Custom Mike

This could get interesting, I'm waiting for more!

Jeff, Tom, I thought I was the only builder who didn't want to sequester himself, I know many guys who have a room away from everyone. My armoire is in the living room, right in the middle of the kids and my wife, I want to be around them when I'm building. When I'm alone, it just feels wrong!

Al, just make sure you don't use Testors spray bombs, it's take forever to dry!

No matter what the theme is on this, it's gonna be cool, it has no other choice!

I lived in Hobart (N.W. Indiana) from 13 to 19, then I joined the USAF and they decided I needed to be tortured, so they sent me to Myrtle Beach, SC. It was rough (For about 30 seconds), but I finally adapted and learned to enjoy the women in bikini's all over the place...insert drooling smiley here!

Is it just me, or is the name on the bed of this tow truck kind of creeping you out?

I've gotta agree with Alyn, it's a Chevelle, it's gotta have those stripes!

Man that is one nice engine John, great work on the pullies and brackets too!

Ira and Carl, thanks, I wish the boots wre smaller, but being only my second try at 'em, I'll take it. I'll make 'em smaller every time until I get 'em right! Thamks for the tip Curt, I'll find a yelow Sharpie and give it a shot!

Thanks for that tip Roger, I honestly hadn't even thought about it yet...time to do some test-fitting! Yay! 1,000 Posts, I'm 4 digits now!

Joe, you owe me a monitor....it's now covered in Diet Dew!

I did a bit of interior work tonight, I sprayed the interior parts last night with some Dupli-Color Vinyl & Fabric Paints (Medium Gray), let 'em dry overnight, masked 'em all up, and shot some Dupli-Color Black Primer on for a second color. A quick ride in the dehydrator, and they're ready for some detailing! Freshly painted with the Black Primer, ready for some foil work! A close-up of the dash, this is the best masking I've ever done! First two pieces of foil in place, time for the Q-Tip! First two pieces have been trimmed, and the long strip is in place and ready to meet Mr. Q-Tip! The long strip of foil has been trimmed up, we're looking good so far! Now the real fun begins, foiling the window crank and door handle... Trimmed up nicely, I'm getting good at interior panels! The last step, adding some Semi-Gloss Black to the Duster badge at the top of the door, and adding my door lock knob. This time I used some 24 Gauge wire instead of 30 Gauge. I flattened the wire with some pliers, and it looks great, no painting needed!

Thanks Russ, I can only do so much though, it's Sam's baby, and I can only go as far as he lets me! I did a bit of interior work tonight, I sprayed the interior parts last night with some Dupli-Color Vinyl & Fabric Paints (Medium Gray), let 'em dry overnight, masked 'em all up, and shot some Dupli-Color Black Primer on for a second color. A quick ride in the dehydrator, and they're ready for some detailing! Freshly painted with the Black Primer, ready for some foil work! A close-up of the dash, this is the best masking I've ever done! First two pieces of foil in place, time for the Q-Tip! First two pieces have been trimmed, and the long strip is in place and ready to meet Mr. Q-Tip! The long strip of foil has been trimmed up, we're looking good so far! Now the real fun begins, foiling the window crank and door handle... Trimmed up nicely, I'm getting good at interior panels! The last step, adding some Semi-Gloss Black to the Duster badge at the top of the door, and adding my door lock knob. This time I used some 24 Gauge wire instead of 30 Gauge. I flattened the wire with some pliers, and it looks great, no painting needed!

I agree Richard, all of my best builds in the past were done at the corner of the love seat and coffee table, I only got my current setup about a year and a half ago. The model in my avatar was built on the coffee table, along with many more that have hauled in 1st place at contests, it's not about where you build, but how much attention you give to each one!

Wow, just wow...this is gonna look so real once it's painted, are you going to make the coil-over's fully functional too?

Awesome work buddy, simply awesome!

Incredible detail work on that engine Rod, it looks like you could fire her fight up!

At least fix that hideous hood and weird headlights, the rest might be salvageable...BTW, I built a model like this not long after this movie came out to try to fix this mess. I wish I had pics of it, it came out decent enough that it fueled my fire for customs!

Jairus, do we really need to be reminded of that wreck of a Corvette? That was a hideous car!

