Custom Mike

OK, some more engine work was done tonight. I dug out some 30 gauge wire for the spark plugs and coil, and some 26 gauge wire (From some old 25 pair telephone wire) for the boots, something I've never done well before. I stripped the insulation from the 26 gauge wire, then cut it into small pieces. I slid two pieces onto each piece of 30 gauge wire, then added a bit of Flat Black to each "boot". A little bit of superglue and we're all done with the plug wires!

If the engine doesn't come out as well as I want, I'll just enter it with a closed hood, curbside style. I want to get my first linkage in for the carb, and I'm not sure I can pull off the brake lines with the time I have left either. So even if it does get entered, I'm sure I'll have some work left on it!

OK, here's some more engine work. I had planned on using the Blower from the AMT Avanti kit that Sean Stacy cast for me, but couldn't get the pulley setup right, so the pretty resin Blower will be used on something else. I went with a four barrel setup, much easier to pull off with the limited time I have left. Then I started picking out various detail with Metalizers. I hope to have it wired, the valve cover stripped and repainted Metalizer Aluminum Plate, and finish this part off before the end of the Panthers/Redskins game!

More work? Yup, I'm definitely trying to get it done in time! A piece of 22 gauge wire was ran out of the battery box toward the engine, my quasi-voltage regulator in place, a piece of 30 gauge was added to the end of the molded-in wire on the firewall, then painted Flat Black to match. The final shot is of the engine, wearing it's pretty Valspar Bright Gold paint, more to come on that in the next update!

Onto more work, I decided instead of running the positive battery cable directly to the starter, I'd make a voltage regulator and run to that. So I grabbed a piece of sprue and started sanding, and about five minutes worth of work gave me a crude voltage regulator. I drilled three holes in it (One for the battery cable, one to the starter, and one to the firewall), painted it with some Metalizer, and glued it to the bottom of the passenger wheel well. No. it's not accurate, but the contest in Fayetteville is next weekend, so I'm just getting it done now as quickly as I can!

Richard, this kit would be the perfect candidate for a chopped top, the body is already in pieces! Great work so far, I'll be watching!

I gave up on wrapping the chains completely, just getting them attached to the tailgate was enough to make me stop building...FOREVER!!! It took me a minimum of 25 tries to get the chain attached to the passenger side, talk about frustrating! Of course, the driver's side went in on the first try, only because I knew exactly what not to do! But I had to remove the driver's side and re-do it, because the chain was one link short...it still went in easier than the passenger side, it only took three tries the second time around! But the bed is now 100% completed, and I painted the engine about two hours ago, so I should be able to make some headway on this baby today, wish me luck!

Joseph, do you have any plans to make the Firestone S/S Radials any time soon? I'd love to have a good set, I'm going to replicate my 1:1 '72 Charger someday, and those tires are not available anywhere I've found! P245-60R 14's & 225-70R14's would be great, but I'll take any that have the proper lettering on 'em!

I'm in Michael, a cool old Caddy and a story to go with it!

Greg, those intake manifolds are pure genius! Great work on that, now I need to find some bumpers like that for myself. I want to do the same thing on my '50 Chevy, since the blower ain't looking too hot right now! Thanks for the inspiration!

Now this should be a fun one to watch Tom! Great start, keep it going!

You sure picked a unique one Jon, I can't wait to see it come together!

Man, that is one beastly engine, what did you get it from?

Great work so far jay, this is one sweet kit. ain't it? the only problem I've had so far has been the window fit on the windshield and rear side windows. A bit of careful sanding gets 'em in there though!

Absolutely gorgeous interior Marcos, it looks incredible! Great work on the engine, rims & brakes too, you're making me consider buying one of these kits!

Looks great Bob, I'm gonna go look for it Under Glass!

Doc, that color is beautiful, I can't wait for the flames on it! Now since you've done a bunch of these kits, how do you deal with the windshield not quite fitting right? Mine has a gap around it, but not completely, so I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what the issue actually is, the glass or the cab...

Alright, I got the interior painted, glued the seats and dash in place and did a mock-up of the interior in the body...I still need to add the shifter and door handles, but that'll come later! And the body is wearing 3 coats of Dupli-Color Clear. Once it's cured, I'll polish it up, then mask it off all over again and lay down the Semi-Gloss Black on the wheel wells, front fascia and rockers, and engine vents.

Jim, it's already glued in place, I'm hoping I can fill the gap with Testors Clear parts cement, the possibly do a black wash to simulate the seal. It's not a consistent gap around the window, which is the biggest problem. But it is what it is, and I'll get around it, I always find a way! Once again, not a whole lot of progress tonight, still feeling horrible. But I got the interior bucket painted along with the door panels, then mocked it up to see how it looks with the seat and dash.

OK, I got a bit of work done on this today, I spent most of the time making the windows on the rear sides of the cab and windshield fit flush with the cab. Once they fit smooth enough for my taste, I discovered the windshield has a gap nearly all the way around. I'm hoping I can fill it in with some Testors Clear cement, we'll see. For as well done as this kit has been so far, this is a bit disappointing!

Guys; I've decided that since I'm posting this build over in the Truck side too, I'll just keep posting it over there, and post the engine stuff here and a completed pic or two when it's done. If you want to follow it over there, click on the link below, and keep building! http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=62677&st=0

Alright guys, I have my third of four colors laid down, and it's looking good so far! I had a slight problem on the roof, but it'll be an easy fix. Not too bad for someone who still feels like death!

Ray, I think the sun out there has fried your brain....QIUCK- go stand outside some more! This looks to be one cool van, I can't wait to see what you do with the rest of it!

Keith Marks (mofobow on Fotki) makes literally hundreds of decal sets for detailing models, but most are "stock" decals,scripts, stripe packages, etc. His stuff is super high-quality, and very reasonably priced. Here's a link to his Fotki page, you could spend a few days looking at all of his decals! http://public.fotki.com/mofobow/

Thanks Doc, I'm hoping it goes as smoothly on the next two colors as it did on the first two! I got a bit more done, now that the Ny-Quil is kicking in, I'll post the pics and go crash. I painted the chassis with some Dupli-Color Black Primer, picked out the details with some Metalizer Aluminum Plate, and did the same with the "engine" for the topside, and threw in some Black wash to make it look a bit better. I slapped the freshly-sanded tires onto the rims, installed 'em on the wheels, and did a quick mock-up to see how it all looks. So far, so good, we'll see ya tomorrow!