Scottnkat

Well, I am starting a new Petty car - I will be trying my hand at the '68 Roadrunner. I will be using the AMT Roadrunner kit: I have yet to decide if I will be doing the black top car or the blue and white car. Here's pics of both: Heck, if this turns out well, I may end up having to build a second one just so I can have both versions. More to come...

Thank you guys. I really appreciate it. And thanks, Bruce, for watching the build process - I did learn alot making these cars.

Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate the comments. There are a few things I would do differently if I were to do this again, but overall I am happy with how it came out. After all, it's not every kit that I can say has a piece of me in it.

When I was building the engine, I tried a different way of wiring the engine that someone had suggested (never wanna say no to trying something new). The end result was a chunk of my skin being stuck to the top of the distributor cap. Needless to say, I will be going back to my regular way of wiring engines. Here it is in the completed car: Here's some pics during the build process - you can not only see the skin on top of the distributor (I painted it black so it would at least blend in), but if you are familiar with the kit, then you can see how the rollcage supports have been moved and altered. Forgive the quality - I cropped some images during the build process so things are a bit grainy due to me adjusting the picture size.

Thank you, guys. I really appreciate the comments. This build was a very good learning experience for me and I hope to get better.

Here's a brief summary: This is the Polar Lights Talladega with the Boss 429. The fenders were cut to get rid of the upward curve of the fenders, then puttied and smoothed out. The A-arms and the rollcage around the engine were both modified to make it so the engine would fit properly. The chrome was stripped and Alclad was used to give the chrome a more realistic appearance. The rear end cooler was created in clay then cast in resin since the rear end cooler in the kit was completely wrong. A fuel vent was created above the rear fender that was not included in the kit. I cut off half the exhaust system (as it was very poorly molded) and used copper tubing painted in Testor's steel for the exhaust. Here's the pics: Hope you like it.

Thanks for the comments, guys. Regarding a Petty collection, I am planning on it. I have the Johan Superbird (which will be getting some parts swapped), the PL Charger, and two of the Grand Prixs. I also have a '65 Barracuda, '71 Satellite (with a '72 grill), '67 GTX, and '68 Roadrunner and even a Monte Carlo resin body for making some there aren't kits for. That's why I did this Torino - I wanted to learn how to do more scratchbuilding.

Thanks, Randy - I think it looks good sitting next to the Plymouth as well! I appreciate the comment, Jacen! I really do! Thank you, Brian! I made a few errors and learned quite a bit, but I am glad it came out looking as well as it did. Scott? What can I say? Thanks, and you are not the only one! In fact, my family hails from Wilmington NC - we may well be related!! Cole, I appreciate your taking the time to comment - thank you Thanks everyone for all of your comments - I really do appreciate them! Not too bad for only my second NASCAR, right?

If you wanted to know how the Talladega is coming along - I haven't forgotten about it. We've got the decals done on the back of the car - just need from the doors forward. See for yourself:

This started out as the AMT Ford Torino Cobra. I tried out some things I had never done with this build, so I am kinda proud of it. I used styrene rod to make the rollcage and styrene sheet to make the floor, panels, etc. I had never done any scratchbuilding to speak of before, so this was all new to me. I also learned resin casting so I could duplicate some parts needed (such as the wheels and tires) and make new parts that were never included (such as the rear end cooler). This model definitely got me out of my comfort zone, but I am happy with how it turned out. One thing I did mess up on - I didn't measure where the gas cap would have been in relation to the EAST TENN - as a result, I had to move the decal down just a bit on the passenger side. Consider it "creative license". So, here's the completed Torino - I hope you enjoy it.

I did get the decals on half of the Torino - I realize that the sponsor decals on the front are not correct for any race. Consider this just an interpretation of what it could have been like and not an exact representation. I hate doing something 100% accurate because no matter how hard you try, there is always something that was missed, done wrong, or completely forgotten. This should be fun and not stress-inducing.

Thanks for the comments, guys - I'll be decalling the Torino pretty quickly here and I'll post pics of the progress. I have the original decals that came with the Talladega and a set of aftermarket decals. The one set is old and yucky, but we're going to do our best with 'em. You'll all see how it's going.

Well, I repainted the roof of the Talladega. Of course, this is going to put off finishing this up as I want to allow time for the enamel to dry and gas out. He he - you can see the hunk of skin covering the distributor - yep, I painted it to match the distributor cap and wires. Note: I still need to add the piece that fits over the radiator up to the front end. Here's the fixed roof: The Torino is almost done. I am building a NASCAR-style air cleaner for it (see the back rear quarter panel for a view of it), then it is on to decals. The hood pins are in and done. Also note the straps across the back window - yep, I didn't forget those. If I were to re-do this kit later, I think I would make a template of the rear glass and cut it to shape so it can fit within the frame instead of below it.

Thanks for that, Bart - I couldn't tell what shocks he used that year - it could well have been Monroe, but I didn't know. Next time I will pay more attention to that. As I was putting the grills and bumpers on, I noticed that the grill for the Talladega was inset much like the Torino's grill. Here's a picture of what I mean: Well, the whole purpose of the Talladega's nose job was to make it more aerodynamic and flush. Having an inset grill just won't do. I had to get that grill more flush with the rest of the front of the car. So I cut a few strips of sheet styrene and used that as a shim to move the grill up. It's much better now and just about even: Unfortunately, while I was doing this, I failed to notice a drop of glue that had fallen. When I turned the car upside down to work on it, the roof ended up right smack dab in the middle of the glue. When I pulled it up, it brought some of the glue with it and left some of the paint on the table I ended up sanding it down to make the top smooth again and I'll work on getting the top repainted. Here's the terrible blemish: These cars will have hood pins on them, and not the molded on hood pins that came on the cars - nope!! As you can see, I've been working on making them with sequins, needles, and wire. For how I do the working hood pins, please refer to my previous build of the '64 Petty Belvedere - I'm not going to go into it here.

