Fins, Chrome, and Style

[kustoms]

Hello all Id like too share with you my latest build a johan 1959 Dodge Custom Royal , this will be built factory stock and Inspired by Bill Geary Aka Mr Obsessive and the rest of the factory stock builders here on the forum. The kit im starting with is very basic with a simple chassie metel axles and no interior. so most of the interior will haft too be built from scratch >

Amt's 57 chrysler chassie and seprate floor boards fit really well and I will be adding an engian too this car also .All doors trunk and hood will open and Im going too paint it in a factory two color combo a surprize for later ! Im gonna post WIP along the way ... I also am goin too use a set of modelhause 59 dodge lancer hubcaps that are really beautifull ,,,,, Ive reserched pics off the web and have many too build from I hope that you all follow along with my build I will try too ansewre any and all questions and your comments are welcome too.

So stay tuned this is gonna be fun!

Bud Ellis Kustoms

Edited November 15, 2009 by kustoms

[Bernard Kron]

Factory stock, huh? Can't wait for the first pics!

[MrObsessive]

Aaah! Now this is my kind of build!

............And a car of the '50's with fins no less! Y'know Bud, if you have a '58 Plymouth kit, you can raid the interior out of that as a starting point for the Dodge. Even it's engine and chassis can be used IIRC as they were pretty much the same from '57-'59. The '57 Chrysler 300 I figure its wheelbase is a bit too long.

Thanks for the kudos and I'll definitely be tuning in!

[kustoms]

Aaah! Now this is my kind of build!

............And a car of the '50's with fins no less! Y'know Bud, if you have a '58 Plymouth kit, you can raid the interior out of that as a starting point for the Dodge. Even it's engine and chassis can be used IIRC as they were pretty much the same from '57-'59. The '57 Chrysler 300 I figure its wheelbase is a bit too long.

Thanks for the kudos and I'll definitely be tuning in!

Thanks for your insite Bill The 1958 chassie fits a whole lot better and like you said a great starting point for my interior dont know Why I never thought of it lol Like I mentioned before you are a great insperation too me and many others here.. your how too's , and wip progress pics are amazing thank you for all that you do!

Bud Ellis Kustoms

Edited November 15, 2009 by kustoms

[Foxer]

Loving the sound of this. I always thought these Dodges were so ugly they approached beautiful! And, they seem to get better as time increases from the day I sneaked a peek at the "new" Dodges hidden behind the dealership .. where my Dad happened to be doing some carpenter work ..

[kustoms]

Here Is a comparison of the chasie's the one on the right is from the johan kit and the one on the left I am using its from the 1958 plymouth kit the chasie is seprate from the floor pan it leads too better detailing more too come stay tuned

Bud Ellis Kustoms

[Janne Herajärvi]

Very interesting project! Cant wait updates for more

[kustoms]

Here are a couple of mock up pics Im really excited bout this build This is truly a classy car ...sorry bout the quality of pics Ill try too set up a better photo shooting station soon...

Bud Ellis Kustoms

[Space Cowboy]

Man that brings back some great memories. I will keep an eye on this build..

[Harold]

Good call on the Chrysler underpinnings, but Mr. Obsessive is right on the wheelbase issue. The Chrysler rode a span of 126" and the Dodge was 122", so shortening the chassis 4mm or so will get you in the ballpark. Good luck and keep us posted.

[John Goschke]

Looking forward to this build! The '59 Dodge is one of my favorite cars and I've got one I started ages ago.

For the most part Johan's model is pretty accurate, but one subtle thing I noticed in researching the Dodge and looking at them at car shows was that they didn't get the shape of the rear wheel arch quite right. On the real car it's larger, more angular and sweeps up higher, closer to the bottom edge of the horizontal molding. The trailing edge is longer and sweeps back farther than it does on the kit. To reshape it is a fair amount of work, including rebuilding the flared lip, but it's worth it, taking the look of Johan's body from "nice but a little off," to "just perfect!"

Here's a side shot of a nice ragtop found on the web that shows the shape of the wheel arch real well (just ignore the cheesy-looking wheels!)...

[MrObsessive]

I've got several of those Johan '59's and I never notice the rear wheelwells!

I DO know if one wants to start fixing that horrendous RC2 '58 Plymouth.......the Johan '59 Dodge has the perfect roofline. You'd have to swap windshield frames from the '57 Chrysler though as the Plymouth hardtop wouldn't get the "bubble-wrapover" windshield until '59.

[Greg]

Hello all Id like too share with you my latest build a johan 1959 Dodge Custom Royal , this will be built factory stock and Inspired by Bill Geary Aka Mr Obsessive and the rest of the factory stock builders here on the forum. The kit im starting with is very basic with a simple chassie metel axles and no interior. so most of the interior will haft too be built from scratch >

Amt's 57 chrysler chassie and seprate floor boards fit really well and I will be adding an engian too this car also .All doors trunk and hood will open and Im going too paint it in a factory two color combo a surprize for later ! Im gonna post WIP along the way ... I also am goin too use a set of modelhause 59 dodge lancer hubcaps that are really beautifull ,,,,, Ive reserched pics off the web and have many too build from I hope that you all follow along with my build I will try too ansewre any and all questions and your comments are welcome too.

So stay tuned this is gonna be fun!

