MrObsessive

Thanks Ron! I'll sure drop him a line! I didn't know Norm made one!

OK! I just won on eBay yesterday a sort of a grail of mine...............a '68 Javelin Promo in played with, but very restorable shape! In one of my someday projects, I'd like to replicate a car that was my Mom's first new car. She bought her Javelin brand new in the fall of '67 when the local dealer here (England Motors) had just intro'd it. Hers was gold with a black interior, and I'm sure it ran a straight six. The reason I'm a bit certain about the engine is because she kept the car about a year and half, and then in the summer of '69 she traded that Javelin in for another one, which had a 390/auto in it. That car sounded VERY different from the '68, as that '69 had a very distinct rumble to it. The '68 sounded like.................well a six! Anyone have an idea if there's an aftermarket straight six out there for AMC's? I've not seen one in resin, and I can't think of any kit that would have this engine. Thanks in advance fellas...........I guess I COULD cobble something together if nothing's out there.

Chuck, one thing that jumped out at me immediately is the wheelbase up front. There's more real estate between the trailing edge of the front fender, and the leading edge of the doors. That change alone would mean a LOT of slicing and dicing to bring that to stock. It looks like the whole roofline was lowered by a couple scale inches, so there's that too. While I'm not much into Foose customs, I DO like this particular truck, and I can see myself picking up one down the road.

Doug, probably because Johan's Road Runners while getting somewhat scarce, can still be found at relatively reasonable prices. AMT's take on this bugged me for years, and it's something I always wanted to tackle to see if it could be done. BTW, Revell's '67 Coronet suffers from the same malady. I have a fix in mind for that one too, but it'll be quite a while before I'll get time to take on that one.

Oh Man! If it weren't for my continuing subscription for their '67 Shelby Mustang, I'd be ALL OVER THIS! Absolutely gorgeous model, and one can only hope they'll continue to do some other timeless classics! Let's see......... 1957 or '63 Corvette 1957-58 Porsche 356 Speedster 1955-57 Thunderbird 1963 Shelby Cobra 289 I got another year or so on my subscription.........we'll see!

Ripping off an I idea I saw on Jason's build, I made floor mats for the 356. Interesting that as detailed as this kit was, they didn't give you something to cover up the floor stampings------just bare floor which I'm sure as new, the 356's weren't delivered that way----at least most of them. I took some Evergreen plastic sheet that had scribed lines in it which are closely spaced (V-Groove .025 spacing, .020" thick). I had to make a pattern to suit the floor shape per side and then used that as a template to cut the shapes. I painted the mats with Polly S Engine Black paint (now discontinued) which gives a nice rubber like sheen. Normally, I would double coat the embossing powder, but in this case, since the insides of the car would be hard to see due to it being a coupe, I'm not going to worry about the bare spots. If it were a Cabriolet----oh yeah, I would give the sides more coats as that's definitely seen. Normally, if this were a new build, I would go all out and try to detail the undercarriage with lines and whatnot. BUT......since I want to finish this in as reasonable a time as possible, I didn't do that this time around, just tried to get everything back together like it was. There's mold/parting lines that could stand to be banished, but that would mean whole new painting of the parts, and that's not my intent for this particular model. This won't be a show goer due to its age, just a nice display model to suit my collection..............again! BTW, I had broken the tie rod when I was disassembling the chassis............thanks to Dominik of Germany who's a regular on the board here. He's sending me replacement parts from a kit he's parting out, so I went ahead and raided another 356 kit I have to get this one done. Thanks Dominik! Interior is about complete..........I'll add the interior door panels and rear firewall, after I make a pair of coils for the dual ignition. Another nod to Jason's Speedster! Before I get too far along, I thought I'd test fit the chassis into the body to make sure the car sits the way it should. So far so good, and with the interior panels to follow, I don't think I'll run into any trouble..........at least I hope! Ok! This'll be the last update before I call this one done! I'll spend this week finishing up the chassis/interior bits, spiffing up the other wheels with my Molotow pen (I used it on the wheels you see here, not the hubcaps), and adding new trim with BMF. Hopefully I can get this all done by the weekend since it's a holiday, but I suspect I'll be working this Saturday (again). Thanks for tuning in!

Ahhh OK! Makes sense! There is farmland not far from where the pic was taken, it's just the first I've seen/noticed one of those driving on a regular road. I can tell you that other cars certainly made room for him as he was trying to turn those corners!

