stewart

Alan just finished my wheels. Now I will FINALLY be able to complete this build. He machined a new set based on the design of the wheels I sent him so the wheels are much better. Hopefully he will be able to finish the casting soon so I can get these trucks completed. Here are the pics of the wheels. STewart

Thanks all for the comments. I realized that this would be a problem so this van does not have a side door. Makes the build a little easier. Foxer, I am planning on opening the hood. However, I am leaving off detail on parts of the engine that will not be seen. As far as the rear suspension, I have entered the build in the truck CBP and was told the the ladder bars are much too short which is what I was afraid of. However, DoubleD suggested that I use a Nascar setup so I am going to ditch the ladder bars and try that. STewart

Thanks so much for the input dwc43 and DoubleD. I really appreciate it. I figured the ladder bars would probably be way to short. I have only seen 4 links that short. The problem is that I have a frame crossbar right in front of the axle and that is the distance I have for them. However, the idea of using a Nascar setup would fix that problem and the problem with the airbags being too far in. I put them that far in to clear the frame. I could modify the frame but I think I can make the Nascar setup work without modification. Once again, thanks for the help. STewart

Did you paint those in Alclad Chrome? I just recently started using alclad and the stuff is amazing. Nice bumper!!! STewart

That is a nice truck diymirage. I love the Hemi scoop. STewart

I spent most of the evening with an airbrush and metalizers painting parts for in the van. I started painting the interior bucket and finished the first coat of Model master leather in the front of the cab. I am going to do body colored accents in it to break the monotony. More shelves will be installed in the back and perhaps some cabinets. The basic engine is complete but I am waiting on some aluminum pulleys and air filters for the intake. I added brackets for the ladder bars to the frame, finished painting the rear axle, and installed the airbags. I am not sure if the ladder bars are long enough. They are fairly short. Does anyone know how these things work? I am trying to complete the bodywork but every time I primer and sand, there is another spot. Hopefully I will get my detail master order soon with the PE saw blades to cut out the doors because my headway is fairly limited until then. STewart Parts for in the van Interior-seats Dash- I plan on adding a few more auxiliary guages Cab Rear

I spent most of the evening with an airbrush and metalizers painting parts for in the van. I started painting the interior bucket and finished the first coat of Model master leather in the front of the cab. I am going to do body colored accents in it to break the monotony. More shelves will be installed in the back and perhaps some cabinets. The basic engine is complete but I am waiting on some aluminum pulleys and air filters for the intake. I added brackets for the ladder bars to the frame, finished painting the rear axle, and installed the airbags. I am not sure if the ladder bars are long enough. They are fairly short. Does anyone know how these things work? I am trying to complete the bodywork but every time I primer and sand, there is another spot. Hopefully I will get my detail master order soon with the PE saw blades to cut out the doors because my headway is fairly limited until then. STewart Parts for in the van Interior-seats Dash- I plan on adding a few more auxiliary guages Cab Rear

Well maybe I haven't seen the others. I will have to check them out. STewart The two others I know of are both chevies.

Yes except I think the others are chevies.

Nice build. I like the blue. What paint is that? STewart

I have completed all of the bodywork except for opening the doors and moonroof. Still waiting for the photoetched saw blades to get here. I cut of the rear of the interior bucket because I did not want tuck and button sides and carpet-textured floor. I put down diamond plate on the rear floor and partition wall, added walls, and took some bigger wheel wells from the parts box for the wider wheels I am using. I found some parts box seats that will be painted leather. They are from the Revell '06 Dodge Charger kit. The gauge panel is finished and will be installed as soon as the dash is painted. I used an MCG moon eyes photoetch set mounted on a chrome-painted piece of styrene. I really like the look of the gauges. It is the first time I have used them. I am using an axle that was resin cast by Alan from the Ford F-350 duallie kit. I added mounting plates to it for the air bags. Engine is mostly complete. I modified the valve covers to look more like the 6.4 hemi and will print some 392 hemi decals to put on it. Still have to decide where to go with the intake. I thought about doing a direct fuel injection kit but you would only see a little bit of it. I might just go with dual K&N filters on either side of the engine compartment. Enough talking!! Here are the pics. Sorry about the poor quality Air bags Cab/rear partition Rear Axle Seats Interior. Not enlarged transmission tunnel. Engine and tranny Gauge cluster STewart

