Making a car shell?

[Corvette.Jeff]

For the longest time I've thought it'd be pretty darn cool to see a actual shell of a car in model form, like maybe on a rotisserie in a dio or even in a garage being "restored"

Now i could do loads of research to get dimensions and all that, but im gonna get right down to the point, Do you think it would be possible? im talking cut the fenders off, cut the doors out, cut the trunk out, and leave it at a bare shell..

Mostly just curious, if somebody can even post a picture of a model that someone had done that to, that would be awesome!

Thanks,Jeff

[James W]

This would make a good project.

The best place to start is find a car or picture that shows a vehicle in this condition.

Next, find if there is a model of that car or something close. ie Firebird/Camaro or Pontiac A-body/Buick A-body

I have done some race cars in the past based on factory cars where I have made door panels or body bracing from sheet plastic. You can wing it and just make up some panels, but it is best to find a full size example to replicate.

Have fun!

[diymirage]

i would suggest starting with a kit that hs opening doors

this way the door jabs will be molded into the body whic will give you a good starting/reference point

[LDO]

If you want to do that with a Fox-body Mustang, I have a stripped '88 convertible. I can shoot tons of detail pics if you're interested. The rest is up to you.

[Corvette.Jeff]

post em IF ya' got em

Edited June 27, 2009 by ThatOneEmoKid

[Corvette.Jeff]

  Mr. Mike said:

I did a lot of research on this to get the front end & trunk openings correct (or at least mostly correct) alot of what I did was interpretation of what was under the "plastic" bits of the vehicle. Searching the internet for "burnt cars" was a good start for me. unfortunately, most of the pics out there are of fully fire gutted cars; not what I wanted to depict with this build. but it did give me a good starting point.

Your Idea for a car on a rotisserie would make a really good Diorama, esp. w/ a guy media blasting it....

That looks pretty dang real! we had a dodge caravan a couple years back that someone caught on fire, thats pretty much how it looked!

[Corvette.Jeff]

Now that i've thought about it, this company is pretty close to home and they have a camaro shell on a rotisserie.......

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...DN%26start%3D18

But those pictures really dont do me any good i was hoping for more detailed pictures.

[Abell82]

Try cardomain, or search restoration of ?? (place make& model here).

It should return lots of pics.

When I first saw this thread asking if it were possible to make a car shell I thought you were wanting to make an actual shell for a car. Like an armored shell ...thinking of the Batmobile Cocoon.

[LDO]

I can't put the Mustang on a rotisserie. It's on wheels, but pretty much everything is stripped off of it. If you're really serious about this project, let me know and I'll push it into the driveway and shoot some photos.

[BigGary]

  LDO said:

I can't put the Mustang on a rotisserie. It's on wheels, but pretty much everything is stripped off of it. If you're really serious about this project, let me know and I'll push it into the driveway and shoot some photos.

I was so blown away by the work on the crispy fried Mustang, I couldn't get my mind on the question.

It is a great job. Let's see somemore of those. I'm old school enough that I'm not interested in ratrods or rustbucket models, but this is great. I've seen more than one half burned car beside the road.

Gary

[SSNJim]

Check out http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/construction.html . Not model related, but lots of pictures of frame off restorations on many different types of cars, many of which are replicated in scale. It's a great reference site.

I found it because of a car they built. On the Construction page, it is referred to as the Golden Calf, but it is now known as the M-80. The picture on the page is a concept drawing - it ended up looking nothing like it. It is probably the most beautiful custom I have ever seen. I got a MCW 1951 Chevrolet coupe, and am now working on a custom inspired by the M-80. Most of the major bodywork is done with the exception of the lights. I am trying to get the body smooth now, and trying to decide whether to use the M-80's headlights or the stock ones.

I think it is doable, and in some ways easier than building a model with opening doors, a flip-front, and opening trunk. Most of the work has been done before in-scale; the hard part would be getting exposed sheetmetal edges thin enough to be believable.

Good luck. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

[MkowaPhD]

Not on a rotisserie yet:

Here's how I cut down a 67 Dodge R/T:

http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b262/mko...%20RT%20Junker/

-Mike

[Harry P.]

