Gluhead

BMF it! Glue bombs are rad, but only when naturally occurring.

Sharp.

Blocks cleaned up... Boinnngggg! I trimmed down the spring pockets and replaced the crossmember. The kit one was very bulky, and was getting in the way of the rear end. Since it's just sitting there dry-fit it's a little higher than it should be, but it's not all that far off from final ride height. Wheels got a little off center as well, but they're good when things are snug.

Thanks, guys. I forgot this one on the last update - pretty close to final ride height...I'll tweak it if necessary once the rear is done. And now the back... Usually it's pretty easy to separate the rear end from the leafs or arms because they usually sit on top (or bottom) of the housing. Well, I picked it up to start in on it and guess what? This one isn't molded quite that simple. Yeah, the easy way out would be to just let the angle of the arms be all whack. I'm all for easy, but that'll just look...well...kinda bad. So after I scratched my head for a minute I grabbed a p/e saw blade and made the easy cuts into the housing. Once I'd reached the limit of what I could get to with that, I stuck a tiny drill bit into the drem and started boring through between the housing and arms. Once there are enough holes, it's easy enough to clear them out with the same bit...just gotta be real careful with how much material is attacked while doing side to side movements with a bit that's thin as wire - I knew I'd break at least one, so I used old ones that I'd already cracked the tip off...good thing, because I ended up snapping two before I was done. lol. Once removed and everything was all cleaned up, a couple pieces of strip stock sandwiched together makes the new lowering blocks. These'll get trimmed/shaped to match the remaining part of the bracket, still on the housing, and if it's still not low enough now I've got a good base to add shims. More in a bit.

Oh, and I also went back to the kit tires. It was getting pretty tight in those wheelwells.

The lever shocks/control arms simply set up on 1/8" blocks. Along with this drop and the modified spindles, there's a total of a 6" scale drop. I also wound some new coil springs.

Coming together very well.

That really is very nice...

Alright, altitude time. Revell really did a nice job on this chassis. Here's the unmolested lower a-arm/spindle/steering linkage piece. As I said before, I want to let this kit shine on it's own merits as much as possible, but it's got to come down so I'll modify what's here wherever I'm able, and only add/subtract where I absolutely have to. Once the piece is cleaned up (not like that takes much on this kit), I trimmed the bolt detail and drilled for pins. Then I carefully cut the a-arm free. This is a delicate piece so it takes very little effort. And here's an animated gif to show the articulation once it's pinned back together. The pins are just stretched sprue that's been heated on one end to create a rivet head. No, I'm not going to make the suspension functional...but this was the easiest way to reposition the lower a-arm. The way this thing is done, it would not take a crapload of effort to make it working, though. I bet we'll see a few done up.

Lookin' good, Drew.

Thanks, guys. Sorting out just how I'll handle the altitude adjustment now...with any luck I'll have some progress to report tonight.

That's what I was going to suggest, Jeff. It builds up nice and would be a natural for a modern tekkie build. But the 455 is also a versatile beast that could fit that style with a little effort in accessory selection.

Thanks, Nathan, Bill. I think with one more coat I can prob'ly say that I got away with it. This is just one run at it. The pics pick up every little glint that dried on the way from the gun to the grill...lol...it looks a little cleaner without so much dang light on it. I haven't buffed it yet but I'll brush those down then buff after the final coat. Should be good. Then I'll see if I can't screw it all up when I black out the supports and run some blue on the divider.

Yep, there's a bit of room for tech in these things. That's what's great about hot rods that are traditionally inspired; they don't have to be locked into restraints where nothing after year so-and-such is used. The goal is to capture the hot rod essence. I know you know what I mean by that, Drew, by your recent comment on the gasser thread. That in mind, the Americans are fine...but the tires pose an awkward juxtaposition from whatever standpoint this one's gonna be built from (unless it grows fenders). They just don't look right. But I'm bettin' you already have that minor issue sorted out.

Very nice.

That's all kinds of rad. Great mojo. I've wanted to use the same bumper treatment for some time, but the project to attach them to hasn't come to mind yet. I'm sure this will steer me in some way or another. Thanks for posting it.

That's the one I use, Harold. It does the job very well. Just for kicks I tried out one of the w/w decals. It snugged down okay with liberal use of MicroSet, but it's a hair too large. If you plan to use them, they'll need to be carefully trimmed down slightly with a #11 and a circle template.

This kit is too nice to leave sitting in the box. I have to start picking away at it. I almost always start with the rolling stock...no different here. Modelhaus Goodyear w/w's. I forget the stock number. The wheels are, I think, supposed to be a rendition of the '61 Caddy caps? They're closer to those than Caddy Sabers. Either way, they're from the AMT '64 Marauder kit. I gave them a hard wash of metalizer brass and shaved off the Olds emblem from the kit hubcaps. I threw the decal at it just to see how it would work out. I can't say I'm really all that happy with the decal so I may end up pulling it off and trying it with paint...or possibly making bullet caps. We'll see! The thread title prob'ly gives the colors away - cream roof over a root beer body. Other than some altitude adjustment I won't mess with it too much. It's a great kit so I want to give it a chance to shine on it's own merits before I start hacking them up. Enough yakkin' here's pics.

Thanks, guys. Mark, thanks for the tip! I went and found it on the tube...I'd never heard to do that before and I definitely have been shooting straight on. I'll let ya know how it works out the next time we have a warmish day to spray.

Yep. Good stuff.

I only have one suggestion to offer...keep going.

Still watchin'...great work!

I like that...and I don't like many 70's subjects.

Great build!

Good stuff. More!