Custom Mike

Thanks Russ, the interior is now done, but it's in the spare body to keep it all squared up while the glue dries. I got a bit more done, starting with making a new driveshaft. I chopped the universal joints off the kit part, added a piece of aluminum tubing, and we have a driveshaft that fits! Next up was a minor fix to the back wheels, the inner wheel backer was not as big as the rim, so the tires were looking slanted toward the axle. A strip of styrene around each one makes the tires look like they should! Once it's painted, you can barely tell it's there!

Next up, a bit of masking was done to the body so I could paint the headline and under-hood areas Black, some Black embossing powder was added to the floor pan, and the interior assembly was started. I stopped here for the night, I'm sick as a dog, and I need some drugs and sleep!

OK, I've got some more updating to do, I got the interior mocked up to check the back seat's alignment (Along with the door panels) and the modified chassis. It fits great, here's some pics to prove it! Here's the minor mods needed to the wheel wells and back seat to get it to fit properly, just a bit of plastic removed from both... And the interior mocked up with a spare Duster body. The gap between the package shelf on the back seat and rear window opening is fine, the rear glass is pretty thick! Next up, a bit of masking was done to the body so I could paint the headliner and under-hood areas Black, some Black embossing powder was added to the floor pan, and the interior assembly was started. I stopped here for the night, I'm sick as a dog, and I need some drugs and sleep!

OK, I've got some more updating to do, I got the interior mocked up to check the back seat's alignment (Along with the door panels) and the modified chassis. It fits great, here's some pics to prove it! Here's the minor mods needed to the wheel wells and back seat to get it to fit properly, just a bit of plastic removed from both... And the interior mocked up with a spare Duster body. The gap between the package shelf on the back seat and rear window opening is fine, the rear glass is pretty thick!

Go Ira go! Got my popcorn ready, and I'm waiting for the plastic to start flying!

Bill, you raise the bar so much higher with each update that I'm getting a nosebleed just watching......awesome work buddy!

Chuck is building a Hudson? Nah, that must be a typo, he hates those things! Looks like a good start, what are you gonna put under the hood? Make it a Hudson 6 with a huge honkin' blower on it! Al, I've gotten a bit done on mine, hopefully I'll have some bench time tonight and get some more, we'll see how the head full of snot holds up! I finally got the interior panels modified to fit the new chassis (thanks again for reminding me Roger!), and here's how I did it. I put my interior panels in place on the chassis, and marked where the new rear wheel wells land with a pencil. I carefully followed the pencil line with a #11 blade, then followed that line with my Trumpeter panel scriber. Once it was thin enough, I snapped the excess off, trimmed up the cut area, and tested my fit, and they both fit fine! Stock door panel on the left, modified on the right... Cut line marked with a pencil and ready for removal... Lightly scribed with a #11 blade... And deepened using the panel scriber, ready for the excess to be snapped off! Next up is the back seat. To mark this, I used my modified door panels as a template. Once again, the line was marked with a pencil, but the cutting was done with the #11 blade only this time. Once the cuts were made, I discovered I was going to have to remove some plastic from the back side of the seat and the wheel wells to get it to fit properly. I didn't get any pics of that process, but I'll snap some later if I get to the bench. Stock side of the back seat... And how much has to be removed to get it to fit in the new Pro-Street chassis. Amazingly, it looks good once the door panels are in place. I need to mock it up with a spare Duster body just to check clearances, but so far it looks fine!

Looking good Juan, and you'll love having an airbrush, once you learn how to use it properly, you'll hate using a spray can!

OK, I finally got around to getting the pics I took the other night off of the camera, so let's do a bit of updating, shall we? I put my interior panels in place on the chassis, and marked where the new rear wheel wells land with a pencil. I carefully followed the pencil line with a #11 blade, then followed that line with my Trumpeter panel scriber. Once it was thin enough, I snapped the excess off, trimmed up the cut area, and tested my fit, and they both fit fine! Stock door panel on the left, modified on the right... Cut line marked with a pencil and ready for removal... Lightly scribed with a #11 blade... And deepened using the panel scriber, ready for the excess to be snapped off! Next up is the back seat. To mark this, I used my modified door panels as a template. Once again, the line was marked with a pencil, but the cutting was done with the #11 blade only this time. Once the cuts were made, I discovered I was going to have to remove some plastic from the back side of the seat and the wheel wells to get it to fit properly. I didn't get any pics of that process, but I'll snap some later if I get to the bench. Stock side of the back seat... And how much has to be removed to get it to fit in the new Pro-Street chassis. Amazingly, it looks good once the door panels are in place. I need to mock it up with a spare Duster body just to check clearances, but so far it looks fine!

