mrmike

I have long been a fan of the Plymouth Road Runner. I loved the bare-bones muscle this car represents and, of course, the beep-beep horn! I built a 383 Road Runner a few years ago and have been wanting to build a Hemi version since. Then, I found my inspiration, listed on eBay last year at $99,000! It never sold and the seller, a dealership, still has the car and is for sale at $89,000. This car is not perfect and IMHO, not worth the asking price. But, that is just me. I've been planning this build for some time now and I have gotten all the items I need to start building. I am starting with the AMT/Ertl '68 Road Runner kit. My paint is MCW #6853 Electric Blue Metallic and the decals are from Keith Marks. I am using the steel wheels and hub caps from Scale Equipment Limited. I also plan on correcting the mis-shaped rear fender openings. More to come.....

Thanks Brad! Some people like to point out errors, but offer nothing in the way of fixing the error. I agree that my error would be hard to detect especially once the body has been installed. I finished the interior this morning. I found what appears to be an underdash gauge set, so I detailed it and installed it. I found a picture of a red 330 interior with horizontal stripes on the seatbacks. I applied those stripes using silver paint. Although it might be hard to tell, I foiled the body. It doesn't show up to well with the silver paint. More to come.....

I don't know if these shops are "interesting", you might want to check these out. http://www.yellowpages.com/miami-fl/hobby-shops

Thanks to all who have posted the information about the Wedge to Hemi transformation. Chris, the plug spacing is not an issue for me since the plugs will most likely be hidden from view once the chassis is installed into the body. I have not been able to find any decent pictures of a 426 Max Wedge so I went with my best guess on the plug location. At this point, should I tear out the engine and redo it just because the plugs locations are wrong? I don't think so. But, I do thank you for the information and I will keep it in mind if I ever do another Max Wedge project. I got the engine installed into the chassis. I added and hooked up the exhaust to the engine. I guess my fears of a low front end were unfounded as the chassis appears to be level with the wheels and tires are on. More to come.....

Thank you guys!

Erik, I am impressed with the scratch building going on here! Keep up the good work!

Eelco, the 426 Max Wedge was an outgrowth of the 413 Wedge engine. As for the 426 Hemi, I don't know if it used the same engine block or was an all new design. Erik, I watched the video and I loved how the Dodge spanked the Mustang everytime until the tranny let go! I got the engine wired and exhaust manifolds mounted. I still need to add the coil and air cleaner housings. The chassis is done, but I fear i may have to tear the front suspension apart and reverse the spindles to set the nose height properly. I have found a few errors in the instructions so far and this might be another one. I had painted the interior componants with Model Master Insignia Red and found the color to be way too bright for my liking. I repainted them with Aqueous Russet which darkened the color more to my liking. I am having paint issues with the hood scoop and I have sanded the scoop twice already and still can't get the paint to lay down properly. I am going to sand the scoop and hood again, clean it really well, and repaint it again for the third time. Somebody wish me luck! More to come...

For the interior, I'd with black with orange seat panels. I've seen a '71 GTX at the local cruise night like that...orange with a black/orange interior.

Oh, you kids! So quick to assume without reading the whole story! Or title!

Motor and chassis assembly is underway. The wheels and tires are done. More to come.....

This sounds like a great project! I'm watching!

You're right, Erik! My color choice was a quick decision and my first instinct for the interior color was black. Quick and easy...RIGHT!!!!!! A conversation with my good friend Fury3 made me realize that as nice as the black interior would look, red would make this one stand out...BIG TIME!!!!! I needed a color change since I've used blue and red quite a bit lately and I was in need of a change. For me, a color change could also include a change in subject matter as some colors look better on some cars than others. Having finished my '67 Impala SS, and getting more into the Dodge 330, I am also thinking about my next build. Right now I am thinking about an AMT '68 Hemi Road Runner coupe in blue (of course) and correcting the mis-shaped rear fender openings. I've had the paint for over a year and the kit has been calling me from the stash. We shall see...

Thank you Mike, Mike, and Brandon! I guess I did do a good job for a Chevy! :D

The body has been painted along with the chassis. Other body parts are painted as well! The engine wearing a coat of Mopar Street Hemi Orange enamel. More to come.....

Yes, that is a Charger steering wheel. I needed a stock looking steering wheel and this is the closest thing I had to a Chevy wheel that I had in my parts box. I wanted to cut down the horn hub, but I feared I would end up destroying the wheel itself so I left it as is. And, she is done! I have finished my '67 Impala SS 427 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 '67 Impala SS 427 painted with Model Master Nassau Blue Metallic with a matcing interior.

Thanks Walt and Charlie! I put a couple disc of thin styrene under the rear springs and raised the rear of the Chevy to where I wanted it. It does have a slight rake now which appeals to me. A couple more things to do and it'll be done.

I'd rather have one of these!

I use 100% pure Purple Power! It does not harm the styrene plastic at all. If it could eat it's way through styrene, it would eat it's way out of the plastic jug it came in! I've been using PP for years to strip paint and chrome without any problems what-so-ever.

I used Tamiya TS-13 Gloss Clear Coat straight from the can. The engine is finished and installed into the chassis. The chassis has been installed into the body. A mockup of the suspension with the wheels and tires shows the ride height could use a little tweak in the rear. I don't have any longer rear springs so I'll make a couple of spacers for the spring holes in the frame. More to come.....

Thanks Gerald! The mod to the exhaust manifold is not 100% accurate, but does allow the part to fit the block better. The 1:1 exhaust manifolds have have the center two runners parallel to each other and the kit part has equal spacing on each port.

Thanks Mike and Mike! I must admit that the foiling did come out quite well on this Chevy. So far, this has been a different type of challenge for me by building an Impala. I haven't built a Chevy in at least two decades and then I was just building out of the box with no regard as to accuracy or quality. Back then, I would pop one out in a weekend! Lately, I do one in a couple of weeks!

I found out that my purple pond was old and in need of rejuvenation. I poured the old stuff out and replaced it with new Purple Power. I had done a little bit of sanding on the scoop and loosened up some of the paint. I threw the scoop back into the pond and more paint came off. A final sanding and the scoop is ready for primer. To me, the exhaust manifolds on the 426 Max Wedge stand out on this engine with their upswept design. I got these from my Polar Lights '65 Coronet Convertible kit, but the spacing between the ports were all equal. The center two exhaust port runners are side-by-side, so I removed the webbing and heated one runner and moved the port closer to the center. Now they match the port spacing on the engine block. More to come.....

This SS 427 wouldn't look right unless it had a set of redline tires. I have no Chevy air cleaners on hand, but I do have this Mopar air cleaner that I have started modifying. I just need to add a couple of snorkles and it's done. I had to remove the heads from the block since I mounted them too far apart for the intake manifold. Fortunately, I didn't use too much glue and they just popped right off. The distributor has been drilled out for plugs wires. The carb and the valve covers are in the purple pond. More to come.....

Thank you guys! Nick, the body will be Tamiya Silver Leaf with a red, not black, interior as I posted before. Bruno, thank you for the offer of the windshield, but I do have the acetate and am perfectly happy with making a windshield with that. Since the hood scoop is pre-painted, I threw it into the purple pond with the hope of trying to remove the red paint that is on it. So far after 36 hours, nothing. Gotta be lacquer paint! I may go old school style and sand it, primer it, and glue the scoop to the hood and then paint it. The engine has been partially assembled. This intake manifold is from the Polar Lights '65 Coronet kit. A little trimming and the intake fits rather well! More to come.....