61 Valiant Glue Bomb to Fotki

[Foxer]

This glue bomb is one of my Holy Grails and so far it looks like it is restorable to what I want from it. Not a factory spec but a mild custom just the way I originally built it in 1961!! All the unbuilt kits I've ever seen were just too much money for my tastes and this built, but not painted, was just right at one third the price. It looked like the builder glued about every custom option on .. at least 4 different pieces on the rear fender skirts alone! This looked like the way we all started, though I never build an unpainted kit. Note the dashboard was installed upside down! Maybe it was a British builder. Also, the rims were installed backwards ... a CUSTOM look for sure!

 

 

 

I suspect the builder's Father may have had some stock in the Testors Glue factory from the looks of it! Defiantly a glob-and-stick job, but it must have been a blast and the modeler was proud I'm sure. Most parts popped right off after a short residence in the freezer, but the rear skirts and the rear deck area were really glue gobbed on and took some grinding to remove the pieces.

 

These photos show the body after being fairly well cleaned up with some areas still needing major attention, but doable with what I have planned.

 

Now, I know many think this design is an abomination, which I don't understand. I always thought the original Valiants were a bold and creative design. The fender treatments harked back to hints of the old fat fendered rides of the 40's and even earlier. The fake continental spare on the trunk lid was cool .. and will be maintained with a different center. All the major lines will be kept with some smoothing. I’m still considering what trim, if any, will be put back on. The original front grill will be kept with a different center mesh. The head lights and tail lights at this point are coming from an older Mercedes SLR, but I haven’t received the kit yet to be sure of the fit. I want the Mercedes rectangular wrap around at the corners but need them to be close to a 90 degree bend to work right. The original tail lights will be capped with the custom rounded blank ends from the kit. As far as bumpers, I don't know at this point.

 

Back in 1961 I painted my Valiant a maroon color, which probably came in a square Testors bottle. I haven't decided on this go around, but will be checking what kind of maroons are available now. Maybe it will need a lighter color, but I don't want to think about paint today.

 

Please feel free to make any custom suggestions you may have.

Edited August 27, 2017 by Foxer

[george 53]

Yeeesh Mike, I wish I had known you were lookin for one,I bought a totally stock on at the last toyshow I went to for 20 bucks! I'da gave it to ya for the same! I only bought it caz it WAS so weird lookin,an I liked the way the rear wheelwells lend themselves to ALOT bigger meats! Maybe we should start a "Holy Grail" locator thread!

[E St. Kruiser50]

WOW

COOL FIND MIKE

I LIKE WHAT YOU'RE TALKIN' ABOUT DOIN'.

YEAH, THAT'S ONE OF MY HOLY GRAILS TOO - SOMEDAY .

I'll be watchin' ta see how she comes along - NICE START - dave

[Alyn]

While it may not have achieved Holy Grail status, this car is definately on my list as well. Back in my junior high and high school days, my best friends brother owned one of these; a white one with blue interior and the ever popular slant-6. It may have been a differnet Mopar, but I think this is the car that introduced me to reverse threaded lug nuts and positive ground electical systems. We spent a lot of good time in this car which he called the "Rolls Canardly" It rolled down hills, but could hardly make it back up them.

I ended up building a glue bomb version of this and the sister car (Dodge Dart) back in the day. The Dart ended up with a huge amount of putty on the nose as I attempted some major body mods. Unfortunately, the putty got so hard I tired of trying to sand it and never finished the car.

This design has a great deal of character which present lots of posibilities for some custom treatment, both obvious and subtle. Git after it and lets see what ya come up with.

[chrismooney]

Looking like good progress you really have your work cut out for you

[Foxer]

Yeeesh Mike, I wish I had known you were lookin for one,I bought a totally stock on at the last toyshow I went to for 20 bucks! I'da gave it to ya for the same! I only bought it caz it WAS so weird lookin,an I liked the way the rear wheelwells lend themselves to ALOT bigger meats! Maybe we should start a "Holy Grail" locator thread!

That was a great purchase, George! I'd never steal it from ya, but would have been nice to know if you wanted to get rid of it. Looks like you're gonna have to make a showpiece of it for us! Every one unbuilt I've seen on ebay recently has been going for $70 -$80! Guess I should know to ask here first. I paid considerable less, but still around what you did for a glue bomb. It will be fun at any rate .. nothing is ruined that I want to use.

Dave .. let me introduce you to Mr 53 ... ehehhe

[voljeepx]

I reall like where this one is headed!!! Cool car with alot of possibilities, I will be watching this one! Get to it!

[James Flowers]

My sister and a buddy of mine had one those. I have always wanted one to build myself. They are out of my price range also. Looks like your of to a good start on you save.

[Sixties Sam]

Very cool car. Your model is going to be nice!

I owned two real Valiants. Here's a pic of the model I built of the 1962 sedan I had.

This model came from ebay, built but not painted. It's the Revell 4 door version.

I also had a 64 Signet 200 convert with the 283 V8. Both cars had the push button automatics. I loved those!

My Holy Grail is the AMT 64 Craftsman Series hardtop which I could make into a convertibleto duplicate the one I owned.

I'm eager to see how yours turns out!

Sam

[Modelmartin]

I built this from a gluebomb about 20 years ago! The friend who sold it to me kind of snickered when I bought it for $5.00 so I decided that I had to build it and make it look good just to show him!

This was back when the monochromatic thing was going on and the tuner and skirt thing was happening. It was fun. Who would have expected a Valiant to get that kind of treatment? That is a Porsche whaletail.

