Cato

Lesson learned... I have been beating the dead horse throughout about getting big parts fit correctly before moving on and finishing them. Most of you are justifiably sick of reading that. Well, taking my own advice, I can show you why that's vital for big, four-decade old kits. After securing the main body as seen just above in its final position, I am tackling the doors and the latching system. But now with the body firmly bolted in place, the doors sit differently than earlier, when I had positioned the body but NOT secured it. Having cut and rejoined the rear of the body and roof plus probable slight warpage, things were different then than now. It is very easy to build a twist into the work with so many alterations. Seen here is the driver door. I had heat-formed it to match the curve of the floor pan prior and when I stopped, it still needed more to latch without tension. But not now. amazingly it fits about as perfectly as I could want. There is no tape holding it in place; only the hinges at rear. The gap has been sanded to give .018 clearance for paint and is even all around with maybe the front lower corner needed a hair more: Slightly ajar, there is an even distance between the door edge and the cowl edge. Again, no tension is evident: Here the door is just resting in the closed position and the gap at the top only requires the push of a finger to close. The latch will easily hold it flush and closed. About as good as you can hope for. Ironically, the passenger door which I had bent to perfection months ago, now has the lower corner tucked too far in when the latch area is flush. I will revisit that with hot water and correct before moving on: I strongly urge Pocher classic builders and Rolls builders in particular (due to the curvature of the floor and body sides) to get the main body square and bolted in place before hanging the doors. And the hoods for that matter as well. That's another challenge coming down the road.

A commission build by the owner of the 1:1. Years in the making.

Polishing for chrome needs to be flawless but you're not (yet) needing that level. But the method is about the same. I do this; fine files, wet / dry papers of 220, 400, 600 then a Dremel buffing wheel (cotton) with favorite 1:1 metal polish. Can use fine compound and even Novis too. Get the practice for those chrome windshield frames and running board strips...

Nice brass work Scott. You'll have good chrome details on your Pochers.

Very pretty Bo. Forget the time span; I've just past my second year.

Thought so and excellent work. The Montana Bros are local to me here on LI and do full NHRA up to ProMod. Great shop to hang around in. Was right next to Kook's Headers before they moved. .

More under skin work... While preparing to work the door fit and latches, the thought occurred that I could get the body firmly in the correct position and have it survive the numerous on / off cycles needed. So another step back to get that right. It's important to remember how much the body seen here, is modified from stock Pocher, in overall view. The bottom of the body under the doors trimmed 5mm, the channeling over the frame of 7mm. The stock spacers under the firewall are removed lowering it 7mm and the rear bulkhead also trimmed 5mm and resting flat on the frame. Seen in the interior is the step in the floor which has been raised 7mm from stock. This is the kick-up in the floor where the rear portion of the frame kicks up. The rear seat goes atop that step. This is what allowed the cowl to fit flat on the firewall top. Earlier in the build I showed the new front body attachment bracket I made. This hole will take the 0-80 bolt and nut that secures the front half. I had 6 holes there before I 'found' the bracket hole beneath it. Thank the stars for Bondo. This is all in addition to the clamps under the body sides which attach it to the floor.: The new attachment point in the rear was established by making two posts of .250" styrene and epoxying them into the rear corners of the body. They protrude out of the body so they can overlap the frame and be bolted to it. They center the body rear nicely on the chassis too - just happen to be the right spacer dimension on both sides. Also note the cut roof with the stock Pocher ribs removed and the white, .060 styrene doubler on the bulkhead wall. Necessary even on a stock one.: Here is the attachment with T pin marking the location for the hole in the chassis. I like to use markings (on the yellow tape) to get even locations on both parts and both sides of the car. I heat the T pin to embed a mark in the chassis. Makes a nice starter hole for the drill bit, .054 in this case for 0-80 bolt: Also like the T pin because the 'handle' end makes a good line-up tool for your markings. This one is dead on. If you get a hole wrong, don't fret. Fill the hole with heated sprue and redrill: Finally here's the chassis hole drilled and tapped for 0-80 bolt. This all worked to give a square and solid body no matter how many times it's put on and off. NONE of this is necessary for a stock Pocher Rolls build because all the attachment points are designed in. But it wouldn't hurt to do a version of this for a solid build:

Your reference; are you working from plan drawings from S & W Racecars or Rick Jones? Or are you experienced with 1:1 big tire cars?

