LennyB

The thing about the trim that makes this more difficult is that it is concave down the middle, which is hard to see in the pics. If it was just flat this would be a simple task. I suppose I could cut a piece of flat styrene as you say and maybe carve out the center. Or just remove all the trim and start from scratch.

I think we've hit an all time low. ?‍♂️ But I'm sure we can do better. ?

That's too bad because Ollie's has them on sale.

Interesting thought, but creates a problem. The top curve of the molding would be an issue as you would intersect the curve by removing the piece you mention. Unless you do a stepped cut. PV has the molding following the curve of the wheel opening which requires the curve to be shifted to the rear over the wheel opening. And of course we then have to compensate for the missing 4" throughout the rest of the vehicle. That's good to know, I hadn't seen that. I knew they took the scoop from a T-Bird. Might have to do a graft from a T-Bird. Mmmm. Now that does makes the door looks huge. Another thought I had was just leave the rear edge of the door where it is and the molding as well. Then just move the B pillar forward. It does at that. I have seen pics of other wagons with different trim levels and the moldings are completely different. One style reminded me of the Crown Vic.

It's a slippery slope from which there is no return.

I guess I'm not used to that.?

Thanks guys, appreciate all your input. And I appreciate that you're trying to save me some work. Maybe It's just me but I don't think it looks right unless the molding is moved back. It's kind of a balance of proportions. I'm no graphic artist but did two quick renderings of how it looks if I leave the molding alone and if I move it back. It's not bad if left alone, it just looks better moved back to me.

I can't find half of the parts in this mess. Now back to our regularly scheduled thread...take it Dennis.

Dennis, It reminds me of a Plymouth Valiant looking at it like this. Bil, I know exactly how you feel. I need to look away before I start another project.

He has them too?

Les, If the trim is left in the same place the back edge of the door falls right in front of the bend in the “L”. Although you might be right about making the fin from scratch.

This is a project that has been fermenting in the back of the work bench for a while. I have not yet fleshed out all the ideas for this one, and as I will be away from the work bench for about a week to drive out to a wedding next weekend, I thought I would post it in the hopes of getting some feedback on ideas. The inspiration for this build is a car build by Pure Vision Design https://purevisiondesign.com/rides/projects/shooting-brake.html It was also featured on an episode of the Motor Trend TV show "Hand Built Hot Rods". Which I had seen a few years back and recently stumbled upon again. https://www.motortrend.com/news/executives-ranch-wagon-pure-visions-thumper-1957-ford-ranch-wagon-arp-bolts/ This is NOT going to be an exact replica as there are things I like about the build and things I don't. For starters I don't care for the wheels. What I do like and what peaked my interest in the first place is the way they changed the 'B' pillar and lengthened the doors. And I just love the color. The choice of a starter kit is obvious. Revell's '57 Ford Del Rio. If the box looks a bit beat up it's because that's what you get when you buy off Amazon. They pack kits in a plastic bag for shipping. So what I definitely want to retain is the body mods, the color and the 429 engine. Not sure what do do about the suspension. Don't really want to keep it stock and I'm not sure what I can steal from other kits to make it better. And the wheels have to go. Think it needs a modern wheel but something that is more retro. My first quandary that has held me back from starting this is the body mods. They might seem simple but the more I look at them the more complicated they get. For starters Pure Vision (PV moving forward) extended the rear fin to above the door handle. You can see on the kit body it stops by the yellow arrow. At first I thought I would take a second body and do a little slice and dice to move the molding back. But as I also have to extend the fin forward. ? So Slice and dice would get really complicated. What PV did is they raised the front section of the fin and extended it. If you look closely at their rendering you can see the fin maintains an even trajectory and doesn't dip down until it passes over the door handle. The factory fin dips down much sooner. A cool touch and I feel necessary to duplicate. So even a slice and dice won't fix that. Have to scratch build the front of the fin and blend it in. Whew? And slice and dice doesn't work so well for the molding due to the curvature. The bend in the molding now needs to be back at the green arrow. I could cut out the area marked by the red box and cut a section from the second body with the molding shifted to the left side of the box. But that still makes the top of the "L" too short. Am I making sense? So I'm thinking about leaving the original molding up to the NEW rear edge of the door and then creating the rear section of the molding with plastruct. Still not simple as the lower molding is actually concave. Should keep it concave for accuracy, or do I just throw accuracy out the window? I'm giving myself a headache just thinking about this. So, for now I'm open to ideas as to how to handle the body mods and everything else. Thanks ?