A couple days ago, I was behind this vehicle on my way home, and I have NO idea what it's supposed to be! It was mighty tall though, and I'm sure if I was driving my old MG, I could have driven right underneath of it! This was one of the few times I had my phone right beside me while driving, so I was able to snap this photo right quick! Any guesses what this is? Looks like some kind of construction vehicle, but I don't know for what.

Ron, that's a real nice piece you're trying to save! I'm getting more into the mode of rescuing these old builds as I restore my Porsche. We all know that most of these old Johans will never see the likes of a mold press again--------maybe a couple that might be redone by another maker, but for all intents and purposes they're gone for good. Keep us posted!

Good spotting Mike! The trunk shouldn't be too hard to fix.......I would cut out the rearmost part of the trunk completely, "bend" that panel slightly, reattach it and then fill in the voids as necessary. There's other things that I'll try to fix too when the time comes for me to fully immerse this as a WIP. The C pillar always seemed a bit too thin to me-------to my sight, this has more to do with the lack of defined window trim, and then reshaping subtlety the rearmost part of the roof. It's appears too blocky to me from a side profile. I don't know why AMT let this misshapen mess get to market-----of course there's that '58 Plymouth which has never been right, yet they keep re-releasing it, warts and all.

Ron our deadlines at work have been real killers lately, so I figured I better had gone in to work this past Saturday to try and help things get caught up. After work, I came right back home and went to bed as I had gone in at 3:30 that morning. On the model front, I've since taken more of the chassis apart, and it's at the point where it's practically being rebuilt as if it's a new kit. Thankfully I have those instructions! I'm going to use embossing powder on the interior to replicate carpeting to spruce things up, and I hope I can get things back to the way they were so the car will sit right once it's all said and done. I'll try to have more pics up by weeks end on the progress.

Thanks Dominik! I thought I had the original box, but unfortunately I think the box was one of the casualties of the flooding that happened to my place six years ago. I have three other kits of the 356's (another coupe, Speedster, and "Hardtop" model), but I'd rather not raid those kits to get extra parts. The unbuilt coupe kit has full instructions in its box, so that's what I've been using to get things back together. I also have a built Cabriolet that I did I think a couple years after building the coupe. That one could stand a good resto also, but it's not in as bad a shape as the coupe. I'll be sending you a PM regarding a couple parts, so keep a lookout in your inbox.

Welcome to the forum Larry, and another '50's car fan here too! They were the cars I first noticed when I began to know what a car was. Any questions you have on anything you're building just ask away!

I spent a better part of the day yesterday making the ignition wire arrangement a bit more believable. I got rid of the original distributor caps and made my own out of .100" styrene round rod. Drilled out the holes for the wires, and using a wiring diagram I found on the 'net, routed the wires as best I could. I also made plug boots from wire insulation and slid these over the ignition wires. BTW, the plug wires are 30 gauge Kynar wire that can easily be found on the 'Bay and comes in all sorts of colors. The only nit I have about this wire is I wish it were just a teeny bit smaller in diameter, but this will suit the engine just fine. Other engine parts will be added back on as I get the car back together. I needed a break at some point with the engine wiring, so I decided to give the body a bath, and clean up most of the dust and muck that had accumulated over the years. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get the glass out without much drama. I thought I used regular glue in putting the glass in, when in reality I had used white glue (Crystal Clear) in setting the glass in. I gotta tell you that was some GOOD STUFF as it was in there mighty tight! I polished the body up with Meguiar's Car Cleaner Wax and a chamois cloth, and it's interesting how the paint is still nice and brilliant after 30 years! One casualty though of this model being so old, is that there is a tiny paint chip on the roof. Heaven knows how it got there-------my better sense tells me to leave it alone as trying to touch it up would be problematic. More than likely the touch up area won't match the rest of the body paint wise, so I'll just leave it alone. Another bugaboo is that the windshield wipers are among the missing. I think I have some PE ones around here somewhere, otherwise I may have to rob them off another kit. I do have the driver's side mirror------I thought it was lost, but it was inside the model and fell out just as I was taking it apart. I'll be BMF'ing the trim just before the whole works gets buttoned up. Fabrizio, that was real nice of you to offer, but I got the glass trouble licked as you'll see.............. I was able to get rid of those deep gouges in the glass by using first an 1800 grit polishing cloth, and working all the way up to 12,000 grit. Then it was polished out with Meguiar's Car Cleaner Wax. There still are some very fine scratches to banish, but the main thing is those gouges are now history! Mike, I thought about doing that, but I don't want to tempt fate and ruin what's already a decent paint job, albeit thirty years old. I also get to look at it as something I did way back when, and how that technique has evolved over my years of building as something I wouldn't do today. In fact, I think this was one of the few if not the last model I had used this type of panel line enhancement. Thanks for the tip though! OK, now it's on to getting the suspension back in order, then sprucing up the interior a bit, and hopefully there are no hangups into getting this one back together.