Thanks alot! I appreciate it. I'm glad these are finally getting to the end, but I have learned a bit about these kits. It's funny - this is only my second and third NASCAR model I've done (the Patty '64 Belvedere was the first). I have learned alot about these cars that I would not have known by doing these and getting so much input from everyone. Thanks alot.

Well, I finally finished touching up everything on the chassis for both cars, so it was time to mount the bodies. Can I get a Woo hoo? He he he Anyway, first up is the Torino. When I first set the body on, the front end sat up way too high. When I made the adjustment for where the wheels mount, I thought I had it right, but I ended up making the front end a tad too low. Well, this has been a learning experience for me, so I will just chalk this one up to a learning experience. Here's the Torino: Then I started on the Talladega. I brought the back end down a touch so it wasn't quite so high. Overall, I think this one "sits" a little better since I made my adjustment. Here's the Talladega: Finally, I wanted to show how that rear end cooler ended up working out for me. It took some working and a few shots, but I actually did get a decent picture of the part in the car. Remember this was not only my first time casting anything in resin, but this was also the first part that I actually made the master for. As a reminder, here's a shot of the actual rear end cooler I was trying to replicate, followed by a picture of the finished product in the car: Well, I guess that's it for now.

They may well have been. I couldn't find a picture of the underside from back then showing the shocks, so I just made a guess. I have no idea what shocks he used on these cars. I'm not going for 100% accuracy, but more of a decent representation - I realize going into any build that I will not hit 100% accuracy, so I just do what I feel. Please feel free to offer any further suggestions - I appreciate it. Thanks

yeah - it's the picture - it seems to have doubled all the silver in the picture and made a ghost image - look at the door handle or the rear window to see what I mean - it's not really that thick

Okay, both bodies have now had the BMF done to 'em! Yay! That part's over! I can honestly say that putting BMF on a car is not one of my favorite things to do. Well, here's a shot of the two cars - forgive the weird picture - it has some sorta weird "ghosting" thing going on: I was also finishing up some work on the chassis for both and got ready to put in the exhaust pipes. I was expecting garbage from the AMT kit (and it pretty much was), but the Talladega kit surprised me - those exhaust pipes are only 2/3 pipes all the way down to the end - you then get just a round cap on the end. Well, that was not going to do. So I took the stock pipes and cut them just after they bend to head out. I then took some copper pipe and pushed that into the ends of the stock pipes. When it was all done, I painted it in Testor's Steel color. Here's how they looked while drying - note that you can still see that the part of the pipes really is only about 2/3 around: When they were all dry, I was able to put them on. Boy! What a difference that makes! This is so much better than the stock pipes! That's it for now - hopefully more tomorrow. Ciao

Thanks for the comments, guys. If I hadn't already put the headers on, I would take your idea, Mo. I'll remember that for next time though. Well, I did get a little done today. Finally put together the rear end coolers that I made from resin and got those mounted, along with the air tank behind the driver's seat. I also made a couple of small adjustments to the mounting locations of the wheels so I could adjust the ride just a bit. Here's the chassis as they are right now - still a little bit left to do, but coming along: I also started foiling the windows on these cars. There is no side trim, so it's only the windows that needs the BMF on these two cars. Also, note that the interior is not painted Petty blue. One done - one to go: I finally finished up tonight by working on the dashes. I didn't make a resin copy of the Talladega dash, but I used the flat dash that came with the Torino instead. Since the gauges were different on these, I went ahead and just decided to just go with it. I did have to modify it a little to make it fit in the new rollcage I made, but overall I don't think it's too bad. Well, that's about it for tonight. More to come...

No criticism at all - looking forward to seeing it all come together - looking good so far

Hi there. For the industrial blue, I was using Krylon's dark blue. For the Petty blue, I used Rustoleum light blue with a bit of white added to it. Funds are tight and I'm on a budget, so I've been having to make due with Walmart paints. I know they are not exact and there are better paints out there, but this fits with my budget. Thanks for the suggestion, Jacen - I know the old cars did have a rake to them, but wasn't sure to what extent

And just so you can see, here's how the resin wheel / tire combo came out:

Well, the decals for the tires finally came in, so I was able to finish up the wheels today. Here's the two chassis sitting on the tires: I was going to put the headers on, but I found that they stuck out way too far down. I knew this to be the case for the Talladega, but this is also the case for the Torino. I had to cut part of the header flange off in order to get the headers to fit tight up against the chassis instead of dragging on the ground. Here's an uncut header on the left and the modified header on the right: Finally, I just had to do a mock-up to see how everything is fitting together so far. It's not coming out too badly:

Normally, that's the way I do it as well - distributor first, then going to the plugs. Someone suggested trying it this way, so I did. I am not one to bash someone else's ideas, but I don't think I'm doing it this way again - I'm going back to the old way!