  ThatOneEmoKid said:

Now that i've thought about it, this company is pretty close to home and they have a camaro shell on a rotisserie.......

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...DN%26start%3D18

But those pictures really dont do me any good i was hoping for more detailed pictures.

Jeez, those pics look pretty good to me! How much more detailed can you get?

And do you realize that when you click on the enlarged photo, it enlarges even more? If you wanted to do a Camaro you're not going to find better photos of a bare shell...

[george 53]

Jeff, Harry's right, Daddy-O. My cousin did the MAJORITY of the heavy bodywork on my car. It WAS 20some years ago, but it sure looks the same. He did it without a rottiserie! I can REALLY see how that rascal woulda helped! But yeah,dude, thats what we used ta call a bare body in white(before the prime dip) an ya CAN'T get more barer than THAT! 'Less ya just take it back apart! How bare do ya need it? Like maybe a stripped out one? like Theft recovery? But then again, if pro's do it, it'll STILL end up lookin like that! (Please don't ask me how I KNOW, it's STILL too painful!!!)

[Corvette.Jeff]

Yeah harri i know about the clickable photo's i would love it if i could find some pictures of the roof without a headliner, or maybe some more pictures of the inside of the shell.

George, if i could find a good kit of an fairlady z i would be able to do this project9i have tons of pictures of the one i used to have).

but now that i've been thinking about it more and more, it would be cooler to do an all out fully detailed show car shell, like a full fabric interior,and all that good stuff(kinda like the people ran out of money and it got stranded in a garage on sawhorses or something like that).

[Harold]

JoHan reissued a resin repop of the Rambler Unibody a few years ago that would be a good starting point. Sounds like a great idea- just find pics online of junkyard relics and cars under restoration to see how they look dismantled.

[Rick Schmidt]

theres a company that sell a 67 Mustang Fastback Shell. which I've thought about trying with AMTs 67 I just can't think of the companies name now but find it and you may find good pics of a bare shell

[SSNJim]

  ThatOneEmoKid said:

Yeah harri i know about the clickable photo's i would love it if i could find some pictures of the roof without a headliner, or maybe some more pictures of the inside of the shell.

The inside of a 1st gen Camaro without a headliner or upholstery: http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/Cars/Alo...amaro-08-07.jpg . Do you have any idea of what you are interested in building, or are you just scoping out the project? I noticed you mentioned a Fairlady Z. It might be more difficult to find pictures of bare shell tuners and imports than American/muscle cars.

Edited July 7, 2009 by SSNJim

[Scott H.]

  midknightx5 said:

theres a company that sell a 67 Mustang Fastback Shell. which I've thought about trying with AMTs 67 I just can't think of the companies name now but find it and you may find good pics of a bare shell

Dynacorn International. They also make early Camaro bodies. I've been looking at them for years and waiting for my lottery ticket to come up so I can afford one...

http://www.dynacorn.com/site/04home/home.html

As far as the shell on a rotisserie, the easiest body I can think of for both ease of construction and finding reference pictures would be the Revell 1957 Chevrolet with the opening hood, doors, and trunk. 3/4 of the work is done already for you since the jambs are already there from the start. All you would really have to do is cut off the fenders and finish the firewall.

Hope this helps,

-Scott H.

Edited July 7, 2009 by Scott H. AKA Cpt. Bondo

[Corvette.Jeff]

  SSNJim said:

The inside of a 1st gen Camaro without a headliner or upholstery: http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/Cars/Alo...amaro-08-07.jpg . Do you have any idea of what you are interested in building, or are you just scoping out the project? I noticed you mentioned a Fairlady Z. It might be more difficult to find pictures of bare shell tuners and imports than American/muscle cars.

Yea if i could find a good kit i already have the pictures, i Rebuilt one a few years ago with the help of my cousin.

and thank you for the picture!

i've been infatuated with first gen camaro's since i was into cars(basically forever!) so it would be cool to do one of those, but it would be really cool to do any car(i'd like to stay away from unibody's because most of them require you to keep the inner fenders) it'd be really cool to do a muscle car.