I use microfiber towels when paint has DRIED - for a week or more.

Nice save BO. Very good problem-solving.

Thanks for the support Tim. The learning process starts with me. I am pushing my 'envelope' with the harder stuff and I previously didn't have an envelope ! But it's getting close to what I've studied and want it to be. C

Quite a bit before I started actually. But I felt bending, making and soldering a brass frame around a jig I built would be parlor trick enough, at my skill level, never having done it before. I'm satisfied. Dave Cox, who has built over 90 Pochers, is the man to see for that. I'm at kindergarten level compared to that.

Back to work... Probably completely unnecessary but; while sanding the windscreen opening in the cowl for paint clearance, I decided I needed something to locate the chrome frame positively in the opening. This would ensure the frame was flush to the cowl surface and allow better gluing area. Painted body color, the flange will make sure the frame has no tiny gaps to the cowl. Using .005 sheet and a .040 template of the chrome frame perimeter, I cut a 'mask' or flange for the chrome frame to rest on. A sort of stop. The trick was to not make the inner circumference overlap the frame and show. The next trick was to CA that flimsy .005 styrene to the cowl plastic. The final trick was to insure that inner frame (attached to the dashboard) closed up tight to the cowl with the flange sandwiched between. The big guys that do brass frames don't do this; their fit is perfect first time out. Me, less so. First shot shows the overlap. Second pic from the rear shows how thin .005 is - you can see through it where it meets the cowl. Last photo is the chrome brass frame sitting flush to the cowl frame with no visible gap and no plastic showing around the inner edge.

Thank you both guys. Bo, I'm worried that if I get guys interested to build, they may want me to pay for their models...! Scott, those are VERY nice things you said and I appreciate them. But you were a fine modeler before you saw my stuff. If I helped you get to all those Pochers you have, I'm happy. And the nuts 'n bolts posts will go on... endlessly it seems. C

Small review... It has been suggested to me by a prolific and expert Pocher-builder that I should show some of the earlier work done and a look at the future. This because, I was told, I present such fiddly 'how I did it' posts and the viewer may not have seen the early work which is largely fully finished and more fun to look at. Too much boring nuts and bolts. Also this is for viewers new to Pocher classics so they can decipher what the heck is going on. I plead guilty to starting out wanting a nice stock Pocher Rolls in the case to transitioning into the dark underworld of hacking, slicing and altering for an ever-evolving vision. So here is some stuff to see, some of which is buried in the thread and some not ever shown. Note that the firewall here is .250" too high on the stock spacers which is why the radiator brace and shutter control rod are angled up at the rear. Not anymore, they are level now with the channeled body. A look at early mock-ups with high body, uncut doors, terrible stock ride height, tall roof and windscreen and a host of things I didn't want it to be: Here's a late mock-up. Photo is the actual car with small photo editing adding the white sweep on the hood section. The rest is the real stuff. Lower, sleeker with channeled body, cut roof and 'screen, doors and sloped and sectioned trunk. And here is the similar actual photo but with editing in the window frames, running boards and approximate colors for roof and body sides. Fenders and trunk are true colors.Just to assess if I was getting where I wanted it to be. Work is continuing and regular updates soon:

Pete is correct Steve. I meant if you don't want the problem of loss of shine, foil is much better in that regard. It's also a 'truer' chrome finish - unless the prototype you're modeling had more of a polished ally finish than straight chrome. The black can remain untouched.

Steven, You could easily foil those and separately, those leg runners.

It was wise to buy another Revival just for those wheels alone. But don't let it distract you from a real-deal Pocher build next. You're certainly up to speed for it. Finish this nice Bug and clear the decks (a lot) for your first classic Pocher. PLEASE!!

Any auto parts store will have a suitable polish. Does not have to be expensive. Or polish for silverware (spoons / forks etc.)

HA, HA, Bet you didn't know you were that good eh Bo?? Looks just as I hoped it would; neat and real. Now let me push you a bit further. Carefully remove the ring (unless glued). take a cotton tip and rub on metal polish, then buff it off leaving the heads dull. Re-install and amaze your friends. It will look like a MMC chrome part. EXCELLENT work Bo, keep it up. C

Maybe make another one but gently flatten it. Some 1/12 scale PE rivets can become 4 attaching screw heads. Then see which one you like better....