Bud Ellis Kustoms

I see that you want to scratchbuild the interior but if you want to save time Modelhaus makes a full interior for this kit along with clear windows.

[John Goschke]

I've got several of those Johan '59's and I never notice the rear wheelwells!

I DO know if one wants to start fixing that horrendous RC2 '58 Plymouth.......the Johan '59 Dodge has the perfect roofline. You'd have to swap windshield frames from the '57 Chrysler though as the Plymouth hardtop wouldn't get the "bubble-wrapover" windshield until '59.

Yeah, Bill, you see what I mean though, right? Or am I crazy? (Never mind the second question...) Maybe I just have a thing about wheel arches and rooflines 'cause subtle inaccuracies in that stuff make me nuts! Couldn't leave the ones on the '59 Fury alone either...

As for the RC2 '58 Plymouth, once you replace the roof, all you have to do is replace the body, then your home free!

[MrObsessive]

Hmmm.............John, looking at my 1:1 pics and comparing it to my Johan body, it seems that it would involve more than just raising the rear wheelwells.......

The whole entire side trim would have to be raised a scale inch or so.........I'm not sure Bud would want to go through all the trouble for that!

Here's a pic of a 1:1................

I say either ignore it, or throw some skirts on it and call it a day! Good one on the '58 Plymouth! That's one that I have all what I need to fix it...........it's a matter of getting the ambition to do it all.

Edit: On closer look............naaaah I'd leave the trim alone. Gotta be careful you don't get too close to damaging the side trim if you're going to modify the wheelwells like you mentioned John.

You learn something new every day!

Edited November 17, 2009 by MrObsessive

[kustoms]

I see that you want to scratchbuild the interior but if you want to save time Modelhaus makes a full interior for this kit along with clear windows.

Thanks for that info Greg since im gonna open everything up doors and trunk and all a simple interior tub wont do me much good

I do need a dashboard though can a person just get a dashbord from modelhause or haft too buy the whole interior tub?

[kustoms]

This rear wheel well issue has got me thinkin I dont know whether too cuss you all or thank you ? hahahah I have a vision of what I want my model too look like when finished and let me tell you there is alot of work ahead of me.And I enjoy the challenge that I put upon myself but I somehow feel that now this rear well thing will be haunting me too death if I dont do somthing about it

Im all bout constructive critizism good and bad I dont get angry or let my feelings get hurt as a matter of fact Im very thankfull that there are other builders out there that have an eye for detail and are willing too help with there insites and idea's for I feel this is what this hobbie is about Most importanatly its all about having fun and this is defanatly the place too be you guys are great!

I will do my best knowing all too well my car wont be perfect but still it will be as close too it as it can be and thats just fine

I appreciate all the intrest everyone is sharing keep it coming all the while Ill keep posting WIP 's hahahah

thanks again too all.....

Bud Ellis Kustoms

[MrObsessive]

I do need a dashboard though can a person just get a dashbord from modelhause or haft too buy the whole interior tub?

Bud, Don and Carol sell the dash separately......Just click the link below if you want to order it.

1959 Dodge Custom Royal Dashboard

[kustoms]

Bud, Don and Carol sell the dash separately......Just click the link below if you want to order it.

1959 Dodge Custom Royal Dashboard

Thanks Bill,,,,,

[Custom Hearse]

This will be nice to watch... 50's cars (to me) always had style.

[kustoms]

Intensive care STAT !!!!! Plastic surgery needed !

Well its been decided Baby needs surgery So DR. Kustoms comes too the aide after taking a few measurments and lots of test fitting, triming, sanding and test fitting again I think My baby will smile again and Dr. kustoms is smiling too ... just needs a little bondo,,, I was able too save the delicate side trim and the two tone paint and BMF will make this baby stand tall lots more too come stay tuned!

Bud Ellis Kustoms

[Custom Hearse]

Nice save Doc! It looks a lot better with those wheel arches!

[MrObsessive]

Ditto! I wouldn't have thought of using the '57 Chrysler for it's wheelwells! Knowing how I do things, I would have filed out the wells, filed, and filed some more! Then cursing because I gouged the trim!

Excellent save Bud! She's gonna be really sharp with your attention to details!

[John Goschke]

There you go! Nice solution. That'll give you more reveal on those beautiful spinner caps and a lighter (slimmer) looking quarter panel much closer to the 1/1!

Thanks, Bud. You inspired me to pull my Dodge outa the box to see what it'll take to get it back in-progress, though I'm thinking curbside. I'll leave the full detail thing to guys like you and Bill, with better hands than mine!

[kustoms]

Thanks guys for the compliments.... just a short note letting you all know my build is on hold for a short time first I need too get my bench cleaned up and organized and second I am still researching refrance I know chevy's and fords but not much bout mopars but fear not it just pushes me harder too get the info that I need...

I just hope everyone is' nt disapointed or anything I really want too build this correctly or there is no point of doing it ... this is gonna be a long build problie spend all winter and into spring with it.. contest builds are not built overnight! Remeber im gonna go all out on this one It willl be a contest quality build might even make it too GSL and Toledo back east closer too Mr obsessive hahhaah

I will post pics as I WIP and stll ansewer those questions along the way when I get too crankin on this again stay tuned I promiss it will be worth the wait !!!

Thanks again Bud Ellis Kustoms