spencer1984 Posted February 25, 2018 Posted February 25, 2018 I am building the AMT Nova as the Beverly Hills Cop car, but knowing how old the tooling was and that it had some problems (plus I had an extra Pro Stock Nova in my stash from the good old "cheap kits" days), I wanted to do a test build more or less straight from the box so I could see what I had to work with. Enter the Thinner Nova. The novel suggests the Nova was customized sometime in the late 70s/early 80s, and uses all the tropes Stephen King loves to include with his cars: jacked up rear suspension, supercharger, dents, glasspacks, etc. Most of the build is detailed and weathered using kit-supplied parts, with my additions being the front tires, supercharger, valve covers, transmission, exhaust, bench seat, steering wheel, rear wheels, and brakes. The valve covers were from Calnaga Castings, the transmission was from Morgan Automotive Detail (with a scratchbuilt pan), and the seat was from Harts Parts. As always, any comments/criticisms are welcome!
espo Posted February 25, 2018 Posted February 25, 2018 Your build made me smile and remember the foot long rear shackles that were so popular at that time. Your chassis detailing look spot on. I like the big traction bars and the touch of rust on the leaf springs.
GMCMAN52 Posted February 25, 2018 Posted February 25, 2018 great looking Nova, I remember living young and driving during the 70's
skymnky721 Posted February 25, 2018 Posted February 25, 2018 Cool vibe on that,,its ready for the track!
Jim N Posted February 25, 2018 Posted February 25, 2018 Very cool model. I remember reading that book quite a while ago.
Snake45 Posted February 25, 2018 Posted February 25, 2018 (edited) Very nice! Looks like you managed to fix most of this kit's most egregious problems in the roof/window post areas. This might be the best build of the AMT Nova I've seen in a long, long time--maybe ever. Wasn't there a movie of this book? Was the car in the movie? ETA: There was a movie, but looks like there was nothing like the book's Nova in it. http://www.imcdb.org/movie.php?id=117894 Edited February 25, 2018 by Snake45
spencer1984 Posted February 26, 2018 Author Posted February 26, 2018 Thanks, guys! The movie used a Skylark in place of the Nova, but left out all the stuff that made it cool (as much as he often gets the little details wrong, Stephen King can add personality to a car like few others) 17 hours ago, Snake45 said: Looks like you managed to fix most of this kit's most egregious problems in the roof/window post areas. The roof was one of my main areas of concern, thank you for your earlier help letting me know what to watch out for. The left C pillar is probably the worst remaining offender, but seeing the problem was nearly impossible until I got it in paint. Now I know what to look for, though, so it should help on my next go at this kit. On this one, the extra "dent" can be excused as more of its character.
Johnt671 Posted February 26, 2018 Posted February 26, 2018 I like the keys and picture on the dash. Nice touch
Mercuryman54 Posted March 1, 2018 Posted March 1, 2018 I remember some of the guys having those long shackles!! I never had them on my cars, or liked the way they looked! I was a Gabriel Hi-Jackers guy myself. Pump em' full of air and ride like a log wagon!! Dennis
spencer1984 Posted March 1, 2018 Author Posted March 1, 2018 That was one place I missed...I painted the shocks Monroe yellow, but should have done them Gabriel white!
Chuck Most Posted March 2, 2018 Posted March 2, 2018 Love it! Mr. King seems to be one of those guys who likes cars, but isn't really an expert about them. I seem to remember one of his short stories (The Road Virus Heads North, maybe?) mentioning a car that was equipped with a carb and fuel injection, George Stark's Toronado had a manual trans, the main character in The Mist drives a four-door Scout, and I think the discrepancies between the actual '58 Plymouth Fury and the one depicted in Christine. But I get the impression that Mr. King is something of a casual car guy. Whenever a character's vehicle is mentioned in a novel or story, it always seems to fit the character pretty well- even if he has to bend the rules of reality a bit to make it perfect. I've heard that he's owned a few cool cars himself but is more into Harleys now.
