65 Impala wagon (pro touring style)

[Steve H]

12 hours ago, Dave72 said:

Great looking project so far Steve! Your idea with the aluminum sheet pattern is perfect! Much better than using tape in my opinion. I wish I did that on my 4D Malibu build. I used tape and you have to have a very light touch on the first scribe with tape! Luckily it turned out. 

Thanks Dave. I know that I would have made a mess if I just used tape.

[Steve H]

25 minutes ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Great new project Steve!  I love those wagon and I am glad to see that you have decided to make it 2 doors, I think it will be more appropriate for your project.  After your great conversion to the Oldsmobile, I don't see why you couldn't have made this change to the body...!  As for how to draw new panel lines, I use the same method as Roger (Plowboy) with a 0.020" styrene template and it works great.  I will be a supporter of your new project, I love what you do and you always have exciting topics my friend!  ?

Hello Francis, I very much appreciate your support sir. This one should be a bit easier than the Olds... Two door hard top is definitely a better fit for build. This is only my third resin build, still learning how to work with it. It’s not really harder to work with just different...

Cheers, Steve

[Kromolly]

That's a cool project, I like where you are going with it.  I like the 2-door wagon.  A sedan delivery would be a cool concept too.

[espo]

Your aluminum guide for the doors is much better than what I have done in the past so from now on I'll use your idea. 

[Phildaupho]

Great project in the making. It will be stunner when done.

[gks1964]

Watching with interest!!!

[Steve H]

10 hours ago, Kromolly said:

That's a cool project, I like where you are going with it.  I like the 2-door wagon.  A sedan delivery would be a cool concept too.

Thanks Roy, I’m glad I committed to the 2 door. Sedan delivery would definitely be cool, I might try that with recent 63 wagon release.

 

10 hours ago, espo said:

Your aluminum guide for the doors is much better than what I have done in the past so from now on I'll use your idea. 

Hi David, ya, it worked quite well and was easy to cut and shape. As you probably read above, others are using styrene as a guide which definitely would work well also.

5 hours ago, Phildaupho said:

Great project in the making. It will be stunner when done.

Hi Phil! Thanks for the vote of confidence sir. Looking forward to the next zoom meeting.

2 hours ago, gks1964 said:

Watching with interest!!!

Thanks Gerald, it will be a bit of a slow start, but hopefully I can get some momentum soon. 
 

Cheers, Steve

[Steve H]

Hi all, started into the interior work. I took a handful of measurements then started cutting... This actually might be a bit easier than I thought it would be.

Cut off rear package shelf from Foose kit, removed cargo area from the resin kit. The plan is to use the two-door interior bits and add the cargo area to it. 

The rear cargo area is too wide to fit between the rear fender wells, so.... remove rear panel

Then cut lengthwise, and remove a strip from the centre...

 

Well, the cutting part is easy.... more soon.

Cheers, Steve

[Sam I Am]

I will be following your floor job. I have a couple builds I need to get creative with.

[Steve H]

22 hours ago, Sam I Am said:

I will be following your floor job. I have a couple builds I need to get creative with.

Hi Sam, I have a plan, hoping to have it back in one piece this weekend.

Cheers, Steve

[Misha]

Hi Steve, this build keeps getting better and better! Slice ‘n’ dice ? 

Cheers Misha

[Steve H]

Ok, managed to have some desk time today. One of those rainy, damp west coast weather days are perfect for staying in the hobby room.

I re-assembled the cargo area and fit it to match the rear seat.

Obviously, it is too narrow now, so made filler pieces for the top of the side panels. In my planning, I had two thoughts on how to tackle this. It was either add wider inner fenders, or as I chose to do, narrow the whole thing and add top pieces. For me, (call me lazy) this was the easier way to go. I also had to fix a twist in the cargo area. It’s not perfect but much better than it was.

I plan on flocking the rear cargo area so I will smooth out the whole area. The carpet will hide imperfections. I couldn’t resist priming the body, it still needs a lot of work, but it’s now a two door! I think it looks pretty cool. 

Thanks for having a look!

 

 

[Steve H]

On 3/20/2021 at 3:29 AM, Misha said:

Hi Steve, this build keeps getting better and better! Slice ‘n’ dice ? 

