customline Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 I was looking for inspiration for a custom build of a Lindberg '53 Ford when I was taken aback by the blue car below. I have seen roof swaps on other cars but not on one of these Fords. I absolutely love it and wanted to do something like it. The most compatible donor I could find in my limited inventory was a Revell '69 Z 28 coupe I had already stolen a few parts from. After taking a few quick measurements, I figured it could work. I'm not totally confident it will but it's happening. The roof on the blue 1:1 looks like mid-60s GM sheet metal to me. I dunno. The Camaro roof gives my 1:25 a business coupe look, not exactly what I wanted but it has its own look that I'm OK with I'm well beyond the point of no return. 🥴 There are some things I did lately that I may reverse but this one is back burner for now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickcaps55 Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 The Camaro roof looks great you did a great job on the body work. I have a 53 convertible that i was looking at doing a hardtop custom looking at the 1:1 picture that could also be a 65/66 Impala roof or a 65/66 Buick Wildcat roof i have these body's but i really like the way your Camaro roof loos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 Nice job blending that new roof in.👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B. Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 I agree with rickcaps55 on the roof. I was also going to suggest the '65 or '66 Impala roof although that may have been too wide. Something to consider is the shape of the body side moldings. The inspiration picture shows the '54 side moldings. While this is a matter of personnel choice the '54 moldings tend to make the body look longer to the eye than the '53 side moldings. Maybe try both layouts using fine line tape to see which one you like best. IO like how you're molding in the grill area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 Not crazy, looks good to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 Looks pretty sharp to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 Love it. Great start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted December 18, 2021 Author Share Posted December 18, 2021 Thank you all for your comments, I appreciate the suggestions too! I thought about trying to do the Mercury side trim but I like the '53 trim. I tried to do too much on some other customs and found that I loose focus on the main idea. This is an experiment ( like most of my stuff) and I wanted to get some feedback on the build so far. I absolutely love that 1:1 above and I am leaning toward a similar color, but that's a ways off. I attached some evergreen strips to the corners with the intention of foiling them, the idea being closely fitted nerfs. I'm seriously considering removing them along with reshaping the the whole rear roll pan. I realized the 1:1 has what looks like old Corvette rear bumpers turned upside down. 🙃. I may be able to do that. I think I have those parts. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 looks darn good to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 The roof swap looks really natural. Nice choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisc63 Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Liking where this is heading, but the license plate surround looks bit heavy for the clean look of the rest. Just my 2 pennies... otherwise, I think you've done some terrific work here. Following! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted December 19, 2021 Author Share Posted December 19, 2021 38 minutes ago, bisc63 said: Liking where this is heading, but the license plate surround looks bit heavy for the clean look of the rest. Just my 2 pennies... otherwise, I think you've done some terrific work here. Following! Thanks rusty, I agree. The whole rear treatment needs a rethink 🤔. There are changes ahead. I was about to do the "sunk in the trunk" thing but I wanted to try a different idea. I lost my focus and tried to do too much. Less is more! It's not too late, fortunately, for a re-do 💩 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olskoolrodder Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 That looks pretty dang cool (and you did an awesome job o fit too ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZTony8 Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 The roof on the real car looks like it came from a '66 or '67 GM A body with the buttresses trimmed off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exotics_Builder Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 11 hours ago, ZTony8 said: The roof on the real car looks like it came from a '66 or '67 GM A body with the buttresses trimmed off. I would tend to agree with you. An interesting concept though, regardless of roof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koellefornia Kid Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Great project and you did a nice job with the Camaro roof! As far as I know, Keith Kaucher (builder of the 1:1 car) used a narrowed and chopped ´65 Wildcat roof and a ´67 Camaro rear window, so you're right with the GM origin. Can't wait to see it finished, I love this Kustom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted December 19, 2021 Author Share Posted December 19, 2021 (edited) On 12/19/2021 at 2:35 PM, Koellefornia Kid said: Great project and you did a nice job with the Camaro roof! As far as I know, Keith Kaucher (builder of the 1:1 car) used a narrowed and chopped ´65 Wildcat roof and a ´67 Camaro rear window, so you're right with the GM origin. Can't wait to see it finished, I love this Kustom! Thanks, Kid, that's really good info. I spent the last few hours between Cowboys - Giants and a total re- do of the rear end treatment. I do take the comments seriously and welcome them and that's why I'm changing this build. I'm shooting for a closer emulation of the 1:1. And I don't know where I'm gonna go from here but the Corvette bumpers will be there unless I just can't make it work. It's pretty rough now but it's my priority. Much work ahead. Edited December 21, 2021 by customline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 COOL project. I'll be stealing this idea, for sure. Remember...the most sincere form of flattery is imitation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 (edited) 7 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said: COOL project. I'll be stealing this idea, for sure. Remember...the most sincere form of flattery is imitation. Yeah, true.....that's what I'm trying to do 🙂.....thanks for the encouragement. Edited December 20, 2021 by customline Clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted December 21, 2021 Author Share Posted December 21, 2021 Up till 3 am on this. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel. This will look much better than what I had and is a lot closer to my inspirational subject. the bumpers will be pinned on the ends as shown here. Over-riders will be glued to the plate mount. Still a ways to go to get it smoothed out. Thanks for looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisc63 Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 MUCH better! I think you're on the right track with this; it's going to look NICE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted December 22, 2021 Author Share Posted December 22, 2021 Thanks, Rusty, I should have done this from the start. I was already weeks into this build and had I had those corvette bumpers then, I could have saved a ton of work. I got the "Skips" '60 'Vette kit off ebay for cheap (it was started) but not with this in mind. I actually didn't make the connection till the other day when you pointed out my poor design. It just goes to show that sometimes you need another perspective to get it right. I wish I had your help on this one ( see below ); you could have talked me out of adding that roof and it would still be a convertible. 🙄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisc63 Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Ha! I don't know if I would have, I sorta have a soft spot for these traditional customs. This has the look of the cover cars from the little custom magazines of the 60s. Some of the designs were a little "out there", but it was a vibrant and optimistic time for backyard customizers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 (edited) This was the inspiration for it (below)...i love the old full customs/leadsleds....those old magazines and "rod and custom" shows back in the early 60s hooked me for life. The "purple people eater" is just the '50 vert using the kit parts.....well mostly. I wanted to do the '49 coupe but wouldn't pay the price due to the fact that I'm a cheapskate. I had 2 of the '50 kits....close enough! But I got carried away and added a roof cobbled together from various junk items. Oh, and I sectioned it 😎The AMT '50 convertible is a really great kit for the spare parts alone. You can go a lot of different ways. The mods in the front of the '53 is from those parts (sort of.) Edited December 23, 2021 by customline Added text Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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