Johan ‘70 Cadillac ElDorado pro touring (low and aggressive)

[catpack68]

I love the flared out fenders. It’s barely noticeable?

[Steve H]

6 hours ago, Jantrix said:

Very good work. I'll be following.

Hi Rob! Great to have you on board. It’s just getting interesting now. 

5 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

WOW Steve!!!  What an awesome project and my apologies by the way for being so late to the party.  As others have mentioned, I really enjoy watching you work your magic on this precious Jo-Han kit.  A wise modeler once told me one day that a kit, no matter what its market value, will be even more valuable when finished if it is assembled with care.  I love your vision and I know that we are embarking on a project of great interest that will lead to another success story.  The body is a good canvas, the chosen color is superb and your hands will do the rest, I'm in, my friend! ?

Francis my friend, the party is just getting started, no apologies please. I certainly agree about about the value increasing once assembled. Of course beauty (value) is in the eye of the beholder… I appreciate your kind words, and this car is indeed a beautiful canvas. I hope I can do it justice. I have been checking in on your incredible Demon build fairly regularly. Your talent is on an entirely different level sir. So thankful that builders like yourself share your amazing talents. This forum has improved my builds and continues to inspire me to keep trying new things. Thanks for checking, and welcome aboard!

Cheers, Steve

[Steve H]

5 hours ago, catpack68 said:

I love the flared out fenders. It’s barely noticeable?

Thanks Scott. As mentioned, I still have a fair bit of finessing to do, but once complete I hope that the flares are subtle enough, that they are indeed barely noticeable. It’s weird saying that, because there is a ton of work in them, but the goal is to be subtle, and respect the graceful lines of the car.  Thanks for taking the time to comment!

Cheers, Steve

[Spottedlaurel]

I've been enjoying watching your progress on this one Steve, great to see it coming along so well. Those bodywork mod's are subtle but so well done, you're really giving this rarity the careful attention it deserves.

There's often as much work, if not more, in creating something simple/smooth/elegant that just 'works' as there is in a more radical approach.

[KWT]

Dang... impressive things going on in here for sure. Nice.. subtle... just wow...

[Steve H]

On 2/25/2023 at 1:08 AM, Spottedlaurel said:

I've been enjoying watching your progress on this one Steve, great to see it coming along so well. Those bodywork mod's are subtle but so well done, you're really giving this rarity the careful attention it deserves.

There's often as much work, if not more, in creating something simple/smooth/elegant that just 'works' as there is in a more radical approach.

Hi Nigel, thanks for checking in. Yes, you are absolutely right, subtle mods do seem to require a bit more work. The goal now, is to get the “rough” work I’ve done blended and smoothed out. That’s still going take a bunch more sanding. 

 

On 2/25/2023 at 3:30 AM, KWT said:

Dang... impressive things going on in here for sure. Nice.. subtle... just wow...

Thanks Jer!

[Steve H]

Hi all, not much of an update here but there is some progress. I was not able to paint today, but couldn’t resist a mock up. I started modifying the wheel hoops, and centres. Obviously they are not quite finished, nor painted, but the offsets are close to what finished wheels will be. You can also see where the bodywork needed some extra filler to smooth out the fender bulges. I have also started the repair on the driver side taillight.

I have also been fabricating a couple of hood scoops. I will show more info on these later, but basically took a single scoop, cut in half, and then reshaped it. The leading edge will mirror the shape of the hood. Still some finessing to do but they’re close. Here they are just placed on the hood not glued yet.

 

More soon! Thanks for having a look.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Looking good.

[KWT]

Steve I can already see this is going to end up awesome. Nice touch with the scoops

[Steve H]

On 2/27/2023 at 6:44 PM, bobthehobbyguy said:

Looking good.

 

 

On 2/28/2023 at 5:46 PM, KWT said:

Steve I can already see this is going to end up awesome. Nice touch with the scoops

Thanks guys, I did a bunch more sanding today. I feel like I’ve created more than my share of styrene dust in the last couple of weeks! Hope to have an update this weekend. 
 

[beeRS]

Awesome build. This is going to be something special!

[Steve H]

20 hours ago, beeRS said:

Awesome build. This is going to be something special!

Thank you Sonny. I’m trying to do this classic kit justice. I appreciate the kind words.