[Peter Lombardo]

Wow, that thing sure brings back memories. I reminds me of Junior High when we would all try and out do each other by gluing as much "custom" things and stuff to out annual AMT, or Johan kits. If I only could but my hands on all of the kits I had from back in the day....oh well, they are buried deep in a Pennsylvania land fill now. Great find and nice work so far. That design is from the days when car companies, I think, really enjoyed making unique automobiles....maybe it was because they changed the design every year or so, they just didn't have the time to second guess their work so much...tight deadlines so they would just let her fly! Have fun with that one.

[crazyjim]

Were there actually 2 door Valiants from the factory? I only remember 4door versions. I always liked the style of the car.

[Foxer]

I built this from a gluebomb about 20 years ago! The friend who sold it to me kind of snickered when I bought it for $5.00 so I decided that I had to build it and make it look good just to show him!

This was back when the monochromatic thing was going on and the tuner and skirt thing was happening. It was fun. Who would have expected a Valiant to get that kind of treatment? That is a Porsche whaletail.

That mono paint scheme really shows what distinctive lines the Valaint's had ... they all show through!

[Foxer]

Were there actually 2 door Valiants from the factory? I only remember 4door versions. I always liked the style of the car.

Here's a pic I had downloaded for reference showing a 61 2-door from what looks like a factory rendering, maybe from an ad.

and a 2-door photo of a 61.

Edited August 20, 2009 by Foxer

[MrObsessive]

Were there actually 2 door Valiants from the factory? I only remember 4door versions. I always liked the style of the car.

There are four doors at first starting in '60 (My Dad had one), and then for '61 the two door hardtop was added. Also Dodge had their version the "Lancer" but that was a one year deal for 1962.

I've always liked those Valiants as that was the first car I can remember as a kid that had a stick on the floor like my Dad had. (His was a 3spd)

I can remember my Dad letting me "shift" along with him every once in awhile!

..................and the sound of that slant six whining along was umistakable! I can still recognize the sound of one to this day!

Edited August 20, 2009 by MrObsessive

[Bernard Kron]

Holy Virgil Exner!!! Very cool. It'll be great watching you overcome it's glueness and bombness....

Edited August 20, 2009 by gbk1

[RodBurNeR]

Not only is that a true glue bomb, but even the parts are glued on wrong hah! I noticed the dash was upside down, maybe an Aussie conversion? hehe! front rim mounted backwards on the outside....man what a mess , but very interesting! These glue bombs are really a lot of fun to rebuild, taking something that is all murphed up and making it look good again!

I look forward to seeing more Mike!

[Ron Hamilton]

I appreciate the work you are putting into that one. I have a '60 under construction, where I reworked the body to get rid of the terrible mould lines. It's ready to be primed, but I have not dercided on the color combination. I'm leaning towards Black or Red, with the Red and Black interior. Those old Valiants were interesting cars, even though I think they are plug ugly, but bordering on cute.

[Foxer]

Not only is that a true glue bomb, but even the parts are glued on wrong hah! I noticed the dash was upside down, maybe an Aussie conversion? hehe! front rim mounted backwards on the outside....man what a mess , but very interesting! These glue bombs are really a lot of fun to rebuild, taking something that is all murphed up and making it look good again!

I look forward to seeing more Mike!

hehe.. and you should be seeing the instruction sheet showing up in your in box for the site, Bob

Edited August 20, 2009 by Foxer

[Guest Gramps-xrds]

Wow you're doing a fantastic job of resurrecting an old kit. I think I get more enjoyment doing that, than building a brand new one. I fondly remember having a couple of those way back when. I seem to remember having one that was molded in a translucent plastic w/ metal flakes embedded in it. All you had to do was spray some candy on it and you'd have a metal flake paint job. This should be interesting to see how it turns out.

[charlie8575]

I picked up an almost MIB up at Amherst (N.H.) in 2005 from Peter Schwartz. For $50 I got a pretty good deal. It has a few streaks of brush paint on it (which, looking at it, may have been attempts at matching factory colors, but there's no crazing, so it isn't automotive paint I don't think,) and one deep scratch in the glass I'm still working up enough nerve to try and remove. Worst case, I might try vacuum-forming a new piece.

I'll be building mine stock, probably in white or silver, although I haven't ruled out black or red (I don't really care for the blue or green.)

The other AMT compact I have is a 1961 Tempest that's a horror show; this is a 1/25 basket case!

I'd like to find one of the Buick Special wagons, a Corvair and a 1960 Mercury Comet, as well.

Charlie Larkin

[RodneyBad]

Sounds like ya got some really good plans for it.

Can't wait to see what ya do next.

I have one that luckily isn't a Glue bomb like yours but it is missing the bumpers, Headlights and taillights

But I think it is a 62

It came painted and I may just polish that out and try and figure out what to replace the missing parts with.

I can get them aftermarket but the pricing of all those together seems spendie for me.

Great looking Valaint you got there Andy.

Really looks Sportier with that Wing.

[Foxer]

Sounds like ya got some really good plans for it.

Can't wait to see what ya do next.

I have one that luckily isn't a Glue bomb like yours but it is missing the bumpers, Headlights and taillights

But I think it is a 62

That one's in nice shape. I cut the front bumper similar to what you have and the headlights on mine are getting replaced but the originals are a little messy, but may be salvageable if re-chromed or Alcladed. I'd be happy to send them if you think you can use. It looks like I cut the bumpers off closer than yours are, so them may splice on. While I was looking at different headlight replacements I did notice the Monogram 59 Chevy lights look very similar and seemed almost a straight fit.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Foxer

[Foxer]

I have been working on the body repairs, so time for an update. No custom work yet and just in an intermediate primer coat as I get the glue and gouges smoothed out. The headlight area will be getting cut out so didn't do any work there. It looks like it a save,

Edited August 27, 2017 by Foxer

[Eshaver]

Mike, I hope you see this as Tamya makes a great brownish red Maroon thats a dead on match for the old Ford maroon from the 40's and late thirties . Ed Shaver