FASTBACK340

I went over the Tamiya chassis and suspension and must say it's going to look good! The interior, once fitted, is all paint. The engine was relatively simple and the body basic. While the 1:1 was one of my favorite cars from my youth, it's no where near the epic project my Barracuda was last winter. Maybe I'll get more done this season!

Yeah, but imagine if they "updated" a few things. THAT'S what I'm talking about! I know a straight re-issue would be nice too.

I see Chuck has his finger on the pulse of this thread. Another good one!

DING-DING-DING!!!! We have a winner!!!! You can substitute Tri-five Chevy with Camaro, Mustang, Corvette, `32 Ford……

It's a nice kit that goes together well and looks good when assembled. Great Hot Rod material...

My brain hurts thinking of what Mobius could do with that Dodge……

That is %$#@#$% beautiful…….

I've been using Super Clean (purple power) for years now. I had 2 similar incidents where nice models got ruined in brake fluid. Found out about super clean & never went back. And as for wearing gloves, I keep a box of the cheap, disposable one-use gloves handy. Wear them when ever I spray or mix epoxy. Double-up for the purple stuff.

If it's 25 yrs or older no emissions, visual or test is required.

Thanks guys! This is the narrow headlight version, which was technically illegal in N.Y.S. I had a pair of Bosch fog lights on the front bumper and a single 100w fog lamp as a reverse light mounted on the right side of the engine cage. I gotta find more pictures…...

This is the start of me building a replica of a `68 Baja I owned back in the early 80's. The body itself is a beautiful Replicas & Miniatures resin piece. Whomever did the master did a superb job getting the proportions correct. As far as which kit I was going to use, I had looked at the Tamiya kit and though it looked really good. But since I wanted to see for myself if the "new" Revell `68, or whatever year it is… Beetle kit would work, I bought one. Wow, the Tamiya kit has a reasonably accurate VW twin beam front axle, which is visible with a narrow nose Baja. The Revell has a lump that glues to another lump with tiny little trailing arms for the spindles. Not to mention it looks like a Ghia or Type III floorpan shape. All incredibly wrong, especially for a Baja where so much is going to be visible. On the brighter side, that mess of a `68 will be easy to convert to my old `67 Cal Look sedan. Hopefully this will roll along once I obtain the wheels & tires. Then I can fool with the ride height and alter the suspension. Aside from detailing, there shouldn't be too much insanity building this one. As far as fitment of the Tamiya kit pieces, here's a few shots of the interior quickly mocked-up. The dash contours to the body nicely. The interior builds up piece by piece, lending itself to easier detailing. The floorpan is beautiful! This is going to drop on once the leading edges are trimmed just a slight wedge….. :UPDATE: Board members Bill (GTX6970) & Jeff (Jeffs396) have stepped-up and offered some help with the rolling stock. Thank you guys for the help! Once I get rims & tires we can really get into it.

I'll be &^%$%^….. PM sent. Those look REALLY close! And Bill has offered the 8 spoke rims. This is all good, thanks guys! I should be able to make this happen. The wheels Bill has offered (if they're the ones I'm thinking of) are Jackmans, which is what I had. The ones your showing would be plan B. Thank you!

I have fond memories of going up into the Catskills and camping in Lake Placid. We drove up in a `68 Plymouth wagon. That was way back in 1979…. wow, 35 yrs. ago! Nice build so far! I like the color choice!

I got my Revell `68 Beetle kit in the mail this afternoon. I'm going to try it as a possible basis for my upcoming Baja build. Now to compare it to the Tamiya and see what's what…..

Thanks for re-posting one of the few pictures I have of that car….. Any assistance I can get on the wheels & tires would be greatly appreciated. It's one of those "I'll know it when I see it" situations unfortunately. As blurred as the 80's are, I remember that car distinctly.

Tires & 8 spoke rims! I'll PM my address and will return the favor if I can. Thank you!

I'll second that. Here's my version. BTW: I had this T bucket featured in the final issue of Plastic Fanatic before Gregg started Model Cars…..

While gathering parts for my Baja project I need tires. On my old car I had oversized VW Bus snow tires up front and a set of snow tires from a Chevy Blazer out back. I was thinking maybe the MPC generic snow tires from the 60's (Jeepster, etc) and a pair from the MPC Mount'nGoat Keep kit. Any other ideas or recommendations for sourcing these or similar tires? Thanks!

Since we're debating the logistics of something I designed here's the deal. If that belt has to come off, you pop the radiator cap, siphon out about a quart of coolant (I use a large Turkey Baster) and remove the band clamp at the radiator, the highest point. Slip the old belt out, the new one in, and slip it back on & reverse procedure. Once tight, top off coolant. No mess, no air pockets, no problem. But boy, is that thing fun to drive.

The clear over the grey primer really nails the vintage finish for the paint. Really neat build Rich!

BTW: see my post on changing tires on a pro-street car. THATS a real-world issue that will bite your butt faster!

Do what ever it takes to make it function correctly and astheticly pleasing. And don't forget, this is a fair-weather cruiser. Besides, those serpentine belts last a while. We knew about that when we fabbed up the coolant tubes. :-)

This might be a good 3D printed project.

Here's mine ….

We just delivered this to the customer Saturday. 1984 Coupe seville we restored with a GM 454 crate engine with 4 spd automatic. We had to weld-up a pair of pedestals for the engine mounts and bend a new tubular transmission crossmember to get it all nailed down. Custom driveshaft, aluminum radiator, and some wiring modifications (the car was originally fuel injected) get it down the road. The headers and Magnaflows give it away when you hear it, but man what a fun ride! Needs a Posi or locker. More tire would be a good idea too. Like driving on ice….