MrObsessive

One of the reasons my Dad made me teach myself to drive a manual was because of a nasty experience he had in trying to teach my Mom how to drive one about 20 years earlier. At the time (early '60's), Dad had a '55 Plymouth Savoy 2 door with three on the column. My Mom didn't know how to drive at that time, let alone know anything about standard transmissions. Well between Dad's probably rather brusque way of showing her, and Mom's stubborn attitude to learn, a vicious fight broke out when she stripped the gears, and apparently wrecked the clutch. Dad then told me years later he wouldn't show ANYONE how to learn a manual ever again, let alone trying to teach them to drive. BTW, to this day my Mom still cannot drive a manual! It's funny that I can remember only one instance where Dad rode with me in the car, just before I got my license. Since I already had a learner's permit (from MD), I had to take Driver's Ed over again when I moved back here to PA in my senior year of high school. I can remember Dad being quite hyper over every little thing, and then I remembered the story of him and Mom. It would be a few years later, and enter love at first sight when I came across a neat 1965 Dodge Dart Convertible with a slant six and three on the tree. I just HAD to have that car as it was for sale for only $500! That's when Dad told me that if I wanted the car, I'll need to learn on my own as he was off limits to teach me. I bought the car, and literally drove it home in first gear (about two miles), and was determined to spend the rest of the day learning, and within no time had it down pat-------surprising my Dad!

It might be a hydraulic one---------a lot of them are these days. My '69 AMX 390 4 spd was of the old bell crank type, and it was I thought at the time rather stiff. Not a car I'd want today to drive around town on a regular basis, but back then (late '80's) I was in my late 20's and could deal with it.

My Challenger is actually the first automatic I've had since the late '90's. For about a month after I bought it, I still found myself putting my left foot down to disengage the clutch while starting it, only to realize a millisecond later that there's nothing there! One thing I don't like about the automatic in my car is that it hunts gears constantly when you're driving around town. That's the electronics talking to the trans to figure out what's the best gear for it to be in---------I suppose to bolster fuel economy. I get tired of that sometimes, and that's when I'll put it in "manual mode". I wonder if any of the driving schools that are still around still teach manual since so few people want to learn anymore?

This story is kinda old, but the info nevertheless is still relevant. Like everything else in life and society, things change-----and our cars certainly have changed as well. It's still kinda sad though to see the standard shift car go by way of the Dodo bird, and in part I guess I'm guilty as charged. My Challenger is an automatic (actually "Manumatic"), and I have to admit I've gotten kind of spoiled by it. The knees aren't what they used to be, and of course there's the ever annoying traffic jams that happen in my area. You can check out the story here, and there's an interesting video of a fellow trying to show two young ladies how to drive a manual. I had no such help.....Dad refused to show me when I wanted my first manual car back in the early '80's, so I ended up teaching myself. Had it down pat within a day!

OK! That's the first time I've EVER heard that analogy!

Mike your car was truly the last of its kind............the end of the four door hardtop. Never to be seen again as the following year, ALL four doors from the big three were pillared sedans thanks to the safety Nazis. She's a real beauty and I bet it was GREAT taking a road trip in that with all that comfort!

Ha! In 1967 I was just in the first grade, and got my first pair of glasses! I can still remember my first grade teacher's name, and to my surprise, I found out that she's still living! I connected with her on Facebook, and she says that she gets surprised by the number of people that have gotten in touch that she hasn't seen for many, many years.

One of the most beautiful cars to ever hit the road, and your build of it is just that..............BEAUTIFUL! I've got one of these too, but have never gotten up the courage to tackle it. It certainly can be fiddly as you and others have described, but as you've shown, is a real world beater when time and patience is taken with it.

What you said Curt! Also, Chrysler is the ONLY "American" manufacturer out there now that still offers a full size REAR WHEEL DRIVE car (Challenger, Charger, 300C), while the others have or are about to give them up. Chevy had a good thing with their Chevy SS, but that was nothing more than a rebadged Australian Holden and waaaaay expensive! They're about to quit making them (or have done so already), so that leaves Chrysler as the only one out there that gives us gearheads that like RWD in a bigger package something to relate to. I've given up on Ford ever coming out with something similar. They stopped making the Crown Vic, and had nothing to replace it 'cept the FWD Taurus. While it's not a bad car, I hate the proportions on the thing which is what bugs me the most about FWD cars. I'd like to see RWD cars make a bigger comeback than they have...........trucks/SUV's are OK, but personally I'm not a fan of them as I don't care for vehicles that sit up so high.