I have completed all of the bodywork except for opening the doors and moonroof. Still waiting for the photoetched saw blades to get here. I cut of the rear of the interior bucket because I did not want tuck and button sides and carpet-textured floor. I put down diamond plate on the rear floor and partition wall, added walls, and took some bigger wheel wells from the parts box for the wider wheels I am using. I found some parts box seats that will be painted leather. They are from the Revell '06 Dodge Charger kit. The gauge panel is finished and will be installed as soon as the dash is painted. I used an MCG moon eyes photoetch set mounted on a chrome-painted piece of styrene. I really like the look of the gauges. It is the first time I have used them. I am using an axle that was resin cast by Alan from the Ford F-350 duallie kit. I added mounting plates to it for the air bags. Engine is mostly complete. I modified the valve covers to look more like the 6.4 hemi and will print some 392 hemi decals to put on it. Still have to decide where to go with the intake. I thought about doing a direct fuel injection kit but you would only see a little bit of it. I might just go with dual K&N filters on either side of the engine compartment. Enough talking!! Here are the pics. Sorry about the poor quality Air bags Cab/rear partition Rear Axle Seats Interior. Not enlarged transmission tunnel. Engine and tranny Gauge cluster STewart

That is real cool. I too thought it was real. Then I saw the inside of that trailer and thought it looked familiar. I happen to be building a Galaxie trailer right now. Keep up the good work STewart

Nice build. Love the diamond plate you are using. I have one of these kits that I will be building soon and you have given me some great ideas. STewart

I decided not to go all out and completely scratchbuild a tranny. Didn't want to go to all the work. However, I wanted a much beefier tranny than any I had in the parts box but not one as big as an Eaton fuller . I have a couple extra viper engines and I like the looks of its tranny so I cut one of the engine and placed a thick piece of styrene in between the halves. I sanded it even with the rest of the tranny and then put an oil pan underneath to complete my heavy duty transmission. I also carved a much larger oil pan from some styrene. To make room for the much larger that stock transmission, I cut out a section of large brass tubing I had, cut out a section of the floor, and superglued it in place. STewart

I have most of the body work done on the van. I removed the "gutters" around the top, most of the trim. I am going to remove the cutout for the moon roof and I ordered a PE saw set from Detail Master for removing the hood and doors. I began work on the frame. I removed the front clip and replaced it with styrene strip. I will be using the i-beam front suspension from the Ford F350 and a Ford 9 inch for the rear. I put the engine together temporarily with super glue. The valve covers need reworking to look like the 6.4 Hemi. I am going to need to lengthen the transmission tunnel because even the 6.1 Hemi's tranny does not fit. Work on the scratchbuilt Allison will begin soon. STewart

I have most of the body work done on the van. I removed the "gutters" around the top, most of the trim. I am going to remove the cutout for the moon roof and I ordered a PE saw set from Detail Master for removing the hood and doors. I began work on the frame. I removed the front clip and replaced it with styrene strip. I will be using the i-beam front suspension from the Ford F350 and a Ford 9 inch for the rear. I put the engine together temporarily with super glue. The valve covers need reworking to look like the 6.4 Hemi. I am going to need to lengthen the transmission tunnel because even the 6.1 Hemi's tranny does not fit. Work on the scratchbuilt Allison will begin soon. STewart

That could be very helpful for designing many things for models. I will have to check it out. STewart

Wow. The wheels go really well with that car and are well painted. Where did they come from? I love the sleeper look of the engine. Very nice Impala. STewart

That is amazing. You do great scratchbuilding. STewart

That is a very helpful site. I have been looking for something like that for awhile. STewart

I thought reliable resin did one but I think I was probably wrong and it was R&R. I have never received very good castings from R&R but they do some subjects that you cannot get anywhere else. RMR is the same way. STewart

I agree the bottom ones look a lot more like the 1:1. I love this van. Doing one of my own and you gave me some real good ideas for opening the doors. Might have to plagiarize your idea Keep up the good work. STewart

Where did you get the dodge from? STewart

Wow. I like the looks of that. STewart