Darren B

Thank you, My work is slamming me now with a lot of installs so for at least the next month progress is gonna be slow. However with the economy im not complaining but if there is a lack of updates thats the reason.

That is awesome, I love your version of the cooler. Both ends are totally realistic.

Its fun but my history is i dont go back and finish them so im trying to limit to just a few, however when you need stuff to dry its good to get on other projects as the other ones dry! man that cooler looks factory made, what did you use for the end cap? the finned cap looks awesome. Thank you for the inspiration, I need it right now to keep on schedule and not let it sit in the box unfinished for years.

was there a build thread for this beauty?

Thank you, I cant wait either on the interior except that I have a lot of work boxing in the door and making a door panel to cover the tubes that hold the hinges. that will be a challenge.

I love the work of these guys great inspiration. I check out all their work at layitlow.com

Making an old window cooler for the passenger side window from scratch. both hinges glued to body and doors and with the sleeves slid off for more tweaking of the hinges and fitting issues.

Best place to get it is a hobby lobby with the 40% coupon they have about every other weekend from there website. Just print it out before you go to pick up the foam. It comes in a pack of like 8-10 different colors from anywhere from 5-7 dollars. In my store its in the scrap book section.

wow thanks for sharing that site has the feel of ebay without any of the cost. That will help me unload some kits, thank you very much.

Eric, thank you for being understanding, most people would have thought that I jacked their idea and been mad, thats why I made sure when I posted it that I said it wasnt my idea. I just fell in love with how you came up with making the lines and when I seen the full interior it blew me away how realistic it looks. I have been for years looking for a way to replicate this look. The other look that I am trying to replicate is the coffin pleat look. About 12 years ago I bought a yard of what was called velveteen in a material shop called jo anns fabric and it was paper thin and looked exactly like crushed velvet and I used that yard of material in a 81 chevy citation and it looked exactly like coffin pleat but when i went back a year ago they say its not made anymore, do you have any ideas what material to use to replicate that? Ill try some other shops in my area but the ones I went to show me material that is to thick to be scale. Heres a few pics of what I used to use for it and how it looked, not very close up shots as I didnt take pics till the models were built.

I havent had the time to do more than just one sheet of foam on my cutter after seeing this done, I did a 2 in square sample about a year ago using the back of a number eleven blade and it still has the shape it in today. And you can probably use the back of a blade or some other long metal object like a steel or aluminum ruler but the cutter helps make the lines straight with each other.

I should have mentioned that, it can take several slides back and forth and a lot of pressure pushing down on the blade holder , but thats for the one i bought as I went with the cheapest cutter I could find.

I dont know how Eric did his, for mine I filed it back and forth flat across the top of the blade itself. I do not think it matters as long as you just take the edge off the blade.

It is cool thats what I thought when I seen Erics Tutorial. I can't imagine how he figured it out but it works, I have already made a couple sheets of perfectly scored foam panels for the 41 chevy.

Well I hope he doesnt mind that I posted his tut before he did, I mentioned on the workbench section that i wanted to make a button tufted interior on a 41 chevy pickup and someone asked how I would be able to do it so I posted what I seen on the other site.

Ok, I did not come up with this and will not call it my own tut either, A guy whose id on a lowrider forum by the name of Truscale came up with this very cool way to make button tufted lowrider interiors. So I am giving all props to Truscale for this tutorial. Basically any copyrights he owns, as the pics are his from the website of layitlow.com,and it is his idea on how to make it look right, he is an awesome builder and needs proper recognition for this tutorial. just so there is no confusion I just wanted to share with any one that builds lowriders and wants that true classic look of button tufted upholstery, before he came up with this it was impossible to get it to look scale in any other material. I just thought it was cool as can be because i primarily model lowriders and before this had no way of doing button tufted upholstery. Now if any one has an idea for doing correct scale coffin pleat upholstery please post. What you do is get a paper cutter/trimmer from michaels or hobby lobby. One with the round cutting wheel, straight blade just stretches the foam. File of the edge of the cutting wheel with a coarse sanding stick till it is real dull. Take the color foam you want to use for the interior color and make your square scores in the foam till you have patterns large enough for your build. Use masking tape to make patterns for the interior and lay those on the foam to make the patterns. (craft foam you can get at hobby lobby a whole pack of different colors for like $5.00) At a model rail road store get the little rivets they have and paint those to match and you add those as the buttons, he says he drills holes and puts the post thru each hole where a button would be. This is my cutter I bought at hobby lobby, the name is cuttapede and it is 24.95, I used the 40% off and it was $14.95. Just filed off the edge of the cutting wheel and it works perfect, the model Truscale purchased is $69.95 and he got it at michaels. It may work better or not, mine works just fine so basically its in the choice of the tool for the person.

Ok, I did not come up with this and will not call it my own tut either, A guy whose id on a lowrider forum by the name of Truscale came up with this very cool way to make button tufted lowrider interiors. So I am giving all props to Truscale for this tutorial. Basically any copyrights he owns, lol!!! I just thought it was cool as can be because i primarily model lowriders and before this had no way of doing button tufted upholstery. Now if any one has an idea for doing correct scale coffin pleat upholstery please post. What you do is get a paper cutter/trimmer from michaels or hobby lobby. One with the round cutting wheel, straight blade just stretches the foam. File of the edge of the cutting wheel with a coarse sanding stick till it is real dull. Take the color foam you want to use for the interior color and make your square scores in the foam till you have patterns large enough for your build. Use masking tape to make patterns for the interior and lay those on the foam to make the patterns. At a model rail road store get the little rivets they have and paint those to match and you add those as the buttons, he says he drills holes and puts the post thru each hole where a button would be. This is my cutter I bought at hobby lobby, the name is cuttapede and it is 24.95, I used the 40% off and it was $14.95. Just filed off the edge of the cutting wheel and it works perfect, the model Truscale purchased is $69.95 and he got it at michaels. It may work better or not, mine works just fine so basically its in the choice of the tool for the person.

Now that the forum is back up ill post one soon.

this is the interior that I have in mind for this build. Button Tufted foam panels.

A small update, working on the hinging of the doors. A lot of tweaking the lip of the door and the edge of the body to make it open up and close correctly.

Out of a table full of projects this is one I want to finish in 2011! I only get around to about 1-2 a year so this is one of the goals.

with the high cost of kits another idea is using the 40% off coupon at hobby lobby, they have limited selection but on a 19.95 kit you can get it for 11.97, that does help some what, not to get a case but cheaper kits to build.

The last thing i need to do is start another project as I have about a million started but started this kit that I won at my lhc. It will be a total full on lowrider with a bed full of batteries and hydro pumps.... shaving all the handles, vents, running board ribs, etc,. etc.