54 Pontiac Bonneville Special.

[customsrus]

On 9/7/2023 at 11:55 AM, RomanII said:

Do you know someone who has a vac forming machine with a larger surface area?  I think you may have too much buck for that device to handle.

I don’t know anyone that has a larger vac former. The surface on vac comet is about 5 inches. I’ve done several pieces including other windows and have had no issues. I do have a heat gun so I might try to form the canopy with it. Wish me luck. 

[customsrus]

On 9/7/2023 at 9:52 PM, Deathgoblin said:

What about the type of plastic?  I've been watching a series of YouTube videos by PaulRestorer where he rebuilds old die-cast cars, and he uses PLA plastic for the clear parts in a vacuform machine.  PLA is pretty tough stuff.  I dropped a model of the USS Kyushu (Star Trek) that was PLA and it bounced.  

Never tried PLA plastics may have to try it. Thanks for the suggestion. 

[Deathgoblin]

4 hours ago, customsrus said:

Never tried PLA plastics may have to try it. Thanks for the suggestion. 

I'm sorry, it was PET, not PLA.  Was just watching the new one today and caught my mistake.  Sorry for the error.

[customsrus]

54 minutes ago, Deathgoblin said:

I'm sorry, it was PET, not PLA.  Was just watching the new one today and caught my mistake.  Sorry for the error.

Ok. I’ll look it up. Thanks

[customsrus]

Another attempt on making the canopy. This time it came out ok.  The fit is good and I will still have to make the window frame. I ordered some PET plastic should be here in the next few days. If all else fails this one will have to do. 

[customsrus]

Well I looked at this picture of the  model with different wheels and thought hmm. 

Edited October 18, 2023 by customsrus

[customsrus]

I wanted to try to resin cast the body but I’m not 100% sure that I wouldn’t ruin the body. So I made another one using the same AMT 53 corvette. There are some differences between two. The stock one has a straight 8 so I figure this one will probably end up with a V-16 or maybe something more exotic. I will probably start a new post on this one soon. Thanks for looking. 

[chryslerjunkandstuff]

10 hours ago, customsrus said:

I wanted to try to resin cast the body but I’m not 100% sure that I wouldn’t ruin the body. So I made another one using the same AMT 53 corvette. There are some differences between two. The stock one has a straight 8 so I figure this one will probably end up with a V-16 or maybe something more exotic. I will probably start a new post on this one soon. Thanks for looking. 

This is hands down one of the coolest WIP threads on the site, nice job!

I've always loved this, and every other 1950s Dream Car ever made..

I'd be down to acquire a resin copy of the stock version, should a batch of em become available some day..

[customsrus]

1 hour ago, chryslerjunkandstuff said:

This is hands down one of the coolest WIP threads on the site, nice job!

I've always loved this, and every other 1950s Dream Car ever made..

I'd be down to acquire a resin copy of the stock version, should a batch of em become available some day..

Thanks for you comments. I did the Oldsmobile F-88 years ago. I attached a couple of pictures of the real car and my build. Thanks for looking 

[customsrus]

Update. Got the engine almost completed. Unfortunately due to miss calculations the engine does not fit in the engine bay as it is suppose to. So I either have to modify the passenger inner fender to fit or I will have to find smaller carburetors. Thanks for looking. 

[customsrus]

Finally got some the engine and chassis completed. Still need to attach the radiator and hoses and call it done. Thanks for looking. 

[NOBLNG]

Wow, nice work on that engine…and that Oldsmobile is fantasticly cool!?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Cool cool cool. Coming along nicely. Your bubble-top is quite an achievement.

I especially like the Olds. I've always had a build of that in mind fer somewhere down the road.

And just FYI: PET, both clear and green tinted, is widely available as soda bottles, and is often used by modelers for vac-forming or heat-forming windscreens and other clear parts.

Another FYI: to get a really good vacuum-molded part, the buck has to be prefect. Not just kinda, but perfect.

And vac-forming is a black art, frequently requiring much trial and error. I have some commercial clear slot-car bodies that are like cellophane in some areas, plenty thick in others.

One more FYI: canopies for experimental aircraft (like gliders) are usually blow-molded, as suggested above, which helps to deal with thickness irregularities resulting in optical distortion. Several real-car custom builders have had to resort to blow-molding their bubbletops too.

As an aside, one of the top-end suppliers of aircraft canopies is rumored to have to throw out 4 for every good one they get...which partially explains prices that can be daunting.  

Edited November 21, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[customsrus]

13 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Wow, nice work on that engine…and that Oldsmobile is fantasticly cool!?

Thanks. Oldsmobile is not 100% accurate but I did the best I could. 

[customsrus]

12 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Cool cool cool. Coming along nicely. Your bubble-top is quite an achievement.

I especially like the Olds. I've always had a build of that in mind fer somewhere down the road.

And just FYI: PET, both clear and green tinted, is widely available as soda bottles, and is often used by modelers for vac-forming or heat-forming windscreens and other clear parts.

Another FYI: to get a really good vacuum-molded part, the buck has to be prefect. Not just kinda, but perfect.

And vac-forming is a black art, frequently requiring much trial and error. I have some commercial clear slot-car bodies that are like cellophane in some areas, plenty thick in others.

One more FYI: canopies for experimental aircraft (like gliders) are usually blow-molded, as suggested above, which helps to deal with thickness irregularities resulting in optical distortion. Several real-car custom builders have had to resort to blow-molding their bubbletops too.

As an aside, one of the top-end suppliers of aircraft canopies is rumored to have to throw out 4 for every good one they get...which partially explains prices that can be daunting.  

Thanks Ace for the comments. I get a lot of inspiration from your builds. I have to make another buck for the canopy, previous one failed miserably. There is definitely a learning curve to vacuum forming. Eventually I might get it right. What type of material would you suggest on the buck. The buck I had was made of wood with a bondo thin coat applied to get it smooth. 

[Zippi]

This 54 Pontiac is really starting to take shape.  Lots of really nice work going on.   

[customsrus]

1 hour ago, Zippi said:

This 54 Pontiac is really starting to take shape.  Lots of really nice work going on.   

Thanks. I appreciate the comments. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

10 hours ago, customsrus said:

...The buck I had was made of wood with a bondo thin coat applied to get it smooth. 

Wood should be perfectly adequate, and the shape looks great. I'd suggest some relatively hard surface coat, like epoxy or possibly a catalyzed urethane primer, sanded to at least a 1500-grit finish, and polished. The better the surface is, the better your part will be.

You want to avoid thin spots where you can see the substrate through the surface coat if at all possible. If the wood isn't very hard and close-grained, you might get some vacuum-bleed through a thin spot, leading to local distortion, waviness, or a dull spot.

Edited November 22, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[TarheelRick]

This is definitely award winning work. As Ace said, I have kept pictures of the Oldsmobile with the thought in mind of attempting to build it; your build is amazing.  As to the Pontiac this is the first time I have ever seen it. Wish I could offer some suggestions to solving the problem with the canopy, but I have never tried that.  Keep at it and you will find a solution.  This build must be completed, it is too beautiful and too much work to put back into a box.

[Supernurd]

That is a tantalizing project!!

[doorsovdoon]

That's some serious scratch building! Love seeing projects like this. Very nice work.

[slusher]

fantastic work on a unique car!

[ewetwo]

That is awesome. Love it.