The Straight Six community build

[Casey]

Tonight I removed the molded in grille "teeth", getting it ready for the Model Car Garage photoetched inserts:

Next I test fit the hood and grille with the body, making sure there are no fitment issues. Looks good:

The LH side of the grille drooped a tad before I clicked the pic, but all three fit together well. I still need to test fit the upper trim piece which attaches to the hood and find the front bumper, too. The hood'll need some more attention at the rear corners, some narrowing for a better fit side-to-side, and receive some bracing detail on the underside, as I used the fiberglass hood from the '68 kit. The little gap just inboard of the antenna base on the fender will need to be filled, too. I've had no luck finding a scale thickness wire which is stiff enough to use as an antenna, so I'm open to suggestions.

I also picked up some paint last week at HL, giving myself two choices, so I have to check out what the interior color options were for each exterior color, then make a decision. I'm excited to put the airbrush to work.

[Chuck Most]

I still think it needs to be painted some digsusting shade of green or brown. I mean, just pick the most repugnant looking shade from the Dart brochure and let 'er rip!

Started another Hudson 308 powered hot rod, this based around a '41 Chevy pickup-

[Casey]

I still think it needs to be painted some digsusting shade of green or brown. I mean, just pick the most repugnant looking shade from the Dart brochure and let 'er rip!

There are plenty of browns and greens to chose from, but I think I'll choose one of these:

I suppose the goldish color is in the brown family, though.

[Custom Mike]

Oh man, that is a pretty Blue Casey, go with that!

[Austin T]

I'm with Mike, I love that blue/turquoise. where can I get some of it?

[Casey]

Oh man, that is a pretty Blue Casey, go with that!

I think it looks good on a Dart, without being too flashy. It's a little greener than the pic above shows, but not quite this green/turquoise:

Hobby Lobby or similar, Austin, I think it's Folk Art acrylic.

[Chuck Most]

Yeah, that'll work, too.

[blunc]

I need to find some tiny black rubber-like punched out circles to use for the squished out rubber bushings, as my smallest punch is only 1/8" in diameter.

if you haven't found a solution for representing squished bushings, I suggest insulation from 16 or 18 gage wire, it can be sliced thin then added to the brackets.

[MAGNUM4342]

I've been sneaking in here taking the occaisional peek and I like what you guys are doing. Chuck- My guess on the green was going to be "Gouge your eyes out" green. I pulled up that first picture of the interior and my cat, who WAS sitting on the arm of my chair, blinked twice and slowly left the room!

Casey- I have long wondered why there aren't many builds by the mods here. I see now you were just resting up. You and I have had our dustups but you really do put alot of thought and work into your builds. I would most likely have left the inner fendertops alone, counting on the paint to dull those sharp details. That would have been the wrong move. Kudos on your attention to details. I like your paint choice too, but then who wouldn't after seeing Chuck's wicked witch of the west colors!

Just kidding Chuck, you know I loves-ya!

[Casey]

I wasn't liking the rectangular upper half of the gas tank, and the molded in straps and brackets weren't pretty either, so the area between the framerails was removed from the '69 chassis, and replaced with the same section from the '68 Dart kit, only modified. I cut off the gas tank, cleaned up the spare tire well section, filled in the new floorpan hole where the molded-in gas tank was located, and added the missing third of the well using the '69's well. Here you can see the '69 section which was added to complete the well, and the filler piece above it:

I added a .030" filler strip on both sides of the floor section, then test fit it in the chassis until I was satisfied. I also squared up the framerails a bit, filled in two sink marks, then started removing the rear torque boxes. The front leaf spring bracket "pads" have yet to be removed in this pic:

The hood got another coat of filler primer and is now ready for me to add the bracing to the underside, but the notch/gap on the fender, near the right rear corner of the hood, still needs attention:

[southpier]

definitely a labor of love

[charlie8575]

I forgot I signed up for this. Some very nice work. And Casey, that Dart is fantastic.

