1972 Plymouth 'cuda

[nails3825]

My Uncle gave me this model "several" years ago... when I was eleven years old I redid it then, a quick job ~ but then after a few months, I shot it with a BB gun. So many broken toys when I was young... hammers and matchbox cars, brick walls and G.I. Joes... my foot and star wars figures. I destroyed just about everything I ever owned, sadly... hardly anything survived This 'cuda was all but forgotten until I found it while digging through my spare model parts ~ found as is, missing parts and all. I thought it would be a great model to restore, since some "minor" bodywork needs to be done... haha.

And plans I already have it finished in my mind... it's going to be dedicated to a girl I once knew ~ she broke my heart, of course. See my heart here... "♥" ... Yeah, that's shattered now. But what she left me is something I won't soon forget. This 1972 'cuda will be in her honor ~ a muscle car with attitude It's going to be a fun project.

Here she is, as of right now...

Assuming the "purple pond" refers to the concentrated degreaser "Purple Power" I'm going to give this thing a bath, let it sit in there for a week or so and hope it doesn't damage the body any further than what it already is.

And while it's sitting, I plan to fix the seats in my '92 mustang convertible (model) so the headrests are smaller... as they are on '92 mustangs

Wish me luck! Thanks for looking...

[hemithunder]

I hear ya, James. We're from the same era... I Wish! I had half of the toys/models I destroyed as a kid.... I'd be a rich antiquities dealer ... I'll be keeping an eye on this resto job, maybe I'll get some ideas to save a few of my own.

Good Luck: Drew

[spkgibson]

Go Find the 74 AMT Snap kit,it has all the parts you will need to restore this,The interior is the same,and you can cut out the roof from the snap kit to replace the bad spots on this,and the rocker panel,The chassis will be the only hard part,but it can be done,I've fixed cars in worse shape then this,the only difference between the 72 And the 74 snap kit is the bumpers,Thats it,The hood can be bought from Time Machine Resin,..............Hope this helps..........Steve Ketterer

Edited March 25, 2010 by spkgibson

[jedimastergary]

Looks like something I might have done trashed a lot of models

I was given and now wish I had them. will be watching to see

how it comes out in the end.

[cruz]

Shame on you! Picking on a little car like that! You otta be ashamed of yourself, if anything, do it for the car's honor, not the girl!!! Good luck anyway, you're gonna need it.....

[Guest Sickfish]

Great project James! I'm also the same as everybody else, wish I'd kept half the stuff I trashed as a kid! Stupid guns & girls, the things we do! You've got a fair bit of work on your hands & looking forward to your updates!

Cheers mate, Cliffo ;-)

[charlie8575]

You shouldn't need to keep your 'Cuda in Lake Purple for more than a day or so; it'll go through the worst of anything pretty quickly.

I'll enjoy watching this progress.

Charlie Larkin

[whale392]

I had the MPC 74 Pro Street Cuda........it too suffered a similar fate, only without the hope of salvation.

[Railfreak78]

Nice to not give yp on it. I just got a bunch to restore that most would throw away. Don't forget the purple pond needs brake fluid. Mine is mixed 50/50 1/2 purple power 1/2 dot 3 brake fluid.

[rustybill1960]

If your heart is in half the shape of that model . . . . . . .

You will be "all right Dude!"

I have faith Man,

"Been There Done That!"

Thank You for sharing!

Later

Russ

Edited June 19, 2010 by rustybill1960

[plasticfrog]

Nice project... I have the 74 snap kit and I used amts 1970 challenger kit for parts.. chassis/eng.firewalls to build it.It added some more detail to it.

[disabled modeler]

I have saved worse cars before...keep at it,you can do it. If I can anyone can.

[nails3825]

I've had this beast sitting out to dry for two days now, the purple power trick worked great! I was impressed at how fast it ate away the old paint... if only I knew about this trick way back when, instead of using gasoline and nail polish remover ~ my models wouldn't have melted away

One thing that isn't mentioned in the forums about using the "purple pond" is how harsh it is on your skin... I was scrubbing the model with a toothbrush for ten minutes until my hands started to go numb, then a day later this is what my hand looked like. It's a pretty potent degreaser, strong stuff...

The old paint came off within a day, I just let it soak a few more days to make sure I got everything nice and clean. I couldn't believe the results...

The damage caused by my childhood needs to be fixed, of course... but that shouldn't be too bad. Here's a photo of the roof, the "bullet hole" looks a lot worse now that the paint isn't hiding the damage... there's a patch already there ~ one of my earlier attempts at fixing it... probably the day I shot it

Thanks for all the comments, and interest in this build! It gives me the motivation needed to continue the job I already have a color in mind... but first thing's first ~ I have some body work to do!

[caine440]

I did the same thing my first purple pond bath.

