1961 Impala SS 409

[241Regal]

I'm going to attempt to use images, so if they don't work, please bear with me. I am new to this forum, and this is now my first 'published' project. I got it for $3 at a flea market yesterday, got to love flea markets. It also had a whole bunch of other random parts in it from other kits.

I didn't bother to take any before pictures, but the idiot who had it before me tried to hand paint it red. After a lot of sanding to get rid of brush marks, I got this-

I normally use the Testor's One Coat Laquers, as they require no wet sanding and are literally like a mirror, but they are expensive, and I had a can of rustoleum white enamel and a can of clear, so I painted it with those. The gloss is good, but a lot more orange peel than the Laquers. I don't think I'm gonna wet sand or buff it.

The car will be white with red interior and white seats when complete. I used chevy engine red on the 409 engine, and brush-on silver on the trans- came out good-

Stay tuned for updates!

[241Regal]

Today I glued the interior tub together, and I also finished the engine-

The serpentine belt and alternator were borrowed from a 1968 Firebird 400 parts car, as the one that came with the kit was destroyed. I forgot to put the starter on before I put the exhaust manifold on, so I had to hot glue it so I wouldn't mess up the paint on the block.

[PowerPlant]

Looks nice... It might be due to camera flash, but that interior looks a little too shiny, however. You might want to "dull" it down a bit with some flat clear

[241Regal]

Yes, it is a little bit too shiny, but it was the only red paint I had laying around, and the sheen doesn't bother me all that much. I don't build nearly to the level of some people on this forum, but I do build, and I thought I'd share some of my work.

[PowerPlant]

I certainly didn't mean to criticize, I was just suggesting. It looks great so far!

[JasonC]

What color are you going to use in the side trim on the car?

[241Regal]

@PowerPlant- I understand, and thanks!

@JasonC- I used silver, didnt have any red brush- on paint.

[JasonC]

Ah, if you want to be adventurous. Tape it off and spray paint it. With the color combo that you're doing, it would of had red or black inbetween the trim. But it's just a suggestion, not to for sure where your comfort zone is for details.

[241Regal]

Yeah, I know it was either red or or black, but you couldn't have worded it better- outside my comfort zone. Detailwise, my comfort zone is limited to a chrome sharpie marker (which sometimes I'm reluctant to use) and decals. Half of the decals I put down, I can't even see. I'm new to this whole mini car thing. I'm used to working on real cars.

[241Regal]

And blackwashing, I've black washed many times.

[gwolf]

Nice job, man! Gotta love those flea market finds!

[241Regal]

We had a small kitchen fire today and this model burned up in the fire. Oh well. I'm a bit dissapointed, it was looking really nice. I almost had it done.