I'll probably start poking at my Hudson again sooner rather than later.

Charlie Larkin

[Casey]

I re-shaped the edges of the floorpan insert piece (I went after two sinks marks on the inside edges of the framerails, and ended up sanding away some thickness), re-did the spare tire well ribs, and started cleaning up the area around the front leaf spring brackets. The torque boxes were removed, which meant some shaving/thinning of the first scale foot of the framerails, patching in where the torque boxes were located, and I will need to add the cross braces to which the leaf spring brackets attach:

I have yet to glue in the insert, as the ribs and drain plugs need some more detailing and I need to finish the gas tank and the section of the filler neck which will be visible, the add some tank straps.

[Custom Mike]

Beautiful work Casey...this is gonna be a real beauty when you wrap it up!

[Casey]

I was determined to improve the look of the cowl vent openings, but after thinning the backside and scribing each gap all the way through, it was apparent the vent area now looked worse. The gaps weren't even and the plastic was too soft to retain it's shape, so I removed all of the vent's "teeth" and found a photoetched grille piece which had the same spacing to fill in the hole. The p/e is only .005" thick, so I have I have to dig a shallow recess around the opening, lay the p/e sheet inside the recess, then make sure the p/e is flush with the rest of the cowl. Here's my starting point:

That wasn't so bad. We'll see how the cowl levels out and what it looks like after a quick prime:

[Custom Mike]

That's something that has bugged me for a while now Casey, your solution looks like a great option! I'll be waiting to see it in primer!

[Casey]

After some sanding on the cowl panel, it's ready for a skim coat of filler:

Backlit shot to check for any excess superglue which may have seeped out between the ribs:

The floorpan/trunk area between the rear framerails is almost, done, too. I need to finish the (mostly hidden) section of the fuel tank which nests with the spare tire well, so just waiting for the glue to dry:

[Ford guy]

Casey, your work is very admirable. Outstanding build. I can't wait to see more! Your attention to detail is unbelievable!

Custom Mike, excellent job on your interior, the leather work is remarkable! The bed floor is so good looking, and those carriage bolts, WOW, great job!

[Custom Mike]

Thanks Roy, but compared to Casey, I've got a looong way to go. Casey, just how did you get that done without the glue seeping between the vents? That is some beautiful work my friend, bravo!

[Casey]

how did you get that done without the glue seeping between the vents? That is some beautiful work my friend, bravo!

Thanks. I used a micro tip on the superglue tube and applied it sparingly, "kicking" it with accelerator at each corner as I went along. After two rounds of putty and coat of primer I can see the p/e grille sits a tiny bit too low, so now I'll have to sand a few of the "slots" to make them all even. We'll see how it looks after some more leveling/sanding.

I primed the trunk section, so that's ready to be permanently attached to the rest of the chassis. Not really loving the box-stock upper shock brace, though...

[Casey]

I got the floorpan section with the spare tire well plastic welded in place, and shot the rear half of the chassis with some primer, just to see how things looked. I'm pleased with how the ribs on the well look less pronounced and more like the real stamped ribs, but there are some areas which need (and by now already received) a bit of filler before the next coat of primer:

In this close-up shot of the cowl vent you can see the gaps are going to need some attention, as a few are not flush with the others, and almost all need reshaping at the forward end:

[mnwildpunk]

Casey this is amazing work on the dart. It is super cool how much effort you put into making it look accurate.

Everyone in this cpb is blowing me away with your attention to details. Super clean build and lots of hard work

[diymirage]

I might join in on this build...IF I can find a front bench seat for a 70-74 A-body

I have a good idea for a duster but it HAS to have a bench seat

not giving any clues on the build but I will tell you the name...the A-bomb (which by the way is a whole lot more powerfull than the F-bomb)

(and that name is taken guys, no stealing it

[tabsscale1]

Is it to late to join in on this?

[southpier]

you're good; jump in!