The "waste-not-want-not" Starliner project

[customline]

After having bought a nice '60 Starliner kit only to steal the chassis and firewall, etc. in order to build a decent model of a '63 Galaxie lightweight, I fell in love with the awesome body style of the '60. Being a cheapskate and somewhat thick-headed, I decided to use the discarded '63 chassis/floor pan under the gorgeous '60 fastback Starliner. This necessarily includes the '63 firewall which ain't too bad, really, but the chassis is pure dog poop. 

I started hacking away on the chassis and you could describe my actions as "going off half-cocked". I lengthened the chassis at the firewall.? - not sure why but I decided to leave it that way. It seems to work except the rear axle thingie was too far back. I suppose I could have just drilled holes a bit forward (I did ?) but I knew I wouldn't be happy with that (I wasn't ?).  It was time to get serious and force my will upon this turd so I spent several hours today beating that P.O.S. into a real....um.....well, you decide.

I attacked the blobular rear end with my sprue cutter. When the violence subsided, I closed the holes with some .015.  I made quite a mess so I cleaned it up a little with my trusty Micro and patched in the somewhat vague frame over the axle area. I could not come up with a proper 9" Ford axle but was able to locate this nice Dana unit from the Revell '68 Dart GT.

I replaced the cross member that I hacked out earlier and patched in the tail pipes (it ain't pretty but it's way better than what was there ?.

 

The length of the springs is perfect but the axle locating pins are a bit off. On the axle housing, the spring pads are too far in-board also. Some minor evergreen work and it should fit nicely.

I won't go into the wheel selection process but I will say that I'm grateful for the '41 Plymouth kits lying around here.  I think I have the rear end located to my satisfaction now. Thanks for reading all this, you must be very sorry that you didn't just look at the pictures ? 

?

I'll bet you're wondering what this is all about ☝️

Edited July 6, 2024 by customline
Fixed goofs

[TNT]

From the 1st pic to the last is abig difference. Looks good.

[customline]

This is how I dealt with the '63's big FE with the breezeway in the side of the block.  This is the one thing I absolutely will not tolerate. I can turn my head at the molded-in exhaust or even the rear end growing out of the floor pan but a gaping hole in the egine is like some creep whistling at your 13 year old daughter.

I have the kit engine from the Starliner because I used the 427 from the Fairlane kit for my lightweight. I figured I would save the 352 for a '53 Victoria build. A little work on the '63's engine and it will be whole ?.  Thanks for coming back!

 

no more wind whistling through the engine. Just a little filler now and done. 

[NOBLNG]

5 hours ago, customline said:

Nice improvements Jim.? Sometimes these older kits need to be beaten and tortured into submission. Being all about correctness the way you are Jim….is that an accurate self portrait??

[bobss396]

I patch the oil pans too. I have a glue bomb '62 Ford... another BACK IN THE BOX special I did this with. I lowered it all around and used .062" aluminum tubing stubs for the front axles.

I'm on the fence between the kit 352 and a 427 from the '65 Ford kit. I also have a couple of big blocks from VCG Resins to consider.

[LennyB]

So why is it the ‘41 Plymouth keeps spilling over into other builds. I think we need to banish that kit for all the anxiety it creates?

 

Anywho, I can appreciate not letting anything going to waste.  Nice start on salvaging the ‘63 chassis.?

[FoMoCo66]

I swear if those old kits were real and you tried to fill it with oil this would happen. ?

Great job on that rear end man!

[David G.]

That's some nice work so far Jim. I'm eager to see how this one turns out.

David G.

[customline]

2 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Nice improvements Jim.? Sometimes these older kits need to be beaten and tortured into submission. Being all about correctness the way you are Jim….is that an accurate self portrait??

Yes it is, Greg, right down to the pointey skull ?....I added the cleft chin for effect, though, that's pure fiction.

1 hour ago, bobss396 said:

I patch the oil pans too. I have a glue bomb '62 Ford... another BACK IN THE BOX special I did this with. I lowered it all around and used .062" aluminum tubing stubs for the front axles.