Cheers, Steve

[OldNYJim]

I love that low-low ride height of your inspiration in the first post, the wheel choice is great and your bodywork is masterful!  Enjoying watching this one come together!

[Steve H]

20 hours ago, CabDriver said:

I love that low-low ride height of your inspiration in the first post, the wheel choice is great and your bodywork is masterful!  Enjoying watching this one come together!

Hi Jim, thanks for checking in sir! I definitely like my builds low, always have. As for the “masterful” bodywork, I have a long way to go, but this forum has taught me lots. I enjoy “pushing” myself a bit to try either new things, or just do a better job of the techniques I already have. There has been more styrene dust than usual on this one!? 
 

Cheers, Steve

[ybsluos]

This is awesome Steve!  I love your work, especially the red Pro Street Chevelle but this May end up being my new favorite from you!  Build on brother.  If you need any parts for any project let me know.- Mark

[Steve H]

12 hours ago, ybsluos said:

This is awesome Steve!  I love your work, especially the red Pro Street Chevelle but this May end up being my new favorite from you!  Build on brother.  If you need any parts for any project let me know.- Mark

 Hi Mark! Thank you, and thanks for remembering my Chevelle. It’s definitely one of my favs. As long as nothing goes sideways on me, I’m pretty sure this will be my new favourite build. Very kind offer for the parts. My stash keeps getting bigger and bigger, I think I’ll be good for a bit.?

Cheers, Steve

[Steve H]

As mentioned above, the styrene dust has been flying. Time to “clean up” the body a bit. This turned out to be much tougher decision than I thought it would be. The trim is so beautifully molded and crisp, it was hard to remove it, but all along the plan was to shave most of the trim. Below are just a few, somewhat random before and after shots. I removed the drip edges around the windows, the beautiful side spear ?, and the molding just above the rocker trim. 

one of the MANY things I have learned on this forum is to mask around areas being sanded, filed etc. to help prevent any accidental damage. This lower trim was a real finnicky thing to remove, as you will see in the following photos there is still a bit more to clean it up.

So after that, I felt the need to prime and see where things are at.

 

Getting closer! Still a few touchups on the front and rear flares. As of now, I plan to leave the trim on the rocker panels and put carbon fibre decals on them. I could change my mind on that… The front hood scoops are also close. I will sand them then attach to the hood and blend them in.

The tail light repair has been done, and here you can also see the spoiler I fabbed up. It will be blended to the body once I’m happy with the shape.

A before and after view of the flares…

Yep, time for a mock up !

Next up is blending in the front turn signal covers. I might finally, actually remove the brace at the front , you know, the one that says “remove”! The front bumper and grill area will “evolve”. I know generally how I want it to look, but not 100% decided on “exactly” what it will look like.  I will tackle the front splitter once I get the grill area sorted out. I’ll fine tune the rear spoiler and attach it a little later. 
Getting closer to being ready for some colour on the chassis, and interior parts. On projects like this I tend to hold off on final colour until most of the major surgery is complete, and I know that things are going to fit as planned. I’m still a bit nervous about final assembly on this one. The chassis to body fit is going to be tricky. ?

Thats it for now, more soon. Thanks for having a look!

 

 

 

 

[Mattilacken]

Sweet progress! Looks just right now! Great work on the surgery!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

19 hours ago, Steve H said:

This turned out to be much tougher decision than I thought it would be. The trim is so beautifully molded and crisp, it was hard to remove it

I understand your point of view very well Steve, those Johan bodies were so beautiful and well molded, it's always a hard decision to put the first file to remove some of their superb details.

You have to trust yourself and pursue your vision, I can already see that it will be spectacular and that these mouldings will give way to a spectacular concept as you have accustomed us. ?

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Steve!

Well, the perillous trim removal apparently went very well. Primer pics never lie, and yours are great. Can't wait to see the car completed...

CT

[dino246gt]

I love the look so far, i have a suggestion, bring those hood bulges down, sand them a bit so they sit a bit lower. It's a classy car, make those more discreet, maybe?

I wish I had one to follow your lead though, I just love all the mods you've done, beautiful style!

Only ones I have are the newer ones, with skis, mid 70s, still pretty cool, but not as gorgeous as this style!

Cheers!

