Modlbldr

Tony- It looks great buddy. Just like the picture shows. Just curious about a couple of things. The driver's side rear wheel is cocked off a bit. Also, what made you use the grille from the BM Camaro? Just wanted a bit more of a custom touch? It looks good. I never would have figured that. Glad to see that you got her finished. I've got to get moving on mine. Later-

Tony- Nice looking progress on that Impala. I'm glad to see that we get an extension till April 10th. It amazes me how most of that year went by so fast and life got in the way so much. I've got to get going on my Beetle. I've got to get the rear wing attached to the engine boot. I bough some paint for mine the other day and I'm ready to do a bit of experimenting on it. Now if it would just quit snowing around here. Got another 1 1/2 inches this morning! AAARrgggg! Later-

Kevin- I like this one so far. I can't wait to see what you do with it. I sure wish I had some of your WIP's. I love the Caddy's, and especially the hearses or ambulances. Got any 64 Caddy's you'd like to trade away????? Later-

Hey guys- I'm out of state right now and won't be back for at least another week, but I've been working on this one in the hotel room at night. I managed to scratch build the rear ladder bars out of styrene tonight. I already had the rear axle raised and I like the way it looks. I also began working on the front springs and axle. The springs were donated to me by my good buddy Mike Flynn, who also donated some nice aluminum velocity stacks and air cleaners. (You should see his builds- we are going to get together soon so I can take pix and post some.) They are from the 33 Willys kit. The front axle is from the 1/24 scale Monogram 55 Chevy.I had to do some modifying to put the axle below the springs. By the time I get home I should have the tunnel ram from the 66 Nova waiting for me that was donated by MoparMike (Thanks a bunch). I'll post some photos once I get back home. Now I'm headed back to the room to maybe start some of the interior. Later-

WOW! Truly artistic building. That engraving on the chassis is outstanding! What an idea. Later-

I like the look of this one. It looks perfect, and you can never complain about using up those extra parts. Keep it up. Later-

This is looking Kool. Fantastic weathering. I have to ask, What kit is the tunnel ram from? I need one just like it for my build. Later-

Mark- I understand the story behind the build and I like to do the same thing at times. I like the look of this with one exception. The disparity between the front and rear fender peaks bugs me. The front fenders come to a nice sharp peak where as the rear fenders are rounded at the top. This is, to me, what adds to the weighty look of the rear. Unfortunately with the story involved there is no way to fix this without losing what each body style is (or was in it's day). All of that aside, I really like what you have done and I appreciate your work involved. I can't wait to see this in color. Later-

First of all it looks as though you are going to have to putty in those divots and then how about doing something like the old style chrome tape stripes? Haven't seen a car with those in quite a while. I would say that or another mural. Later-

I'm loving the work done here. Nice and clean. I can't wait to tear into all of my Fujimi Porsche kits. Keep it up. Later-

OOooohhh!! I'm gonna have fun with this one. Definitely bookmarked! Thanks. Later-

Andy- No worries here. I like the term Street Freak so I changed the title (also since my question was answered I didn't need the old title). I hope I don't confuse anyone. I'm going to enjoy this build. I have to keep focused though. I have a couple of other builds going and one is subject to a timeline. I'm a sucker for punishment for starting this one though. Later-

Street Freak. I like that. That is what it reminds me of. I may have to change the name of this post. OK..OK. It's settled. Now if I can just figure out HOW to change the heading. Later-

Andy- I have to laugh because I read your post a couple of times and it finally hit me.... I think what your saying is that I posted this in the wrong section. It probably doesn't belong in the drag section. Oh well. I was sure by posting it here I would get responses from people who knew. Anyway, I may be trying to make my own front leaf springs and straight axle set up. I do have an old version of the AMT 55 Nomad that may have the parts I need, if they haven't been robbed already. Later-

