ratchetman87 Posted January 1, 2014 Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) Just started the revell 1960 impala should be an interesting build i have some ideas starting with the grille. The out of box grille wasnt quite to my liking so i brushed off the tool box grabbed the sharpest exacto i have grabbed a pepsi and went for the phantom billet look. I started with a sheet of .015 styrene cut out a smaller piece about 2 x 3 in. and laid out the cuts with a scale and pencil. Then i tacked all the pieces together and shaped and notched them ( sorry no progressive photos). Then i "borrowed" the headlight gussets from the stock grille and placed them on the finished grille. Much more satisfying look i would say, now to paint and set aside. Thanks for looking, more to come Edited October 29, 2014 by ratchetman87
ratchetman87 Posted January 1, 2014 Author Posted January 1, 2014 More shots of the grille without paint.
ratchetman87 Posted January 1, 2014 Author Posted January 1, 2014 Thank you, im actually on the fence about that.... i was thinking a brushed aluminum look but the alclad would really pop. It all depends on the color scheme. I was thinking a dark kind of candy green with a white top or just a single color. Havent really thought it all the way through yet because the possibilities are endless
ratchetman87 Posted January 2, 2014 Author Posted January 2, 2014 (edited) Well had a busy day on the bench. Got the suspension tacked in place so that i could make adjustments for the stance i wanted to acheive. These are the wheels i plan to use only they wont be green. I plan on dressing the rear fenders with skirts to give the whole car a lower and longer appearance without heavy mods to the suspension and wheel wells. My only issue im encountering is these wheels were intended for use on another project but i found some pegasus wheels that look better for that project. So i need advice on how to remove acrylic paint from these wheels so i can hit them with alclad, any tips would be appreciated. Well thats it for now more to come hopefully on sunday. Thanks for looking Edited January 2, 2014 by ratchetman87
PappyD340 Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 FANTASTIC start Jeff!! it be looking gooood!!
Modlbldr Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 Spray a heavy coat of Easy Off oven cleaner (not the fume free type) on the wheels and seal them in a Ziploc bag for an hour or two. After that, scrub them with an old tooth brush in dish soap and warm water. It should come off. If not, try it again. Be sure to wear rubber gloves. Later-
ratchetman87 Posted January 3, 2014 Author Posted January 3, 2014 Ok so ive made a mistake by not checking the forum before experimenting with what would strip acrylic paint and apparently laquer thinner is bad juju for plastic. The wheels started melting in a few seconds after applying the thinner with a q-tip. Wheels are shot to hell so i gotta find some replacements or buy another 29 ford just for the wheels. I see a trip to the chapel er i mean hobby store tomorrow
ratchetman87 Posted January 4, 2014 Author Posted January 4, 2014 Wheel issue is solved thanks to a donor catalina. Got some work done on one of the fender skirts today had to start over cause i botched the first one i made, got kind of file happy. Pics will be up tomorrow or sunday the wifes honey do list is starting to grow. Have a good weekend guys.
ratchetman87 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Posted January 6, 2014 Hey guys a got some work done to the impala this weekend. Not a whole lot but its coming along slowly but surely. Heres are some pics of progress that has been made. I started with making a stencil of the wheel well so i would have a starting point on the fender skirts. Traced the general shape onto the styrene and cut it out. After some serious shaping and fitting i finally got the fit just right I then had to shape the skirts to match the contour of the rear quarter, i used a pencil and marked the shape of the contour to help me see the shape. Here they are side by side 100% completed. The next photos show the stance of the car with the grille mocked up and fender skirts on. Well thats all for now. More to come as soon as possible thanks for looking and as always all input is welcome and appreciated
Modlbldr Posted January 7, 2014 Posted January 7, 2014 Nice looking flush mounted skirts. The build is coming along. Keep posting the photos. Later-
ratchetman87 Posted January 8, 2014 Author Posted January 8, 2014 Thanks tom, Im hoping to finish sanding down the body tonight after i get out of work so i can lay some primer down. I would like to have all block sanding complete by this weekend so i can get to the suspension and do some final tweaks before i paint the chasis and then i can move on to my favorite section.... the engine. Still unsure about the color scheme though. I thought about a 2 tone scheme of a darker hue of red for the bottom half and a sort of cream color for the top half using the rear fins as the dividing line. But i feel like its been done too many times before. So then i thought about a dark candy green. But then lol, i came across this plum metallic color and im thinking i may have a winner. But not sure yet, any thoughts and opinions?
