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Great build. A very tired looking old work truck. Your extra effort with the grill and bed chains make it look very realistic. Your outdoors pictures ad to the effect.

Great looking build. Usually you will see the blue car, almost forgot about the black one.

I'll do a basic soapy water clean up and then sand the obvious problem areas and score the body panel lines, and all of the chrome trim before the first coat of primer. Some bodies even some new molds sometimes have very faint detail and can be lost under even a light primer coat. This also saves paint. Then you will be better able to see any addition body work needed and also if the first round of sanding needs any addition work. Hope this helps.

I use Tamiya clear on the tire, then apply the decal. After everything is dried I then give it a light coat of Tamiya flat clear. The flat seems to make it a little more realistic looking. Of course you lightly sand the tread before all of this. Use some masking tape to keep the tread rough looking. Again you want to wait for everything to be good and dry before mounting them on the wheels. If you desire a tire with the Armor All look then a light dusting of semi flat might work.

X2

I also did, or should I say my brother in law helped me redo our wood floor. The original contractor set the joints to close together from one run to the next. They tell you to offset the joints at least 6". If you can offset them further do it. The joints will hold much better. Ask me how I know.

I'm sure this will look good, but I think the Mustang roof would make the rear end look lighter.

Are there any Art Shows in your area during the summer months? We have bought framed photos from amateur artist at some of the local shows here. Some shows will charge her to sell her photos so that would be an expense. Is there an area near you where Art Galleries that will display them on consignment?

Great build. I don't even remember ever seeing that kit. I like the style in which you built it.

That is one of the most realistic rusting I have seen in a long time. You even got the windshield markings done right. Poor owner must have lived at the beach and didn't have a garage to park in. That salt air can be worse than salted roads. The fog gets into every nook and cranny.

One thing I did on my build was to use tires with different outside diameter, sometimes called a "rubber rack". You might dig around in your spare parts to see if you have tires that match the look you're after on the sidewall of the tire but are different diameters. The ones I used were black walls so that part was much easier for me. I don't know what kind of access you have to the AMT after market tires, they offer two sets of different size tires in both wide whites and narrow white wall tires.

Thanks for the info. I think they look great.

This is one of the reasons I left California. Everything there causes Cancer. At this time twenty years after leaving I'm still Cancer free. I remember just before leaving the state was requiring a reformulation of the Gasoline being sold in the state to lower emissions. They immediately noticed the contamination of the roadside soil caused by the chemicals that the state had required to be used. The state assured everyone it would take years before becoming a problem. As it turned out it was taking only a year before it started turning up in the water table near roadways. My personal vehicles all lost power and fuel economy from the fuel. At least I got to live there for many years before the "Crazies" took over the state government .

Great looking build out of a kit that has a lot of issues. Are the wheels from the kit, I just don't recognize them?

I have never used EBay for anything myself just because I prefer to see for myself just what it is I'm getting. I have recently sent a part cross country and used U.S. Post Office "if it fits it ships" boxes. It seemed like the best deal at the time. Is there something better that I should consider in the future ?

There was a time when I would have two or three builds going at once and it seamed like very little ever got completed. Now I stay with a build all the way thru and that seems to work better for me. I did have a '57 Chevy Step Side that would not cooperate and it went back into the box twice over a two year period. With some help and suggestions from others here I was able to get the "Glass" to fit and I was able to put it in this years Class of '16.

The independent suspension was the other method that I was going to mention. The problem I also ran into was when I changed the front cross member to allow the leaf spring mount to sit higher up into the frame. When this was done on the 1:1 Fords the front radius arms would be "split" and they would then be remounted on the side of the frame instead of the center. Otherwise with the lower front mounting point the radius arms would rest on the frame and not allow any suspension movement. Glade to see you solved your suspension problems and the independent suspension would ride and handle much better in the 1:1 prototype.

Now that looks interesting !!

I did a Rex White livery on the AMT '62 Bel Air kit when it first came out. It was never released as a NASCAR but it does have an Air Box air cleaner that ducts to the firewall just like they used to do. These are parts in the kit for the Z11 Drag cars but they can just as easily be used for what you're doing. I used to get all of the NASCAR decals from either JNJ Hobbies or Slixx. I still have decal sets for the Holly Farms Poultry #3 car for Junior Johnson and the #4 Rex White driven Jim McMann car. This kit has been reissued many times usually as a Drag Racer with a raised front suspension , but you're going to change all that anyway.

I remember following some of these builds. They all look great, and I like how you can look at the background to see what time of year you took your pictures.

This is a very good kit for a Hot Rod. I built one a couple of years ago and I might be able to offer some of the things I did on the suspension and engine. You mentioned that you lowered the front and that the front axle now hits the frame. There are several ways to lower this truck. If you are staying with the kits front I Beam what I did was to modify it to make a "Dropped Axle". Using the kit part I cut the axel just outside of the mounting point for the front radius arms and created a section of new material that I would then attach the spindles to in a raised position. This way the center section of the axel remains in the normal position and you have created a Drop Axle. This is how most where lowered in days of old. This also gives you more Oil Pan clearance for a late model engine. The oil pan may still not clear. You could either cut and alter the oil pan or do as I have and cheat and use the Flat Head oil pan. The fire wall will need some more work to clear the newer engine. The foot wells may have to be cut and reshaped. For motor mounts you can use some round or angle shaped plastic. Great job on fixing the front fenders.

I experienced the same problem on my first woody build. I think that #1. The decals just don't stick all that well. #2 Regular masking tape if left on the body to long will invariably lift paint or decals. This is what has happened time and again for myself. The best results for myself has been to remask an area rather than leaving an area covered for an extended period of time. #3 I now use nothing but Tamiya masking tape. I have actually gone so far as to cover the area where the wood trim will be and paint the body first. Then mask the painted body and then do the wood treatment. It seems backwards but it has worked with no problems for me. Just an idea for next time.

You might list on the forum in the Wanted section and see what's out there. It may be easier to find a Revell '59 Chevy hood, but I'm sure it would need a little modification to fit. I like the camper, and I don't remember it being in the issues I have. The Canoe and Boat, where they something you created or are they part of another kit ?

It might help to play some old Beach Boys music when your building. "Bonzi Pipeline" especially.

I think what I was trying to say is not so much lettering detail but for the window and body trim. The small line from the blade creates a barrier so that the paint does not flow out onto the painted body.