Next up: '66 Riviera - the last Nailhead

[customline]

 

1 hour ago, bisc63 said:

Wow, those are some nasty sink marks! I have a couple of these in storage, bought when the tool was new, and I don't recall such issues, but this makes me want to dig 'em out and look. Kudos to Can-Con for pointing out the intake error; that would have been easy to overlook!

Easy to fix, though, on the tyranny pan. The big, fat pin marks on the axle housing will be a pain. The (lack of the) valley cover surprised me. Got that covered, the only thing I accomplished all day. I just got a 100' roll of 30 AWG Kynar covered wire in black for stock type plug wires so I used that to look like the perimeter bead of the valley cover. Crude but it will sorta look OK if you're looking for it, but who would? Nobody in my house ?.  Better than nuthin'. It's great they made the effort to detail the engine where nobody could see it. But if you do that, why not give us a valley cover? ? Don't worry- after it's painted, it'll be fine.

[customline]

2 hours ago, Can-Con said:

Keith Marks does a decal sheet for the Riviera but I'd recommend the Model Car Garage photoetch sheet instead.  

OK, good. That'll work. Thanks again!

[customline]

Small headaches.  This kit, despite the decent parts count and details, is giving me small headaches ?. The Deluxe Champions are nice and the super cool ribbed whitewall inserts will surely look fantastic but when I attempted a mock-up the wheels wouldn't fit. Not just a tight fit; WAY OFF! I Got to work with Mr. Dremel and enlarged the insert till the wheel went through. Not good enough. I'm now having to thin out the wheel rim for a proper look. Headache.? 

I decided it was more important to me to get a nice finish rather than have a showroom stock Riviera with door handles and scripts....... Mild custom ?. 

I'm finding the instructions aren't quite perfect either, but all of these things are pretty normal and a full detail kit of this subject is still worthwhile. I shall press on ?.dAnybody  know what this is? (Below) It came in a junkyard lot that I got on Fleabay. 

[customline]

Here's a shot of the flip side of that weird floorboard/pyramid thing. I can't find anything on it. It must be valuable! ?

[bisc63]

15 hours ago, customline said:

Anybody  know what this is?

MPC Mummy Machine.

 

[Ian McLaren]

The Riv looks great and is one of my favorite Detroit releases. It is good to see the care being taken with the build I will be following this one for sure.

[customline]

5 hours ago, bisc63 said:

MPC Mummy Machine.

 

THANK YOU MISTER RUSTY ! !  I knew there was a crazy person out there who could identify this wacky thing (it's yours, isn't  it? You don't have to answer that) ? 

[customline]

5 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

The Riv looks great and is one of my favorite Detroit releases. It is good to see the care being taken with the build I will be following this one for sure.

I will try to not disappoint, but as I plunge further into this kit, which I originally thought was a super nice kit, I am finding some pretty "common" stuff I gotta fix, bringing this kit down to 3 ? stars. Thanks for your interest!this is the sort of detail found in better kits, but the little glitches in casting quality brings the kit back to ordinary. I primed the body today and the hood shows a sink line all the way across the panel where a cast-in brace runs across on the flip side. When the primer dried it vanished. But it's there and I gotta fix it. That nice detail is a double edge sword.

 

[bisc63]

2 hours ago, customline said:

(it's yours, isn't  it?

Ha! not this one, but I do have one or two in the stash! Years ago, K-B Toys stores were blowing these out for $2.99, and i got a couple just for the hot rod parts; wheels/tires, fenders, chrome goodies, etc. I will buy anything plastic; I got issues...?

[customline]

8 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Ha! not this one, but I do have one or two in the stash! Years ago, K-B Toys stores were blowing these out for $2.99, and i got a couple just for the hot rod parts; wheels/tires, fenders, chrome goodies, etc. I will buy anything plastic; I got issues...?