The very first issue of this kit has the smooth roof as I have one, but the body is warped particularly the C pillars. The next issue IIRC, has the textured vinyl roof which would be correct for the Eldorado as that was an option in '59. Everything's lookin' good so far Logan! I can only give you one tiny little tip..............don't forget to paint the headlight bezels body color! A lot of folks miss this detail in their buildups, and even the box art car missed it. Keep up the good work!

Just the same, that looks nigh perfect Paul! I used to hate wagons when I was a kid and then later when I started driving, now I wouldn't mind one because you don't see them, and I'm certainly not a fan of SUV's or minivans!

Same here..........I've been burned a couple times when I got the foil elsewhere. That way if there's an issue, I can get it returned without a hassle. Interestingly, since I've been doing it this way, I've had no more issues with foil that won't stick, or is super "grainy".

I was a big fan of Ambroid's Pro Weld too and was bummed when they discontinued it. However, if you check here, you'll see the EXACT "Same Stuff". I've tried it (I still have some left), and it's just as good as Ambroid's. The other's suggestions are good ones too-------but I know what you mean when you have something that works, it can be a real pain to switch up. Hope this helps!

My curiosity grows and grows...........I wonder how much trouble it would be to adapt the AMT '57 Chrysler 300C's chassis to this? The '59's were still body-on-frame construction (through '66?), but I'm not sure on the wheelbases between the two. It's the same scale between the two of them, so it shouldn't be too much work. Now for engines, that might be another story............ Same here Ron! Can't have enough four door hardtops!

Oooh Very, Very NICE!!

That's a loaded question as everyone has their preferences. To me, Tamiya primer is OK, but for the cost IMO it's too expensive considering you may be able to do only two or three cars tops. The other brands come in much bigger quantities for the price, and since I've had no trouble with Plastikote particularly, I like to stick with what works. Plastikote in my experience has been more user friendly, but it can be hard to find locally. Duplicolor I've seen tends to be a bit too much on the "hot" side, thus as I mentioned in another post---------putting a barrier on the plastic first can ward off any surprises no matter which primer one wants to use........ESPECIALLY when there's bodywork involved. I don't know if you've seen it........but here's my '59 Chevy that I painted using the method I described. LOTS of bodywork went into this as there was a total roof swap involved as well as opening doors and trunk. The build pics can be seen here....... As you'll see in the pics leading up to painting, a barrier coat was put on the body before primer, then I used several coats of Plastikote Sandable gray as the undercoat. The color coat is automotive Dupont Roman Red which a local paint jobber mixed for me. I let the body thoroughly dry for about a week or so, then the paint was rubbed out with Detail Master polishing cloths, and then polished with Meguiar's Car Cleaner Wax with a chamois cloth.

If at all possible, stay away from the Testors Enamels! To me they're only compatible just with their paints and certainly not with the type of paints you're using. A lot of folks here use Duplicolor, and I personally like Plastikote Sandable Primer. Some may swear by Testors Enamels, but in past years I've had trouble with them as IMO, they're just not as compatible with other paints as I'd like.

Looking at your first pic, I see a bit of ghosting on the roof from where you filled it in. I'm a BIG fan of putting some kind of barrier coat on plastic especially where bodywork is involved. Paints can react differently to variations in putty and plastic, and it never hurts to give it that bit of protection on the plastic, particularly when you're using a rather hot paint such as a urethane. As Bill mentioned, plastic spoons are made of a different type of plastic than what's in a plastic kit. They're styrene, but a much more durable styrene than what kits are molded in today. After all, we gotta try and eat with the things so they gotta be kinda tough no?? As far as a barrier, I'm a believer in this.................. I've been using this for awhile, and haven't had an issue with it. You'll need an airbrush (an old one preferably), and alcohol will thin it and clean out the airbrush when you're through. Hope this helps!

Tim, great work so far, and WOW that color is a real standout! Yeah, getting the doors opening correctly is a big undertaking with me whenever I want to add that detail. I can search pics for quite some time in search of views which will show how the doors open. Some cars can fool you into thinking that the doors turn inward when indeed they swing outside the fenders. A 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado for instance comes to mind............

