Whatever Will Bee Will Bee

[forwardlook60]

Hey all,

I’ve decided to begin another project…a ’69 Super Bee. I have basically begun

With the Monogram 440 kit but a lot of work will be necessary to “make-it-rightâ€.

I have elected to NOT use the 440 Six Pack, but rather a Hemi (taken from R-M’s

Dodge Charger kit..with mods to the block to widen it to better fit the Monogram’s bay). As

an aside, I have also begun a ’70 Superbird in which I will install the 440 Six Pack

engine from the ’70 Dodge Super Bee (detailed ala MrObsessive).

First, I want to model this Bee with the RAM induction system so that will require

major mods to the hood (filling the hole) and construction of all of the underhood

induction parts.

Second, engine bay mods include removal of the battery and wiper fluid container and

replacing them with more prototypically correct items. Also the addition of various

underhood and engine bay items not found in the Monogram kit (..or that don’t look as right

in this car). Building a battery tray and the correct battery hold-downs. Modifying the wiper

fluid container from the ’69 Charger (white-fogged look with some fluid in it) to more realistically

portray this piece.

Third, removal of the molded-in windshield wipers and replacing them with wipers

From the ’69 Dart (also requiring some body work ‘creating’ the louvers where the

wipers were removed). Lowering the radiator core support wall so that the radiator

sits at proper height (top of the core showing above the support wall). Addition of the

radiator core extension through the cut-out in the core support wall.

Fourth, scratch building the hood latch assembly behind the grille. Adding all of the necessary

wiring and hoses.

The Monogram kit comes as a 2 door sedan/coupe. I will convert it to the hardtop by

Removing the post.

For those unfamiliar with the Monogram Super Bee (…and maybe for those that are),

Monogram apparently chose to use the ’70 Plymouth GTX interior for the Super Bee.

This is evident on the rear seat center where you can see the Plymouth logo. But oddly

enough, they put the Dodge emblems in the front doors. I have removed the Plymouth

logo and created a space to place a Dodge ornament.

Here you can see where I have installed armrests/door handles in the interior sides.

Here is a shot of the engine bay, showing the work done to this point, as well as a pic

of the model’s front displaying the work done to the radiator core support wall.

In these pictures are shown the comparison between the kit K-Frame and the mod

that I have executed (namely opening the molded-in fillers on either side of the piece).

I want to make this model a bit different than what you normally see (ie: yellow, orange

or white) so I’ve chosen Light Turquoise Metallic for the body color with a white vinyl

roof and white interior. This will most certainly be set off by the orange colors of the

Hemi engine and RAM induction system. I will not ‘MrObsessive-ize’ the chassis as the

work involved in removing all of the molded-in detail would be prohibitive. Monogram

put everything but the kitchen sink under there to make up for the lack of kit pieces to

detail the chassis.

That’s all for now.

Steve

Edited July 5, 2008 by forwardlook60

[Darrell Gwinn]

I may be a Chevy guy, but these Mopar builds are really awesome!

Edited February 15, 2008 by Dirk

[forwardlook60]

Just a bit of an update on the ’69 Super Bee project. This kit comes with solid

axles front and rear as part of the differential and ‘K’ frame assemblies. Even

though they have a flange at the end of each the wheel openings just don’t seem

to fit properly. Too, if you do remove the flanges in order to fit the wheels better,

the wheels will simply come off with just the slightest movement. Sooooo…what

I did was to drill holes in the ends of the axles and scratch built washers. Now, with

the wheels installed they spin freely and true. This solution also gives you the option

of changing-out the tires/wheels later. Here are some photos of the current assembly.

Photo 1 – The parts laid out…

Photo 2 – The assembly on the wheel and axle….

Photo 3 – The wheel mounted on the axle and the chassis….

I also got on a couple of color coats last night and here is the result. I’ve left the

roof unpainted, of course, to allow for the vinyl roof. This will be done once the

model is polished out and clear-coat applied.

