Surfite! Updated Improvements 2/1/2013

[jbwelda]

Well, sorta. I fully expect to finish my Austin rod and the Karmann Ghia and the Jaguar and the...uh well you get the picture; meanwhile i started on a Surfite i have been meaning to build one of these days due in no small part to the uber kool Austin motor and just the pure gestalt of the kit!

the plan is basically out of box with ignition wiring added and i also am planning on smoothing the body seams and making the body lift off the chassis, so i am smoothing the chassis to make a nice presentation when stripped down to the bone as it were.

so...first step of course is the shack. ready to spray it with dullcote and then leave it outside for the winter to, uh, age properly. meanwhile i have an excuse for not finishing up the car till the spring!






as always, encouragements encouraged and haters can hate!



i might build Ed a HA bike to hang outside the shack too if i can find that harley parts pack bike!

Edited February 2, 2013 by jbwelda

[jbwelda]

and here is an engine!

btw just noticed scalemasters thread on his build of this some couple years ago. great and certainly a high water mark for mine!

thanks for looking!

[Chuck Most]

What kind of engine is that?

[Joe Handley]

Rover I think, IIRC he found a Mini in the junkyard and used it as a basis for this car.

[jbwelda]

i am pretty sure its an austin...and that was way before rover had anything to do with austin or morris wasnt it?

that would still mean its basically from a (austin) mini rather than a (morris) mini, most likely.

Edited November 22, 2011 by jbwelda

[Kombi]

That does appear to be an Austin engine, complete with the SU carburetor.

Not entirely unlike my own 998. Although this one appears to have the generator versus the alternator which makes it from a Mk1 or Mk2 Austin Mini (assuming the mold is entirely accurate to the motor).

[Chuck Most]

Sweet. Might need to pick one up just for that engine. Always wanted to throw together a hot rod with a European four-banger for power.

[RodneyBad]

Shack is looking good.

Engine is looking Great..

Cool Lil Engine too.

[Dave Ambrose]

It's a British Motor Corporation A-series engine. Displacement could be 948, 1098, or 1275 cc. The single SU could have gone into either an Austin Mini, or a Morris Minor.

[Danno]

Kewl! It's a Roth Renaissance!

Go Bill!

[jbwelda]

and on the new years eve, got some progress to report here as well: a nearly completed chassis.

brass rod is just for alignment; i have a polished aluminum axle to replace it. really stabilizes the suspension. its pretty fragile and fiddly to put together and align properly. it did fit together surprisingly well. no heroics here just some patience and superglue. looks good though. will look better with the motor in tomorrow after the epoxy dries on the rear hubs. then its wheels and tires to make a rolling chassis while i fiddle with the body seams and hopefully my first airbrush paint job! will practice on the interior tub first!

happy new year everyone!

Edited January 1, 2012 by jbwelda

[SoCalCarCulture]

The Surfite currently sits in a private collection here in SoCal...

[Greg Pugh]

That looks fantastic Bill!! Nice work! Are you bringing that Tuesday?

[jbwelda]

thanks greg, and if i get the wheels and tires mounted by tuesday i might bring it along.

Edited January 2, 2012 by jbwelda

[jbwelda]

time for an update, heres a chronology of sorts:

a couple of notes: sometimes it helps to read the instrux BEFORE assembling something, even when you are sure you know exactly what you are doing. witness, wheels are assembled inside out and the knockoffs are glued to the inside of the wheel. duh. the last photo shows them corrected and the way they are supposed to be but the first few photos show them the way i knew they were supposed to go!

in the last photo, the rear wheels/tires are just stuck on the axle right now, awaiting epoxy, probably later this evening. its looking good but its particularly delicate, especially that front end and steering linkage..

next on to the body...

Edited January 6, 2012 by jbwelda

[bobthehobbyguy]

Nice job. Glad to see you are finishing this.

bobthehobbyguy

[jbwelda]

>Glad to see you are finishing this

thanks! but lets not go putting any (ala) karts before the horse!

[Psychographic]

I recently got a Surfite kit thinking the body would make a good cab for something.

I have to say, the beautiful work on yours has me thinking I should build it somewhat stock, if I was building this and the rolling chassis looked as good as yours, I would leave the body off of it.

[jbwelda]

funny you should mention that, psychographic, as i have been getting other ideas for this chassis!

this thing has some potential! some flotation tires and a whip antennae and it would be a cool sand buggy!

maybe next time...heres rolling chassis and a body test fit. body still has some filling and smoothing to do...that horizontal seam is a pain.

but all four wheels touch the ground! this kit is actually very well engineered and everything pretty much fits like its supposed to, delicate as it may be.

Edited January 9, 2012 by jbwelda

[jbwelda]

not all that exciting but along with smoothing the body and sharpening the edges, i actually did my very first airbrush session and painted the interior bucket, flat black on the outside and classic (gloss) black on the inside. came out pretty nice too. probably have this built up later in the weekend: its pretty simple but i am going to flock the carpet and do some other little detailing.

ps: look at those stupid ejector pin marks right in the middle of the upholstery!

Edited January 22, 2012 by jbwelda

[62rebel]

at least the one i see is aligned with the pattern.... they're usually at some gosh awful oblique angle if they're in a patterned section, and they usually stick up a scale inch or twelve....

that's a heck of a build.... i never could understand why so many Revell kits hid their light under a bushel so to speak. so much detail forever hidden once the body is glued down....

[sports850]

I've started one of these a little while ago as well (I am mini and mini variant obsessed) , the engine is from what I believe you guy's had as an Austin American , very close cousin to what the rest of the world got as the Austin/Morris/Wolesly/MG/Riley 1100/1300 range (BMC kept the styling very similar , just changed the grille and bonnet front edges and interior trim levels) .

I love the detail you've acheived on the kit so far , how did you go getting the body panels to sit , they are a little tricky on mine and not wanting to line up too well ...

[jbwelda]

>how did you go getting the body panels to sit , they are a little tricky on mine and not wanting to line up too well ...

if you mean where the various body pieces join up, yeah they were a little tricky to say the least; i didnt bother, just got it close all around and welded everything up with thick CA glue and am currently filling and sanding the remaining seams.

this thing actually fits together pretty well, i accidently installed what was left of the steering shaft/steering box upside down and see now that it would have looked a lot better as it was supposed to be. that may be borne out in how the steering column eventually angles in the interior. but fussy as a lot of the chassis was, i have to say stuff fit like it should, which to me has been a revell hallmark: fiddly but all fits with patience.

[sports850]

Yeah , I meant the body bits fitting together , I grew several new grey hairs trying to get mine to fit right , just doesn't seem to be enough meat in the locating lugs to line up right . Still , it's mostly together now .

[jbwelda]

alright a little progress to report...the interior, such as it is, is complete. no heroics though i did make a four-piece polished aluminum steering column just cuz the kit one looked so poor. there isnt much there and its all black so a bit difficult to see. steering wheel, gauge cluster with integral brake and clutch pedals (looks totally unrealistic but its hard to see anyhow), long shift lever and non-descript shift knob, a little gas pedal, and thats all there is folks! i did flock the floorboard but again its gonna be kinda hard to tell even with the more than adequate greenhouse of the body.

and speaking of the body, its getting pretty smooth now, molded the lower fairings in and cleaned up the seams. still another round to go but then it should be ready for paint. yellow. my first real airbrush full on paint job. this is gonna be interesting...perhaps i will chicken out and stick with tamiya chrome yellow outta the buzzcan.

comments, suggestions, questions always cheerfully entertained!