David Thibodeau

I saw this thing today at the Street Rods and it looks cooler in person than it does in the pics!! Dave you did a nice job on it... IT got my vote for people's choice!!

Thanks Ismael........ and all of you!! DaveT

With November looming I gotta try to squeeze in the Rusty build.... Engine is complete... Headers are made from .062 solder painted with alclads.... Seat is installed along with a dual fire suppression system. Extinguishers are turned pieces again from Mr Kemp.... More to come!! DaveT

I could use some more Crystal!!!!!! We shall see Dave, but if its a three peat I think I might get food thrown at me!!! Can't wait to chat with you.... And hopefully convince you to keep me company to Atlanta!!! Thanks alot guys.... DaveT

Well guys its done. I managed to pull off converting a 2003 Revell Monte Carlo into a full blown detailed Pontiac. Many thanks to those that shared the journey. I especially want to Thank Clay for all of his turned aluminum parts he so graciously did for me for this build. I could not have done it without you!! Thanks for looking guys. This car is making its first contest debute at the MAGS Street Rod show this coming weekend and then its off to the Southern Nats with it in Atlanta! DaveT

Finally got some work done on the motor. Standard kit engine heavily modified........

Thanks guys, A small update. I forgot to "frame in" the speedway window. This will be open since its a short track car. I made a frame from a template of the window made from masking tape. Painted it TS-50 followed by clear. Then I carefully glued it in place. here is the window before: Here it is now: I also completed the seat! Straight forward kit seat with a few mods added. Like leg bolsters, metal upper bracing, and Pro tech bolts and seat belts. The impact decals on the belts were made by Clay.... thanks again buddy.... these decals set off the belts and are what Rusty ran on his 1:1 Car... Next up is the engine!! Thanks for looking! DaveT

Its very close!!!! Here are some teaser pics.... all that is left is hood prop and tether detail for the most part...... All window rivet and neon detail applied. Scratch built Stand was also painted black Rear spoiler bracing..... P/E Windshield clips installed Undercarriage detail complete I will be totally finishing it in the next few weeks..... Thanks for looking.... DaveT

Thanks again guys... I started adding detail to the chassis. Upper A-arm detail complete with bolts and Jackbolt detail. Those are real brass ball joints from RB motion in the A Arms! P/S Box is painted and plumbed as well as a scratchbuilt oil filter assembly. The filter itself is a metalcast piece from Pro tech but the upper delivery area is all scratchbuilt. Gear shifter boot is made from various sizes of black plastic. The Shifter rod is #4 Detailmaster hardline and the knob is a #4 compression fitting. I wanted to go different on this shifter than usual.All rollbar padding is also in place. It is from pro tech as well a new item and is extremely convinving in my opinion. Floor mat was made from black plastic and the drivers side protective matt is made from thin aluminum painted black. SInce this will be a short track car I plan on having many cooling hoses routed to the side windows. The center plate closest to the oil tank will be for duct work below the car to cool the rear brakes. The other plate is for the rear diff cooler. Rear fuel cell was scratch built from Styrene sheet and square rod and painted Tamiya Gloss black. As you can see the theme of this car is black Nylon braided line. It is Pro tech line painted flat black with testors Acryl line bottle paint. I chose silver collars and blue line and fittings because 95% of all the 2005 Penske chargers I have seen in pics use black line. The fuel filter is scratch built from aluminum tubing. The photoetch plates with the black tape over them are small doors to allow the teams to adjust the rear shocks. Something they do alot at short tracks like Martinsville FInally photos of what I have done with the body on to see how its starting to look interesting with different color and detail

The chassis is in paint and clear at this time. The mods to the chassis seem to take on life once they are painted!! Now its time to add all the candy!!! Here are some pics with the body installed.... I also added the lower chin black decals.. DaveT

The body was set aside and CHassis work begins.... I had built a chassis for this car, but it ended up in the pirates ride!!! Here are a few pics of what is utilized from the chassis in the kit. The rest is scratch built with .080 styrene tubing along with other bits and pieces.... This car will feature a unique drag link setup for the rear suspension. Scratch built perches were made over the fuel tank. I also added new chassis bars versus a solid wheel well. More updates soon.... DaveT

Next up was paint!! I painted the entire car in Tamiya Mica blue. I feel its a dead match to the 2005 blue which is alot lighter than the previous years dark metallic blue. This paint was followed by 3 nice coats og PPG omni 2 part urethane. Once the clear had dried it was polished with perfect it III 3M compound after it was wetsanded with 2000 grit paper. Then JWTBM decals were applied and the body came to life!!

