Jay Whittaker

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…. 😲

Hey thanks for all the kind words folks!..... ….And the good fortunes keep coming!…. I needed to hog-out the crossmember under the engine for a proper fit, but luckily only minimally. I was going to use the kit trans, but it didn’t want to mate-up correctly. SO!… I hacked off the parking brake drum along with the very tail end of the 3D 727 trans and blended the two together at just the right length to mate up with the driveshaft with zero mods required….. And the BEST part?….. I did NOT have to cut the floor!!

I know which company you're referring to, and i got their name on the tip of my tongue but unfortunately its stuck there.... I can see their adds in the little pages, they had a '56 Chevy lens that was white with a red diamond in the center for one example.... Gene Winfield used to make taillight lenses out of red lucite as well...

Y’all have probably noticed by now, but in case you haven’t, I “bladed” the front and rear bumpers (don’t know if that’s an actual term or not, LOL) and turned the lower sections into roll pans, also giving a new home to the rear plate since I smoothed-out the recess in the trunk…. I had plans for ‘56 Packard taillights, but after mocking them up I decided against it as they required extending the already heavy rear fins way beyond anything even remotely reasonable. If the rear of the trunk deck had been recessed I probably could’ve made it work, and while I could shorten the deck lid, it was more than I really wanted to get into for a mild kustom. I do like the factory taillights, and given that I’m using the factory headlights anyhow, we can give a check mark to consistency.

Went ahead and prepped the wheels and tires to keep the progress going. The Kelsey-Hayes wires fit the kit 300 tires like they were from the same kit (they were sourced from the Moebius ‘55 300). Some black wash for the spokes, drilled and installed the valve stems, gave the whitewall inserts a shot of white primer, then put it all together and attached to the frame…. Got a couple rounds of putty done and the body in primer, and just couldn’t resist a mid-round photo shoot:

OK, so I finished up the front suspension by acrylic-finishing the new upper a-arm pivot points, then attaching the tie rod. Threw her in the booth for some spray, then started my body putty rounds while it was drying…

Oh WOW!! I’m LOVING that faded panel job! You definitely knocked it outta the park!! Thank you for the kind words! 🤠👍🏻

Thanks so much folks!... So the front suspension cooperated with me, once I got the fronts done I scratched up a couple of lowering blocks for the rear and I was able to get the whole car lowered and on all fours this weekend. Pleased as punch! ….And added a nice set of mock-up shots, sitting as she will on all four feet.

I dove into the lowering of the frame, and the rear suspension was an absolute breeze!…. It’ll be interesting to see if the front treats me as nicely. Before any mods are done though I need to fill in the top of the frame rails that will show in the engine bay. The first shot is the ‘stock’ ride height (getting a nosebleed up here).. The second pic is the rear axle propping up the frame after hogging it out for clearance, allowing it to just about lay frame (no, I’m not). The next shots show the guidelines drawn and then the fore & aft comparison of the rear rails. So setting up the lowering of the front suspension doesn’t look like it’s going to be a major catastrophe, and hopefully I didn’t jinx myself by saying that…. I started off by observing the angle of the lower torsion arms, and started bending things according to the amount of lowering I was trying to achieve. After that was separating them from the cross member attachment and re-gluing them at a more level position. This, combined with reversing the spindles, should give me what I’m looking for. The final mock-up will tell the tale.

Thank you! Yessir, that is the outline of the proposed ‘57 DeSoto side trim that will be scratch-fashioned onto the sides. At the present time I’m looking to go with a deep wine color overall, with a champagne beige/gold for the inset as well as the interior.

But we weren’t happy with that. After completing my “‘64 World’s Fair” GTO with the optional roof, I said to myself: “You idiot, you could’ve used that on the ‘57 300!”….. Thankfully my friend Mike Alvarez helped out huge with a spare optional roof and I was able to get my game on once more…. That factory backlight was just too wonky, and it was almost scary how close the fit of the GTO roof was.

Your attention to detail and making sure things sit “right” is on a level all it’ own. As others have stated, the way you’ve pointed out flaws and shared your solutions will be of great help to those of us traveling the road behind you. I haven’t built a big rig since my teen years though I have more unbuilt kits than any four builders really need, this kit being one of them. Thanks so much for posting this WIP, and I look forward to its completion!

I admire the heck outta your fabrication skills!! This is coming out superbly!

I have no doubts you’re going to have a stunning results, seeing your builds of the past. Texas 3D makes a drop-dead gorgeous long ram RB Mopar. I just picked one up for my ‘57 300 custom. HTH THIS build has my attention!!

The top needed to be chopped, but ever-so-slightly, so a-hackin’ we went….

Hey thats good to know! I had no idea that there were different setting rate liquids out there. I’ll have to that a try. Thanks for sharing that tidbit. 😁👍🏻 Here is a pic of what I’m currently using.

I’m loving everything about this lil hotrod! You knocked it outta the park!

There’s no particular brand name I’m loyal to, I’ll get the names of what I’ve got when I get home from work later as I cannot remember off the top of my head (Geritol Deficiency Syndrome, don’t ya kno)…. As far as sanding goes, you want to get it very close to the end shape if you must sand it by hand, as it is harder than the styrene (which makes it great for reinforcement applications).I use a Dremel with the sanding drum bit initially then finish off with a sanding stick or sandpaper.

The acrylic filler is a 2-part liquid/powder that when combined harden through a chemical reaction. It can be gotten at any Walmart or my favorite place is Sally Beauty Supply, as you can get larger quantities. The only catch is you must use a real animal hair brush, not a synthetic. Use lacquer thinner to clean the brush after each dip. 😁👍🏻

After filling-in the rear medallion relief and license plate recess with acrylic filler, I set my sights on eliminating the aircraft air intake grill that, in my opinion, greatly detracts from the overall beauty of this car. Experience has taught me to cut-away only what is absolutely necessary and to “test set” possible replacement donor pieces beforehand to make blending as seamless as possible. In doing this, I discovered that an AMT ‘57 Chevy hood fit the bill perfectly (no pun intended) and I proceeded to make the transition. You’ll notice that I built-up filler on the back side of the hood as well, as I discovered while contouring the front side that the styrene was getting thin. I can never thank Mike Sarris enough for introducing me to this acrylic nail filler because this stuff is SO versatile!!…. You’ll also notice that the lower grille opening has been ground down and the inner grill plate eliminated as was necessary.

PURDY paint!!