Moebius ' 65 Belvedere, putt, putt, . . . . done!

[smellyfatdude]

I got this yesterday, and really couldn't wait to get going on it. When I arrived home and opened the box, well I can honestly say I've never been disappointed in the casting quality of a Moebius kit. Until now, anyway. I've never seen such faint engraving on door panel lines, before. The line that's supposed to seperate the front edge of the drivers door from the fender . . . . . . wasn't there! There was a faint impression of where it was supposed to be, but I could run my thumbnail along the body and feel absolutely nothing. Much work was needed with the back of an xacto blade, and then my scriber to get the line turned in to an actual indentation. Otherwise, the little bit that was there would have totally disappeared under primer and paint. I took one look at the Belvedere scripts on the side and sanded 'em off. Too faint for foil, so I'll use the decals, instead. Anyway, enough griping. I do have colors picked, but the forecast for today says rain. Hopefully, tomorrow will see some paint.

Only one other surprise, but that's courtesy of me. Picture it in blackwalls, with the dog dish caps and a column shift. I think you can see where this one's going.

Edited May 23, 2016 by smellyfatdude
got more work done very quickly

[crazyrichard]

cool !!

[smellyfatdude]

I actually painted this by holding it down inside of the garbage can, which just got emptied, this morning. At least I was out of the twenty mile an hour wind that had picked up. Five minutes later, there came the rain. The color is Krylon satin Sea Glass.

[OldNYJim]

Looks great!  Love the color!

[slusher]

What a great color..

[mrm]

Awesome color. I think it suits the model very well. 

[espo]

Are going with the "Leaning Tower of Power" or something far bigger ?  

[Crazy Ed]

That Color just screams mid '60's. If you do a Dio for it you'll need a Lady wearing Capri Pants and a Beehive Hairdo standing next to it. 

[smellyfatdude]

Are going with the "Leaning Tower of Power" or something far bigger ?  

The slant six from the Lindberg ' 64 Dodge 330 kit is what you see there, in the engine bay pic. So yeah, this is going to be one of my geographically correct "Saskatchewan specials". Lots of leaning towers sold around here, when they were new.

[espo]

The slant six from the Lindberg ' 64 Dodge 330 kit is what you see there, in the engine bay pic. So yeah, this is going to be one of my geographically correct "Saskatchewan specials". Lots of leaning towers sold around here, when they were new.

I have always had a great respect for the slant six. I have worked with many of our northern neighbors thru the years and have always wondered why they all seam so content with the base engines in their personal cars.

[smellyfatdude]

I have always had a great respect for the slant six. I have worked with many of our northern neighbors thru the years and have always wondered why they all seam so content with the base engines in their personal cars.

It's a combination of money, and climate. Vehicles have always cost more up here, and a big block Hemi isn't very practical when you live somewhere that it can, and does, get to minus forty in winter. As someone who's spent a lot of time as a young man hunting down old cars, I can tell you that all through the fifties, and well in to the start of the sixties this was very much six cylinder sedan country. V8's, power steering and brakes and heaven forbid things like air conditioning and power windows are usually pretty rare for anything sold around here during that era. People were quite frugal with what they spent $ on. And that's on the larger volume of cars made by the big three. When it comes to AMC/Rambler and Studebakers, they're usually even more bare bones. When I was a teen, more than a few of my friends drove six bangers. Some were "upgraded", with buckets and a floor shift, so I'll leave the kit supplied buckets seats in with this build.

Hopefully, I can paint some more pieces today, and clear coat the body.

[jdhog]

Nice work.

[kelson]

Excellent choice in color!,it really stands out.

[smellyfatdude]

Thanks for the compliments. Here's the body clear coated, and the remaining panels are painted and cleared, as well. For the interior, we'll go with black. It should look like a real econobox, with this color combo and a six banger!

[RAMBENNA]

looks good, so far

[dragcarz]

I picked up a Belvedere kit from my LHS, the last one they had, got it home and unwrapped it and the body is really warped, twisted. Did yours have this issue. The body is really thin and it seems like it might work after its all together,and glued. 

[Dogfish_7]

Looks like this may be a quick build.

[smellyfatdude]

the body is really warped, twisted. Did yours have this issue.

 

No, no warpage at all.

 

Edited April 15, 2016 by smellyfatdude

[dragcarz]

Hmmm. I emailed Möbius,and they replied it should straighten out when glued to the chassis. Not the answer I was looking for. 

[High octane]

Looks like a great start, and nice color choice as well. I've sprayed many parts inside the garbage can inside the house. When my wife asks if I'd been painting, I just say I "might have" and never incriminating myself. I just love dem Mopars!

[smellyfatdude]

I finished the minor surgery needed to install the slant six. First, off went the molded in mounts on the Moebius k-member. Then after carefully sawing off the slant six mounts from the Lindberg kit, I lowered them by about half, and glued them in place. The tranny mount in the kit is just a simple pin, so I just made a simple hole in the transmission tail. Engineering for dummies, yes! And look, the kit rear end/driveshaft fit with no mods. I love this kind of kitbashing. I do!

 

[gtx6970]

I like it. especially the color

And I was surprised when this kit was announced it WASN'T  a slant six .

 

I have a couple of the Lindberg slant sixes ,,,, and was thinking about doing a green on green sedan with it

[smellyfatdude]

And I was surprised when this kit was announced it WASN'T  a slant six .

 

 

I suppose it makes sense from a cost perspective, if you're the manufacturer. Since the ' 65 Satellite already has the 426 wedge, they figured it was good enough for the Belvedere and just throw in a dual carb option with the new kit. Would have been nice if they'd included a hemi, so one could do an A990 variant. I'd like to do the Satellite with a 273 or 318, but I can't think of any kits that have those engines.

Edited April 16, 2016 by smellyfatdude

[kelson]

I suppose it makes sense from a cost perspective, if you're the manufacturer. Since the ' 65 Satellite already has the 426 wedge, they figured it was good enough for the Belvedere and just throw in a dual carb option with the new kit. Would have been nice if they'd included a hemi, so one could do an A990 variant. I'd like to do the Satellite with a 273 or 318, but I can't think of any kits that have those engines.

Nice work on the engine swap!,i could be wrong but I thought that the Lindberg Little Red Wagon came with a 273.

[oldscool]

I suppose it makes sense from a cost perspective, if you're the manufacturer. Since the ' 65 Satellite already has the 426 wedge, they figured it was good enough for the Belvedere and just throw in a dual carb option with the new kit. Would have been nice if they'd included a hemi, so one could do an A990 variant. I'd like to do the Satellite with a 273 or 318, but I can't think of any kits that have those engines.

Hey SFD, you could use the 340 from the AMT Duster kit. Just change the carb to a 2 bbl and find a correct air cleaner. Not much difference in the rest of the engine from a 273. The 318 for 65 would have been the old polyspherical head engine. Good luck with that one.