CorvairJim

I just completed my "Little Old Lady From Pasadena" '64 Dodge 330 for the "Cars of Rock 'n' Roll & Country Music" CBP (You can see that model in both that CBP's thread and "Under Glass"), so the Chrysler Ute and the 1960 Plymouth wagon for the "Cannonball" CBP that the rest of the parts from the ute's kits went toward are the next two on my bench - simultaneously!

I'd sure like to see more seperate wipers. I've built several racing Corvairs and had to C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y remove the molded-in wipers from the old-as-dirt AMT Corvair body. Now if someone would just do us all a favor and come out with an all-new Corvair tool with seperate wipers and door handles, all would be right with the world! (That's a kit we would all appreciate, right? )

Your first build in 25 years? Man, you haven't lost it! You integrated the two designs vwer well, and the added details really make it come to life. Great job!

Thanks for the comments, guys! Even with all the hassles I had with it, it was still fun... for the most part. Yes, Shane, the grille is P.E. I have a line on a "Little Old Lady" resin figurine; I think it's from Jimmy Flintstone and the price isn't too bad either. One more thing I want to do for this build eventually is my first attempt at a diorama - a "Rickety old garage", with "A pretty little flowerbed of white gardenias" beside it! Oh, and CrazyJim, about that "Shiny": I was trying for a period-correct "Shiny", meaning not not necessarily as shiny as a modern basecoat-clearcoat finish, but still nearly completely smooth. The generic rattlecan red with no clearcoat, then polishing it with a polishing kit and Meguair's polish brought it to that point just the way I wanted it to be.

I LIKE IT - GO FOR IT!!!

I built this Lindberg '64 Dodge 330 for the "Cars of Rock 'n' Roll and Country Music" CBP that I started about 13 months ago. I guess I set a lousy example taking so long getting it done, but at long last it IS done. I had my share of problems with this one, caused by both being unfamiliar with Lindberg models and pushing my personal envelope as far as aftermarket parts goes. I don't usually wire my engines and this was my first attempt at using a whole photoetch set. I gave up on that before I was completely finished because I found the little individual D-O-D-G-E letters for the hood and decklid to be just too fiddly to work with and get straight (although I did get the tiny Pentastar emblem on the right front fender!). Also, I haven't been able to find any Bare Metal Foil with decent adhesive for a couple of years now so I did the trim the old-fashioned way: Kitchen foil and Micro-Gloss! So here she is, my "Brand new, shiny red, Super Stock Dodge"!

Well, I finally got it finished! About 13 months after I started, it's DONE! I pushed my personal envelope with this one, with mixed results. I tried out a few things that I either haven't done in the past (kitchen foil instead of BMF since the last 3 sheets of BMF that I've bought don't stick worth a darn!), or have rarely done (engine wiring and photoetched trim). Anyhow, with no further ado, may I present "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena"! And now that you're in the proper frame of mind, here's the model: The photoetched grille was a lot more fragile than I expected. I wound up breaking one grille bar out of it completely and breaking a couple more of them loose at the bottom. A lot of guys love to use photoetched details, but they take a lot of work to get them to look right. I got frustrated with the fiddly little letters for the hood and deck lid, so I went with the kit supplied decals for those emblems instead. In back, you can see that the photoetched Dodge "Fratzog" went on OK, as did the Dodge naeplates on the quarter panels. I blacked those out with a Sharpie before polishing them with a polishing cloth while still on the fret. It highlighted the raised lettering and surround while leaving the recessed areas that are black on the 1:1 car black. The license plates are computer generated replica 1964 California tags with the exact colors and typeface. I found the guy who makes them on eBay - a set of 5 pairs cost $2, and got him to make me some personalized plates for other builds at $1 per pair. How cool is that? I don't wire too many engines, but I had to do this one. I got this kit in a package deal over a decade ago and it had the pre-wired distributor and the photoetch fret in the box. I did my research - the coil IS supposed to be chrome! The interior was done as closely to the standard color scheme as I could do it with the research I could do on it. The photoetch set had a full instrument panel for the dashboard, complete with gauge surround and printed gauge faces. The shift lever is one of my homemade straight pin jobs, and the turn signal lever is a piece of polished piano wire with a paint blob knob on the end.

I've been following this one, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the pics!

Our world lost a certain something when SUV's and minivans took over for the family station wagon. This is an awesome old wagon, Joker! Nice job!

I'm busy with the finishing touches for the '64 Dodge I'm building for the CBP I started over a year ago. My wagon for this one is next in line, along with the Chrysler 300 pickup that I'm building with the leftovers for the "Parts Box" CBP...

You're right about the Rally II's. Pontiac never chromed them, so I can't figure out why the model companies always do. Even the factory trim rings (when ordered - they didn't always have them!) had a brushed aluminum finish, not bright chrome. I recently had to strip and paint a set for a '77 Firebird Esprit replica that I built on commission. They look a whole lot better painted than they do chromed, whether stock charcoal gray or body color like you painted yours. Nice job!

Thanks, guys! I love builds like this that let my imagination run rampant. It might wind up with a proper 300 chassis under it one of these days after the parts box build is completed if the body turns out as well as I'm hoping. On the other hand, if it were an actual Chrysler concept car, it could well have any corporate running gear under it just to make it mobile.

Would it be possible to put the number decals from the first set over the ones already on the car to help hide the stripe bleed-through? Check if they're the same size. If both decal manufacturers were working to the same scale, they might line up right...

Yep, you got me this week, Harry. I was pretty sure it was some sort of Dart variant but I couldn't find it for the life of me.

She has a natural talent. I sure hope she decides to stick with it and develop it further. With native skill like that, there's no telling how far she could go in this hobby!

Wow! Fantastic build, and pretty doggone fast too!

I love rebuilding/resgtoring/"Rescuing" old glue bombs! This is a fantastic job, man! Grooooovy! Peace out...

If you could dig up an old Revell '57 Ranchero kit you could kitbash the two of them. I've been thinking about the same sort of thing, combining a Revellogram Monte Carlo SS and an El Camino.

Well that sucks! The rest of the interior looks pretty sweet, though. I like the color combination.

Thanks for the reply. I never made the conection to your screen name. I'd hope that the 1:1 colorbar wouldn't be as bright as your replica - it would be a heck of a distraction when driving at night! As nicely as this Impala is coming along, I'd hate to have you wreck it because the colorbar ruined your night vision. (... or maybe I'm just too old.)

Yo, Chuck... How do you ever sleep with all of these bizarre ideas (and I mean that in a GOOD way!) running through your mind??? I was once known as "The Ice Cream Man" - it's a long story - so you know I'll be following this one!

Another great build, Earl!

You can add me to the "More pix, please" list. This looks like a case of SERIOUS eye candy!

This is a great build so far, even though I really don't understand what's up with the "color bar". I LOVE the wheel covers and the tissue dispenser. You dead-on nailed both of them. (Curious: Just what is "The book of Sin"??? )

All I can say is that I've investigated several cars that I thought were possibilities with no success whatsoever. You got me this time, Harry. BTW, I agree with you 100%: Anyone who knows what the Mystery Car is on any given week, PLEASE don't ruin it for those of us who enjoy the game! If I don't know what it is or can't find it, I'd like the opportunity to possibly come up with other ideas before Friday gets here.