Photo 4 – Color coat

Photo 5 – Engine bay…

Well that’s it for now…hope to post some pictures of the nearly-completed interior

in the next few days.

Steve

[lizardlust]

Very impressive, Steve!! This should result in an intriguing replica!!!

[Don B]

Wow. Your off to a very good start. I to am working on the same kit and making a lot of changes as you are. Im doing the Super Bee Six Pack version with the correct wheels and tires. Painting it the stock rally green with the side scoops. The hood with hood scoops and underhood ram induction system you mentioned are available in resin that look great on evilbay. And yes in 1/24 scale. I have a set to do a R/T conversion of the kit. Well keep up the great work. Keep us posted.

Edited February 27, 2008 by Don B

[FordRodnKustom]

Nice work Steve! I'm also working on a '69 Bee. Keep us posted on your progress.

[forwardlook60]

Thanks guys,

Don, who markets that hood conversion kit? Years ago it was MPB Products but I don't

think that they're in business anymore. I think that it was around 1995 or 1996...I got

one set for a project that I was working on at the time (an RT). I haven't been able to

locate another set since. I looked on eBay, as you suggested but, no joy. Right now I

am attempting to basically scratchbuild the hood by cutting out the center-rear section

of the Monogram's hood and grafting in the center-rear section of the AMT 70 Super Bee's.

I wish that I did have one of those conversion hoods...it would make this project a heck

of alot easier.If you know where I might procure one (or two), you might want to post

it.

UPDATE: The interior is nearly finished...just the dash to complete. I will most likely

sand/polish out the body in the next couple of days and prep it for a clear-coat. When

that is done, I can post some additional photos.

The "MrObsessive" bug has really bitten me...so much so that now I'm thinking of doing

another '69...only this time an RT using an entirely different floor pan and chassis and

adding everything....including the famous MrObsessive working suspension (no easy task

with the torsion bars). I tried that once before building a 1955 Packard, which has the

transverse torsion bars...became so complex to make it work that I gave up on it and it

has sat in the box on the shelf ever since. I always figured that I would try to tackle it

again someday.

Thanks, Steve

[Don B]

Steve, The flat 69 Coronet hood is from a seller on ebay under the name tangtang2. They dont have anything listed right now however last week they did. Im sure they will list again soon as they list about twice a month. I just received three items from them 3 days ago including a 71 Demon body and 69 and 70 R/T tailight panel conversions that are awesome. Even better they got here really fast. I have bought other parts and bodies from them in the last few months and all there castings I received are great. I was wrong about the hood as it does not include the Ram Induction system but is 1/24 scale. I found the hood scoops in the Ertl 71 Duster kit are close enough to scale and are bigger then the ones in the Ertl 70 Coronet kit Here is a pic of the hood and 69 R/T tail panal. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. Hope this helps. Don.

[Don B]

Steve, BTW where did the Dodge ornament for the rear seat come from? Don

[forwardlook60]

Hi All,

It's been a long while since my last update on this project. But I have made some

progress as will be illustrated in this update.

First, the engine. As I stated from the outset, I modified the Hemi from the R-M

'69 Charger for inclusion in this replica. The detail level of the engine and plans for

detailing the engine bay have required a good number of hours be spent on engine

construction. The engine is complete now but I did not take final pictures of it. However,

I did take some snaps of it just before I finished decaling, addition of a few details

and final touch-up.

Here is the engine looking down on the carb assembly

Here is a shot with the air cleaner installed

A shot from the rear

If you look carefully at the alternator you will be able to see the armature windings

through the blades. For this I scooped out each side of the alternator then built the

windings using filament wire. This was a tedious task. Here are some shots.

Here are some shots of the interior before mounting in the body. I elected to use the

dash from the '69 Charger kit as I felt that it looked more prototypically correct than

the Monogram dash. This too required alot of heavy modification. Alot of time and

attention was spent on hand painting and detailing the steering wheel and console to

actually give the appearance of real wood. Also, since this car is being built with a

TorqueFlite, the console had to be altered to reflect the correct bezel for an automatic.