I'm on the fence between the kit 352 and a 427 from the '65 Ford kit. I also have a couple of big blocks from VCG Resins to consider.

I kept that 352 from the '60, like I said, for a '53 build. There was a car I wanted back around 1969 that my wise father said no to. It was a '53 or '54 Ford convertible that had an FE transplanted. I just love that body style. Dad was more concerned about the mechanical aspects and my ability to behave properly with it. It was a very cool car. ?.

1 hour ago, LennyB said:

So why is it the ‘41 Plymouth keeps spilling over into other builds. I think we need to banish that kit for all the anxiety it creates?

 

Anywho, I can appreciate not letting anything going to waste.  Nice start on salvaging the ‘63 chassis.?

The ubiquitous '41 Plymouth kit has become, for me at least, an icon of the loved and, at the same time, hated. It's a red-headed step-child. The yellow "Coke" version is the worst of them and I have a few.  I see them now only as a source of parts for more important endeavors like saving the Starliner, which will ride on a set of inner wheels from one of those horrid kits.

Thanks for your encouragement on the WNWN Starliner, Len. ?

31 minutes ago, David G. said:

That's some nice work so far Jim. I'm eager to see how this one turns out.

David G.

You and me both, David. I'm pleased that you used the word "eager" rather than "anxious". Thanks for your praise ?

52 minutes ago, FoMoCo66 said:

I swear if those old kits were real and you tried to fill it with oil this would happen. ?

Great job on that rear end man!

I actually enjoyed the heck out of it, Elliot! It's more intense than building "by the numbers" and I get to "fly by the seat of my pants" ( gotta be careful these days, though ?).  I kinda didn't want to use that Dana but I had been saving it for a while and, well, it was needed. The original plan was to use the '63's FE motor but now....I dunno. What would explain the rear end swap? The 9" would have been fine under any circumstances.  Why do I worry about such things? ? I need a good back-story.

Edit: Sorry about your wife's Hyundai ? 

Edited July 6, 2024 by customline

[FoMoCo66]

43 minutes ago, customline said:

Edit: Sorry about your wife's Hyundai ? 

Not mine, Thank God! That would have been expensive.?

[customline]

43 minutes ago, FoMoCo66 said:

Not mine, Thank God! That would have been expensive.?

Yup. Stay away from Jiffy Lube ?

[customline]

A fairly productive day for me. I was able to secure the rear axle housing to the suspension and I fabricated a pair of shock absorbers to give the dog-poop chassis some detail.  Satisfied with that, I moved on to the radiator support wall using some .020 sheet and .060 strips.  I improved on the non-existent side motor mounts (by creating them) and fiddled with various dysfunctional items that are not worth mentioning. So far everything seems to be working.  I'm not happy with the wheel/tire combo but it will do until I can find better. Thanks for following ??

Edited July 7, 2024 by customline

[NOBLNG]

2 hours ago, customline said:

A fairly productive day for me. I was able to secure the rear axle housing to the suspension and I fabricated a pair of shock absorbers to give the dog-poop chassis some detail.  Satisfied with that, I moved on to the radiator support wall using some .020 sheet and .060 strips.  I improved on the non-existent side motor mounts (by creating them) and fiddled with various dysfunctional items that are not worth mentioning. So far everything seems to be working.  I'm not happy with the wheel/tire combo but it will do until I can find better. Thanks for following ??

 

 

 

Wow, those are some funky looking headers.?

[bobss396]

Nice progress. I had used that 352 in a '49 Mercury and it detailed up well. FYI the '60 Ford was the widest car body ever produced. Of all time, who knows. But they were massive cars.

One of my friends, the family had one, a 2 door sedan with the 6 and 2-speed automatic... and some serious rot issues.

[David G.]

Excellent progress on this one Jim! You seem to have a talent for this kind of kit-bash fabrication.

David G.

[customline]

7 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Wow, those are some funky looking headers.?

What? ?