Mmmmmm...... the styrene addiction....I'm so sorry.  I didn't know it could get that bad but,  apparently, it's pretty serious.  Maybe I could get my wife to use her thousands of dollars worth of computer-aided plotters, cutters, and card-making equipment and room-full of paper and card stock, stamps, dies, embossers, and on and on.....to make a sympathy card to send you. Issues....yeah, I know. ? ..... but not me, I'm ok.

[customline]

A minor thing but just another issue to be aware of if anyone here plans to build this model kit.  First the reference photo:  showing the automatic choke on the right side of the rear carb. Then the instructions showing the carbs in the correct positions. Clearly, the choke is visible if you are paying attention but if you use the orientation pins on the bottom of the carbs to locate them (blindly) you will find that the joke is on you. This may only be a problem if you are going for a well detailed engine with fuel lines (and heat riser tube) on those nice carburetors. Now you know what to do ? ! Take your instruction sheet and stuff it....well... sell it on Ebay.

[Snake45]

On 3/9/2022 at 9:44 AM, customline said:

Will we see your '66 annual project here? I hope so ?

 

Just since you asked so nicely...I just finished it. Well, finished-ish. Couple little things it still needs but it's basically finished enough for the group build deadline....

[customline]

....but on a positive note, this kit is a blank canvas for some obstacle-free detail work. The underside of the floor is free of cast-in fuel, brake, and emergency brake lines so that they may be realistically represented with appropriate materials. ? . Like Manfred Mann said, "That's where the fun is!"  All I need now is some good reference photos.  Incidently, if you install brake lines to the backing plates, you won't be rollin'.?

I have left the spindles free to pivot for now.  I'll decide on positioning later. ?  I gotta work on the wheels now so I can mock-up a (non) rolling chassis. Thanks for your interest!

[customline]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

Just since you asked so nicely...I just finished it. Well, finished-ish. Couple little things it still needs but it's basically finished enough for the group build deadline....

YAAAAAAY!! ish ? Thanks, Snake, looks fantastic. ?  This car looks really nice in white. I've been saving a rattler (pun intended) of pearl white (Tamiya) for a build like this, with an interior a dark red or "ox blood" red. Thanks for the peek!

[customline]

I tried to find reference pix of the chassis/underside of the Riv for brake line routing but there isn't much help out there; only a little for the rear axle housing so I worked with that (most live axles would use similar positioning. ) the rest will just be WWJD (what would Jimbo do?) The exhaust follows the "spine" so, if I want the line to show in a logical way, I'll have stay off the side of the frame behind the pipes. Suggestions encouraged ?.

I glued a small piece of angle, with a hole to accept the flexible line, to the inside frame rail and attached a drilled block to the axle housing and connected them with black insulated 30 guage wire. It ain't perfect (in scale the block is about the size of a Marlboro box) but I drilled it through for the solid line to go through. Not easy for me to work with tiny stuff like that at my age. ?. A little detail painting and we're good.  By the way....because this build will be slightly altered from a showroom stock rendition but is still basically out of the box, I feel it's time to create a proper acronym for this type of thing. This is a BOOB....Basically Out Of Box. ☺️

Edited March 15, 2022 by customline

[bisc63]

Maybe too late, and these are earlier body, but i doubt much changed underneath:

[customline]

37 minutes ago, bisc63 said:

Maybe too late, and these are earlier body, but i doubt much changed underneath:

Awesome!  Thank you! ? Nope, not too late, I work really slow ?. These ref shots will get me where I want to go. I found some nice chassis shots but they don't give me much for the line routing. I just want it fairly close. It's a model nobody in my house will ever see the bottom of unless they drop it on the floor. ?

[customline]

I got the wheels detailed and "mounted" for a  mock-up with the engine in place. Engine is mostly wired and fuel line at the carbs is in place as well as the heat riser tube and the vacuum advance was "installed". I sunk a brass wire between the quads to mount that monstrous air cleaner in a removable fashion (seemed like a good idea ? ) because it hides all my eye-straining detail work ?. I need to do something about the carb linkage but I just haven't got the ambition yet. The elements involved in that are just too small for my 70 year old hands. I seldom build OOB because I feel compelled to do all the detailing and the issue becomes "if I add plug wires then why not the fuel lines.... and brake lines and then why not the carb linkage... and the battery cables and solenoid ...and on and on....I have to draw the line somewhere. I simply can't do all of it and that frustrates me. I'm venting, ? sorry.

