost the picture in my head. Now to see if it works out like I'm hoping!

Thanks guys, if this paint job comes out right, it'll be a killer! I still haven't decided what I'm doing with the rest of it, my only plan right now is to get the paint right. I figure the rest of the build will take whatever path it wants to go down, I'm just gonna go along for the ride and enjoy it!

And finally some color...but this is just the start, trust me, this is gonna be a wicked paint job if it works out like the picture in my head! Dupli-Color Metalcast Purple anyone? That's all for tonight, gotta let the paint cure so I can do the masking!

Primer was layed down, then some Dupli-Color Candy Silver basecoat...