Bo your leather boot is very nice. To trim around it, use a circle of silver solder, about .030 wide and slightly flattened as a chrome trim ring. For the handbrake hole, see my thread a few posts back. I made a side cover from leather with chrome trim that looks very close to your opening. It's on my shifter and brake handle opening.

Dirty little secret... Not proud of the 'engineering' here but I offer this secret for Pocher builders (and potential builders) that are timid about changing things. IMO, these cars should be about building classics the way you'd want one, not the cookie-cutter way they're 'supposed' to look when built OOB or by the book. I've explained about how the look I am after takes precedence over historical accuracy to a particular 1:1. Top chops, channeling and all manner of mayhem became easy for me to adjust to for getting what I wanted. Creative license again. Pocher purists may look away if this is offensive. A big irritant for me was the view from the rear of the P II and seeing the tires tucked way inboard of the coachwork giving that spindly look. 19" skinny tires add to that: So I fiddled with bits to get the tires outboard, closer to the fender outer edges. When mock-up, I discovered that it transformed the side and rear views of the model to 'just right'. NOT hot rod, low-rider crazy stuff. Just a subtle change that no one who is not a P II or Pocher expert would even notice. It just looks 'right'. Give the car a more purposeful look. While test-fitting I found washers in my spares which are 1mm thick and ~.250 ID. I learned that three of them slipped on the axle with the wheel then mounted, spaced the wheel the perfect distance. The limiting factor was the Pocher screws which retain the wheels to the brass axles. They are short and of a thread pitch apparently not seen on this planet. With the 3mm spacing I could just get three threads in to seat the wheel safely. One more mm and the wheel would not stay on. The axle hole depth is actually about 8mm; I'd love to find screws that long. Possibly other Pocher classic kits use them but they would have to be tested in the Rolls axle. I scoured the web and pounded on Pocher part suppliers to no avail. But LocTite when I finally assemble them will be secure and safe. Here is the test with 3mm added per side. You will note the large gap that the brake drum now has from its backing plate: That problem led to the next cobble. The decision was made to widen the brake drum. Not very elegant engineering I'll admit. But I sourced two new rear drums and began hacking bits apart. The measuring was very critical, to keep the mating surfaces flat and not have the drum rub when the wheel rotates. So surgery began: The result when painted was to look factory. The red circle shows the three 1mm wide washers employed: Having said that, I wanted them to just disappear under the fenders and behind the wheel well cover. And not have a 'toy' look from the lower rear. I'm sorry I didn't take fully-assembled shots in my haste to move on. But I will have to dress the car again in future and you'll see the side and rear view with tires on and decide for yourself. I guess my point to telling this sordid tale is to make the Pocher classics the way you want them to look. Since every one of them is a compromise by Pocher design, to its 1:1 prototype, there is NO stock, accurate Pocher classic to be chained to. Don't be timid of change. You will look at your model for a long time after completion; don't regret that it's not the way you prefer.

Hold on a minute... I have explained earlier that I often have to make a part several times before I get it acceptable. Sadly, this luggage rack was no exception. As nice as everyone complimented it, hours later I imagined multiple things I could have done better. I'm cursed with some kind of obsessive disorder (among other things) that forces me to spend untold hours diddling around. That's why this thread seems never-ending. Herewith, the trunk rack reborn. Slightly smaller, legs relocated and infinitely neater and spiffy. The pictures will tell. First, a better jig will always give better results. The previous pics show the jig I made and used on this second rack. It too is smaller and neater: Results seem promising: The finished (and polished) product with a comparison with sad old #1. Tighter corners, completely round tube all the way: Some mock-up fun and incentive to carry on. Everything propped-up but enough to see it will work in its new home. Chrome will continue the theme of the headlights, windshield and side window frames, the running board strips and the rear window frame. This will go in a box for storing until the side frames are fit and polished and the rear one gets made. Then all will go for chrome plating: http://

Beautify thing to see first time or multiple times. Glad to see you posting builds again! Boy these Occres should be in a BOOK Harry....