Cato

Thanks Ray. I wish I was a machinist like you however. That would better enable thoughtfulness instead of my crude methods...

That will save you some hours. But you need a lot of M's door handles - inner, outer and rear...

Understood. Yes, Sedanca's a P II but they were built '29 to '35. No matter a P III, go with what your eye likes after looking at much reference. My kit w'shield was scratched and junky and would not clean up even with polishing cloths. Will you Spaz the ABS frames or BMF? Yes, M's probably living on that vacation property I bought for him and I've still got some final $$ bits to buy for completion. I will say it again though, his stuff is beautiful.

The Lexan that Marvin sells is .045 thick. That's .360 or just under 3/8" in 1:1. Sits comfortably in 3/32 SQUARE channel brass (if you make a brass / chrome frame as I am: DON'T get 'C-channel"). The wall thickness of the channel is ~ .028 total. Using same for side glass and frames. I used a sheet of .040 styrene seen here for mock-up: Sure you can source .031 Lexan for that look you seek but I can tell you mine doesn't look bad. Alternately, you could make a frame from styrene square rod, BMF it and sit the glass flush. Glad to share anything you might not have seen in this thread. Ask away pal. Oh and don't forget to whack the cowl frame at least 3mm before you make the frame and glass and build that giant roof. See? I've started already...

A month? Three? Harry it took me a month just to organize my parts. It took me a month to build the engine and patina it. That's just examples. The reasons for that are; A. I'm not so talented. B. I am anal to the point of illness. And yes, I will nit pick because I'm a sick man that needs help. You of course will be laughing when I tell you the fender is 3mm too long because you're enjoying your work and will produce a masterpiece anyway. You hold the gang's attention because you build really well, really quickly and in a very open, instructional way. I on the other hand, belabor everyone's patience with minutia of little concern to the general building audience. There's a fine line between a nit-pick and a nit-wit and I have surely crossed that line...

Stay tuned; I will post along the way.

I see but Harry's starting with the Torpedo model which has (different) full fenders. He does have a Sedanca in waiting and if I bug him, he may check them for me. But he will need them for when he builds that car.

Harry just told us he doesn't care! Besides, when he finishes that station wagon in a week or two I'll have something to henpeck him about. And you know? He won't care...

Did that. The holes are for bolts into the body side. I have rotated them forward on the body so they flair up in the rear a bit. The one with the greater arc shows too much tire gap for my taste. So I must either tighten that one or open the other - which I'm reluctant to do. I've just completed and attached the sub-floor today. Now no crossmembers poking through. Thinking about seats now. And window frames and door fitments and coachlines and hood hinges and cowl attachment and...and...and...............

You AIN'T no slacker. You built a whole friggin' vintage concours worth of cars in the time I've been noodling... but I'm guilty as charged. Oh boy- am I gonna nit-pick your Rolls....

Here is the inside; the wider section is the rear. Note there's a narrow flange in front and a skirt on the rear half. I could: Kerf the front flange to stretch or narrow a bit. Cut the rear skirt away and make a new one , gluing it in with a tighter radius. The fear with either of these is to louse up the perfect top curve. Source a replacement to match either of mine. Leave it the heck alone because no one sees two sides of the car at once. ---Naaaaah, that ain't me....

I'd like to make a one-piece back side but can't; the halves are two different planes. Would only free one half the fender. I'll shoot an end-on shot tomorrow which makes it easier to understand. Thanks for the suggestions Bob.

Since the inside of the fender has two different planes, kerfs would only alter the front or back of the curve. That would change the roundness which is part of the beauty of them. As I said, I'm afraid to heat or cut them for this reason.

Don't try this at home... To any Pocher daredevils out there who want to channel the body to get the model lower this will surely become obviously necessary. Having cut slots in the floor previously to sit it flush on the frame, it became time to make a sub floor to cover the holes. With a .060 thick sheet sub floor, the center crossmember still stood .050 above what would have been the top of the sub floor. Not wishing to shim the floor from below (raising it) thereby shifting the entire body up, I wanted to preserve the wheel / fender tight clearance I gained by channeling. What to do? Grind the offending crossmember by about .080. Yes I had structural concerns - until I tested by lifting the complete chassis by the crossmember. No sign of flex or stress. Just showing you it can be done. I had further ground the first crossmember by .030 which was all it needed to clear. Had I known months ago when chassis building, I'd have rotated the crossmembers several degrees fore or aft (there's clearance) and this would never have been an issue. A word to the wise... Here's the result: Now a very reasonable .030 floor can make the interior floor flat and the seats can be bolted in with a flat rug. Taking things for granted is not a good Pocher idea. Why would you think they'd provide two symmetrical rear fenders?? Only a fool like me would. Seen here with both fenders touching the same front and bottom lines is the fact that they have different curvatures. This would render two different tire clearances. Yes the camera's lens adds perspective but trust me that they're both on the same points. Reluctant to use heat or kerf the inners because the roundness may be kinked or flattened. Still pondering this one...