Snake45 Posted March 2, 2018 Posted March 2, 2018 56 minutes ago, Chuck Most said: Love it! Mr. King seems to be one of those guys who likes cars, but isn't really an expert about them. I seem to remember one of his short stories (The Road Virus Heads North, maybe?) mentioning a car that was equipped with a carb and fuel injection, George Stark's Toronado had a manual trans, the main character in The Mist drives a four-door Scout, and I think the discrepancies between the actual '58 Plymouth Fury and the one depicted in Christine. Reminds me of how a rifle became a shotgun in a few pages in, I think, Children of the Corn. I believe that was the very LAST King I ever read. I can't stand it when both a writer AND his editor(s) are morons.
Chuck Most Posted March 3, 2018 Posted March 3, 2018 22 hours ago, Snake45 said: Reminds me of how a rifle became a shotgun in a few pages in, I think, Children of the Corn. I believe that was the very LAST King I ever read. I can't stand it when both a writer AND his editor(s) are morons. Rifle... shotgun... they both make a boom sound...
spencer1984 Posted March 3, 2018 Author Posted March 3, 2018 But as for King's car literacy...yeah, not his strong suit. I almost think he was giving a nod to that in From a Buick 8, where he was intentionally describing the car as an impossible prop.
James2 Posted March 3, 2018 Posted March 3, 2018 (edited) Going back to the subject at hand! Nice looking model. I like the weathering and the small details. I would like to know how you did the dash? Edited March 3, 2018 by James2
Snake45 Posted March 3, 2018 Posted March 3, 2018 On 2/26/2018 at 7:40 AM, spencer1984 said: Thanks, guys! The movie used a Skylark in place of the Nova, but left out all the stuff that made it cool (as much as he often gets the little details wrong, Stephen King can add personality to a car like few others) The roof was one of my main areas of concern, thank you for your earlier help letting me know what to watch out for. The left C pillar is probably the worst remaining offender, but seeing the problem was nearly impossible until I got it in paint. Now I know what to look for, though, so it should help on my next go at this kit. On this one, the extra "dent" can be excused as more of its character. Yah, looks like you've still got a little bulge in that area, but there's enough meat there to sand it down on your "good" one. Forgot to mention that you did a VERY nice job of fitting and mating the front fenders, always a tough go with this kit (or every one I've tried to work on, anyway). Bad fit wouldn't necessary have been a bad thing on this particular build, but you did it so well it looks like a one-piece body. Nicely done!
spencer1984 Posted March 4, 2018 Author Posted March 4, 2018 Thanks, guys! Yeah, the front fenders didn't necessarily want to go on straight, but using the hood for a guide was a big help: I taped that down, taped the fenders to it, and glued everything together from the inside. After about a week of letting it set, I went back and filled in the worst of the door seams, cut new ones that followed the lines better, and block sanded everything to level it out. 10 hours ago, James2 said: I would like to know how you did the dash? Sure, which part?
James2 Posted March 4, 2018 Posted March 4, 2018 1 hour ago, spencer1984 said: Thanks, guys! Yeah, the front fenders didn't necessarily want to go on straight, but using the hood for a guide was a big help: I taped that down, taped the fenders to it, and glued everything together from the inside. After about a week of letting it set, I went back and filled in the worst of the door seams, cut new ones that followed the lines better, and block sanded everything to level it out. Sure, which part? The pad?
Snake45 Posted March 4, 2018 Posted March 4, 2018 2 hours ago, spencer1984 said: the front fenders didn't necessarily want to go on straight, but using the hood for a guide was a big help: I taped that down, taped the fenders to it, and glued everything together from the inside. After about a week of letting it set, I went back and filled in the worst of the door seams, cut new ones that followed the lines better, and block sanded everything to level it out. Is that all? You make it sound simple. Actually, it sounds like more work than I have a couple whole builds I've done. Good to know yours didn't fit any better than any of mine, though. Well done!
spencer1984 Posted March 4, 2018 Author Posted March 4, 2018 It was somehow both better and worse than I expected. Nowhere near as bad as the MPC '67 GTO, which is my current high water mark for "why did I attempt this?" The interior was all sprayed with Duplicolor black primer in an attempt to look like faded black. The dash got a couple more light mist coats to give the plain surface some texture, then it was buffed with a dry paper towel to both shine and wear it a bit.
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