Now I wear gloves.

Is the chassis going to be usable?

Good Luck!

[nails3825]

I did the same thing my first purple pond bath.

Now I wear gloves.

Is the chassis going to be usable?

Good Luck!

The chassis has some holes in it, broken parts and all but it should be alright to use... I just need to patch it up The hardest part will be figuring out how to get the engine to sit in place, as there's nothing there to hold it. A little patience and time is all it takes I just sent you an e-mail, did you get it?

[Railfreak78]

I found Purple Power does that to ya when I cleaned a nasty house with it. My pond with the brake fluid I can scrub in the tank with no issues. That was a great peel on the paint though as mine takes a bit longer.

[nails3825]

So... started the first stages of the body work this morning ~ J-B Kwik is good stuff, easy to sand and it dries fast, once it cures it's as hard as "plastic" I used some .025" rod for support on the side of the car, thought it would give it some added strength and support.

The roof was a little different... seeing how the hole was in the corner of one of the pillars and window frame, I decided to use scotch tape for support. Once the J-B weld dries, I can remove the tape and hopefully have a smooth surface underneath (in the interior area/head liner) There were also a few low spots on the body and a previous crack on the fender that I filled with the same J-B Kwik. I never have any luck with using body putty for models, it's always been J-B weld for me

Here's how she looks at the moment...

It looks sloppy, I know... but with a little sanding and time, it should come out looking like it once did. I'll let it sit for a day before sanding... hopefully I can get everything ready for paint before the end of the week Thanks for looking!

[caine440]

I will get you some parts out Friday.

If you need anything else give me a shout.

Man that body work would scare me.

[kasteer]

Looks like a lot of work ahead for you. I like your determination and your taking on such a challenge. Keep it up!

[rustybill1960]

It's all good Man!

Everything looks rough before its fixed.

Never thought of the JB Weld, but, have you ever tried Milliput? You can work it with water till it sets up, dries rock hard and can also be sanded, drilled, filed, etc.,etc.

Anyway nice work so far, looks like a keeper this time, yes?

Thanks for sharing

Later

Russ

[nails3825]

Thanks guys... I'm enjoying this one

The body work is a little rough, it would scare me too... and does You should see my '92 Dodge shadow, I patched a few rusted holes myself but never did get around to sanding and repainting. Mark, to answer your question... it would indeed be a lot easier to swap the body with another kit but I wanted to restore this one using what I had to work with, only replacing parts that are either missing or too damaged to use again. I would feel bad if I just tossed it to the side, after all the torture and neglect it's gone through over the years. It survived this long, I can at least do my best to bring it back

I guess maybe there's some attachment to it as well... it means a lot more to me if I fixed the damage done to it instead of just replacing everything and building a new kit. Plus, it's good practice If all else fails, at least I was able to get some practice in.

Caine! Thanks for your help I look forward to receiving your package ~ especially those tail lights! I can't thank you enough... let me know if you need anything, I'll do my best to help you out as well. Rustybill... if this turns out like I imagine it will, then yes ~ it's definitely a keeper.

Thanks for all the comments, ideas and thoughts... they are much appreciated!

[nails3825]

Finally got around to sanding the repairs, it took some time but the end result was pleasing The back window area needs a little more work, reshaping the opening and doing the trim over... that should be a challenge. Also, while sanding the lumps of J-B Kwik, I ended up removing some of the trim around the side windows and under the door ~ that shouldn't be too hard to fix/replace with some styrene strips?

Here are some photos ~

Thanks to Caine440, I have some replacement parts for this build... such as the interior bucket and steering wheel ~ the originals were too damanged for me to fix, broken or (melted) from my childhood years. He also gave me a set of rims/tires and tail lights, along with an extra body and decals! Thanks again for your help, truly!

That's all for now, hard to say when I'll be posting more but I'm trying to have it ready for paint before too long ~ thanks for looking!

[caine440]

Glad to help!

I knew those old snap tite parts would come in handy.

Keep us posted.

[nails3825]

Got some primer on the body today, just to make the blemishes pop out a little more... still need to do some sanding but not much. Here's what she's looking like so far.

I deepened the trunk lines with a knife, never really done such a thing... is there a better way to do this? Any tips would be great ~ the drivers door will need some major scraping to get the panel line back

As you can see here, the panel line is all but gone from the bottom of the door

I have the rear window shaped as close as I could get it, using sanding sticks and files to match what it used to look like... the trim needs to be replaced too, but I have a pretty simple plan for this ~ hopefully.

That's all for now ~ I'm taking my good ole' time with this one, something new for me... there are a lot of new things I'm attempting with this build as well Thanks for looking!

[caine440]

Darn fine work!

What type of sanding sticks do you use? I have a heck of a time with body work.