Scott, this is Guardsman: Not sure what you're referring to as 'dark blue'. Scalefinishes makes probably the best lacquer spray of Guardsman.

Discussion is not 'blabbing on'. Continue at will. After completing the chassis with a higher level of detail than the kit provided, I thought 'OK, hurry and finish the body / interior and we're building the display case!'. Then, just a little more research (constantly on-going) showed me the exterior was nowhere near what 1:1 had and Marvin and Cox's work showed me how to get closer to that. Then, down the rabbit hole to where I am now. Maybe added a another year to the project. Couldn't be happier.

Thanks for your kind comments and support Mike. I appreciate when someone takes time to look hard at a project and offer ideas and discussion. I originally posted a WIP exactly to get criticism and feedback, knowing I was not doing everyone's cup of tea. It also pleases me if anyone finds a method, tool or technique that is helpful or enjoyable to them. Yes the trunk is fixed in mind and on paper. It will be slightly less tall and have a sloped back wall and spare. This to enhance the forward-leaning, sleeker line. I've said that Gurney Nutting cars are my inspiration but am adding or changing elements of other designs to suit my idea of what I'd have ordered in the day. For instance, the windwings I will build are a trademark of coachbuilder Barker, but I love the jaunty aire they add to the car. My biggest (and only) complaint is the length of time it takes me to accomplish the build. I'm dying to see it in the flesh but complexity and life conspire to slow me down. I AM however getting a huge return on equity with a ton of extra build time. There's no boredom working just this one project. Others have built whole model collections in the same amount of time but I have no desire to do that. This is my bucket list. Discussion welcomed.

Yes this is it in the plastic. The only graphic alterations are where I covered seams at the top cut, the proposed cut at the door top edge and some of the Bondo spots - to give a clearer idea of the overall proportions. Funny, I was never a fan of the boat tail on the Hispanos, Packards or Rollers. It seems an element not in harmony with the rest of those designs. Besides Mike, I'm up to my eyeballs in work on this already...

A better idea... Of where this is going. Shown here is the overall proportion and attitude after the following alterations: Top pie-cut 13mm x 4m, body channeled nearly 3/8", lower body edge trimmed 5mm, rear fender rotated forward a bit, The fender leading edge will be trimmed to match the running boards. The door top will be trimmed as seen here. The cowl is not attached here; the post is the door post and will be removed for the windwings and side glass.The trunk will be modified, sloped and shortened. A new coaachline, running from grille, across doors and wrap around the rear body will dip at the top similar to the stock Gurney Sedanca line. Note how the body overhangs the frame rail so deeply. Compare the rear ride height and top shape and height with early photos - it's vastly different. Most of these major elements of style are now in place. Just a lot of work and panel fitting to go.

Source four spoke wheels and keep the unity.

Thanks Eric. I have a total of 39 hours in the windshield frame; I had to make 4 to get this one good one. It's a learning / cutting / soldering / filing / polishing process. Others may work a lot faster. Now 'just' the side and rear window frames to go...

Assuming you shoot them with Spaz, will they be safe to handle during assembly? Or will you get rub-off? Since this a special one-off and unique, I might send them for quality vac plating. Jus, sayin'...

Yeah, I'm all out of Vodka...

Here's how... CliffsNotes version. Tools: Low watt iron / silver solder / liquid flux / Rosary Beads. Cut cowl top 3mm. Make form (aluminum, balsa - just not whipped cream) to shape of inner edges of Pocher cowl. Get brass square channel. Cut length ~9" long. Anneal to dull red. Find the corners of the opening, then kerf with .014 saw blade. Bend inner and outer edges on form. Place bent frame on soldering plate or board. Solder scrap cross leg at very top of verticals for strength to hold the shape. Fill channel in corners with folded tin foil to prevent filling with solder. Lay in solder to fill kerfs; do both corners, inner and outer. Your life will crawl past you during this process. Using every file in your tool chest file for days and refill divots as needed. Consider but reject suicide. When you've had enough, polish with 220, 400, 600 and 1000 paper. On plastic cowl: Sand off all Pocher molded beltline (we're making our own new one). Add 010 and 015 plastic to top bar to even the surfaces. Bondo the plastic crossbar and side of legs - they taper in two directions. Fill corners to match because you couldn't get the brass in that tight radius without breakage. Make dummy windshield of 040 styrene which will be template for Lexan. Install in frame for rigidity. Fit frame into plastic cowl. See all the gaps; bend / shim / pull / stretch as needed. Guess at clearance for paint thickness. Learn new swear words. Make crossbar from new channel. Un-solder top brace. Cut 45's on ends precisely inside the plastic. Mark the vertical legs of the main hoop and match the angles of the crossbar. The verticals are less than 90's because they taper outward. Relaxin' hobby huh? Polish all elements in prep for trip to chrome lake. Tutorial gladly provided for masochists in the bleachers.

Folded tin foil (made .040 thick) and .005 baking pan sheet...