Ahhhh Very Nice Mike! I too am a big believer in those Molotow pens, as I just used them on an outside mirror for my Porsche 356 rescue project. Only quibble I have is that the paint seems to not like handling too soon..........I may try drying them hard with the dehydrator. You can't beat the reflective quality though short of sending them out to be chromed.

LOL! Funny thing is Gary, I now have to dig out the instruction sheet as I've taken more things apart, and now have to keep in mind the sequence on how they go back together! Believe it or not, I still have the original box that the kit came in. One thing that's NOT forgotten is how cantankerous these kits can be! I have to make sure that everything goes back together the same way, otherwise something in the end won't fit. Love these kits though, and they certainly look good when finally done.

I'll echo what Bill said! I just sold a pristine kit of Johan's '69 Road Runner on eBay for a little over $50. I didn't need it as I already have a built up, and what Bill said is exactly right. While they're getting scarce, they still turn up on eBay rather frequently but don't get into a bidding war over one as another one is sure to turn up. Yeah, Round 2 will NEVER fix the body on the Road Runners that AMT originally did in the late '80's! It bugged me so much on how off they were that I did a thread on how to correct one here.

I'm in a bit of a building slump/depression due to working a bunch of hours again (was at work today), and just sort of a bluesy feeling I get from time to time when it comes to the model hobby. I couldn't help however going back again and again to Jason McMinn's absolutely gorgeous Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster! This is another favorite of mine from the '50's, and it made me wonder what happened to the Carrera coupe I built many years ago. Well, I went to digging around on my third floor where all the models are (a LOT), and I found it! Dusty as all get out, and I don't even remember when I put it away as it obviously was already dusty when I dug it back out. I decided to try and get me out of this building slump, I'm going to attempt something I don't think I've done before-----restore a built model of mine that's mighty old. Sooooo..........while this won't be an all out detailed build of things like I usually do, I'm going to try and bring this one back to life as it's one of my favorite cars, and at the time I built this (1987-88), was one of my favorite models. Here are some pics of the rather sad shape it's in now......... I should have taken some pics before I set about to take it apart. Nevertheless, I don't think it would have held up anyway, as things were literally falling apart as I was picking it up! There's some rather deep scratches in the glass, and I'm not sure I'll be able to get rid of those completely. I wanted to take the glass out altogether, but IIRC I used Testors cement (the semi runny kind) on the glass, and it sure set itself in there mighty good over these past 30 years! The best I can do is to very carefully sand the glass with successive polishing cloth grits, and then try to polish the glass out as much as possible. Of course, if I were doing this as a new build today, ALL the glass would be replaced with clear stencil sheet, as that's MUCH more optically clearer than any kit glass. I originally painted the body with Model Master Ivory which I airbrushed on with a Badger 150. I had only been airbrushing a couple years at that point, and I thought the paint was very nice for the time! Now, I'll simply give the body a good cleaning--------perhaps with some mild soap and water, although there is a small decal on the passenger side front fender. I may just hand wash particularly the top of the car as it's the most grungy/dusty, and then give the body a good wax job with Meguiar's Car Cleaner Wax. I'll then give the trim a go with BMF as the silver paint I used back then just won't cut it today. The panel lines unfortunately are a little heavy to my view, as I was playing around with using India Ink back then to define them a little more. I wouldn't use that today, but short of stripping the body totally and starting over (not gonna happen) I'll just live with it and look at it as something I learned from 30 years later. Here's the beat up chassis/frame. The side panels which I used tube glue on (sparingly) literally fell off the chassis as I was pulling the body off. Of course, the seats will be cleaned up, and taking a tip from Jason's build, I'll use ribbed Evergreen sheet to replicate floor mats. I might go fancy and use embossing powder to replicate the carpets, but the seats are glued in (still) mighty stubbornly, so I may leave it be. Here's the dash which still looks good after all these years! I won't do much to this as I don't want to ruin the gauge decals. Other parts that will be redone and reattached. The body parts seen will be cleaned up and waxed along with the main body. Here's the absolutely beautifully molded Porsche four cam engine! Of all the Porsche engines I've seen done in scale, to me this is the most impressive! IMO, it's worth it to buy two kits of this car, (if you can swing it) and then build the engine separate to display alongside the built model. Of course, lack of reference on my part (it WAS 1987), and skill, I now know that the engine wiring is woefully wrong for a Porsche twin cam. There should be eight plug wires instead of four as each cylinder used two plugs each. I'll try as best I can to get it rewired, but I can't promise something won't break along the way. I could always just make a new distributor and of course put new wiring in. Thinner wires I'll use this time around than those thick heavy wires I had back then. One thing I remember on the instructions which I think is a mistake is how they want you to mount the engine after it's built. You're to put the transaxle in first installed in the chassis, then put the engine in. While this is all well and good as you might be mimicking the way the actual car was built as it came down the line, this I found leaves an unacceptable gap between the transaxle, and the engine flywheel. Better to build everything together as a single unit, then install it all together. OK! I'm going to go work on getting those gouges out of the glass, if I'm unsuccessful at getting rid of them, I'll see about popping the old glass out, and then going the route of the clear stencil sheet. All the while, I'll get the body cleaned up, things reattached, and hopefully all back together to put in a nice case where it'll hopefully last another 30 years!

