Ace-Garageguy Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) I put some photos of this up as part of the answer to a question over on another part of the board. There was some interest in it, so i thought I'd put more of it up over here. I started the build back in 2010, and it stalled (for no real reason) where it still is today. I've been looking it over and think it's time to put this one back in the "finish soon rotation" pile. When I was stuck on yet another build, I started wondering what the Monogram '37 slantback would look like chopped. This is about a scale 4" chop, about 1/8". Hacking in progress....This is a more challenging chop than earlier 1930s cars because of the compound curves on the roof. As usual for me, I lined everything up on the B-pillar and made up the C-pillar from bits of the original, while the front of the roof got stretched about 4 or 5 scale inches to line up the A-pillars. I was considering raking the windshield back more, but I don't think it needs it. The backlight was left in position, and leaned forward to mate with the lowered roof again. The roof and body still looked too bulky to me without a minor channel job. This is an 1/8 inch top chop, but only a 1/16 inch channel. For the channel, I only removed enough material to close up the gap at the running boards. Material was removed from the fender cutouts on the body shell to the black lines, as seen below. I just shaved enough to channel it between the fenders. With only this much taken out, everything still fits fine at the rear apron. I did have to trim the fenderline very slightly to fit in back. I tried a couple of different nose treatments while I was studying the proportions, too. This will be a contemporary street rod, with full Corvette C5 running gear, including the rear-mounted gearbox. No ideas on color, so all suggestions are welcome. Maybe the 2004 Corvette ZO6 dark metallic blue, dark tinted windows, corvette door handles, and Vette taillights frenched into the rear deck, down low. I started to fit the C5 guts to the '37 frame but later decided just to adapt the entire chassis to the '37 body shell instead. Chassis is too short by about 1/2 inch, front crossmember is in the way, and chassis is too wide too. Seems like a lot of work, but when complete, all the C5 running gear will "bolt in" like it's made for it. First thing is to fit a new front crossmember. On the real C5, the rails forward of the new member don't do much but support the body and radiator, and they're too long to fit under the '37. Glue bottles for weights keep it square during drying. Next thing is to liberate the center tunnel, lower right, from the interior tub. The liberated tunnel is glued into the chassis BEFORE it's cut in half and again weighted to keep everything square. Also, the frame rails will be rough-cut away on the lines. In real life, center tunnels provide a lot of structural rigidity to some cars, and I'm using it here to support the floor while I make up new rails. The floor of the '37 has been carefully removed to be used on another build, and will be replaced by the Corvette floor. Chassis has been rough-trimmed to fit the '37 fender unit, and the suspension is checked CAREFULLY to ensure the wheels will be in the right place in the wheel openings when it's all done. Everything is now tacked to the running boards with a little liquid glue. It is absolutely essential that everything is where I want it at this point, as the fender unit will be the jig to make the new chassis rails and floor insert. The Corvette floor has been left a little wide to allow it to be tacked to the '37. It will be final-trimmed at the end, with no ugly glue marks, and a just-right fit. Edited November 5, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy
Ace-Garageguy Posted November 5, 2015 Author Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) Next trick is to stitch in the new floor section, using the fender unit as a jig and clamps to keep it all aligned. Next shot is of new frame rail being glued into position. Three rails waiting to be cut above. Clamping to the sides of the fender assembly holds curve to match while glue sets up. After the joints are hardened on the first set of rails, the fender unit is popped off of the chassis, and another set of rails is laminated to the outside. Rails are made up of .050 styrene. Two thicknesses make the final rails about 2.5 scale inches wide...about right for many cars, but I may do one more. ....Now I'll do the final trim, put the wheels on, assemble the body shell and see if I got it right... Well, this is the stretched chassis from the bottom for the wheel test fit. Surprise surprise, the wheels are in the centers of the wheel openings, just like it was all made to go together. Next is the stretched chassis sitting on its feet with the completed rails. Center tunnel needs to be completed, but that's about it. Of course, all the C5 parts will simply assemble like the original kit, with the exception of lengthening the driveshaft the same amount as the chassis. Fender unit dropped over new chassis. Rails fit curvature of the body because it was used as a fixture to make them. Stance is exactly the same as in the original mockup. I reinforced the roof center and pillars with epoxy and fiberglass cloth to eliminate the chance of cracks coming through the bodywork, or in case I drop it. The roof on these always looks flat to me, so I've built the curve up just a little... ...and the rest of the chop is about done. There was more re-shaping of the original styrene roof sections than I'd thought there would be to get it to flow... Edited November 5, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy
Ron Hamilton Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Bill!!!! That car is going to be fantastic!!!!! I love the workmanship!!!!
grayghost Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Very nice.And the flow of the top fits clean.
bobthehobbyguy Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Nice work. Great start. Interesting project. Will be watching.
Greg Pugh Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 There are times (like now) that I wish we could cuss on here. Lol. That thing is going to be insane! I love the chop! Nice work there! And nice work on that chassis also! That's not easy either! Anyways...can't wait to see more progress on this!
jhuntsman Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Good work! 37 is my favorite body style. ill be following this one!
afx Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Another well engineered build. Nice project Bill.
JTalmage Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 As usual with any project I see of yours, I cannot wait to see what the finished product looks like!
Lowlife ! ! Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Hi Ace, always nice to see one of your current projects........Ive never seen you tackle anything modern before like this, it looks great so far ! One of the things I always enjoy is the way you build your models so true to life ( construction wise...) Its hard to modify kits in the same way you would a real car, but you make it look correct every time ! Keep up the great work, this should be real nice when complete........ Lowlife ! !
cobraman Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Very nice project Bill. Please keep it going ! : )
Foxer Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Glad you put this one up! As much as I liked seeing that smooth chop the adaption of the chassis to body was educational.
Phildaupho Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 I have been tempted to try to adapt a C5 chassis for street rod use as I always thought it was possible. You have proven it to be true.
JTalmage Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 What is that tube frame looking thing with the white walls in the clear case???
maltsr Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Thanks for the how-to Bill, and great workmanship as always from you. Looking forward to updates.
DrKerry Posted November 5, 2015 Posted November 5, 2015 Very nice, like the idea and the look of it!!!
Ryan S. Posted November 6, 2015 Posted November 6, 2015 You're off to a great start lots of cool work so far. a rootbeer metallic with red accents might look sweet on this.
vintagercr Posted November 6, 2015 Posted November 6, 2015 That is coming along nicely.......the chop looks perfect!
DumpyDan Posted November 6, 2015 Posted November 6, 2015 Wow you make it look so easy, and only in a couple steps. Nice work, gonna keep checking in on this one.
Claude Thibodeau Posted October 3, 2019 Posted October 3, 2019 Hi! Very interesting. Will the Vette seats fit the narrow "wells"... or will you need to fit custom units between the tunnel and your new "door sills"? Just curious... CT
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