The Classic 1950's Automobile Group Build Starts 4-16-07

Wow...you guys are off to a great start.  Aaron your rig looks like it coming along nicely.  Keep up the good work everyone...and hopefully the GB fearless leader can get started soon.

Hey, guys...just surfing through some GB pages and I felt compelled to give you all a

There are some great looking cars in here!

Can I still Join this group build.  I have not done a automobile in a while, sounds like fun.  Also can I add hydaulics.  I was planning on doing a lowrider truck or car with hydraulics.  The only thing is that the motors take the space of the interior.  If not no big deal, I can just drop it and try some new paint colors that I bought from an AVON catalog.

Thanks 

hey guys only another couple of weeks and my move will be completed and off to the races to catch up on all the GB's i am behind on .

all the work here looks really great guys

Hi guys everthing looks great.  Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, my computer crashed.  Finallly back up and running here are some picts of the Futura:

I still have to fill slight gap in body and spray body one more time and finish assembly

Hi Dan,   I would like to make a little statement then ask you a question. Here's the statement. Almost all of the parts of the '53 that I am building have sink marks, ejection pin marks, lots of flash, and parts that didn't line up in the mold giving you parts that don't match side to side. In almost all of the kits that I have in my stash (all bought in the 60's and early 70's) the situation is the same. As I said in my thread of 5/3, I am telling the truth when I say I need a 5 lb. can of bondo per car. I have not bought any new ones since the early 70's. My question is this; Are the newer kits in the same shape or have they refined their processes to cure these problems?    I also have this problem with the planes and ships in my stash. 

Been working on the '53 since tax day and I'm still filling and sanding, filling and sanding, filling and sanding. The only parts that are together are the skirts in the rear fenders, the hood scoop, and part of the engine. The rest look like refugees from the green putty factory. I've made up my mind not to quit, no matter how much putty it takes.

Jim

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been around lately, computer problems. Jim, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but in my experience all the Revell /Monogram kits from that time span with the coloured plastic are the most aggravating to work with. The plastic is so brittle I once snapped the body of a genuine 'Lil John Buttera '26 Ford sedan in half just pulling it out of the box. And if you try to paint them without primering first the body colour shows through on all the high spots. About the best suggestion I can make is to try to do all your bodywork with strip styrene or stretched sprue and super glue.

Ron. 

fox wrote:

Ron, the car in your pic is really great. Having trouble figuring out what car you started with. Looks somewhat like a '50 or '51 Chevy? Great job. Love the subtle flames in the paint job. Do you give lessons?????? Jim

Thanks Jim. I started with an AMT '51 Chevy Fleetline. The body's been sectioned about 3/16" and the top's been chopped about 3/16" too. When I chopped the top instead of lowering it straight down I cut it so I could push the roof forward. That way it made the roofline sleeker and I was able to keep the stock rear window.

Ron.

Hi Ron, Thanks for the info. Guess I've just been away from the cars for too long. Spent the last 30 or so years working on fibreglass sailboats and wooden sailing ships. The glass boats were 4 to 8 feet long and you worked on them like you would a real car (lots of muscle). The other ships you made your own parts so if one was no good you made another one.   I'll keep sanding away keeping your info in mind plus all the other great tips I've gotten from the guys on this forum.

I finally got the chassis together today. Was trying to graft the front and rear clips from a corvette stingray to the '53 chassis. That would give me independent suspension. Gave me so much trouble I finally decided to just take the two clips and make my own frame. Ended up with a stretched corvette chassis. Looks like it will do the job. Only get a couple of hours a week to work on it so progress is slow. Will get pics as soon as it looks like something.

Jim 

I am sorry for not being involved in this group build, but when I started cutting the doors open I came to the conclusion that trying to open up doors on the impala is not as easy as it seems, definitely for my first try. Long story short, the car body is now in 5 different pieces, and is beyond repair. It looks like my first attempt at a group build failed miserably.