ratchetman87 Posted January 8, 2014 Author Posted January 8, 2014 Progress is being made guys. Got the primer shot on the body shell tonight. I used duplicolors sandable primer decanted into a dual action badger. I shot several dry coats to lightly cover the surface. Once i got full coverage i sprayed one light wet coat to assure ive got full coverage. Next is to block sand the surface to knock down any high spots i may have missed before primer. Then ill shoot one last coat of primer, sand, and then move on to the color, if i ever decide on one. Heres a pic of the impala in primer.
om617 Posted January 8, 2014 Posted January 8, 2014 Nice work on the grill and skirts. Will be following this.
ratchetman87 Posted January 11, 2014 Author Posted January 11, 2014 Hey guys sorry no update yet. Its been a busy week of 10 and 12 hour shifts at work. Im going to start engine work tomorrow and would like to wire the engine bay. Only problem im having is im not sure where to run the positive battery cable to. Been under the hood of a 1:1 thousands of times but never ran wiring before, any advice?
ratchetman87 Posted January 13, 2014 Author Posted January 13, 2014 Well, its been a rough week all the way around managed to get the block halves assembled and the heads on. Painted the block chevy engine red, the tranny is aluminum, the bell housing will be going gloss black so itll break up all of the aluminum and red. Heres a quick photo of the block and tranny. I may change the heads and paint them aluminum instead, not sure yet. Thanks for looking guys.
ratchetman87 Posted January 13, 2014 Author Posted January 13, 2014 One last thing ill be starting a new topic for those who are watching. Itll be titled 60 impala wip
Bartster Posted January 13, 2014 Posted January 13, 2014 Hey guys sorry no update yet. Its been a busy week of 10 and 12 hour shifts at work. Im going to start engine work tomorrow and would like to wire the engine bay. Only problem im having is im not sure where to run the positive battery cable to. Been under the hood of a 1:1 thousands of times but never ran wiring before, any advice?
Bartster Posted January 13, 2014 Posted January 13, 2014 Hey guys sorry no update yet. Its been a busy week of 10 and 12 hour shifts at work. Im going to start engine work tomorrow and would like to wire the engine bay. Only problem im having is im not sure where to run the positive battery cable to. Been under the hood of a 1:1 thousands of times but never ran wiring before, any advice?
Bartster Posted January 13, 2014 Posted January 13, 2014 Run the positive cable to the front of the solenoid on top of the starter.
ratchetman87 Posted January 13, 2014 Author Posted January 13, 2014 Thank you, thats what i thought. I wasnt sure if it was supposed to run to the starter or into the firewall, then run back to the starter. Im dumb when it comes to electrical. So i really appreciate the tip. What about the altenator, would that run to the same wire coming off of the battery or does this run to the fuse box inside the firewall.
ratchetman87 Posted January 25, 2014 Author Posted January 25, 2014 Well my boss doesnt seem to understand that work is getting in the way of my build time. So as it stand right now the impala hasnt progressed to much at all. I decided to lose the fender skirts and put air ride suspension to level the car out a little bit. The wheels are different sizes in the front and back so out comes the razor saw and styrene. Sorry no pics yet but sunday i have a date with my workbench and the probowl so you guys should see some progress soon ( hopefully)
ratchetman87 Posted February 3, 2014 Author Posted February 3, 2014 Well 2014 hasnt been to friendly so far guys. In the last couple of weeks ive worked 180 hours, my cousin has passed away, and my truck has caught fire, oh and seattle blew denver away. So needless to say i havent had much time to saddle up at the bench. However my darling wife who is always in my corner has noticed the high levels of stress and came home with a few cans of paint from autozone. She sent me to my work bench with supplies and demanded i get away from it all. So after about 2 hours of nothing i noticed she got a can of duplicolors gm artic white and i had to see how the impala looked in it. I am very satisfied with the end result. Flat black reverse mount steelies with wide whites will pull this snow flake to the ground really nice. As mentioned i pulled the fender skirts and decided to bag this one instead. Im thinking i might put side pipes on her as well but as usual nothing is set in stone. Heres a couple pics of what ive got so far. Artic white paint laid this morning just needs buffed and clear. Engine about half way done. More details to be added later on Well thats all for now thanks for looking more to come.
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