ModelcarJR Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 I started this one this afternoon and started looking at photos on the internet of these Suburbans. I noticed a few that were dropped and looked pretty good. So whilethe primer was drying I began looking at the chassis and devising a way to drop this bus...I mean truck or maybe SUV. So I mounted the axle high on the kingpin by cutting it off and pinning it about 1/8" higher. Then I cut the rear supporting posts for the rear suspension by the same 1/8". That would be about a 3"drop in scale. I want to put some big wheels on this truck so I will have to cut up the interior floor and find some wider and taller wheel wells to graft on. Thanks for looking! 😎 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Nice start John, the stance looks about right in my eyes.👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 Thanks, Greg! I appreciate your comment! I had a good day today, starting this morning over coffee. I found an adequate 32 Ford fender unit in the parts box that has now lost its rear fender wells. I cut the interior platform, glued in the wheel wells, trimmed them with plastic strip. I also traced the new wheel wells onto the interior panels and then cut them to fit. Finally, after about 3 hours and multiple cups of coffee I had a platform to paint with new wheel wells and I didn't need any putty. The right side is a little taller than the left as I did a better cut on the second one but youyt won't be able to tell once everything is together. I then painted the interior pieces with Krylon Matte Sand Pebble better described as Tan or Beige. Next, I painted the interior body and let it dry. Then, just before lunch I taped off the body and painted the exterior with Tamiya Aluminum for a base coat. After it had dried I then painted the color coat, Metallic Orange or as I like to call it Sierra Gold. Sierra Gold was a 1957 Chevy color and it sounds so much more nostalgic. Tomorrow, I add the color for the window area, Ivory, and then add another coat of clear. I think the combination will look good for 1966. Photos are below. Thanks for looking! 😎 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopherMcGinnis Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I've had this one on the brain for some time now. I used a Viper front suspension to get the front down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobss396 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I have to get one of these bad boys. I used to have a 1:1 1965 C30 panel truck, my dad had a 1969 C10 panel truck he used for his furniture business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Great color on the window version. Looks really nice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 Thanks, Topher, Bob and Charles. I appreciate your comments! Painted the Ivory today and all the other parts. I've been toying with the wheels for this bus for a few hours. I have a lot of these big wheels but generally don't use them. I also have to pick ones that will fit the axles so I don't have to do too much more work to adapt the wheels to the axles. I had it narrowed down to two different sets. One set that were all the same size and not too large and another larger set of big and littles. I think I am going with the big and littles as the rear wheel fills the wheel well better. Let me know what you think! Thanks for looking! 😎 Smaller wheels Big and Littles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulf Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 Smaller Nice paintjob and colours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 Nice build dude. I'm diggin the colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 I would go with the big & little wheel and tire setup. This would also help with the stance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 Nice paint, John, you have your Chevy looking good, stance , Big and littles… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted February 11 Author Share Posted February 11 (edited) Thanks, Ulf, Bob, David, and Carl! I appreciate your comments! I may have found some other wheels but I haven't tried them yet. The big and littles came from a 1/24th scale Monogram Mustang so they might be a little too big. Don't know yet. I took a day off on Thursday and got back to this one yesterday. Nothing to exciting, finished the chassis and had to cut the exhaust pipe and shortened the shocks. I also installed the windows. Today, I took a look at the headlight/grill area. I wanted to recess the whole thing so that it wasn't sticking out and looking a bit bug-eyed. So I started hacking up the kit piece and ruined it. Next, I had another set up started, when I dropped a headlight piece on the floor. I looked for it at least an hour and even had my wife look for it but it is not to be found. So finally, I cut off the square leadlight buckets from a 1980 Plymouth Volare (an old kit that I may or may not ever build). So I found an old tube grill in my parts box and added that for a grill. Now its recessed and even though the headlight buckets do not have lenses, its the best I can do at this time. Maybe better luck tomorrow! Thanks for looking! 😎 Edited February 11 by ModelcarJR correct text Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 Thats grille is looking pretty good there John. Man oh man, I know what you mean about dropping parts. Nice progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 Interesting looking grill & headlight setup. Just an idea, I have found that the grills from any of the different model companies offering models of trucks from this era will interchange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 Thanks, Bob and David! I appreciate your comments! I changed my mind again on the grill and went back to the original kit piece and thinned it down and then left the square headlights. I like this better as it fills up the grill area better, its recessed, and has the Chevrolet brand included. I went with the big and littles for tires and wheels and left the 283 engine kit engine. I would have liked to substitute a big Chevy engine but I don't have one without kit bashing another kit. No wiring just box stock. So the only customizations are the tires and wheels, ride height and grill/headlights. I did add the black window trim and first used paint on the left side and then had the idea to use black masking tape that I cut for the right side. I like that better so I went back and added some tape on the left side. I used tape on the windshield but I had to use paint on the rear as it didn't look good with tape. I put the interior together and kept it pretty basic. So in the end I guess I have a custom looking family bus! Just a few more pieces and this one will be done! Thanks for looking! 😎 Tape Painted 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobss396 Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 That is quite sharp! I worked at a remote facility from 1981 to 1986, a true R&D plant. Lots of black-box work and the place was very secure. It had a lot of property considering how small the buildings were, somewhere around 90 acres. Buildings and Grounds had a green 1964 4WD Suburban they used strictly on the property, it was never registered and never had a license plate or sticker on the windshield. AND it was in excellent shape outside of a few nicks and scratches. Every night, it was garaged. The facility was sold around 1991, I tried to find out where the truck was going, but never found out what happened to it. It had the straight-six with the HD 4-speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelcarJR Posted February 15 Author Share Posted February 15 Thanks, Bob! I appreciate your comment! This one is done. I left off the side badges, the long truck mirrors, and the spare tire rack. I added a Chevy car mirror from the parts box (only 1 left). Everything went together well, no problems. So now I have a low-rider touring bus! Thanks for looking! 😎 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 That turned out Super nice. Great build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobss396 Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 I would like to replicate my '65 C30 panel truck. I think Flintstone makes the long body for one. Mine was in great shape with the 4-speed and 6, which got swapped for a 283 I had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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