Also, I got the interior panels painted but not detailed . There may be a change of plans on the exterior color. I saw that '62 Chrysler under glass today by Tommy124. That color would look fantastic on the Riv. I have a few bottles of Boyd's Dusty Rose and I think it might work really well for this build.(I don't know what Tommy used but that's what it looks like to me.)

I added "wheel cylinders" to the backing plates and drilled for brake line and parking brake cable placement. I thought about the bleeders but figured that would be completely insane. Anyway, thanks for your patience ?y

[1972coronet]

Your Riv is coming along quite nicely. It's too bad that AMT screwed the pooch on yet another kit from the late 90's --- so frustrating! I boxed-up the 1968 El Camino because its fiddley interior assembly made me want to smash it with a sledgehammer. 

But, I digress... 

The Nailhead is one of my favourite engines ever. In spite of the 1:1's shortcomings, it just plain looks awesome. 

Keep on truckin'!

[customline]

3 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

Your Riv is coming along quite nicely. It's too bad that AMT screwed the pooch on yet another kit from the late 90's --- so frustrating! I boxed-up the 1968 El Camino because its fiddley interior assembly made me want to smash it with a sledgehammer. 

But, I digress... 

The Nailhead is one of my favourite engines ever. In spite of the 1:1's shortcomings, it just plain looks awesome. 

Keep on truckin'!

Yup, this one had me fooled until I actually started working on it ?. The extra work is worth it, though. It's still a decent kit, no fatal flaws. Just a few small headaches. I've seen worse ?.Thanks for your interest, John.

[customline]

Big day, today....The kit engine seemed pretty decent until I tried to hook up the fuel line to the ....uh.....where's the fuel pump? ?! OK, gotta make one...NP....Next, I got the exhaust system ready for installation by sanding the filler I had to use on the two- piece resonators. Oh, yeah, a new one on me ?. The kit provides "fillers" for the resonators that are cast hollow. But it's not quite a tight fit. Gotta fill 'em. Then on to the hood to block sand the filled sunken areas. Done. Finished brake line install. Mocked it all up and.....behold!

 the floor bottom will be sprayed with red oxide primer before assembly. I like the way the gray looks but the red oxide may be correct, yes?oh, and I painted the interior pieces. Flat black first, then Krylon gloss burgundy, then satin clear. They should be dulled a bit more. Tomorrow. 

[bisc63]

Red oxide for GM as a rule of thumb, at least in that time period. Watch your lines! Check the reference photos above, you'll see the rear brake and fuel lines don't follow the x-frame, but hug the inside of the driver's side rocker panel. ( Safely away from those hot exhaust pipes! )

Chassis is looking SWEET, though!  Dark red interior is just sexy.

Edited March 23, 2022 by bisc63
added info

[customline]

1 hour ago, bisc63 said:

Red oxide for GM as a rule of thumb, at least in that time period. Watch your lines! Check the reference photos above, you'll see the rear brake and fuel lines don't follow the x-frame, but hug the inside of the driver's side rocker panel. ( Safely away from those hot exhaust pipes! )

Chassis is looking SWEET, though!  Dark red interior is just sexy.

I believe you're right and I thought it was wrong but I saw this (below): what am I seeing  here?

The dark red interior...I'm seriously considering using Boyd's Dusty Rose on the outside. Think about that combo ?

Edited March 23, 2022 by customline

[bisc63]

Good question. I'd be wary of this as a reference based on it being someone's "restoration", and may not be prototypically correct. It certainly looks like a fuel line, though; too big for brake. Has me wondering!

[bisc63]

OK, found some info to settle this! Check this out: https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/1966-riviera-fuel-line-routing.280366/

Edited March 23, 2022 by bisc63