Steve_L

These are pictures of my recently completed 1957 Chevy "stealth" machine. I started with a 1957 Chevy 150 resin kit from Time Machine Resin and used an AMT/Ertl plastic kit as a donor. The car features a "down in front" stance with wheels and tires from the Revell 1957 Chevy Bel Air snap kit. The Goodyear tire decals are from a NASCAR race car kit. The engine is an LS series small block with the 6-speed from the 35th anniversary Camaro. I painted the body, trim and wheels with Rustoleum Black Night Metallic spray paint for the "stealth" look. The clear coat is airbrushed Future. The chassis is "stealth" painted with Krylon Black Textured Shimmer spray paint. The interior is from the Time Machine resin kit with Ken's Fuzzy Fur carpet and is paint detailed. After three recent paint disasters, this was a welcome "slump buster." And, "you cannot have too many 1957 Chevys." Enjoy!

Andy, These projects are taking on a life of their own... I have already ordered a resin 1957 Plymouth Savoy kit from ModelHaus and have also acquired a 1957 Pontiac 2-Door resin kit on EBay. I think it would be a kick to also build Rambler and Studebaker "Black Widows," too. So far, I have been able to acquire a few reference pictures, but I have no clue where to find 1/25 scale 1957 Rambler and Studebaker kits. Any ideas? Steve

Curt, I added a rib to the supercharger from the kit -- the rest of the setup is scratch built. All of it is from styrene plastic -- I used a candle flame to bend the styrene rods that I used for the hoses.

These are pictures of my phantom 1957 Chevy El Camino that was built for the 2007 ACME Southern Nationals NNL. I combined a 1957 Chevy "Bel Camino" resin kit from Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland and the old tool AMT/Ertl 1957 Chevy Plastic kit. I build the car as a "Custom Rod," using some of the custom parts from the AMT/Ertl plastic kit. The hood is a resin piece with no "gun sights" that also came from Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland. I shaved the emblems and used custom rally mirrors that I resin cast. I retained the Chevy side trim but did not use the stainless steel insert for the rear quarter panels. I used the LS1 engine and 6 speed transmission from the AMT/Ertl 35th Anniversary Camaro kit. They dropped into the 1957 Chevy Chassis like they were made for it. The tires are "bigs and littles" mounted on the mag wheels from the 1963 Corvette AMT/Ertl kit. The paint is Kustom Color (by the makers of House of Kolor paints) silver base coat covered by Kandy Lime Gold. The clear coat is Future sprayed from an airbrush. Chrome trim was handled with Bare Metal Foil. I entered this project at the inaugural Goodguys Southern Nationals Model Car show where it was named "Best Lowrider." (?) I enjoy working with resin kits and this was another fun project. Enjoy!

These are pictures of my 1957 Chevy Sedan Delivery that was built for the 2007 ACME Southern Nationals NNL. I combined a 1957 Chevy Sedan Delivery resin kit from ModelHaus and the old tool AMT/Ertl 1957 Chevy Plastic kit. This car is a "phantom" junior stock drag racing car from the early 1960's. It is a phantom because the 283 cubic inch 283 horsepower V8 apparently was not available in the sedan delivery body. The engine is from the AMT/Ertl plastic kit, but I substituted the 4-speed Hydromatic transmission from the Revell 283 Parts Pack engine. I resin cast the fuel injection parts including the air cleaner. I also fabricated the ribbed air hose and the air intake. I used a few of parts from the Model Car Garage photo-etch kit for the AMT/Ertl old tool 57 Bel Air. I used Duplicolor Ford Silver spray paint for the base coat and Kilz Casual Colors for the clear coat. Chrome trim was handled with Bare Metal Foil. I created the Quicksilver decals on my computer and made a licence tag that says "HIYOAG." (AG is the chemical symbol for silver). This was not a show stopper, by any means, but it was a fun project. Enjoy!

Great pictures! Great build! Thanks for sharing them. As far as the resin detail parts, you never can tell...

One of the many benefits of the Model Car World resin kit is that the side trim is part of the casting. All I needed to do was to cover it with Bare Metal Foil.

I talked to Robert at ChromeTech and we agreed on a price for chroming the entire assembled chassis and drive train. It is important to note that this is not his usual way of doing business.

Thank you all very much for your kind and positive comments.

Thank you all very much for your kind and positive comments.

Thank you all very much for your kind and positive comments.

We aim to please. Here are three pictures of the chassis. (Any resemblence to a beetle on it's back is purely coincidental.)

Looking really good so far! Have you decided on the engine and wheels/tires?

I really like the stance and the choice of rims and tires. SLICK!