Bil, I just love these vintage pickups. Good choice.

Yes, and this constant rain doesn't help.??

Thanks Steve. Using automotive urethane clear. Plays nice with water based paint co I would think it would be OK with water based decals. Thanks for checking it out Phil. Maybe there wasn't much trunk space left after the suspension change. Someone must know. Well, the sky is not coral blue today so won't be doing any painting. ☔

Thanks Greg. Some days you get the bear and some days it gets you. But lately it's the rain that's getting me. ? Bil, had a number of slant sixes over the years and not one leaked. Still have one that's 60 yrs old and never been apart. Purrs like a ......slant six.

I feel like the Duster has been kicking my butt lately. Started working on the slant six the beginning of the week. I bought this engine off of eBay some time ago, it's out of one of the Lindberg kits. Opened the zip lock baggie and immediately find I was short changed an oil pan. The oil pan on these is not your standard oil pan. So I took a couple of oil pans and sliced and diced to make one. Filled in the seams with some sprue glue and waited..... I think the green part might be from the MPC 71 Cougar Cat. Or was that a 73? While that was drying I went to work on the chassis. Figured for the exhaust I would use one half of the dual setup and made adjustments as needed. I totally did not plan on the mounting holes in the chassis for the 2nd exhaust side. These will need to go away. Wish I had seen them before I painted the chassis. Filled in the holes with some styrene rod and trimmed off the excess. Then I touched up the filled holes with some primer. I will need to break out the air brush and blend in some overspray to finish off the "illusion". With the chassis out and the engine mocked up I fitted the engine in place. The chassis has two tall mounts for the original 340engine block. These needed to be cut down to little nibs for the 6 to sit in place. As for the slant 6, I also found I was missing the fan in my little baggie, have to find one of those. And while I was smart enough to pre-drill the holes for plugs and fuel lines before putting things together. It wasn't until I was gluing the air cleaner in place (yes Jim, it has a wing nut) that I noticed the nozzle on the air cleaner was molded closed. Took a drill and cleared that out before going any further. Had to do it on the engine as I couldn't get the wing nut off.? Still have a ways to go with the engine but at least it is starting to look like something. Time now for a nap....

Decided to continue working on the 427 engine. I like the look of dual carbs which was one of the options on the old 56/57 MPC Vette kit. Decided to go it one better. Got some 3D printed carbs and added to them some "Parts by Parks" 3007 air cleaners. I wanted to go with some finned valve covers and these were the only ones in my stash that fit. They will do unless I find something better. Yes, Jim, they don't have any wing nuts? Drilled out for some plug wires but I'm finding the exhaust manifolds that go along with the engine are blocking some of the plugs. Might be able to remove the webbing between the pipes or go find some headers. Still waiting for a decent day to spray the clear on the body. Rained almost all day today. Put the decals I printed on the side cove. Fingers crossed the clear plays nice with them. c'mon, I'm not that dumb, am I.?? Wasn't going to shoot the body straight off....I have a test hood that will get sprayed first. Hoping the sun will come out tomorrow.? See ya next time.

f you want to PM me your address I'll ship it to you.

Is this the one you're talking about?

How about Tri-color, white, black and coral. ? That’s actually a Chrysler combo. Knew a guy who worked at a Plymouth dealership, had a 56 Dodge with a hemi in that combination

Yeah, I don’t think orange would work with that interior. Coral Blue a much better choice?

If you do a search and put your inquiry in quotes you will get better search results. Both in Google and eBay. ie "AMT 41 Ford"

Well, technically it is. In 71 Chrysler called it Hemi Orange and in 72 it was renamed Tor Red. Guess the person who ran the paint department was color blind.?

Wheels looking good. Always been a fan of painting the spokes as you mention.