stump Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Well, this may well be a first.....can't recall having posted a WIP for anything other than large scale, at least not for a very long time.... So, the newly tooled 1/25 Cuda from Revell. I can honestly say I was really looking forward to getting my dirty little paws all over this one. And I ain't disappointed. My decals arrived flat, packed neatly at the bottom, most parts don't appear to have a real lot of flash, if any at all.... My only gripe was with the hoods. Both warped, one far worse than the other. I tried to straighten it, but my clumsy hands over powered it and........S N A P ! And guess which hood that would be???? Yep, the shaker. So, that result pretty much drove me in the direction I've gone.....hot street car, full of Hi-Po options reminiscent of what was available back in the day... Big'n'little Cragars, wide meat out the back......you get where I'm heading...... I would have gone with a factory stock Hemi, had the hood survived. Well, to start off, I glued the motor sections together, where all good builds start, right. And looking through the parts trees, I was kinda shocked/surprised, not to see the familiar Hooker style headers. I mean, these have been in nearly ALL Mopar offerings from Revell for how long? Well, forever it seams. Nope, not this time. Even though other "custom" items are included for a street machine version, no headers..... I sent word to the exhaust shop that I needed a new set of Hookers made up. The boys worked tirelessly for two nights. Once they arrived here at the shop, I had to add some 4-into-1 collectors, scavenged from an old set of pro stock headers. Flanges were added and drilled to accept some tiny bolts from RBMotion. A reducing cone was shaped from 3.2mm tube, it will allow the 2.5mm (75mm in 1:1) exhaust pipes to be fitted towards the end of the build. Finally got them finished today, well tonight....only about an hour ago (10.30pm local time). They are now glued in place on the motor, so a final "test" fit in the morning will tell me if we got the measurements and sizes correct. The chassis has already had extra meat taken out for clearance at the motor mounts. Not real clear, sorry, but you can see both sides now have a notch to allow header fitment. Induction wise....I opted for a single hi-rise Torker style inlet manifold. I've got a pic saved with what I wanted, but after searching my hidden stash, come up blank. What I did find was an old NASCAR Ford inlet. Ok, so the runners don't match the Hemi heads....... I carefully sliced/sawed it down the centre, front to rear, then added a wafer thin piece of sheet stock between the two halves, and re-glued, aligning the runners to suit the Hemi. I had to modify the inlet on top as well, so this was built up with scrap pieces and some putty. With some new side plates and a base, some extra putty, I was pretty pleased with this result. So, the chassis has been through round 1 and 2 of proceedings, I filled un-necessary wholes, removed the raised copyright marks and so on. I drilled a lot (all??) of the chassis holes as well, just to give them a more 3D appearance. It got a coat of primer and colour coat today, and I started running brake and fuel lines tonight. I will get some more pics tomorrow. Stat tuned, I'm not sure how long this will take, but it should build quicker than my 1/12 projects. Cheers Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o-man Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Those headers look awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stump Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Thanks so much Oscar. Tomorrow is truth or dare day.....see if they still fit in as per earlier tests. LOL I know starter clearance is ok, and they will clear the torsion bars......and at the last test, they cleared the notches to the engine mounts...................Now they are properly glued in place, I hope nothing changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris White Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 very cool headers and story telling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoatGuy Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Looks excellent so far Greg. Too bad about the hood. Looking forward to more of your build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 You do some very nice work ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 impressive work so far... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Hey Greg can you give me the name of that header shop? I love their work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ1971 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 G'day Stump! Glad to see you're doing the smaller scale stuff... & a Mopar to boot! :-) I bought half a doz' of these late last year, I've only opened 1, which is currently on the bench ;-) Haven't had any major issues with it & hoping none of the other 5 kits have "issues" either. I agree with you on the custom wheels... Straight to the garbage bin mine are going. Got plenty of after-market 18-19-20s to replace 'em with ;-) Mate you should've given out a "shout-out" for the headers, I've got plenty of spares from Revell's 68-69 Charger kits ... Would've been happy to send you a set :-) Keep up the progress mate :-) Cheers Cliffo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbill Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 wow, love the headers! I have two of these kits, and if you need, would part with a shaker hood to help you out. let me know if you'd like the hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mademan Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 (edited) Excellent work on the headers! One of my kits came with 2 shaker hoods..... pm me your address and ill send you one, and a set of flowmasters Edited January 11, 2014 by mademan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stump Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Hey guys, thank you all very much for your pleasant comments, you're all too kind. JC, yeah, the guys name is Greg, he only works from a dingy little shed in his backyard, not a real professional set up at all. Thanks man. Cliffo!! Mate, been way too long between catchups hasn't it. Yep, not sure the eyes are appreciating the downsizing, but I can live with that. Too much you need to source or make yourself with them big ones. LOL And hold that thought on the headers...........More below. Tom, thanks so much for your fine offer mate. I should be good, thanks. I just PM'd Mike. Mike, PM just headed your way, cheers man. Well, test fitting went ahead as planned......the day didn't go totally to plan, with lawn mowing this morning, then we got inundated with visitors (family.....couldn't turn them away LOL)..... Snapped a couple of photos this arvo with things in place....................... Headers on...... Just another view, intake and carb just sitting on there. TEASER alert! This pic shows the colour choice. I really really wanted Lemon Twist, but not having an air-brush, and not being able to import true colours from the likes of MCW (?), I just decided to go with this...I have a couple of cans on hand (Tamiya TS-16).................... It shows the extra notching to the engine mounts a bit better now it has colour. Ok........I was still pretty happy at this point. It fits in there nice and snug. From below, I was starting to feel pangs of anxiety right about here......K-member just resting in place....Can you see my problem? This angle shows it a bit clearer........the tie-rod assembly hasn't been fitted yet. So Cliffo old mate, you might still get a PM........I'm thinking I might try and just make another set. I can save these/this motor for a more Pro-touring build maybe.... With a fully modified chassis, I could make use of a front steer arrangement, steering linkage ahead of the engine cross member maybe..... I'll get back to you Cliff if I get cold feet on new headers. LOL Well, I'm back to work as of tomorrow, so updates will be a bit limited, but I shall keep the ball rolling. Thanks again for stopping by guys, stay tuned..... Cheers Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ1971 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Lol! Yeh mate... Been awhile between drinks, ain't it? ;-) Haven't really had any productive time on the bench in over 12mnths... Finding it hard to sit at it for any length of time since my BF passed away. Still struggling with it all. But... I've got 3mnths annual holidays that started a week before Xmas & til now I've just been cruising & enjoying the weather ;-) & I HAVE decided it's time I got productive on the bench ( on it now ;-) Specially since I got this kit & committed myself to another B'day pressie build for a really good mate... :-) Just say the word Stumpo & the headers are your's.... & any other Mopar parts I can help ya out with ;-) Also if you're interested I have a few 1:1 true match Mopar colours in my stash, more than enough to send ya some ... I'll wait on your PM ok champ :-) Nice work on those headers/chassis btw ;-) Cheers Cliffo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FASTBACK340 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) Be careful with ground clearance on those headers. They look a little low, but otherwise beautiful job fabricating them! I've tried in the past and failed every time I did. Very realistic. Just watch out for your clutch Z bar clearance…. BTW: Forgot to mention nice job on the manifold too! So many `70 Barracuda builds going on it's nice to see a modified one going together. Edited January 12, 2014 by FASTBACK340 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stump Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Be careful with ground clearance on those headers. They look a little low, but otherwise beautiful job fabricating them! I've tried in the past and failed every time I did. Very realistic. Just watch out for your clutch Z bar clearance…. BTW: Forgot to mention nice job on the manifold too! So many `70 Barracuda builds going on it's nice to see a modified one going together. Hehehe, thanks John. Yep, ground clearance is ok.....just getting the steering to a "functional" compromise will be a little more challenging..... Hey Cliffo, sorry to hear you've had a bumpy ride mate. God willing, things pick up for you in 2014 my friend. Stay strong bro. Hey........headers! GUESS what I found??????? Man, I have a Dart partially started (on the bench also) and it's getting a 440........................................ What do you think was still "in the box", still attached to their spru? HEADERS! I "LOL'd" so much when I found them. I will put them aside for another build now I got 'em........ GREAT guy alert! Mike, a true Champion, sent me an unmolested FLAT Cuda hood, along with a fantastic pair of Flowmaster mufflers...Pics later. Thank you again Mike, you saved my butt big time mate. So, settling back into my second week back at the real job (work sux)...time at the bench has eased, but not stopped. Having settled on a colour, I splashed some around the chassis and engine bay. Added some black to the chassis, and the whole lot will get some weathering added later. Fuel and brake lines run. I really love the omission of the molded lines by Revell. Makes it easier to add these things IMHO. I've left the "factory" fuel return line in place and added a home mechanic style of added fuel supply line. The inline filter (black thing with shiny ends) was made with two combination fittings from Detail Master, butted together, inside some black tubing. (RHS of photo) Made some Gabriel Hi-Jacker air shocks for the rear. Added RBMotion hardware to attach them to the modified spring shackles. Didn't have any Gabriel decals for them tho..... Once installed, I think they look right at home in there. Front end resting in place, just test fitting to make sure the new torsion bars fit. I drilled locating holes for both ends, and cut some brass wire to suit. They are approximately .924inch..............or there abouts....I think they look a bit more realistic than the plastic ones?? Still LOVING this new kit so much.......a few more are a sure thing down the road me thinks. Till next update, see you'll again soon, and thanks for stopping by. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBossman1 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Jeebus thats nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FASTBACK340 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 That really is starting to pop nicely! And thanks for confirming me adding brake & fuel lines to my build, your inspiring me! Continue to build on !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FASTBACK340 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 (edited) Hehehe, thanks John. Yep, ground clearance is ok.....just getting the steering to a "functional" compromise will be a little more challenging..... Years ago when I first bought my Barracuda project I installed a stock 360 w/ Hooker headers. Aside from it taking a ball peen hammer to get some steering linkage "clearance", the first bump in the road damaged 3 tubes on my brand new pipes…... ​That's why I bought the TTI headers, Cost more than twice what the Hookers cost, but they tuck up nice & tight. Once you get them IN…. Edited January 22, 2014 by FASTBACK340 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99monguse Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 (edited) Did you try to contact Revell, maybe they'd send you a new hood? A LONG LONG time ago I was building the Monte SS and the windshield broke, I sent a letter to the company, told them I would pay for it, but they just sent me a new one no charge. THIS IS RIGHT FROM REVELLS WEBSITE: "Revell's Parts Policy is in place to provide our customers with a quality building experience and was developed to assist with replacing parts that may be missing or broken. Please contact Customer Service at 1-800-833-3570 or cservice@revell.com to request a part replacement." Edited January 22, 2014 by 99monguse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Very impressive detail. Real nice progress... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cesar Bossolani Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Impressive job mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroguy Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 great work,very nice work on the chassis and the headers,what size rod did you use... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stump Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hey guys, thank you all very very much for your too kind words and comments. John, I think we're spurring each other on then mate. I started on a Z-bar. Still working out how it'll all come together, but it's a start. LOL. Brian, I didn't get around to contacting Revell, though I feel sure they would have helped had I asked. As it turned out, our great friend Mike (mademan) Mathers helped out in super fast time. A beautiful flat bonnet has landed already, not bad from the U.S. to Aus. Michael, headers used 2mm, or .080 inch Evergreen rod.In 1/25 speak, that scales up pretty close to 2inch. I have a bit more work done, but not taken any pics yet. My batteries (camera) died and only got fresh ones this morning. I'm on a day off work (forced...twitched my back and pinched a nerve in the lower back), so they sent me home so things don't escalate....It happened a couple of days ago (sneezed of all things ) and I reported it, so they wouldn't think I was claiming I actually did it lifting or something silly....Just precautionary on their part (work) I guess. I feel ok if I don't make any sudden moves, and that's something you can't guarantee NOT happening where I work. So, be safe...... Sitting at my desk/workbench with a cold pack strapped to the seat backrest........doesn't feel too bad. If I get time later on, I'll throw some progress up here for you guys. Thanks for stopping by Cheers Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ1971 Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 G'day Greg.... Mate impressive work on the Cuda! Looks the goods ;-) Sorry to hear about the injury but hopefully you'll be fine soon enough :-) Glad to hear you found some spare headers & got a new hood from Mike :-) Like I said... Any time you need Mopar stuff just drop me a pm... I'll do my best to search the stash for ya ;-) I'm awaiting some wheels that I just got off eBay for my Cuda but I'm digging being back & spending time on the bench... Had to be a Mopar to get me back on it ;-) Got a question for ya... I've only mocked mine up a few times & obviously you & a few others are far more ahead in the build but do you find the engine sits really low? Lower than in reference pics? I haven't mounted mine with the carbs/shaker hood on so I'm just wondering? Chees Cliffo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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