Building a stock body 1984 Pontiac Grand Prix From NASCAR

[Wonderbread Kustomz]

Don't darken the windows... You've done all this work, it would be a shame to hide the interior... I would smooth the instrument panel and print up the new dash instrument panel and go with it...

[charlie8575]

I like the idea of the printed dash.

I'd suggest printing the dash at home on gloss photo paper, and then, using an acid-free glue, gluing the print-out to a thin piece of plastic for strength. The dash carrier is the same, which helps.

The real challenge, at least to me, is the very unique door panels. They look nothing like a Monte, Regal or Cutlass. It can be done with sheet plastic, but it will be labor intensive.

The seats will require a little ingenuity, but again, can be done without trying too hard.

See if Ron Lambert can snap a few pictures of the doors on his car and e-Mail them to you for a refresher/reference. I can get you two in contact with each other if needed.

Charlie Larkin

Edited July 5, 2014 by charlie8575

[Bob Ellis]

om617, my father bought a brand new 1981 GP Brougham with the 350 diesel. It lasted 28,000 miles before sending pieces of the engine into the street and literally exploded. Didn't even last one year. He immediately ran to a Cadillac dealer and ordered a new car. Good choice, as it was the last car he ever owned.

Charlie, those are good ideas about the interior.

[Bob Ellis]

I have made some headway on the project. The body is about done and the frame, glass and interior fits too. After minor body touch up,paint and foil is the next step.

[Bob Ellis]

I sprayed some silver on the body. Shows some defects , so I guess some more body work is in order.

I am using the 305 Chevy V8 from the '80 Monte Carlo kit. I think they were painted black in 1984, but figured the Chevy red looks better.

[sak]

THat dashboard should be a piece if cake for you. Break it down into basic shapes. In reality it is a flat L-shaped panel typical of pontiacs. I would cut a peice of that shape outof styrene sheet, drill holes for the gauges, glue some super thin rod to replicate the seperation from the gauge area from the radio/wiper controls..then build the rest of the dash around it.

Edited September 22, 2014 by sak

[bisc63]

That dashboard should be a piece if cake for you. Break it down into basic shapes. In reality it is a flat L-shaped panel typical of pontiacs. I would cut a peice of that shape out of styrene sheet, drill holes for the gauges, glue some super thin rod to replicate the seperation from the gauge area from the radio/wiper controls..then build the rest of the dash around it.

That's the right idea. If I might add to this; print out the dash head-on view to the correct scale size, and glue this down to some .060" sheet styrene with some Elmer's glue. This is just to give you the exact location for all the holes to drill out. Drill and clean up all the holes with files/Dremel tool/sandpaper wrapped around dowel, etc. Print another copy and glue on the back side, facing forward, to give you all your gauge faces in correct orientation. Drop some clear epoxy on each to create lenses.

Don't be afraid to tackle this, after all that body work!!!