Next update installment to follow.

Steve

[Guest Gramps-xrds]

Man that's some awsome detail. That alternator is killer.

[forwardlook60]

Back again with the 2nd installment of the update on the construction of

the '69 Hemi Super Bee.

Here is one more shot of the interior. It illustrates the installation of the

under-dash heater unit.

Jumping ahead. I filled the open area of the 'glass' insert and scribed headliner detail

into it (pictures of that later) and further, installed sunvisors. To give the model a bit

more realism, I built and installed a partially rolled-down right rear quarter window.

Here are some pictures of the installed 'glass/headliner' and interior.

I also made a Mulroney sticker and owner's manual (seen sitting on top of the dash).

Since I was unable to obtain a resin 'stock' hood, I was forced to scratch build one. It is actually

an amalgam of the kit hood and the hood from the '70 Dodge Super Bee. I found that the

scoops from the '71 Duster worked better so they were used here.

Here are some shots of the hood after color coat and on the car. I also scratch built the

underhood bracing for the same reason as on the 1:1 car (to protect the delicate construction).

...and one of the body Bare-Metal foiled and decaled:

Since the real Hemi's came with the RAM air induction system, I am constructing it. This is

easier said than done since the kit's hood/engine were not designed for it. It has required

kitbashing the plenums from both the '70 Super Bee and the JoHan '69 Road Runner. That

assembly is nearly finished. As of today, the engine has been mounted and most all of the

engine bay detailing completed.

I'll try to have some photos for a new update tomorrow or Thursday showing the car near

completion.

[MrObsessive]

Steve, this is such a great build...............outstanding detail!!

You've added something I didn't do to my Daytona Hemi...............Armature wiring in the alternator!

I like the subtle touches such as the window sticker in the window............did you scan a pic of one or does someone do these as a decal?

[forwardlook60]

Hi, and a happy 4th to all.

Well here is yet another installment of the Bee's return to

the hive. The engine has been mounted and most all of the

engine bay details completed. On the exterior, all that remains

is to detail the side marker relectors and installation of the

door handles and antenna (will finish that when hood work

is done).

Here are some additional photos of the work to date.

Overview of the engine bay

A closer look..

A view with the air cleaner installed

The right front wheel/tire

As stated before, I've treated the interior to a headliner, sunvisors and dome light...

here are a couple of pics

And finally, here is a shot of the rear end detailed...

BILL: With regard to the Mulroney sticker and owner's manual, I drew both of them

in CorelDraw from scratch. Even the logos were created there. I researched all

of the price and code data and included them in a full-sized piece (which I will display

with the model). For the model's window sticker, I simply reduced it to fit the

left rear quarter window. So, with that template done and most all of the pricing

and code data collected, I can created a full-sized (and subsequently a miniature)

replica for any '69 or '70 MoPar. Kind of neat huh?

Best to all, Steve

[FordRodnKustom]

Amazing detail work Steve! Thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to seeing this beauty finished.

[Peter Lombardo]

What was Chrysler Hemi Tag line??, oh yeah, SWEET... Nice work and great detail.

[stump]

Yeah...c'mon, who you trying to kidd.....scale alternator, indeed.......

Man, that is awesome detail...never seen an alternator cut up to add windings......sweet work mate.

Love the overall "look" to this build...awaiting more progress......

What did you use for that wheel weight, looks so realistic....??

Thanks for sharing.

[Mustang fan]

I am impressed, all that engine detail amazes me... and the color fits great with the car, looking different than the usual "performance" tones.

One thing I would change on such a beautiful model is the tire appearance: By creating a flat spot on the tires, the stance is more correct I think, the car looks more natural and lower on its tires. By the way, I don't like vinyl tires in general, I now use resin copies on my models, that way I can easily tweak them and paint them a more correct color (low gloss dark grey).

[KENNEDYJR]

Well done!! That is one great looking engine bay, great detail throughout. The window sticker is a good idea( that I may borrow myself )