CabDriver Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 I’m not much of a replica-stock kinda builder, although I DO have some of those in my to-build list…so I would likely have passed the AMT retooling of the 54 Cutlass by, if it weren’t for this intriguing mild-custom treatment they put on the box: That, and the fact I REALLY wanted the engine for a future hot rod project meant I ended up picking one up…and it’s been front and center in my brain ever since. There’s something I like about that 60s custom treatment to the front end, plus I’ve never built a curbside contest model so this now engineless kit seemed like it would be a fun quickie build… That said, I’m not sure if my conscience will allow me to build this thing without an engine so I might put SOMETHING under the hood but I’m not sure what just yet… Quick mockup of the kit, out of box, with the custom front end: And a rear view: The body is really well done, nice and crisp with only a couple of flaws that will need any attention. I like the custom wheels too (are they based on a real wheel, anyone?)… …but I’ve been enjoying learning about early lowriders lately and I think I’d like some Cragars on there. Found a file on Cults3d and printed those (plus some nice finned drum brakes, whilst I was at it… I wonder why Oldsmobile developed their own line of engines when the Small Block Chevy existed and they were (I think?) owned by GM at this point in history? Random thought…anyhoo… If this wasn’t going to be a curbside deal I’d be figuring out how to get that cool 60s lowrider dropped-to-the-ground look by maybe channeling it and adding aircraft hydraulics and doing a bunch of scratchbuilding…for a full detail build the all-in-one frame wouldn’t have made it too far without being majorly revised. Luckily, I can cheat a LITTLE here, but I still want this thing to be somewhat feasible in the real world… The frame in question: The front suspension, mufflers and rear axle would be the main hurdles in getting this thing sitting on its frame, plus those inner wheel arches. On a real build I could have the front and rear ends drop as low as suspension movement would allow, free up space inside the fenders to allow wheel clearance and mess with the exhaust to get that out of the way, and then reestablish usable ride-height with the surplus aircraft hydraulics that were popular in the mid-60s custom scene. Luckily for me tho, I can get away with some cutting and grinding for now to get this thing sitting how I want… Mock-up on the kit wheels whilst the Cragars are being cleaned and cured: And with the Cragars: I think I like them! Just getting started with this one this afternoon, but I’ve got some fun ideas I want to incorporate into this one…more soon, soon as I’ve done more! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 I'm liking your ideas on this so far. Like you, that front 60's styling caught my attention. I have this and the hardtop version. I'll follow along and see where this goes. Later- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keef Posted December 4, 2023 Share Posted December 4, 2023 After some quick test fitting , the chassis from the AMT pro street 67 Chevelle fits fairly well. Again this was a quick test fit but it appeared the wheelbase lined up pretty well. So maybe the stock 67 Chevelle kit from AMT would fit as well and be a lot better detail. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 6 hours ago, Keef said: After some quick test fitting , the chassis from the AMT pro street 67 Chevelle fits fairly well. Again this was a quick test fit but it appeared the wheelbase lined up pretty well. So maybe the stock 67 Chevelle kit from AMT would fit as well and be a lot better detail. I have this Kit pick it up cheap on clearance at HL and I have been thinking about a chassis swap. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Metallic Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 On 12/3/2023 at 10:08 PM, CabDriver said: I’m not much of a replica-stock kinda builder, although I DO have some of those in my to-build list…so I would likely have passed the AMT retooling of the 54 Cutlass by, if it weren’t for this intriguing mild-custom treatment they put on the box: The body is really well done, nice and crisp with only a couple of flaws that will need any attention. I like the custom wheels too (are they based on a real wheel, anyone?)… The wheels are based on real ones. The info is located somewhere within the kit review thread on this kit. But i recollect that it was some sort of sport or racing car wheel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keef Posted December 8, 2023 Share Posted December 8, 2023 On 12/5/2023 at 12:50 AM, slusher said: I have this Kit pick it up cheap on clearance at HL and I have been thinking about a chassis swap. Thanks! Pics now 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ybsluos Posted December 8, 2023 Share Posted December 8, 2023 Jim you are doing really nice work on this. Looking forward to the final product! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ybsluos Posted December 8, 2023 Share Posted December 8, 2023 3 hours ago, Keef said: Pics now Pro Street baby! That does fit nicely Keith. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted December 9, 2023 Author Share Posted December 9, 2023 Thanks for the comments everyone - and to @Keef for the info on the alternate frame for this thing. Stored that in the ol’ memory bank for future reference… Made a little progress this week…got the body assembled and the panel lines scored as deep as I dared… This kit had some depressions on the front fenders and trunk lid that needed a little putty, plus a little to get the fit on the roll-pans nice: A little sanding later and it’s pretty straight… Prime(r) time! A few little fixes needed, but nothing TOO major…next up, this morning’s project was laying down a nice coarse flake - Wicked Colors aluminum, in this case: Looks nice a nice starting point for some custom-mixed candy: Also messing with the interior some, this last couple of days. Drilled out the dash for switches and some photoetch, and did some research - discovered the kit seats are missing a little detail so took the opportunity to start on them… Kit seats: 1:1 seats: Added that missing chrome strip, seeing as this is a droptop and it’ll be noticeable, plus that seatbelt mechanism….the seatbelt spool won’t be super obvious when the car’s together but I had room to add it so here it is… I did some sanding on the seats themselves to soften up the sharp edges a little and I think they look better…plenty more to do on the interior though before paint. Couldn’t go too nuts though, I don’t want to ruin that nice engraved pattern and open a can of worms redoing that… Thanks for looking - hoping to get the paintjob finished up tonight on the body…more soon, soon as I’ve done more! