Bills72sj

I like this. Following.

Great job on all of them.

This is a way cool project. Following.

Beautiful craftsmanship.

Those are all really great. What did you use to flock the interior of the Blue Z?

You sure have made some eye catching builds! ?

Walt, a K-frame change is exactly the kind of "hidden" mod I had in mind. Ditto for the mini tubs. Neither would require alteration to the wheel openings of the body and would permit larger wheels and tires. The wheel bolt pattern should not be limited, simply keep the lug nut configuration near the same as the factory. (No "wide 5" dirt track car or F1 single nut configurations). Shaving trim should be acceptable. (Better aero and weight). Changing the suspension type bits is not out of reason.

Walt, a K-frame change is exactly the kind of "hidden" mod I had in mind. Ditto for the mini tubs. Neither would require alteration to the wheel openings of the body and would permit larger wheels and tires. The wheel bolt pattern should not be limited, simply keep the lug nut configuration near the same as the factory. (No "wide 5" dirt track car or F1 single nut configurations). Shaving trim should be acceptable. (Better aero and weight). Changing the suspension type bits is not out of reason.

I am perfectly happy with mixing engine manufacturers. I was just putting the thought out, to help us decide whether the group prefers one way or the other. If too many people deem it limiting, we can adapt.

Well done! That really brings back memories of watching the show and building my own KW when I was a teenager.

My buddy has a 72 Heavy Chevy that was born with a 402 BBC. He now has a 454 with a huge cam in it. I made a model of what it is supposed to look like when it is done.

I agree. For years, I put minimal effort into my interiors. Steve G. has inspired me to step up my efforts. I have learned a lot, and am getting pretty good results.

After deciding to go modern on the wheel choice, the open spokes begged for disc brakes. I got some Pegasus ones that are compatible with their wheels. Since I am actually using the metal rear axle which allows the tires to rotate, I did not like the calipers going round and round with them. I used the extra lowering hole in the chassis to add a second axle pin. With 1/8" tubes glued to the discs, the tires can rotate while the calipers stay put. Yes, I know the discs do not rotate but, they are not separate from the calipers.

I was nearing final assembly and discovered my intended choice of tires were not to my liking. With the chosen tires in mock up, they just looked too dinky in the rear wheel wells. I raided the parts box and was left disappointed. Some of my sets of white walls were wide enough but not tall enough. Others were tall enough but were just way too skinny. Yes, there are decals out in the world but they look like well... decals. Hand painting a PERFECT width and concentric white circle is WAY beyond my talents. So I got creative. I found some black wall tires the were both tall enough and wide enough. With the right wheel backs the Pontiac 8 lug wheels fit very nice as well. I chucked them up in my lathe on a 7/16" deep socket. I mounted an #11 Exacto knife blade in a tool stand and sliced two perfectly concentric circles in the side wall. I then slowly sliced out all the rubber/vinyl between them. I then used a stick pin to dab thinned white paint into the newly formed groove. It was a bit messy but once the edges were cleaned up. They looked PERFECT. Now I have some appropriately sized white walls for the rear of both Bonnevilles.

Interior ready to install.

I the attempt to get better finishes without sanding, I have acquired some highly rated chemistry.

Excellent work!

I have been enjoying this discussion. I have some suggestions for criteria if I may. Interior: Any seats or dash. Must retain factory tub/platform. Suspension: Pick which ever end you wish to modify. Corvette front subframe? Great. Jaguar or other independent rear suspension OK too. Doing BOTH ends could be up for debate. I would suggest keeping the factory gas tank. Body: Fenders, quarter panels and greenhouse to remain stock. You can modify the the hood to your hearts content. Slight mods to grilles, tail panels and valences front and rear OK. Spoilers: Anything offered by the manufacturer during the era. No front splitters or huge rear wings. Wheels and tires: Sky is the limit as long as they do not require wheel opening mods. Engine and trans: ANYTHING you want. MAYBE limit choices to be the same as body manufacturer. Color or Livery: It is your choice. Please share your views. ?

Very low parts count and practical. Well done! You could maybe make it portable and have everything fit IN the bin for transport. I wish the one I made was as simple.

All I can say is WOW! You have mad scratch building skills. I do some scratch building but not like that!

I agree with the 428 CJ. That is what I stuffed into my 68 Shelby. If you REALLY like a challenge, try putting a 427 SOHC motor in a 67 GT.

For sanding wheels thinner, and/or opening up the holes, I tape some 180 grit sandpaper to my hobby desk under my bench towel. I just hold the rim and make circles and figure 8s until I get them where I want. If I have a lot of material to remove, say all I want are the hoops, I use my palm sander. Now that I have a mini lathe, I actually make custom hoops from genuine aluminum tubing. Opening the ID of a tire, I usually use a hobby knife. Generally I do not have to because I have 4 overflowing model boxes of tires. Over the weekend I used my lathe to carve groove in the side wall of some tires to make perfect big and littles white walls.

Sweet ride!

That turned out quite impressive. Now that I have seen you make the frame bows, if you ever endeavor to make a folding top, i was think the material from a black umbrella might work.

I too figured out that backer rod from Home Depot works great at holding the tire beads out against the lip of the rim.