‘53 Studebaker

[Koellefornia Kid]

  On 1/11/2024 at 4:44 PM, espo said:

If chopping the top is even a consideration, now would be the time since it looks like you're shortening the body and removing material from the roof. Since chopping the top usually requires adding material to lengthen the roof now would be the time to see how little would need to be removed from the roof.

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And I thought I had a plan... ? I will have to think it over this night... Either way, the roof will have to be cut in half. Aaaah, decisions, decisions...

[Koellefornia Kid]

  On 1/13/2024 at 12:49 AM, milo1303s said:

You say Dremel to cut that  what are you cutting with and at what speed ?

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Actually, it‘s a Proxxon motor tool

but it‘ basically the same as a Dremel. When cutting, I use this little circular saw

at speed stage 2 or 3. Sorry, I don‘t have clue what rpm that is but  it cuts through styrene like a hot knife through butter...

[Koellefornia Kid]

I decided to stick to my original plan and to shorten the body first before I chop the top. I cut the body in half and removed the section between the rear door lines and the rear roof pillar...

...and glued it together again:

Next step will be to shorten the rear window and to move the rear wheel wells forward, so more cuts will happen here:

[milo1303s]

Thanks for the info my dremel has the same settings and I actually have a cutting wheel like that ! Never tried it thought it would make a mess lol !!!

[slusher]

A lot of work to chop a top..

[Koellefornia Kid]

Now that I took off some material from behind the rear pillar...

...I still think it is not short enough, yet. I engraved new, curved door lines and again I marked the area where I want remove material from between the doors and the rear wheel wells  and to shorten the trunk a little bit:

Edited January 18, 2024 by Koellefornia Kid

[David G.]

Dang, that's one serious Frankenstein job! ?

I can't wait to watch you pull it all together.

David G.

[NOBLNG]

Some nice slicing and dicing going on here!? Not that you need any advice from me…but I think that door line would look better straight (not curved), to match the angle of the back of the cove and front edge of the rear wheel opening. I’ll follow along ‘cause I love this kinda stuff!?

Edited January 20, 2024 by NOBLNG

[Koellefornia Kid]

Once again my saw teared the Stude apart:

After glueing it back together again...

...I made some rough putty work to see if the plan is still working:

Lowering the roof line will be up next...

 

[Kah puts]

Totally cool ?

[Koellefornia Kid]

I compared my previous body work with the Stanford rendering and realised that it won‘t meet exactly the proportions Steve Stanford had drawn. I guess I should have taken out some material from the door and trunk areas but I will continue to try to build a nice looking sport coupe with a more daily use suitability and decided to perform the top chop a little bit less aggressive. First I lowered the rear section of the roof:

And continued with the front:

The resulting gap was filled with a piece I cut from the middle of the roof earlier:

Now the real putty and sanding orgy can begin...

[Rattlecan Dan]

Some heavy construction going on here. Good luck with the next steps.

[David G.]

You have some complex modifications going on here. I'm impressed.

David G.

[David G.]

You have some complex modifications going on here. I'm impressed.

David G.

[slusher]

Awesome work Oliver!

[Steve H]

Fill, sand, prime, repeat… fill, sand, prime, repeat…. ? Wow, that’s a lot of slicing and dicing! It’s definitely starting to take shape Oliver. Nice work.

Steve

[Koellefornia Kid]

Sorry for the slow progress, guys. Bench time is getting rare these days. ?

After some dusty hours of sanding, "Stoo Short" is taking shape slowly:

I lost a lot of the drip rail details during sanding, so I made new rails from small diameter Evergreen rod:

Under the hood I scratch built new inner fender arcs:

And I also frenched the headlights:

I‘m pretty sure I will have to do some touch ups here and there, a coat of primer will tell. But first I want to take care of the  interior tub and the chassis plate...

So long...

[Moparman18064]

Wow, this came a long way since I was sleeping. Keep it coming, watching

[Steve H]

Stoo short is a good name, I was thinking Frankenstude. It’s really starting to take shape Oliver. Are you tired of sanding yet?

[slusher]

Looking good buddy, looking forward too more!

[David G.]

It's starting to look like a car instead of a puzzle! 

Excellent work!

David G.

[Koellefornia Kid]

Health issues are keeping me away from the work bench but I got a few things done. The chassis plate...

...has been shortened and I scratch built rear wheel tubs:

The interior tub...

has been shortened, too:

...featuring scratch built wheel tubs, too. Scale Production seats...

...steering wheel and floor shifter from the parts box and a NOS bottle from SP.

Also decided to use this engine:

which came from the amt 1972 Corvette Street Machine kit

[slusher]

That’s a nice engine glad to see your making progress!

[FoMoCo66]

Awesome. That's a lot of plastic surgery going on there.

[Slotto]

Fantastic body work!