TOP SWAP '57 CHRYSLER

[customline]

1 hour ago, NOBLNG said:

Rear end is looking good Jim. Heck, it’s all looking good.👍 I’m not normally a fan of fender skirts, but I don’t think they look bad here.🤔

I made the skirts from '34 Ford hood top panels. Not sure they'll make the final cut but I just wanted to see. 

[TopherMcGinnis]

The vent windows and skirts get a 👍 from me.

[customline]

3 minutes ago, TopherMcGinnis said:

The vent windows and skirts get a 👍 from me.

Thanks, Topher, I'm torn about the vents. I'll be working on the cowl area next and if I can, I will leave the vents.  I like the skirts but it may depend on how it looks with the wheels.

[Bullybeef]

Looking good Jim, I’m not 100% sold on then skirts but I’m liking the rear bumper treatment a lot? I think by seeing it with a proper suspension might change though.

 

[LennyB]

11 hours ago, customline said:

I can't explain that. The Karman Ghia looks like a suppository.  The rear of the Chrysler🤯 has these gigantic fins, Lenny! 🥴

It's actually this view I was talking about.

 

[Kutnplastik]

9 hours ago, customline said:

It's going to get prettier, trust me.

Great use of the rear bumper! The stock wheel openings on this build look great as is. The fender skirts make it look bulky. 

[customline]

3 hours ago, LennyB said:

It's actually this view I was talking about.

 

Oh....yeah.....I see it now....😉

[customline]

3 hours ago, Kutnplastik said:

Great use of the rear bumper! The stock wheel openings on this build look great as is. The fender skirts make it look bulky. 

Well....I think it looks massive due to the smooth slab sides and big fins. If I get it low enough, the skirts can find another house to haunt. I will never install "cruiser" skirts on anything. Flush types look good with big fat white walls, which will be the case here. Thanks for your input, Rudolf, it helps me take these life-altering decisions. 🤓

[customline]

It was time to tackle the front attachment areas. 

Because of the way the alien roof/cowl mated with the body, there was some filling to be done here at the cowl. Of course the wipers on both had to be ground off. There is no longer any way to get fresh air to the A/C vents but I did leave the little windows because somebody reminded me about that. 😉

This is me adding a 40x40 to the bottom of the windshield to complete the frame. 

Another one was added to the first one, inboard. After the glue set I filed an angle on the inside to get a proper fit to the glass.  

The arrows indicate the added material that gets filed down to match the angle of the adjacent surface.  Here you can see the scraps added to the new roof to fair it up with the body.

Still got filling and sanding to do. It may be a while before it's warm enough to paint but there's plenty to do while I'm waiting to get primer on this. Like chasing panel lines 😩

Thanks for stopping in. Got snow? 🥶

[Kutnplastik]

11 hours ago, customline said:

I will never install "cruiser" skirts on anything.

Amen brother!

[Quiet Eric]

This looks awesome! I would not use skirts.

[bobss396]

Too bad all the surgery will be covered up at the end. Maybe start a book to go with it, if you go to contests?

Edited yesterday at 01:01 PM by bobss396
7t b dct

[customline]

38 minutes ago, bobss396 said:

Too bad all the surgery will be covered up at the end. Maybe start a book to go with it, if you go to contests?

I don't, Bob, but I tried to document my adventure into roof swapping. If it helps anyone planning to do a similar roof swap, great. A lot of my stuff end up back in the box. I can't compete with the pros out there.  It's this and then on to the next. The squirrels keep me busy. 🥴

[LennyB]

The squirrels say no snow for the next few days. They also approve of your bodywork.

[customline]

11 hours ago, LennyB said:

The squirrels say no snow for the next few days. They also approve of your bodywork.

Well my squirrels say your squirrels don't know 💩 !  Or snow.  😉  We got about 3 inches of powder last night. On top of frozen stuff from earlier.  

Bodywork is a happy task, ya know....my bodywork could be better, if I planned better, but this build is actually going the way I planned ( for a change 🤪.)  The roll pans were on the short list from inception but not beyond checking that box. Now I need to make it work out front. The cowl will still need minor surgery but it's scheduled.

[bobss396]

I've had/have more BACK IN THE BOX!! projects than I like to admit.

But time has been good with some of those hidden gems. Better products emerge, my skills improve and I might see something that kick starts the project again.

[Bullybeef]

39 minutes ago, bobss396 said:

I've had/have more BACK IN THE BOX!! projects than I like to admit.

But time has been good with some of those hidden gems. Better products emerge, my skills improve and I might see something that kick starts the project again.

I have a number of the builds as well! downscaled the boxes and only have the parts selected to build with, the special pieces that one would go “yeah” that belongs there!

Recently I got these clear trays for “active builds”.

oops sorry Jim got sidetracked there. 

[Ragtop Man]

Damn! That is some serious modeling right there. 

It shouldn't work but there it is, sleek as the day is long.  This will be dramatic as heck when complete. 

You may want to take a swing at correcting the assymetry of the roof drip rails, which AMT messed up from day one. 

Long live customs!