[Steve H]

On 3/4/2023 at 5:24 PM, Mattilacken said:

Sweet progress! Looks just right now! Great work on the surgery!

Thanks Anton. The body is definitely a lot smoother, and a bit racier looking. The vision is SLOWLY coming together. 
 

On 3/5/2023 at 8:56 AM, AmericanMuscleFan said:

I understand your point of view very well Steve, those Johan bodies were so beautiful and well molded, it's always a hard decision to put the first file to remove some of their superb details.

You have to trust yourself and pursue your vision, I can already see that it will be spectacular and that these mouldings will give way to a spectacular concept as you have accustomed us. ?

Thanks for the support Francis!  I second guessed my decision for over an hour before actually picking up the file and making the first pass. ?? Once I started it was easy to keep going. Despite the modifications, I think it has still retained its elegant lines. 

On 3/5/2023 at 4:52 PM, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Steve!

Well, the perillous trim removal apparently went very well. Primer pics never lie, and yours are great. Can't wait to see the car completed...

CT

Hello Claude! I was cheeky and didn’t photograph the areas that still needed the most work, but it is starting to look close to finished. 

On 3/6/2023 at 6:57 AM, dino246gt said:

I love the look so far, i have a suggestion, bring those hood bulges down, sand them a bit so they sit a bit lower. It's a classy car, make those more discreet, maybe?

I wish I had one to follow your lead though, I just love all the mods you've done, beautiful style!

Only ones I have are the newer ones, with skis, mid 70s, still pretty cool, but not as gorgeous as this style!

Cheers!

Hi Dennis, these old Caddy’s really are gorgeous cars. Yes, the hood bulges will come down a touch, probably about 0.5 mm, (or 1/2”) at the front, closer to 1mm at the back. They have been slowly shrinking til I get the “right” look to my eye. I want them to give the car some attitude, but not too overpowering. Thank you for your input on that, much appreciated. 
 

Thank you all for taking the time to comment, I always enjoy the input!

Cheers, Steve

[bobthehobbyguy]

The modifications are subtle but add to the look. Looking good.

[SpikeSchumacher]

Coming along very nicely Steve!

[Steve H]

Ok… so it’s been a few minutes since my last update. Haven’t had much “quality” bench time, but I have been nibbling away bit by bit. Just a small update now, but should have more soon.

So, all the “chrome” will be blacked out, or murdered out if you prefer. I don’t want the grill to look like a black blob, so it has always been on my to do list to “open” the grill. I had a plan “A”, “B”, and “C” for the front end depending on how things went. I started by opening the smaller, lower grill first, if that didn’t work out then it would be on to plan “B”. My concern was the thickness of the vertical  ribs of the grill not being thick enough to survive the sanding process. In the first picture you can see that the vertical ribs are set back and thinner that the horizontal ribs. 

Before…

lower grill open…

And all open…

Apart from this taking a ridiculous amount of time, I’m very pleased that plan “A” worked!!  I’m embarrassed to say that this was about 4.5-5 hours of tedious sanding. I could be a bit aggressive to start, but needed to take it slow as I really wanted to use this grill, and not plan B or C. I think this will achieve a “lighter”, look once painted black. On the lower grill, the outside edges have a larger opening in the egg crating. I’m considering maybe putting the turn signals there. Next up will be cleaning up the rest of the mold lines etc., then remove the chrome headlights, and prep for clear lenses. Although opening the grill really wasn’t a big step, it was a relief to finally get that piece done.

The hood required a LOT of sanding and fiddling to get it sitting decent. To be fair, some of the fitment issues were due to the wide body alterations. I have it really close to fitting now. The arrows in the below photo highlight one of the problem areas.

The gap was much too wide there, so I added some thin styrene strips to tighten things up a bit.

Better… but as you can see, it will need a bit more finessing. There were many areas of the hood that needed attention, the other difficult area was under the lip at the leading edge of the hood. When the hood was closed it kept sliding forward and out of alignment. I don’t have photos to show what was happening, but after a bunch of massaging it now closes and stays put, without sliding forward. 
 

That’s it for today, but I’ve been working on the engine compartment and should have another update very soon. I also have the engine now, but haven’t started assembly yet.

As always thanks for having a look.

Cheers, Steve