This project started with two questions: 1. "What if Ford had built a race car like the Chevy Black Widow?" 2. "What would it look like?" These are pictures of my 1957 Ford "Black Widow" that was built for the 2007 ACME Southern Nationals NNL. I combined a 1957 Ford resin kit from ModelHaus and the AMT/Ertl 1957 Ford Plastic kit. In most respects, I patterened this model after the GM 1957 Chevrolet Stock Car Competition Guide. The engine and transmission are from the AMT/Ertl plastic kit, but I revised the supercharger case for better realism. I fabricated the carburetor "bonnet," the air cleaner and the air hoses. I used a distributor from Arrowhead Aluminum and fabricated all of the fuel system. The model has most of the Chevy Black Widow "extras" including two shock absorbers per wheel, added chassis crossmembers and reinforced chassis parts. The interior required a lot of additional work to make it resemble that of the Chevy Black Widow. I used Duplicolor Black and White spray paint for the base coats and Kilz Casual Colors for the clear coat. Chrome trim was handled with Bare Metal Foil. This was a fun project with few obstacles. Enjoy!

These are pictures of my 1957 Chevy "Black Widow" that was built for the 2007 ACME Southern Nationals NNL. I combined a 1957 Chevy 150 resin kit from Model Car World and the new tool AMT/Ertl 1957 Chevy Plastic kit. I made intensive use of the GM 1957 Chevrolet Stock Car Competition Guide for reference pictures and I also found a lot of other good material on the Internet. The engine is from the AMT/Ertl plastic kit, but I substituted the transmission from the Revell 1957 Chevy for the overdrive unit from the AMT/Ertl kit. The headers are also from the Revell 1957 Chevy. I resin cast the fuel injection parts including the air cleaner. I also fabricated the ribbed air hose and the air intake. I used a distributor from Arrowhead Aluminum and fabricated all of the fuel injection plumbing. The model has all of the Black Widow "extras" including two shock absorbers per wheel, added chassis crossmembers, reinforced chassis parts and the truck rear end. I used 6 lug wheels from Plastic Performance Products and period NASCAR tires from ModelHaus. I used a lot of parts from the Model Car Garage photo-etch kit for the AMT/Ertl old tool 57 Bel Air. I enhanced the interior with Elephant Hide decals from Scale Motorsport. The interior is well set-up as delivered by Model Car World, so not much additional work was necessary. I used Duplicolor Black and White spray paint for the base coats and Kilz Casual Colors for the clear coat. Chrome trim was handled with Bare Metal Foil. This is probably the most intensive, expensive project I have ever completed, but it pegged the "fun meter." If I ever build another one of these, I will build it much like this one, but add much more detail. Enjoy!

These are pictures of my 1957 Corvette Gasser that was built for the 2007 ACME Southern Nationals NNL. I combined the chassis and drivetrain from the R/M Big John 1941 Willys with the body from the AMT/Ertl 1957 Corvette. The chassis, drivetrain and interior parts are completely chrome plated (by ChromeTech USA) and the paint is Duplicolor Metalcast Red with Kilz Casual Colors clear coat. I opened and hinged the doors and trunk. I wired the engine and added fuel lines to a front-mounted fuel tank. I installed battery cables from the rear-mounted racing battery and plumbed the brake lines. It was not a show winner but I received several positive comments. The important part is that it was a fun project. Enjoy!

Totally neat and really sweet!

Old School and Way Cool!

These are pictures of a recently completed 1957 Thunderbird that I built for my daughter Stephanie. Because of her MS, she'll never walk again, much less drive, but she told me she always wanted a car just like this. I started with the AMT/Ertl kit and built it box stock without a lot of detail. The paint is Krylon X-Metals Red with Kilz Casual Colors clear coat. I polished the paint with LMG polishing pads and finished up with Meguires Scratch-X polish. I applied Bare Metal Foil to the trim and paint-detailed the interior. If this project brings a little joy into her life, I will consider it a success. Enjoy!

These are pictures of my recently completed 1940 Mercury Nostalgia Custom. I started with a Jimmy Flintstone Matranga resin body and used an AMT/Ertl 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery kit to complete the project. The car is lowered with shaved door handles and emblems. The headlights are from the AMT/Ertl 1939 Ford and the bumpers are custom ribbed units from the 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. The grille is a modified 1939 Ford unit. The wheels are stock 1940 Ford items with wide whitewalls and custom 6 blade spinner hubcaps from the AMT 1960 Edsel kit. The exterior is Brand X blue enamel that I had lying around in my hobby room and the interior is Duplicolor Charcoal Gray upholstery paint. I added custom exhaust pipes styled after those found on Spencer Murray's 1949 Chevy vintage custom. Enjoy!

Thanks, much, for your kind comments and feedback. Steve Linngren

These are pictures of my recently completed 1949 Three Window Coupe. I started with a Ron Cash resin three window body and sectioned it a scale five inches. Other custom touches are shaved door handles, trim and emblems. The headlights are frenched and tunneled and the taillights are 1957 Corvette units mounted in the side of the rear fenders. The bumpers are stock 1949 Ford units and the grill is a modified 1954 Chevy unit. The wheels are plain reversed units with stock 1949 Ford hubcaps. The exterior is Brand X red enamel that I had lying around in my hobby room and the interior is Tamiya flat red. A custom touch for the interior is the entirely chromed dash. Enjoy! Steve Linngren