Cheers Misha

Thanks Misha. Today was quite a bit of sand and file, but there will certainly be much more slicing and dicing to come. 

[Can-Con]

That's looking great ?

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Good progress Steve, spending time at the bench on a rainy day is the best thing to do... it's much better than housework... ?

The body looks great with 2 fewer doors, It will make all the difference in the end!!! ?

[Plowboy]

It's looking good Steve! Just a suggestion; I would get rid of the remaining door frames at the top to give it a true hardtop look. 

[TransAmMike]

Ahhh, the making of a really cool Nomadistic (is that even a word?) wagon?

[Steve H]

On 3/21/2021 at 5:31 PM, Can-Con said:

That's looking great ?

Thank you Steve! Your 65 is looking amazing, the paint is superb.

12 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Good progress Steve, spending time at the bench on a rainy day is the best thing to do... it's much better than housework... ?

The body looks great with 2 fewer doors, It will make all the difference in the end!!! ?

Hi Francis, small progress is still progress... It’s a busy time of year for me, but I am trying to keep some momentum with this project. The 2 door will definitely be a bit different, I like that.

11 hours ago, Plowboy said:

It's looking good Steve! Just a suggestion; I would get rid of the remaining door frames at the top to give it a true hardtop look. 

Hi Roger, yes, and thanks for the input. I hadn’t dealt with that area yet, but that is on my radar. Going to do a quick search here shortly to have a look at some 2 door hard top wagons. I got all carried away when the primer came out, it was a bit premature, but I couldn’t resist. Thanks for checking in sir.

10 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Ahhh, the making of a really cool Nomadistic (is that even a word?) wagon?

Sounds like a word to me! I like it.  Cool is the goal, hopefully I can pull it off.

Cheers, Steve

[Kromolly]

On 3/21/2021 at 4:53 PM, Steve H said:

Thanks Misha. Today was quite a bit of sand and file, but there will certainly be much more slicing and dicing to come. 

Another west-coaster here.  Yesterday was a half shop & half hobby room day for me with a lot accomplished on a cold, wet day.  I'm enjoying watching your wagon come along.  Very cool.

[Steve H]

On 3/22/2021 at 7:33 PM, Kromolly said:

Another west-coaster here.  Yesterday was a half shop & half hobby room day for me with a lot accomplished on a cold, wet day.  I'm enjoying watching your wagon come along.  Very cool.

Hi Roy, sounds familiar. I was lucky enough to squeeze in a mountain bike ride in the morning, my Sunday morning ritual...  I often split my days off between shop, yard work (3 acre hobby farm), and the hobby room. When does spring arrive?!!! 
Thanks for your interest in the build, hope for an update on the weekend...

Cheers, Steve

[Kromolly]

2 hours ago, Steve H said:

Hi Roy, sounds familiar. I was lucky enough to squeeze in a mountain bike ride in the morning, my Sunday morning ritual...  I often split my days off between shop, yard work (3 acre hobby farm), and the hobby room. When does spring arrive?!!! 
Thanks for your interest in the build, hope for an update on the weekend...

Cheers, Steve

LOL, yeah, a couple of acres here as well.  No end to the  projects.

[Steve H]

Hi folks, 

Small update. Not much to show, spent a fair bit of time on parts clean up. 

As Roger mentioned the door frames needed to be removed to open up the hard top. Still some fine tuning to do, but body work is getting close. I also played around with another wheel/tire choice. JPS wheels with Z06 Corvette tires, I might like these better, maybe because they are different. Would love some feedback on wheel choice, Pegasus or JPS ?

I decided to use the BNL resin 454. I’ve had this engine for a few years, and this felt like the perfect car for it. I will likely use the oil pan from the Foose kit, and possibly different valve covers. 
 

I raised the front crossmember about 2 scale inches which gave me the ride height I wanted up front. Still need to play with ride height out back. 
I’m hoping to have the major components fitment issues sorted out by next week. 
 

Thanks for having a look!

Cheers, Steve

[Sam I Am]

Sharp, very sharp.

My vote is for this set of wheels.

[Bills72sj]

Following. Love the two door. I vote for the 2nd set of wheels depending on color. Nice engine choice.

[Spottedlaurel]

Moving on nicely Steve. I vote for those new wheels too.