Jay Whittaker

Thanks for all the warm welcome-backs folks, I appreciate it!

Thanks for pointing that out TJ, I've been referring to the trim as '57 DeSoto, but it's actually styled after the De's trim, as the top spear is indeed different. I wanted to do a textured insert (much like a '59 Sport Fury would have) but I do believe that would require the trim to be even wider, which wouldn't look good IMO.

Looking forward to THAT!

Well, life changes happen and they can come along sometimes with minimal warning….. That being said, I’m back to the bench after an unplanned hiatus and took to finalizing the body prep including re-installing the side drip rails along with fashioning the ‘57 DeSoto side trim. I started with some Evergreen half-round #242, cut to length and “speared” at the front edge. This piece will have an indent ground into it, the primed/painted/cleared to make way for the final BMF finish. The next step was to mark out with a pencil the basic lower edge of the De’s trim. Once I had it the way I wanted it I edged it with masking tape and scribed a guide groove for the lower stainless trim, bent to shape from 26 gauge craft wire. The groove serves a two-part purpose; as a place to set the trim as well as a guideline for masking the insert color, making life (hopefully) easier down the road. That was the easy part. Now I get to match it up on the other side. I’ve also ash-canned the grand delusional idea of the long-ram 413 as it was creating unnecessary modification hardships and killing the joy of the build. I’ll use the kit Hemi and dress it up a tiny little bit and all will be right with the World. So with that, I’ll be filling back in the inner fenders to the way they used to be (roughly), and the only other thing on my list body-wise is to reverse-hinge the hood. Once those items are taken care of, I’ll sling some paint and get this baby back on-track. Enjoy!

Thank you Sir! I appreciate that!

No sir, it's a project I need to pick back up on and get done though.

You did a helluva nice job flowing the back window on yours, and using the stock hubcaps and rings is the crowning touch IMO.

Thanks a bunch Pal!.... No Merc roof here, I stretched and added Evergreen sheet, filled with acrylic nail filler and finished with automotive spot putty... here are process/progress shots:

LOVE the wild color choice!! You did a great job on the body mods as well!... Here is the one currently awaiting finishing on my bench, I turned it into a tudor sedan while chopping it, I finished it in '56 Ford Sunset Coral. Thanks for letting me share it!

Thanks for the positive replies folks!.... Sorry for the extended absence on this, got allot going on at the moment but this thing calls my name anytime i'm even in the vicinity of my bench, lol.... OK, so I FINALLY found that pothole in the road in the form of the long-ram not wanting to drop down into the engine compartment without some serious mods, but it REALLY wants to fight me on getting down into the compartment enough to close the hood proper…. Made some progress tonight by hogging out the cross member clear to the bottom and clipping out a section of the tie rod (to be mod’ed later) but I think the only thing left holding it up are the original motor mounts, which I will tend to in the next couple of days….

Thank you!... As far as where to start, I think you've got it right there in the box that you mentioned! If its the kit I'm thinking it is, there are all kinds of options. Pick the ones you find the most tasteful and set to blending them into your build. The beauty about customizing is this: you can do it any way you want, and there's no real "wrong" way to do it.... Sure, there are "traditional" standards, "radical" standards, and so-on, but at the end of the day it's just like Burger King: Have it YOUR Way. If you know 100% that you can scratch-add something in, by all means do it! Starting small and building on your skills (no pun intended) will take you far beyond anything you can imagine right now. .......Hopefully we'll see a WIP of that '61 Gal coming soon?........

Just got some bench time in this afternoon and evening getting the body imperfections sorted out, including cleaning up the vent window areas. Also turned some major focus to the engine bay firewall and inner fender clean-up. Mocked-up the engine and I'm glad I did because I need to make some reliefs for those dual 4-bbl carbs hanging WAY out on them long-rams! I do believe I'm on the last round of putty/primer, thus hoping to get it into paint this week if all the stars line up correctly. The devil is in the details, and I'm workin' him OUT!! Thanks for asking!

Hey thanks again for all the kind works folks! Moving right along, I’ve been continually refining the body work to get it perfected for paint. Got it in what I hope to be the final primer coat and while it was drying I mixed up a small batch of turquoise using Testors light blue mixed with a few drops of Testors green, then laid it on the engine after a quick primer coat. I did a little experimenting with Kosute Gin San on one of the headers, and I think I’m going to go ahead and clear the headers to get a shinier finish with the Gin San and make them look more like polished aluminum…. Time will tell. At least we got a little progress!

Thanks so much! At the moment I'm looking to go with a deep brandywine overall, with a champagne or gold inside the '57 DeSoto trim that'll be added, with a matching interior. I'm going to paint the long-ram 413 in its traditional factory turquoise for a sharp contrast while also allowing details to stand out. My second choice would be a mid-to-darker turquoise pearl or metallic (think late-model Toyota Camry) with a lighter blue-green for the insert (interior colors TBD on that one.....) Either way it goes, the spray is coming soon to a booth near me ;)......

Just wanted to give an extra THANK YOU to all folks posting the kind words and encouragement! At the rate we’re going here this may be done in a week or two…. 😲