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted December 10, 2023 Share Posted December 10, 2023 Cool to see you building a 60’s custom Jim. I have a feeling that the paint on this will be spectacular when completed. I always love watching how you mask and layer your paintwork. Cheers, Steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 On 12/10/2023 at 10:44 AM, Steve H said: Cool to see you building a 60’s custom Jim. I have a feeling that the paint on this will be spectacular when completed. I always love watching how you mask and layer your paintwork. Cheers, Steve Thanks Steve - I enjoy your work too! Not going for a super complex paintjob on this one…very mild compared to some of the masking nightmares I put myself through 🤪 So, this is where we had left things after the weekend: Next job I wanted to tackle was a real simple pinstripe to accentuate those long lines and the distinctive ‘rounded rectangle’ shape that originates on the front fender. Dipped a fine brush in some Vallejo and freehand-striped a line on both sides: Not really, I suck at pinstriping…I cheated and masked it 🤪 Needs a couple of little touch ups to get it perfect, but cleanup is really easy with Vallejo acrylics: Now I’m almost ready to start laying clear down, I started work on the interior tub - removed the molded-in armrests, printed some window handles and made a more in-scale shifter: There’s a prominent piece of chrome trim that runs horizontally through the doors on these cars in 1:1, and I didn’t really want to try and foil it - the engraving is pretty soft on this interior tub. Decided to scribe a channel so I can drop some silver wire in there instead: Should work pretty well! Just a mini update - thanks for looking! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modlbldr Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 (edited) Beautiful work so far. You had me going on pulling that pinstripe. I zoomed in to check it out and thought "Man, that took some patience and skill." Then I scrolled down to the next picture....."You a funny guy!" Lol Great work either way. Looking forward to more. Later- Edited December 17, 2023 by Modlbldr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamboat Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 Looking awesome. Your work is amazing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted December 17, 2023 Author Share Posted December 17, 2023 Thanks fellas! A little more work on this the past few days… Got the interior started…shot some primer, then Tamiya acrylic tan, followed by some shading with some lighter and darker Vallejo colors to add a little depth: Then, sealed those layers in with some Createx matte clear, and added some pastels - was going for a kinda mottled satin leathery-kinda look: Looks something like this, all together: Really wanted to do something other than just plain old black - I like how this looks I think… Next up, a complimentary carpet color…couldn’t decide between a light tan and copper: Ended up going with ‘Teddy Bear Tan’ - the lighter shade was my first instinct, so I went with it… Needs some cleanup but nothing too major… I’ll blast it (gently) with some air once the glue is good and dried and then hit it with a mist of hairspray to lock it in place nicely… Meanwhile, started playing the some of the stuff that will attach to the body - I needed to dark-out the recessed areas of the grille and leave the chrome, so I masked the headlamps with some Silly Putty: Shot the whole thing black: And buffed back through the black acrylic to reveal the chrome where I wanted it: Still plenty to do on this - next major project will be adding the last couple of coats of clear and then polishing out the body - here it is sheltering from dust in my booth with another current project: And that’s the state of play right now - thanks for looking…more soon! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 This is coming along nicely Jim!👍 I like the leather look you achieved on the seats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ybsluos Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 Coming along nicely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted December 24, 2023 Author Share Posted December 24, 2023 Thanks fellas! A little more progress this last week… Gave the headlamps a little blue tint: Added some photoetch to the kit steering wheel rim: Added the chrome trim to the door cards, and decalled the dash: Polished out the body, first with sanding sponges and then Tamiya polishing compounds: Still needs a final buff and some wax, but handled the foil first, plus a little detail painting: Next up, get that distinctive grill in place… And this evening’s project was polishing out the glass and getting some Canopy Cement on there so it can set up overnight: Oh, and I shot some chrome but that needs to set up for a couple of days before I can mess with it more… Thanks for looking - happy holidays y’all! More soon! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted December 24, 2023 Share Posted December 24, 2023 I like the looks of this one and I really like the 67 Chevelle chassis being use. Those wheels came out nice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted December 24, 2023 Share Posted December 24, 2023 The body color and finish look great. Like how you did the interior color and finish. The custom mods to the grill and side trim are tastefully done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted December 27, 2023 Author Share Posted December 27, 2023 Thanks fellas! Got a little time to wrap this one up this past weekend… Assembled the interior and got it ready to mate to the body: Painted the brake drums pearl white (a somewhat popular trend in the 60s/early 70s, apparently), assembled the wheels and got this thing on it’s feet: Added a parts-box mirror: I polished a photoetched doodad because it didn’t have a ‘glass’: And added an antenna, with color-coded antenna ball: And that’s about a wrap on this one…not a super complex build - just something I wanted to have on my shelf! Some finished pics below: Thanks for looking! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kah puts Posted December 27, 2023 Share Posted December 27, 2023 Gorgeous, thanks for sharing 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBEAUMONTGURU Posted December 27, 2023 Share Posted December 27, 2023 excellent work! love the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keef Posted December 27, 2023 Share Posted December 27, 2023 Awesome job!! Love that interior! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cifenet Posted December 27, 2023 Share Posted December 27, 2023 Nicely done! I like the slammed look here. Everything is top notch, great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can-Con Posted December 27, 2023 Share Posted December 27, 2023 Very sharp Jim. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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