Ken Willaman Challenger

[John B.]

Ken Willaman (aka FloridaBoy) was one of the nicest people that I ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was a very accomplished car model builder who made his mark during the Sixties, He never had a bad thing to say about anyone or anything. He would always compliment  another fellow modeler's work regardless of workmanship. 

Sadly, Ken passed away almost eight years ago and I was given some of his models, built and unbuilt. One of them is a 1970 Challenger convertible that I received with a broken windshield frame. I repaired the windshield frame and put it with my other completions. When I saw that one of the Atlanta Car Model Enthusiasts (ACME) classes for the 2025 show is 100 Years of Mopar, I could think of no better way to say "Thank You" to Ken than to completely rebuild his Challenger for the show. I wanted to attend last year, but caring for a sick family member took precedence. 

I'm going to do my best to do Ken justice with this build. He would want me to run with it and have fun with it and that is exactly what I intend to do in the coming months. Thanks for looking and stay tuned!

[Rescued customs]

59 minutes ago, John B. said:

Ken Willaman (aka FloridaBoy) was one of the nicest people that I ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was a very accomplished car model builder who made his mark during the Sixties, He never had a bad thing to say about anyone or anything. He would always compliment  another fellow modeler's work regardless of workmanship. 

Sadly, Ken passed away almost eight years ago and I was given some of his models, built and unbuilt. One of them is a 1970 Challenger convertible that I received with a broken windshield frame. I repaired the windshield frame and put it with my other completions. When I saw that one of the Atlanta Car Model Enthusiasts (ACME) classes for the 2025 show is 100 Years of Mopar, I could think of no better way to say "Thank You" to Ken than to completely rebuild his Challenger for the show. I wanted to attend last year, but caring for a sick family member took precedence. 

I'm going to do my best to do Ken justice with this build. He would want me to run with it and have fun with it and that is exactly what I intend to do in the coming months. Thanks for looking and stay tuned!

Awesome… when is this show sir I have 5 mopars I’m building atm 

[John B.]

It's going to be on October 25 - if you look in the Contest section of this website, look for the ACME  Southern Nationals; they are a First Class club with a nationally renowned NNL. 

[John B.]

Everything disassembled and ready for rebuild.

[espo]

Like the way you are honoring your friend and his memory. 

[John B.]

Thank you very much - I hope to do him proud.

[John B.]

I scored another AMT Challenger convertible on Ebay and used the doors, windshield frame and front fenders with the rocker and quarter panels from the original. The last photo is the new body with the original interior and frame. I left the protective sprue on the windshield frame for now to minimize the chance of accidental breakage.

[John B.]

A small update: NASCAR front clip installed along with Foose wheels and tires from the Foose pickup kit.

[Old Buckaroo]

I like what you are doing here and will be sure to follow for updates.  Wished I'd known you needed another body, I bought up a bunch of these kits to use the chassis under the MPC Cuda annuals.

[John B.]

Thank you - I was trying to save the original, but the front end had some issues. So I kept the original quarter panels rocker panels, trunk lid and hood. To this I added new doors and front fenders. After a bit more sanding and filling, I'm going to prime it.