mrmike

I am a fan of the TV series Spenser For Hire starring the late Robert Urich. I have built Spenser's first, second, and third season Mustangs from the show, Hawk's BMW 635 CSI, and the '67 Mustang from Spenser: The Judas Goat and Spenser: A Savage Place.

I decided on wheels and tires for the Dart...the infamous Kelsey-Hayes Recall Mags and Goodyear Polyglas GTs F70-15s. I started working on the 340 CID engine.I got the carb, starter, oil filter and adapter, fan belt and fan, and the by-pass hose. More to come...

Thank you Greg! I wasn't sure on how to build this one until I started looking at the other Classic Plastic Model Club builders and at pictures on-line. That's when I decided on full-fendered with wide whitewalls and a Hemi.

Thank you Dale! I'm trying to rectify my painting gremlins.

Thank you David! I'm using the smooth trunk lid.

This morning, I cut off the 4-speed trans and superglued a resin Torqueflite A727 trans to the 340 CID engine. Once that was set, I primed the engine and trans with Dupli-Color Grey Primer and painted the unit with Mopar Turqouise Engine Paint. The camera flash washed out the color a bit. I'll paint the trans tomorrow. Now to toss this into the dehumidifier for the rest of the day. More to come...

With the wife and her niece watching movies today, I hunkered down in the model cave to work on my projects for the afternoon. I got the '32 5-Window into a good coat of Testors Lime Ice One Coat Lacquer. There's a lot of flake in this paint! Now to let it dry! I still haven't finished the engine yet. I need to install the distributor and run the leads to the heads and make an alternator support so the alternator is not hanging in the air. More to come...

Thank you Chris!

I've been working at the 340 CI engine for the Dart this morning. I started to re-engineer the fan belt assembly only to have that go south on me. I rummage through my parts box and found a fan belt assembly with an alternator that refuses to come off. That'll be staying on. I cleaned up the block and added holes for the by-pass hose that I'll add later. I still need to drill holes for plug wires. More to come...

This is a great looking Dart! I don't buy resin hoods any more since they warp over time. Hopefully, your flat hood will remain flat...

Thanks guys! Thanks Mike for supplying the link to your Dart!

Thank you guys! I just love this bare bones, basic sports car!

restoman, can you supply me with a link to your WIP? I would like to see what you did with yours. I am not using the Duster's A/C unit. I am going to re-engineer the belt assembly to remove the A/C pulley. I may use the carb from the Dart 383 CI engine. Great minds for sure, Curt! I have long been a fan of B5 Blue and the Tamiya TS-54 Light Metallic Blue is pretty close to that. Thanks to you guys for following along!

Thank you Jim!

Time for another muscle car! This project is the '69 Dart GTS 340 and I am using the Revell Dodge Dart GTS Kit # 7603. I am using the 340 CI 4-barrel engine from an AMT '71 Duster 340 kit. Since this is to be built mostly stock, I went searching for the engine color. Apparently the '69 340 engine came in either red, turquoise, or Street Hemi Orange. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the various engine colors which could be for the engine plant or for whatever color was in stock at the time. I choose Chrysler Engine Turquoise for mine. I once owned a '70 Duster 340 and I can remember all the issues I had with it, the body and interior colors and features, but I can't remember the engine color! What a memory! I'll replace the 4-speed trans with a Torqueflite 727 resin trans from M.A.D. and I'll also wire the engine with a M.A.D. Pre-Wired Distributor with a tan cap and blue wires. I have yet to decide on an interior color, but I seem to be leaning towards white with black accents and the body will be Tamiya TS-54 Light Metallic Blue. This should look great! More to come...

Thank you guys! There is something about this car I really like. The styling, the light weight, the basic car without all the electronic BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH of today. The Mazda Miata had a good idea when it first came out, but it was patterned on the MGs and the Triumphs of the Sixties. The Morgan is still as it was originally designed back in the late Thirties and Forties. Separate fenders, low doors, wire wheels, and a four cylinder engine. A very basic sports car.

I have finished my Tamiya Morgan 4/4 and it is posted in Under Glass. I would like to thank all those who took the time to view and to comment on my WIP.

This is my Tamiya Morgan 4/4 painted with Tamiya TS-9 British Green with Model Master Dark Red seats and Tamiya TS-29 Semi-Gloss Black interior.

Since my last post, I have been working away on the Morgan 4/4. The body has been joined with the chassis and I have added the grille and center hood support. The spare tire was added to the rear along with the rear valance panel and license plate frame. With a little bit of masking, I used my Molotow Liquid Chrome pen and painted the raised strip on the running board. More to come...

Thank you Jeremy and David! I'm starting to like the Jag Mk. II better than the X-KE!

Well Atin, one thing I seem to be getting better at is repainting a body part, but I am far from being perfect! I am working on getting better the first time around. Some progress on my Morgan 4/4. I've been detailing the body off and on the last several days. I installed the dash, steering wheel and column, coil and brake booster, and painted the underside of the body with Tamiya X-18 Semi Gloss Black. Then I installed the interior onto the chassis. I couldn't seat the interior all the way down onto the chassis without a little persuasion and now it fits perfectly. I still don't know why it didn't go on all the way. More to come...

I know I said this elsewhere but, WOW!!! That looks great! I had planned on doing the same with my Hurst Olds. I went out and bought the PE set from Model Car Garage so I can build mine and I have a McNally story to go along with it. Did I say WOW yet? Oh yes...I did!!!

Thank you David! No special method...just apply the decals and you are done! Those are decals provided in the kit by Tamiya and they are awesome! I did see a technique on TV's Bitchin' Rides for creating burled wood with paint on a 1:1 car and I wonder if it can be applied to a model car.

That is something to ponder...if you are doing a period correct hot rod. If I was to relocate the starter to the right (passenger) side of the engine, I would have to relocate the oil filter on my 392 CI Hemi. I think I'll just leave things where they are. Thanks for the pondering!

It could be a temporary thing to get back some customers and then they'll slap a fee on them again. I deleted my PB accounts and found another hosting site and I'm not going back!