I'd be interested Paul, but I'm partial to the LeBaron four door hardtop...........love that bodystyle! I'm looking forward to your pics when you're able to get 'em posted.

Very nice SFD!! I could have sworn I've seen '68 Ambassador ragtops.............maybe those were '67's? They're about identical.......... Anyway, VERY nice in saving these old Johans! They're getting harder than hen's teeth to find in decent shape, and the prices reflect that! Doubt we'll ever see these kitted again so it's good to grab 'em when you can.

I knew there was something I was forgetting.............thanks! I had this in mind to do this a couple weeks ago, I even meant to write it down and forgot anyway. Yeah, that's a BIG miss on the original body, and it's funny that on the original that I did 20 years ago, I believe that's one of the first things I did------scribe in those cowl panel lines. Interesting on the '67 Shelby body, they're missing on that too!

Before I forget and get too far along, I want to put in more correct inner fenders and such. The ones in the original '68 Shelby kit are woefully inaccurate, so a donor kit '67 Shelby gave up its inner fenders, chassis, and i firewall. I just used the back of an Exacto Blade to cut things out. I had to shim the inner fenders somewhat as there was a bit of a gap trying to get things to fit. I won't add the firewall till later as I want to get some other things done, but it will be put in before the body gets totally painted, which won't be till near the end. Another item needing attention is the wheelwell trim. I just used .010 x .020 plastic strip which was bent slightly to suit the contours of the wheelwells, and liquid glued in. Well, I'm done pretty much done with the body work for now, so it's high time to move on to the engine. The Green Hornet used a electronic fuel injected 428 backed by what looks to be a C6 automatic. I used the 428 out of a junker '69 Shelby kit, and the automatic came out of the AMT '67 Mercury Cyclone kit which gives you the choice of either the 4 spd, or the C6. If I ever decide to build the Cyclone, I'll be using the 4 spd anyway, so this works out well. One chore was to cut away the four speed that was molded into the engine block. Then line up the trans with the block and minimize any gaps with plastic and epoxy. The fuel injection unit used what looks to be a "tuned port setup" which was cutting edge for 1968. What I'm making here that you see on my fingertip I believe is the air intake which'll sit on the top of the manifold. At first I thought this was a throttle body, but pics I have show injectors for each of the intake runners, with "fuel logs" running parallel with the valve covers. Just some pics here showing the bodywork that's now done------about 98%. I ruined the original hood trying to open up the vents------wrong move! While I was successful getting the vents open, the bottom edges of the vents ended up looking jagged and a bit raggedy to my eyes, and I couldn't get them symmetrical enough for my tastes, so eBay to the rescue! I happen to do a search for AMT '68 Shelby hoods, and there was a seller that had just the hood among other things, and I snapped it up. I don't mind the odd color------everything will have a barrier coat and primer in the end, so it's no big deal. Also take note of the roof seams for the vinyl roof. Some .010" x .020" Evergreen strip was used once again for this. I did knock down the height of the seams somewhat to blunt them, and also the insides of the seams were blended in a bit to represent where the fabric overlaps per the 1:1 Here's the engine with the air intake mocked up for now. I had to change the intake manifold to the one out of the '68 Shelby kit as the one in the '69 made the engine much too tall, and the hood wasn't closing properly. This intake has a more accurate shape per the 1:1, so it's just as well. Yes, those are tiny brass tubes angle filed and placed inside the neck of the body. Also, take note of the PE linkages pinned in with tiny brass bolts for the throttle later on. The 1:1's intake manifold.................. Well, that's it for the time being. I'm not sure how long it'll be till the next update, and I may switch up things and do a quick builder (maybe a 1/43) as a bit of a breather. The bodywork alone has proven to be tougher than the '59 Chevy as there's just so much more involved with trying to make this right. Thanks for tuning in, and thanks for all the compliments!

Why thanks Tim! Just now I checked the height of the letters, and they're approximately 3/64" x 3/64". Stay tuned everyone as I just put new pics on Fotki a bit ago, and then went back and added text. I'll try to get 'em posted here within the next half hour or so.

Pat, years ago the local train shop in my area had just what you're looking for, and in fact, it's what I use from time to time when I do opening doors and I want the proper radii for the door jambs. If you check here, they might have what you're looking for--------I don't know if they sell retail to the public. As I mentioned, my train shop had/has it and it's come in handy for various things.