With the scoops glued in I needed to modify the front bottom of the scoops to introduce a gradual curve to the bottom. This is what I came up with. I had to sand the top and bottom of the mating surfaces to get them flush with the body and putty in the old door lines of the T-Bird that are molded into the centers of the scoops. Once I get a bit of warmer weather here I'll get a bit of primer on the body to see what work remains. I've decided to change the interior paint scheme again. I'm going to go back to a tan interior. I painted the trunk area with the Chezoom teal paint that I had but it ended up being too dark. A friend of mine has recommended Tamiya Benetton blue. He says that it is dead on with the drawing. I'll have to check it out on my next trip to the LHS. Any comments and crits welcome. Later-

So Highway came through and sent me these side scoops. With some modifying they should work better than my first run. I started by thinning down the thickness of the openings to make them look more realistic. The original is on the right, the modified on the left. Then they were cut to approximate length. Here it is in place on the driver's side. Next I fine tune the scoops. Later-

Here are a few more of the article and my slight progress. I am using the 67 GTX kit and the 440 from the 68 Dart. Again, I have the basic block of the 440 glued. I got a set of resin M/T's from a member here a while ago. They may not be identical to the HUGE S375's on the real car but are about the closest I could find. I sanded the M/T lettering off of the sidewalls to give them a smooth wall. Here are some more shots of the article: I'm really looking forward to adding another build to my bench...........But I couldn't wait any longer on this one. Later-

Hey guys- Thanks for all of the responses to my question. Casey, this is a build of an actual car. The first time I saw this I KNEW I had to build it. Funny thing is,after I saw this article I saw a 70 Chevelle done the same way at a car show. After looking at the pictures again it seems that the k member is still there. I can't see it clearly but the shadows suggest that there is something under the front. It is either the k member or the oil pan. What the text says is "that distinctive look by adding a Speedway Motors front straight axle system and leaf springs to the stock frame." Here are a few more of the car itself: I've taken the 440 out of the 68 Dart kit to build up as the 383. If I'm not mistaken these two engines are externally identical. So far I've glued the basic block and heads together, cleaned the 426 emblems off of the body, removed the springs from the rear axle in preparation to raise the rear suspension and I've cut out the hemi boxes off of the frame. My focus right now is on modifying the suspension and that is why i am curious about the k member. I'm actually leaning toward leaving the k member in place just to keep the front suspension stiff......but I'm still flexible. Later-

Lownslow- I'm glad to see that you are building this truck. I'm also happy to hear that you are entering the contest. My buddy is entering and wanting me to also. Unfortunately I don't have the time. I have one question. Have you been able to locate those wheels? I need a set like that for my 50 Ford. I know someone makes them, but I don't know who. Any info would be great and I'll be watching this build. Later-

I'm building a replica of a 66 Belvedere straight axle drag car using the 67 GTX and I have a question regarding the K member. I can't see the front suspension well enough to tell if they kept the K member intact with the frame and added leaf springs and a straight axle ala 60's drag or whether they scrapped the entire k member and just attached leafs to the chassis with the straight axle. Would it be necessary to retain the k member for rigidity or would it even make sense? If I have to keep it, I could just cut the spindles away from the molded in k member add a set of front leafs and the axle, no problem. Or, I throw it all back in he box and just go with the leafs and straight axle for the nose high look. What's your take on this????? Any help? Later-

That's some smooooooth paint when I can read your shirt in the reflection. "I do know it all. Just can't remember...... That's a great color for this car too. Great work Brett. Later-

Every time I look at the progression of your builds I think "He makes it look so simple. I can do that." But it never seems to turn out that simple for me. I am watching to see how this front suspension goes together for ideas for my 66 Nova. I think I can make it work. Great job inspiring others. Thank you. Later-

Niko- The decals are in the 68 Firebird 400 kit. he Nomad is looking great. I like everything about it. Is the paint on that other body Rootbeer? I used that on my 68 Firebird. That Testors lacquer sure lays down nice and shiny. I sprayed mine right over the bare plastic. Later-

How about the Marina Blue from the Testors Lacquer? I've got a can of it to paint a 67 Vette. Should look good. Later-

The more I look at these and the Mustangs of that era I'm really wishing i had never traded off my Monogram 79 Mustang Pace Car kit years ago. That's one I wish they'd reissue soon. Prices are crazy on them and I want to build my buddy's mom's old car. Nice work so far. keep it coming. Later-