29 minutes ago, bobss396 said:

Nice progress. I had used that 352 in a '49 Mercury and it detailed up well. FYI the '60 Ford was the widest car body ever produced. Of all time, who knows. But they were massive cars.

One of my friends, the family had one, a 2 door sedan with the 6 and 2-speed automatic... and some serious rot issues.

 Greg, that's the kit engine from the '63, as is.  It'll be fine ?...the distributor? that's funky! The way the heads fit, the compression ratio is 00:1 ?

Bob, I did know that the '60 was actually over some legal limit for a passenger car width but I can't quote the source. You would think the big GM cars were likewise, though. I had a '60 Olds 88 that was quite a driveway hog. As far as rot goes, I think the '58 was the big winner. Up north, the top of the front fenders, at the headlights, were perforated by Memorial Day, 1962. When you say rot, that's the one that pops up in my head. The '57 was no prize, either. The inner fenders didn't protect that area from the splashing of salty slush during the winter. Death, taxes, and rusted out Fords.

[customline]

42 minutes ago, David G. said:

Excellent progress on this one Jim! You seem to have a talent for this kind of kit-bash fabrication.

David G.

Thanks, Dave.  I don't know about actual talent, but I do enjoy scratch-building and, thanks to AMT, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. It makes quite a mess and I need to vacuum frequently. ?

[NOBLNG]

38 minutes ago, customline said:

Thanks, Dave.  I don't know about actual talent, but I do enjoy scratch-building and, thanks to AMT, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. It makes quite a mess and I need to vacuum frequently. ?

I fitted my central vacuums upholstery brush with a perforated screen so I don’t suck up any parts. I don’t want to have to go digging through the vac bag…again.?

[customline]

1 hour ago, NOBLNG said:

I fitted my central vacuums upholstery brush with a perforated screen so I don’t suck up any parts. I don’t want to have to go digging through the vac bag…again.?

Sounds like a handy way to pick up the tiny parts you drop. I'm still using a long stick with a ball of masking tape on the end. Crude but effective ?.  It's a neat idea, though, I should rig something like that to clean my work surface. Hmmmmm.....?...thanks, Greg!

[customline]

A very a quick update for you night owls ? ....there's been a change.  The '63 mill is now out. I found, while rummaging through some boxes, a completed FE that appears to be a 390 and its ready to go. I wish I could recall what it was for and why I didn't use it but it's perfect for a street custom like this. Chrome generator and fan, three deuces, and I had to use the "funky headers" from the '63.  it has a genuine Fram oil filter!  I had to turn the oil pan around and add a long tail shaft that resembles a leg off a table from my granddaughter's doll furniture. I got the wheel backs and the ?? chassis painted. If it's not still sticky (the paint) tomorrow, I will paint the exhaust system, gas tank and shocks. The lower A-Frames, I think, are from some Revell kit, maybe the '59 Impala? I dunno, but the power steering looks pretty much like Ford of the era. I suppose I've gotta hang a pump now. ?. 

good fit ?

[bobss396]

I like how this is going, nice progress.

The 1958 Ford was also quite the rust bucket, this is likely why few are around. My neighbor had one, a white and red 4 door, man did that go south real quick. It was really nice when they got it and the rot was dummied up... they had no clue.

[David G.]

That's a nice little engine, it suits the car well.

David G.

[Maindrian Pace]

I love it, as I too am a thick-headed cheapskate! And to more or less the same extreme. Combining spare parts into something presentable is a favorite thing for me, and when this is done, it will present as nicely as it would with the original full-boogie chassis - if not better.

[redscampi]

Looking great! I love to see the creativeness on this board. Great chassis work.

[bobss396]

I have a '62 Ford glue bomb I did a lot of work on, I used the supplied chassis. It looks pretty good and is just short of foil and final assembly.

I'm on the fence with the final engine choice. I got the kit 390 looking decent, also built up the '65 Ford 427. It won't go to waste. I have a VCG Resins stock 352 as well. But for now... BACK IN THE BOX....