With the Pirates of The Carribean Pontiac pretty much buttoned up ( Finished pics of it soon) I decided to pull this one back out. I began this car about 6 months ago and shelved it due to a lack of interest. You know how those sporatic projects look awesome but then the fire goes out? :runaround: Well with Clay doing a fantastic job on his 2006 Kahn charger that he converted from a 2006 Monte Carlo, I found that spark to get back on my 2005 Conversion of a 2004 Intrepid into a Martinsville short track charger. This will be another superdetailer I plan on bringing to Atlanta in November to accompany my Pirates Pontiac. Here is the real car. I decided to try to make it a Martinsville short track car because Rusty did well at that track in his career. Doing the body mods were first on the list. Below is a sequence of pics on how I did it. I started with a 2004 Intrepid kit and hogged out the lights and center grill and added sheet plastic backing to them and the rest is all 2 part tamiya putty and alot of sculpting......(forgive these pics, I have really worked on my picture quality and these are 6 months back!) Once I had the nose right to my liking I concentrated on the rest of the body mods for superdetail fashion. Cutting out the roof flaps, center air cleaner cowl, hinging the hood and reat trunk as well as underhood bracing, reshaping the c pillar windows, etc etc.....

I second that!!!! That is killer!!!!

Jay....... Welcome to the forum first up... and secondly.... that is well..... BREATHTAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL!!!! I think its EXACTLY how SR's car would look today.... DaveT PS..... your painting has raised up a few notches along with the pics outside.....

Thanks for all the words of encouragment guys... I am nearing the end on this build finally!!! Interior is complete. I thought I would take some pics of it since alot will be hidden by the body.... As you can see all hoses and electrical camera and radio lines have been installed. I also added a camera data and Radio boxes on the pass b pillar bar. The black thread tied to the hose ends are so I can fish them through the openings on the windows when I put the body in place permanantly. Oil breather tank was added out back scratchbuilt from solid plastic rod and Pro Tech Breathers.... This line as you can see connects at the top of the oil tank behind the driver. The crush panels were made from thin metal from K&S metals. The rivets were created using a pounce wheel used to make designs for sewing templates. Steering wheel was used from the kit and detailed out. I added a radio call button as well. Exhaust is also complete. This exhaust was scratch built using Plumbers solder from home depot and scratch built Fan style exhaust dumps from .010 sheet styrene and blended to the pipes. The weathering technique was achieved using alclad pale burnt metal, Jet exhaust, and Clear orange. This is the exhaust you will find commonly on a Superspeedway Cup car. Tuned for Daytona or Talladega. More commonly referred to as Dr Gas Exhaust. Rear suspension is complete at this time inclusing a brass rod and RB motion heim joints for the rear panard bar. The driveshaft is aluminum tubing with the kit u joints added. You can also see lower crush panels made from embossing metal. And for some final pics on this update here is the car with the body installed for good on a stand I made from square tubing. It will be painted black and used to display the car. Thanks for looking, this will be the final update prior to completion in a few days.. DaveT

Various detail I have scoured off the net over the years, Motorsport.com has fantastic pictures, I also have various books on the subject of nascar anatomy.... the rest is just plain studying of the subject of Nascar race cars as well as watching alot of prerace specials etc..... you really gotta love the sport if you want to learn all about these cars.... Thanks all, And Gregg, hopefully there will be more to come!!! DaveT

Thanks guys, FInally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!!! Engine is totally complete along with front brakes. Interior is close, I added the rearview mirror (scratchbuilt), Earnhardt bar, Steering shaft complete with a knee knocker pad and shift light, and the rear package tray made out of black styrene. Rear suspension is installed..... Finally some pics with the body tested on... its starting to look the part...... As you can see the grills are also installed using MCG steel mesh and decal. Rear brake detail..

Thanks Wayne.... yours is looking good, I will be in Tampa with this one and a New Funny car I have been working on..... DaveT

Looking good Wayne, Keep going.... .its odd, but there are not a HUGE amount of Nascar fans over here, but keep going anyways!!! DaveT

That is a kit carb I drilled out the barrells on.... Thanks guys more updates for you! Radiator is installed and a scratch built shroud was made from thin aluminum sheet. The front suspension is also complete. Springs, front sway bar links, steering tie rods, and shocks were all scratch built from various aluminum and brass tubing as well as pro tech hardware. Here is a pic of the engine bay with the body on for effect..... final details will be added, coolant lines, electrical harnesses, and front brakes and its on to the rear axle and suspension detail... Thanks for looking..... DaveT

Thanks!!! As I said, I did a little cleaning up of the rats nest. Oil lines are routed along with fuel and Power steering lines. I scratch built the dual red oil filters from Aluminum tubing. All the line and hardware is Pro tech products. The brass collars are Crimp bead tubing you can find in a craft store. Now its on to the radiator and lower suspension detail.... DaveT

Thanks guys!! I got the engine bay prepared for the engine. Scratch built brake resoviors. The oil filter is from Pro Tech. The P/S pump was turned by Clay Kemp. Engine is installed, a rats nest right now but will be tidy up soon!!

They are symmetrical... no leaning roofs, cab forward roofs.. .fenders wider on one side versus the other... nope. not the kits!!! DaveT

Nice build build!!! Paint is beautiful! DaveT