Juan, that looks great, but let me give you a cheap and easy tip for foil. Find a bottle of Microscale Metal Foil Adhesive at a hobby shop or on-line (About $5, and I've been using the same bottle for nearly 20 years!), then go to Wally-World or your local Grocery store, Dollar General, etc, and buy the CHEAPEST Aluminum Foil you can find (It's thinner than the expensive stuff!). "Paint"" the area you want the foil on with the Metal Foil Adhesive, let it tack up (Usually about 5 minutes), then lay a piece of the Aluminum Foil on the "painted" area. Burnish it down with a Q-Tip, then trim the excess off with a sharp #11 blade, viola, perfect foil! I polish mine with Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze to give it a brilliant chrome finish, but any good polish will do the trick. I've had this model for almost 19 years, and the foil has never lifted or gone dull on me

Juan, I'll find one of my pics (I have no idea where the one I want has hidden itself), I think you'll be surprised! And a PK Ripper, I never had one of those, but I always wanted one or a Quadangle, those were some killer bikes!

Russ, I use Hobbico #11 blades, I buy 'em in a pack of 100 once every couple of years, and they work great for foil. And Sam better like this, otherwise it'll stay with me! Thanks Riley, I took this one on to see it finally get finished, I did the bodywork way back in '07, and Sam's had it all this time, so I begged him to let me finish it. I'm going to do a second one (But this time I get to modify the rear wing height) for another member over on Scale Avenue, I'll probably do a WIP on the bodywork so everyone can see how I do it. I did get a bit of work done on this tonight, but no pics, since my battery is dead. I modified the interior panels and rear seat so it'll all fit nice and pretty like it's supposed to, I'll post up some pics tomorrow, gotta get my butt to bed!

Juan, use some Simple Green, Super Clean, or possibly regular Bleach to strip the chrome, it won't eat the plastic. There are a bunch of other ways to do it, but those three are pretty easy to come by, and are easy to use. Great start, and Don's DVD's must be really good, because if this is your second model ever, you're gonna be a force to be reckoned with if you ever go to any contests! And I knew I was gonna like you from your screen name, I raced from about '77 through '87 (I finally got my NBL SC State Championship!), then went over into Freestyle until about '99, getting an NBL National #2 in '88 and a National #3 in '90. The body finally wore out, so I had to hang up the leathers, but I've still got 3 bikes, a GT '87 Pro Freestyle Tour, an '84 Raleigh 24", and a '84 (Possibly '85) Cook Brothers 24" sitting in the shed, along with a bunch of parts. Here's a pic of the Cook Bros as it sits, she needs some paint and polish, but she was retired in '87 and robbed of most of her good parts.

Good for you Albie, build it how you want to, let someone else worry about making the proper chassis fit. If it makes you happy, then it's all good, we're not Military builders here, are we? Great start, the stance is perfect, and that modified grille should look perfect!

GREATEST COMMENT EVER!!!!!

I love the wheels on it Guy, great paint too! The vinyl top looks great, and the painted undercoating on the rocker panels is a great touch, my parent's '66 Catalina had body-colored undercoating!

Man, that color looks good on this! I kind of liked the grey stripe myself, but the black will look good on it for sure!

Bill, I'd say you're making quite a splash in the Mopar universe, here's a link to a mention about this baby over on Hemming's Blog! http://blog.hemmings.com/

Gary, that '55 looks great, so what are you worried about, you'll do fine. Besides, I didn't do all that well in Fayetteville if you recall, so it all comes down to what the judges at that particular show like!

Ron, what is this overkill you speak of? I put a Hemi in a '99 Eclipse, and it even fits under the hood!

Great color choice Gary, I would have liked the box paint scheme, but this looks really good on it, especially when you add the decals in! Oh, and the Richmond show is not gonna happen for me, it's falling on my on-call weekend, so I can't make it...sucks!

Bill, this is, without a doubt, my favorite Van ever built, awesome work on replicating Van Gogh's paintings, and the Van Gogh flames are perfect! The kicker is 'ol Vinne himself on the back, I want one like this to drive around!

Beautiful Galaxie Túlio, the paint does look way too good to strip! Are you gonna do another one sometime in Acapulco Blue?

Beautiful work Rod, the rear bumper really caught my eye, the paint and chrome looks great, and that license plate is just perfect! The engine looks awesome, so does the chassis and interior, just a great job all the way around, But you've gotta tel us how you made that great hood hinge, that is nice!

Thanks guys, I'm slowing down due to lot of hours at work, but at least i have work, right? Gary, when is Richmond, I'll see if it's something I can do!