69 Daytona 300...

[LL3 Model Worx]

Bare with me on this one, it's my first ever "build thread/log"

I was at Ollie's a few weeks back and naturally I picked up several kits. Among these kits an MPC 69 Daytona amongst several others.

I'm not as familiar with all the car kits as most of you all, as I've spent most of my adult modeling time on figures and armor. But, Scalemates and Google make for quick learning.

So not knowing what to expect, I open this thing up to discover what (imo) seems to be an excellent example of tooling that is in a state of decay.

There is flash in all the wrong places, parting lines that are petty knarly and sink marks that I may use dura glass on... joking about that last part, but seriously lots of bodywork in my future!

I plan to mostly Kitbash/scratchbuild this thing where practically all that will remain of the original kit is the (modified) body. I'm going to be using the Drivetrain out of the AMT 05 Chrysler 300c... not completely ideal (i hate the 300) but it has a modern Hemi/trans (that can be made very potent IRL) in it, and this is a "low buck" build that is really just a test of my skills to see if I can successfully merge the two.

I plan to use most of the interior from the 300 as well with a few exceptions.

So this will basically be a 300c in Daytona skin.

Here she is, I'll be posting more progress pics when I get off work.

 

[Bucky]

Mixing it with a modern 300 should be a blast! I'll be watching! 

I currently own a 2017 300s that has a potent 300 horsepower V-6 in it!

I'm fairly well satisfied with how it runs, so I can only imagine what the HEMI would be!

[LL3 Model Worx]

4 minutes ago, Bucky said:

Mixing it with a modern 300 should be a blast! I'll be watching! 

I currently own a 2017 300s that has a potent 300 horsepower V-6 in it!

I'm fairly well satisfied with how it runs, so I can only imagine what the HEMI would be!

Yea, I've had to work on too many of the earlier year 300s that had electrical issues... makes me shudder everytime I see one!

But yea, the 345 cube Hemi can be a mighty poky beast with a few "minor" mods. The heads flow HUGE numbers at fairly low lift... they far outflow a LS6 if they have the same cam profile.

Pretty sad feeling knowing all but the most potent of beasts of yesteryear can't really compete with a modern V6!

Hoping I can get this one done before Christmas.

[LL3 Model Worx]

Ok, so here I've got the front fenders scribed for where I want to cut to shorten the front end. The black is just there for it to show in the photo.

Here is where I have shaved the "door handles" (blobs that were crooked and uneven on both sides).

This is a sink mark that's right on a mold line...(gonna be fun to correct)

I got the engine pretty close to done, still have a few more parts to add and some detail painting to do on it, the engine color is a mix of blue, green, and Pontiac engine blue metallic. The manifolds are Alclad Chrome. And I put a hand grenade decal on the intake cover.

Have to modify these door panels to fit the dimensions of the interior tub. 

Salvaged these wheels from the parts box, I think they came from some station wagon kit when I was a kid? Gonna throw them in some stripper

I was going go use the factory 300 wheels and tires but felt I needed less back spacing in the rear... unfortunately I do not have any wide rear tires for a rim this size (and no clue where to get any) 

I've also contemplated making this a convertible... as I think that would look pretty awsome!

[David G.]

I like where you're going with this, should be an interesting journey.

David G.

[stitchdup]

7 hours ago, LL3 Model Worx said:

Salvaged these wheels from the parts box, I think they came from some station wagon kit when I was a kid? Gonna throw them in some stripper

I was going go use the factory 300 wheels and tires but felt I needed less back spacing in the rear... unfortunately I do not have any wide rear tires for a rim this size (and no clue where to get any) 

I've also contemplated making this a convertible... as I think that would look pretty awsome!

Very cool project and something I'm surprised more people havent done in the 1/1 world. If you have the sizes for the tyres you need I'm sure someone will be able to help

[LL3 Model Worx]

19 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

Very cool project and something I'm surprised more people havent done in the 1/1 world. If you have the sizes for the tyres you need I'm sure someone will be able to help

I have have the rubber for these wheels here, I was just wanting a bit wider pair for the rear... but no worries I think I have a workaround.

[LL3 Model Worx]

Another update... I worked all morning to get the front end and hood cut down. And do some more general body work.

I typically work on 1 side at a time. So I done some filling/sanding and then a coat of Alclad white primer and some block sanding.

I had to cut the chassis pan from the 300 to fit correctly in the Daytona body.. and have it line up properly as I want to retain the 300s suspension and drivetrain.

I solved my real wheels back spacing issues and made them deeper by using the wheel backs from these very wheels and just reversed everything so the wheel back is on the front and the rim is facing the outside... neat little trick I figured out by fooling around with them. Still have strip them and get the alclad on the outer "rings"

I managed to get the nose cone on and the gaps filled with some Evercoat spot putty I had in the 1:1 shop... it's a bit more durable and rigid vs the Hobby stuff.

I had to cut some styrene strips (evergreen) to make some "locators/ supported for the nose cone. I also opened the lower part or the cone, as I'm going to make a custom intake/airbox.

After sanding/shaping the spot putty, I spread a layer of Tamiya white putty, as it's much finer... kinda like "dolphin glaze" for 1:1. Also got the hood cut to fit, but still need to remove the hoodpins.

And this is about what I want the overall stance to be like. 

the interior is gonna be a BEAR!

I'll update again once I have more completed. Thanks for looking.

[Slick Shifter]

19 hours ago, LL3 Model Worx said:

An excellent example of tooling that is in a state of decay.

That mold is all of 50 years old. It's been modified and reworked more times than probably every other model car mold in history.

[LL3 Model Worx]

2 minutes ago, Slick Shifter said:

That mold is all of 50 years old. It's been modified and reworked more times than probably every other model car mold in history.

Yea, didnt know that, very interesting... I assumed it was rather "used" from what I've saw so far. Some of the body Dimensions are just plain wrong when compared to the 1:1... but I'm sure if it's been worked like you say that would explain alot.

I decided to go this "custom" route because otherwise it's not really worth building to represent an accurate Daytona when I know there are other kits that would make a much better foundation to start with.

Still, hoping this turns out ok... a simple completion would be good enough for me.

[Koellefornia Kid]

Really like where this going! I'm currently on a similar route, updating my ´72 Torino with engine and interior parts from a Super Stallion Mustang.

[LL3 Model Worx]

Bad news.... I'm gonna have to completely rethink the interior on this one... the Dimensions are so far out it's going to be a major operation to get everything to somewhat work... the seats are 100% out both front and back. They are far to large.

Burned out on this one for now... I still plan to get the body and chassis finished, but the interior situation is gonna take a while.