The Infamous MPC Dodge Charger!

[doorsovdoon]

Paint is on and lacquered, I think I'll go with the whitewalls on this. I've added some more detail to the engine bay, why not? lol! I've put a steering box in there, it came with the kit but not sure what it is? It looks like a walki talki but makes a great looking steering box, xD! The steering shaft is a shock absorber from my spares. I even put a brake line to the master cylinder too just for Lols, and run some solder wire along the floor to the tank for the fuel line. This thing is close to being driven for real! ?

[FLHCAHZ]

Wow.  That Looks great.

[doorsovdoon]

10 minutes ago, Chuck Most said:

Personally I think this car is crying out for a set of full wheel covers (mostly thanks to the padded top and the presence of a Slant Six) but the Mag 500s always look good on these. 

I was thinking the same. I'd love to put the Charger poverty caps on this. This kit is neither one or the other, there are no RT decals or scripts and it's not base enough to do a real slant six. It's definitely a bit of mixed bag this one!

[David G.]

This is shaping up to be a rather good build and that doesn't surprise one bit. 

It reminds me of something I might have driven in high school. Chrome wheels, a custom shifter and a six-banger under the hood.

David G.

[Joe Handley]

3 hours ago, doorsovdoon said:

I was thinking the same. I'd love to put the Charger poverty caps on this. This kit is neither one or the other, there are no RT decals or scripts and it's not base enough to do a real slant six. It's definitely a bit of mixed bag this one!

My parents had a F8 Green ‘70 R/T that was a 440 6-Pack, 4 Speed car that had the Super Track Pack package, which was mandatory on stick shift 6-Pack and Hemi Cars and Dad had ordered it with the Dog Dish wheels and body color Steelies, so it would be possible!  There are resin wheels and hub caps out there that would work plus the CHP reissue of the Monaco has those newly tooled narrow wheels, tires, and caps that might also work! 

[doorsovdoon]

Thanks guys. Got a lot done on this build last night, if I didn't take any pictures you wouldn't believe the work that's gone into this! Firstly, the firewall had a huge gap where it meets the windscreen panel cos the interior tub wouldn't allow the chassis to push up any further. I cut some styrene to shape which fixed that but then I had huge gaps between the inner wings and the outer ones, so again I cut some styrene to fill them. When I test fitted it I couldn't believe how better it looked under the hood. There's a ton more stuff I've done and loads of pictures. I'll jut post the work on the inner wings here, otherwise I'd be writing a book in this post! Lol

[Mattilacken]

Great work on what seems to be a rough kit to start with! Coming out wonderfully with your talent! I would not start it since I would never finish it with those issues mentioned. 
 

love the straight six in there! 

[doorsovdoon]

Purely by accident after sorting out the engine bay it corrected the ride height, whereas before the two axle settings at the front made the car sit either too high or too low, you couldn't win. Using the upper holes now gives the car the right looking stance! I've had to make pegs for the hubs though as those upper holes don't go all the way through. I cut the lower ones off as they're not needed now. Another happy accident from sorting out the engine bay was it brought the chassis forward, reason being, the rear wheels sat too far back in the arches.

[doorsovdoon]

[doorsovdoon]

A couple more adjustment! I had to fit a support at the back to bring the chassis level with the bottom of the car. Another job was the rear wheels were too far inboard, so I cut some spare hubs to push them out to the right point. 

[FLHCAHZ]

GREAT WORK!  You've really made this an oustanding build

[David G.]

I've built a few kits like this one where I've found myself doing what I thought was the designer/engineer's work. Correcting issues that should have been sorted out in the planning stages. The one I remember most recently is the '77 AMC Matador by AMT. While building it, a number of times I thought to myself, "Did anyone at AMT even try to build this thing?"

We have a saying in The States, "Making a silk purse out of a sow's ear." It refers to making something beautiful out of something that decidedly isn't. It certainly applies here.

David G.

[doorsovdoon]

12 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

GREAT WORK!  You've really made this an oustanding build

Thanks, Chaz.

[doorsovdoon]

11 hours ago, David G. said:

I've built a few kits like this one where I've found myself doing what I thought was the designer/engineer's work. Correcting issues that should have been sorted out in the planning stages. The one I remember most recently is the '77 AMC Matador by AMT. While building it, a number of times I thought to myself, "Did anyone at AMT even try to build this thing?"

We have a saying in The States, "Making a silk purse out of a sow's ear." It refers to making something beautiful out of something that decidedly isn't. It certainly applies here.

David G.

haha, I do wonder if MPC ever did test builds of this after changing certain parts in the mould.

[doorsovdoon]

So here it is, the infamous, notorious, scandalously bad 1969 Dodge Charger by MPC! If I hadn't known how bad this kit was before I started I probably would have thrown it in the bin! Bad kits definitely need a completely different approach with completely different expectations. This isn't just an old MPC or AMT kit with a few fit issues, this is a box of spares of random parts from various different kits you have to make fit and hope it looks like a '69 Charger by the end, Lol!

[Captain Spaulding]

Every pic I see on here just looks better and better. Definitely a build to be proud of.

Excellent work.

[Oldcarfan27]

On 7/4/2021 at 4:10 PM, Joe Handley said:

I have one of the glow in the dark kits I was going to build with the ‘70 Coronet kit, which I also have, for the chassis and drivetrain donor. Just don’t know what I can do to make it look better.

I've been looking for one of those "Ghost of General Lee" kits for some time now. You wouldn't happen to be interested in trading it for a regular GL kit, would you?

[rickcaps55]

Love it !! awesome idea with the slant 6 .!!

[iamsuperdan]

You are doing an excellent job of polishing a turd.

Mine has been on and off the bench for a couple of years now. I'm just so frustrated with how it goes together.

It's nearing completion and should look okay on the shelf. In the back. In the shadows. 

[Oldcarfan27]

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Edited July 7, 2021 by Oldcarfan27
Dupe post

[doorsovdoon]

Thanks guys. I want to take some outdoor shots of this one but it's been raining all day. While I wait for better weather I might as well keep playing with it, so I added a parking brake! I hope the sun comes out soon or I'll be adding things like working suspension and steering, Lol!

[doorsovdoon]

I made a hood support that folds away. I do have hood hinges in my spares which would look more realistic but I'd have to leave the hood up if I glued them on. 

[TimJ]

Great build, the extra work you've put into it has really paid off. The slant six makes a change too, I guess this could be Granny's Charger. ?

[doorsovdoon]

15 hours ago, TimJ said:

Great build, the extra work you've put into it has really paid off. The slant six makes a change too, I guess this could be Granny's Charger. ?

Thanks, Tim. and a pistol grip it's a Granny with racing aspirations! haha,

[David G.]

I just saw it in the "Under Glass" section, it came out great.

David G.