And the final update for now, working on the front rims and tires. Now just to let you know, Sam sent some rubber band front tires that are not gonna work, I can't get 'em to look right no matter what I do, so he'll get 'em back. I found some small, kinda narrow but not too narrow tires, and tried 'em out, they should do the trick. The ride height is nearly perfect, I just need to get the nose down a hair and it'll be right. The biggest problem I have now is the front tires being too far out in the wheel wells. The first shots are what I started with last night, the second two are where I stopped, I think I can get 'em tucked in a bit more, but it's gonna take some work!

And the final update for now, working on the front rims and tires. Now just to let you know, Sam sent some rubber band front tires that are not gonna work, I can't get 'em to look right no matter what I do, so he'll get 'em back. I found some small, kinda narrow but not too narrow tires, and tried 'em out, they should do the trick. The ride height is nearly perfect, I just need to get the nose down a hair and it'll be right. The biggest problem I have now is the front tires being too far out in the wheel wells. The first shots are what I started with last night, the second two are where I stopped, I think I can get 'em tucked in a bit more, but it's gonna take some work!

Next up, some work on the hood and testing the fit of the air cleaner and hood for clearance. I added some embossing powder to the areas of the hood that normally have insulation on them, and it looks really good, I'm gonna do this more often! If the paint hadn't cracked, this would look really good! Don't ask, I don't know why it's cracked, it just happened. :headscratch: First shot of the engine in it's home...soon baby, soon! Air cleaner in place, fingers crossed... And of course, it's too tall! The rear edge of the hood is slightly up, time to get hacking on the air cleaner! I removed the two raised circles on the underside of the air cleaner's base, tried it again, and it fits perfectly, that worked out easily!

Next up, some work on the hood and testing the fit of the air cleaner and hood for clearance. I added some embossing powder to the areas of the hood that normally have insulation on them, and it looks really good, I'm gonna do this more often! If the paint hadn't cracked, this would look really good! Don't ask, I don't know why it's cracked, it just happened. :headscratch: First shot of the engine in it's home...soon baby, soon! Air cleaner in place, fingers crossed... And of course, it's too tall! The rear edge of the hood is slightly up, time to get hacking on the air cleaner! I removed the two raised circles on the underside of the air cleaner's base, tried it again, and it fits perfectly, that worked out easily!

Mark, you're sick, but I'm betting you already know this, right? That will be the baddest Mercededs ever built! OK, I've got an actual update, with pictures even, what's the world coming to? The engine has been rechristened as a 496, the maximum size you can get out of a 383, so now we've got some power to work with, gonna need it for the meats out back, right? The engine is nearly completed now, all that's left is the valve cover bolts and fuel line from the chassis, but those two parts will be done once the engine is installed permanently in the chassis. I have the alternator and bracket installed, along with the fan, so this part is done, more to follow! One photo-etched bracket with a 1/87th scale brass bolt to hold it in place...it even slides! Yeah, the placement of the bracket is not accurate, but it's the only place it would land that had a bolt... I drilled out the bolt on the engine and replaced it with another 1/87th scale brass bolt, those tiny boogers are handy! I tried to add a bracket to the power steering pump, but couldn't find one small enough. You couldn't see a bracket on it anyway, that area's pretty crowded! I also got the battery painted up and ready to install, we've moving right along!

OK, I've got an actual update, with pictures even, what's the world coming to? The engine has been rechristened as a 496, the maximum size you can get out of a 383, so now we've got some power to work with, gonna need it for the meats out back, right? The engine is nearly completed now, all that's left is the valve cover bolts and fuel line from the chassis, but those two parts will be done once the engine is installed permanently in the chassis. I have the alternator and bracket installed, along with the fan, so this part is done, more to follow! One photo-etched bracket with a 1/87th scale brass bolt to hold it in place...it even slides! Yeah, the placement of the bracket is not accurate, but it's the only place it would land that had a bolt... I drilled out the bolt on the engine and replaced it with another 1/87th scale brass bolt, those tiny boogers are handy! I tried to add a bracket to the power steering pump, but couldn't find one small enough. You couldn't see a bracket on it anyway, that area's pretty crowded! I also got the battery painted up and ready to install, we've moving right along!