Jason, that is one BEAUTIFUL Speedster! That color suits the car to a T, and love the shade of the uptop! Yes, they can be quite fiddly-------I built several of these (Coupe, Cabriolet, and Speedster) during the late '80's/early '90's, but they're all in need of a good resto, and actually the Speedster got lost over the years, although I suspect it's in one of my empty model boxes------I just can't remember which one! I've got new kits of each now and like you said, test fit, test fit, and test fit again! The kit will go together, but you have to check everything as you go along. This is where I learned not to paint any body parts until things fit together right-------these kits will make you learn that!

Greg, the Chieftan had a 122" wheelbase as opposed to the Star Chief's 124". With the '55 Chevy coming in at just 115", some definite surgery would be needed on the chassis from the firewall forward on the Chevy kit. The two inch difference in wheelbase between the Star Chief and the Chieftan probably was located more in the rearward part of the quarters, with there being just a bit more real estate from the trailing edge of the doors (two doors for instance), and the leading edge of the rear wheelwells (Star Chief). Of all the pics I've seen of '55 Pontiacs, all of the front fenders were of the same length, particularly between the trailing edge of the front wheelwell and the leading edge of the front door. Interestingly enough, I believe there was no increase in front seat legroom despite the Pontiac's longer wheelbase, comparing that with the Chevy. Frankly, I sure wish cars today had those type of proportions, especially FWD ones. I hate how a lot of cars have the front wheels so close to the front of the doors, it gives some cars a "constipated dog" look when viewed from the side. Not to mention the annoying protrusion of the wheelwell into the interior footwell area of the car!!

Funny, I had this same question in mind as I bought a junker Johan '55 Pontiac at NNL East. It's missing its roof (Revell '55 Chevy would work), and this answers questions I had about the chassis. BTW, seems to me that the "X" member in the frame was used just for the convertibles and hardtops. The sedan's bodies would have been a bit tougher due to the center "B" pillar. When I'll get to restoring the Pontiac is anyone's guess, but one can't have enough pictures and info!

I just checked eBay for one of those and yikes! Even the built up ones can still go for a chunk of change, so yeah...........as soon as enough pay the high prices, BOOM! Revell will magically reissue it without warning!

This is the old MPC '60's tooling-----thus the fiddly nature of how it goes together. I have the 1/16 scale version of this car, and it's just as fiddly as this one despite the larger scale.

Heard first hand about the '65-'66 Ford trucks, but kept mum about it! There can never be too many truck kits out there, and I agree with Nick.........some Dodge pickups would be nice to throw in the mix. 1957 Sweptside anyone??

For a kit that was tough, it's sure lookin' mighty nice!!