LOBBS Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 This is my second time around with this project. I fixed the warpage problems that destroyed the body work on the original by gluing spacers between the inner bed and the outer skin front and back to hold the bedsides in shape. Up front, I opened the grilles and valance, removed the center posts in the valance openings and filled the upper character line in the bumper to give it a pre-'03 SS look. I removed and filled all the door and tail gate handles and shaved the side trim and emblems. The hood and roll pan are out of the original Custom Silverado/WaveRider kit. Out back, the tail lights, tail gate and roll pan have been molded in and the rear whatever-it-is removed off the top on the tail gate. The rear tail light will be an LED-type strip between the bottom edge of the tail gate and the top of the roll pan. The molded-in exhaust tips were removed to make way for the aluminum tips from the Escalade kit. The wheels are also the 23" from the Escalade kit but the final version probably won't tuck them that deep. This is the first time I used the gel-type super glue to do bodywork and have to say I may not go back to using regular body-putty. I wanted a hard between-the-rails tonneau cover so I built a frame inside the bed with .040 x .080 strips, pulled it back out and skinned it with .015 sheet. I don't know yet if I'll hinge it so it can open and close or if I'll glue it shut but it's nice to have the option. Up next will be primer and finalizing any ghosting and/or other bodywork issues. Thanks for looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhadman Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 very nicely done.. The cover looks excellent ..Has a smooth look that fits the style of your street truck.. I love the way the rear tires fill the wells...Very aggressive look.. The one thing i might do if i was going to afix the front wheels permanently,would be to turn them to the left..That would look very aggressive from your front angle. Looking great... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOBBS Posted March 29, 2007 Author Share Posted March 29, 2007 Thanks for the compliments. These pics were with just a bare frame (no suspension) to line up the cab and bed. I haven't decided which suspension I'll use yet. I've got the lowered pieces from the custom Silverado, stock, been pondering swapping in the AWD Escalade setup w/ the transfer case from my spare Rubicon or air-bagging it to set it as low as possible. Of these, I think only the Escalade set-up would be a challenge to make steerable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sno_man80 Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 I'm not much a Chevy person, but I think even I'd have fun building this kit. I think its looks good, the roll pan looks real nice, I know you said the wheels wouldn't be tucked under so much and I couldn't agree more, the fronts almost look good as they are but hopefully you raise the rear end a bit so the top of the tires aren't hidden so much by the rear fenders. Otherwise, good luck, it has a lot of potential and should look great in the end, keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopper Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 that's gonna be a good lookin truck , im thinking of grafting a caddy front clip on when i get the chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOBBS Posted March 30, 2007 Author Share Posted March 30, 2007 Thanks all, the more I look at her the more I'm leaning towards setting the ride height to just where the tires clear the fender openings. Not so high as to look like a 4x4 but not so low that it would be impractical in 1:1. According to the engraving on the sidewall of the tires these are 305/40/23's so that's quite a bit of meat to try to tuck up into the fenders. I'll have more pics once the "warts" that popped up in the primer coat are tended to. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gowjobs Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 It is a nice kit, and not a difficult build. A couple of years ago, I built this one in 24 hours. All I changed were the wheels and removal of the "rubber" strip down the sides. If I had taken a little more time, I would have blacked-out the textured window borders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhadman Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 I was impressed when i opened mine up the first time.. Gets my vote for one of the best model offerings in the past few years. I like the way the rear wheels and tires look,and don't think you need to raise them up a whole lot.. As for the fronts,i think if you can push them out as wide as you can,and still be in the fenders,it will look great..JMO...I am sure it will look great when you are done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOBBS Posted March 31, 2007 Author Share Posted March 31, 2007 Gowjobs, in the words of Mater "Aww Dang", that's exactly the color I was planning for my truck. I picked up two cans of Tamiya Clear Orange Sunday and am waiting on the bottle of Alclad Copper to use as a base coat that I ordered. What paint or combo is that?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gowjobs Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 Gowjobs, in the words of Mater "Aww Dang", that's exactly the color I was planning for my truck. I picked up two cans of Tamiya Clear Orange Sunday and am waiting on the bottle of Alclad Copper to use as a base coat that I ordered. What paint or combo is that?? It's Tamiya Clear Orange over a base of Testors Model Master Dark Bronze. Both were straight out of the spray cans. I just used the Tamiya Clear Orange instead of a clearcoat on the newer Model Master two-stage lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOBBS Posted March 31, 2007 Author Share Posted March 31, 2007 It's Tamiya Clear Orange over a base of Testors Model Master Dark Bronze. Both were straight out of the spray cans. I just used the Tamiya Clear Orange instead of a clearcoat on the newer Model Master two-stage lacquer. I thought about using MM Dark Bronze as a base coat but was worried it would come out way too dark. Hope ya don't mind, but I may have to borrow this combo from ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kod38 Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 That looks really good. Doug R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gowjobs Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 I thought about using MM Dark Bronze as a base coat but was worried it would come out way too dark. Hope ya don't mind, but I may have to borrow this combo from ya. Go for it! I've been considering using it on something else again sometime soon - maybe a small-scale project. I look forward to seeing your results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest roadkill2525 Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Since I traded my Silverado I've seen a couple projects pop up that look great and make me want mine back, oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjscustommodels Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 It is a nice kit, and not a difficult build. A couple of years ago, I built this one in 24 hours. All I changed were the wheels and removal of the "rubber" strip down the sides. If I had taken a little more time, I would have blacked-out the textured window borders. I just saw this in the new contest Annual MCM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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