I am again sorry for having to drop out of this group build, but the good news from all of this is that I learned that the saying "haste makes waste" really is true.

Hi Basic,         I just said the same thing about my car the other night. Check out my thread above yours. First I tried to use a '54 Chevy frame and no mater what I did, it didn't seem to want to work. Then I tried to use the front and rear clips from a vette on the '53 frame and . So, I finally just added pieces to the clips and stretched the vette frame.          

 How about piecing it together with styrene strips on the inside then only having the drivers door open? This is my first car in a very long time so I'm only going to have the drivers door open. I'm sure some of the other guys could come up with a bunch of ideas. Hang in there.

Jim

Finally found my kit I wanted to build in my stash.  I will be entering my AMT/ERTL 1950 Chevy Pickup Truck.  It's an old kit I bought back in 97 at a garage sell for $2.  I built one  years before with a lifted bed and droped with spoke rims. 

For this one I plan to still drop it, but bust out with a kick butt paint scheme.  I will keep that a suprise.  I am excited to build this one since I have been building planes lately.  It should be a nice change to build something different.

Good choice painklr, I added you to the list.

I have been a bad, bad boy. I haven't touched styrene in weeks, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy building!

Three weekends I go I built a chin up bar for my kids. Multiple heights (in fact I've added more!):

Then two weekends ago I built a new desk for my office space: 

And finally today we bought and assembled a trampoline:

Man, styrene is a lot easier on the pocket book and back!

I promise to get back into the swing real soon now! 

I got a bit done on my '56 Vickie on the weekend. I thought I'd go a little wilder than I originally planned. I sectioned .100" out of the body. The cuts are a bit rough but when I get the dimensions right I'll fill them with Evergreen strip plastic.

Ron.

Got some more done this weekend. The sectioning was fairly mild but the proportions of the body look a lot better even without the top being chopped.

Ron.

Just wanted to jump in and let ya'll know I am working on my car. Just took a couple of pics to show what's done (or part done) so far. Have taken parts from a Corvette, '57 Chevy, '54 Chevy, '59 Chevy, and of course the main star of the show(maybe soon) the '53 Chevy. Also took parts from my stash of parts left over from all the kits I have either built or butchered since the '60s. I am still working on the body to iron out all the dents and mold in the headlights and tail lights and grill shell. It will be a "Flat Rod". No gloss paint to be used. The drivers door will be opening in suicide fashion. Hopefully, the engine will be wired correctly(all I have to do is search through a mountain of Street Rodder magazines). No chrome trim. I think in the magazines they call this type a "Rat Rod". Between the magazines and my recollection of cars and parts from my racing days in the 60's, I JUST MAY BE ABLE to keep from making a total  out of myself. SSSSOOOOooooo, here are the pictures I took tonight. They're not much, but you'll get the idea.

Well, its 16 days later and I've gotten a little more work done on the car. Put the first coat of primer on the other day to see where I need to do more work. Boy the camera hid a lot of scratches and places that still need filler putty. Just a little bit of work done on the engine. Still searching the Street Rodder mags for the right set-up. Have started on the interior too. Nothing much to show yet.  Test fit the radiator just before taking these pics.

Well its been awhile but I've got a little more done. I've also built a ladder and a load of lumber for the back of the truck.

OK. Its 3 months later and I have done a little work on the Chevy. So, here are the pics.

Jim

Sorry Guy's, been forever since I've checked in.  My only excuse is my body decided to get Diffusse B Cell Lymphoma so between being ill and chemo I haven't done much building.  Hopefully I get some building in soon. 

Looks like some nice progress since I last checked in, keep up the good work.

Holy Crap, Dan!

I sure hope you are on the road to wellness.

My camera died, and I'm slowly getting closer to completion without being able to take WIP pics. I am trudging along, and find that now winter is coming that I have more time to spend at the bench. Hopefully I'll be able to borrow a camera to take some pics before the kit's finished.