taaron76 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I would post tomorrow morning, but I have to go with my wife to her cancer doctor for a check up and a booster chemo treatment. We hope that the doc tells us that she is doing good. Will let ya all know how it goes when I post tomorrow afternoon. Jim, best wishes to you and your wife. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Thanks Tom, We always get a little worried when we go to her oncologist, and so far we've come out each time with good news, hopefully tomorrow will turn out the same. Very happy to hear things are well. Hope it continues! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) Evening Guys and thanks for all the well wishes for my wife. We went to her appointment today and her oncologist said her blood work came back the best he's seen it. He feels she is in a strong remission. He wants her to go through a single dose of chemo once every 8 weeks for this year and if all goes well with that, she wont need anymore Chemo for a while or until or unless she comes out of remission. So good news again! As promised I am going to be posting a couple of updates this evening on where things are with the vette build. It may take a couple of posts so if you come on and check before I get everything posted, keep checking back until you see a post that states "more as I get it done". That will let you know Im done posting for the evening. To start with I was having a hard time trying to figure out what to use and where to get something that would look like braid coated plug wires, since these Vettes came factory with them. I wanted something in scale. I knew that most after market scale plug plug wire was usually .5mm so I started looking around on the internet for something in braided wire at that scale. To my surprise a google search turned up a product sold by Jo-Ann Fabrics. This stuff is in the bead craft section of their stores. My camera doesn't do it justice, it really has a realistic braided look. Now don't let the product name fool you.. Yes it is wire, but It is coated in nylon and that means it has a memory. It's flexible, but doesn't hold a bend on it's own like regular wire does. So make sure your wire looms are strongly secured to the motor before you use this stuff. That's why I notched the areas for my wire looms on the valve covers to start with, and then used crazy glue to tack them on before I ever painted the valve covers. And though working with this stuff is a little bit fussy, it is a perfect scale and you can get it in different sized for different uses, such as making braided fuel lines and such. Now the next few pics is the completed engine, I will try to go through what all I did and used for detailing. It also gives you a pretty good idea how the bead wire worked out and how it scaled out for the right look. I finished the intake and carbs and ran the main fuel line from the fuel pump to the carbs. I added a pvc hose on the passenger side valve cover and a breather hose on the drivers side valve cover. I added the passenger side valve cover decal as well as the air cleaner decal (you'll see it later). I installed the starter and starter cable, oil filter, exhaust manifolds, a scratch made dip stick, tranny linkage, the fan belts and the fan and fan-clutch. I also added heater hoses cut from a old hard internal hard drive extension power plug, with photo etched clamps that will get routed to the firewall later. I still have to make and route the Air conditioner lines, and paint and mount the battery and washer bottle, but these will get done later on. Here are some pics of the engine with it's detailing: Continued in post below........ Edited February 11, 2015 by microwheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 A few last engine shots Engine test fitted in the chassis.. I also cleaned up a bunch of my sub assemblies from all the handling and took time to get the radiator assembly together and painted the rear shocks.. Here is a few pics of all the sub-assemblies I've worked on to this point.. I think I'm at the point where I can finally start piecing some of this stuff together and actually turning it into a complete car lol.. There will still be alot of work tying the detail together as I join the sub assemblies, but I finally feel I'm making progress lol. If your wondering why the rear end assembly isn't on the chassis yet, it's because I want to mate the chassis to the body first, that way if the rear wheels are off centered from the body, it can be adjusted and centered at that time. Anyways, that's pretty much it for this evening's updates. Thanks for checking things out guys. I'll post more as I get it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blunc Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 nice find on the plug wire material. outstanding detail work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Stock Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Jim that is looking fantastic, great idea on that braided wire it looks spot on ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belugawrx Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Nice Nice Nice I have some of that braided line and found the same problems with it you describe.... No memory,..etc. thanks for the tip on fastening looms,.I'll try it again Vette is really coming together well Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 (edited) Man you are the master of detail and building Jim! This looks outstanding!!! Glad to hear the good news about your wife man. Edited February 11, 2015 by mustang1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbill Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 great news on the health end of things! engine looks fantastic, keep rolling, getting close Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Pugh Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Wow! Amazing work here. I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 Thanks for all the comments and input guys, I hope to have a pretty nice update on the Vette later tonight or tomorrow morning. I've been hard at work on it, on the bench, trying to tie the main sub-assemblies together. It's taking awhile, but planning out ahead of time for tying all the detail from each sub assembly together is starting to pay off. So stay tuned and I'll try to have a update with pics, as I said, later tonight or tomorrow morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BHarrison Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Cool piece. I love me some factory GM resto models! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) Morning guys, finally got some time this morning to get on here to post a update on the Vette. In my last post I showed you where I was as far as having most of the sub-assemblies ready to start mating together. The past few days I have been working on getting the main sub-assemblies put together, and its finally starting to take shape. This is gonna take a couple of posts, guys, to get all the pics posted.. so bare with me. Here is where things are so far. I started by assembling the engine into the chassis, and added the radiator assembly. I then detailed the battery and windshield washer bottle and got those in place. I then made up some photo-etched hose clamps from the model car garage and added them to the upper and lower radiator hoses and the heater hoses, as well as added the kit supplied decals for the upper and lower hoses. I then started work on the AC hoses. In this pic you can see the first them installed. Next I mocked up the firewall and interior, so I could plan out all the connection points for the heater hoses as well as other detail that needed to be figured out for the engine bay. The rest of the brake lines had to be worked out from the master cylinder to the transition block, these lines needed to stay with the firewall assembly during the final construction stage, otherwise it would be a struggle to get them to their mounting points under the master cylinder transition block. Location points were marked on the firewall for drilling mounting holes for the heater and AC hoses. Small pieces of piano wire were then cut as mounting pins and slid into the ends of the hoses for later mounting to the holes that were drill in the firewall. A hole was also drilled for the washer bottle hose and a drivers side fender wiring harness. Next the firewall was cemented to the interior assembly. and re-test fitted to the chassis assembly. I then made the rest of the AC hoses by cutting up the lines scavenged from the revell 65 impala kit and adding aftermarket supplied heater hose and a couple of the photo-etched hose clamps I made earlier to them. One hose was left a little extra long so, it will be cut to correct length just before being installed. Finally the chassis, interior and body were mated up. Using my trusty tweezers, I attached all the engine bay detail to their proper locations, including the remaining AC lines. I scratch made a drivers fender voltage box from evergreen scratch plastic strips and then scratch made a wiring harness by twisting some thin wire strands together and covering them with Teflon tape that was later primed with Tamiya white spray can primer and then sprayed with Tamiya lacquer based flat black. A couple of strands were left bare and later attached to the alternator and painted red and white. And that completed the engine bay detailing. Next it was on to getting the rear suspension assembly under the car and was adjusted for alignment, It was cemented into place this morning, but the cement is still setting up, so I have to wait to tie the e-brake and brake lines together. Once it sets for a day and dries good, I will take care of that. Then it will be on to all the rest of the final assembly. In the following post I will post pics of how the over all car looks at this point. Still LOTS to do yet, but it's starting to take shape and is at least on all fours. Continued below in next post... Edited February 15, 2015 by microwheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Here is some pics of the over all car to this point.. Like I said.. still lots to do. Finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel lol.. More as I get it done so stay tuned........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taaron76 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Outstanding, Jim! Can't wait to see it finished!!! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbill Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 fantastic! engine bay is beautiful, excellent work! colors go together well, this is going to be a show stopper when done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Outstanding, Jim! Can't wait to see it finished!!! Tim Thanks Tim, I second that thought. It's sure taking alot longer than I thought it was gonna. fantastic! engine bay is beautiful, excellent work! colors go together well, this is going to be a show stopper when done. Thanks Tom. Funny you should mention that. My plan was to have it done by the end of this month for a couple of upcoming model shows. I plan to take it, my 70 1/2 BM Camaro, and my 70 Hemi Cuda all to the same shows. If I ever get this dang thing done lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbill Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 haha, I had planned to have my Camaro set done a month ago...........oh well, they will make the next show with the matching car carrier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy D Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Hi Jim, Wonderful detailing on the engine compartment. Everything I see seems 'in scale', not easy to do in this size. Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) haha, I had planned to have my Camaro set done a month ago...........oh well, they will make the next show with the matching car carrier. Yup I know what ya mean, but man you sure took on a challenge Hi Jim, Wonderful detailing on the engine compartment. Everything I see seems 'in scale', not easy to do in this size. Randy Thanks Randy, I guess I got way to carried away with the detailing, but I sometimes do that. By the way, I did manage to find a image of the AC decal this evening which I promptly added LOL Edited February 15, 2015 by microwheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Dangit Jim! This build is just leading the way in my book. Everything is there in terms of talent and skill dude! What did you use for hose clamps again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Dangit Jim! This build is just leading the way in my book. Everything is there in terms of talent and skill dude! What did you use for hose clamps again? Hi Joe, thanks.The Model Car Garage modelcargarage.com makes two type of photo-etched hose clamps. Vintage and Modern. They call them hose straps. I use alot of their detail stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopar_guy1 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 That's outstanding work Jim. I'm usually very picky when it come to detailing a model, especially the engine bay. Wrong gage sparkplug wires are to often used making the engine looking kinda odd. But your'se is spot on. You have my seal of approval, for what it's worth...LOL Great work buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 That's outstanding work Jim. I'm usually very picky when it come to detailing a model, especially the engine bay. Wrong gage sparkplug wires are to often used making the engine looking kinda odd. But your'se is spot on. You have my seal of approval, for what it's worth...LOL Great work buddy. Thanks alot my friend. Yup I know what ya mean, I'm really picky about that kinda stuff with my builds. And even though the hobby has gotten expensive since back in the days when I first started, I always spend the extra to go with aftermarket detail parts when ever I can. It might cost more, but most of it is scaled better, especially plug wiring, heater hoses and the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopar_guy1 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Thanks alot my friend. Yup I know what ya mean, I'm really picky about that kinda stuff with my builds. And even though the hobby has gotten expensive since back in the days when I first started, I always spend the extra to go with aftermarket detail parts when ever I can. It might cost more, but most of it is scaled better, especially plug wiring, heater hoses and the like. Yup, i totally feel you. Here is two of my engines as an exemple. Not as clean as your's though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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