'68 Firebird - First Car, First Contest, First Disappointment...Oh Well!

Thanks Tiki,

There is something I'd like to try but I'd appreciate your opinion on the matter. I like the interior detail so far and I didn't want to hide it in a closed body. The doors are basically two pieces, one half fixed to the interior while the outter half is modeled to the body. (you probably know car models better than me so I'm sure you are familiar with this) So I can't really open the doors unless I do a lot of cutting and scratch building.

The alternative I am thinking of is to cut away the roof and create a convertible with the top down.  To avoid much complication, I would hide top under a cover. Have you ever attempted this or seen it done? It doesn't, at first glance, seem all that difficult. But I don't want to chop the roof off and be like, "ah darn, I shouldn't have done that". (though in the heat of the moment, 'darn' may not be my choice of words)

If any one has opinions or suggestions, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks, Jon

Welcome to auto modeling, not like the other disciplines where you can cheat and call it battle damage, EXCEPT in a case like yours where you're going for nappy.  Try using a #11 blade to pry the frame/interior assembly apart from the body while inserting or removing them from each other, not as scary as it sounds.  Be brave, it takes guts to build a car!

The lack of a carb will require some intake manifold mods, as the "hole" in the manifold is not the correct shape.  This is a nice enough build for me to point that out, easy to fix now, but not so much later.  Check out places like Summit Racing or Jegs for good pix of intake manifolds and auto parts in general.  Looking good, need to know the Ancient Secret for the crappy looking seat method, please?

Thanks for the comments! This has been a fun build so far, I really underestimated the intrest I could get from doing an automobile.

Wingform, I was able to rough up the driver's seat using an article from a previous Fsm issue. I'll have to look up the date and get back to you. Basically, I gouged the plastic through the rear of the seat until I was satisfied with the nasty looking tear. Then I filled the whole in with wood putty, stippled it to give it texture and then painted it after it hardened. Seemed to work well.

Tiki, I removed the carburator and the air cleaner and I think I'll leave them off. Maybe to the side, as if some one is some what working on it.

You know, I'm having trouble fitting the chassis/interior into the body. I test fitted it last night and could barely get it in. Then, much to my horror, could barely get it back out! Is this common for auto models? I'm not sure if I should finish the body before or after putting the chassis in place as I'm afraid that I'll ruin the finish as I try to crow bar it in place. Any suggestions?

Thanks again! - Jon

Hello,

So here is the work I've done so far. I'm about 2/3s the way through and should hopefully be done by the end of next week. Hopefully.

Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Jon

This is the interior so far:

Tiki, thanks for the vote of confidence!! I wired the engine as best I could last night. I'll post pics as it progresses.

Chuck Most wrote:

Welcome to the dark side! Nicely done!  And Tiki Cat? There were V6s in 1968... just not in the Firebird. A pretty nice OHC inliner, though, was. A bit too far ahead of it's time, probably. Check it out in the MPC/AMT '69 F-Bird kit.

Isn't that exactly what I said?  No V-6 in a '68 Firebird, that was the subject.  As I said before, oddmanrush, you'll do this one justice, I've seen your hockey player with THE CUP.

Likitty, thanks for posting the pic of the engine which looks great I might add. I was planning on drilling and wiring my own distributor as it doesn't appear like it will be a problem. I found a nice source on the web that provided a diagram of how a '68 Firebird V-8 is wired, should come in handy.

Thanks 

Chuck Most wrote:

Welcome to the dark side! Nicely done!  And Tiki Cat? There were V6s in 1968... just not in the Firebird. A pretty nice OHC inliner, though, was. A bit too far ahead of it's time, probably. Check it out in the MPC/AMT '69 F-Bird kit.

I briefly owned a 69 Firebird with the 250ci 230hp inline six. It was a great engine and was only a bit slower than the 326ci V8 which came with 250hp. However, it never was satisfying in the way a V8 is, so I sold it for a 69 GTO 400ci, which satisfied the power craving.Then gas went up in price, so the Goat had to go!

Thanks for the complement Jon! The engine is in there with minimal wiring... 

There are many sources for pre-wired distributors on the net, but I prefer to drill my own, if the kit supplied one will allow that.

Welcome to the dark side! Nicely done!

 And Tiki Cat? There were V6s in 1968... just not in the Firebird. A pretty nice OHC inliner, though, was. A bit too far ahead of it's time, probably. Check it out in the MPC/AMT '69 F-Bird kit.

Tiki, thanks for the correction, my fault. I will definitely be perusing the internet today for some useful references. I've also thought of leaving off a few parts here and there to make the build a little more interesting. I've already removed the air cleaner and carburator, and if worse comes to worse with the wiring, I may remove the distributor as well.

Thanks again for the help. I'm basically building this with zero knowledge base no any help is appreciated. I drive a car every day and have no clue of the inner workings!  - Jon

Thats a nice finish, Likitty! Well done indeed! Did you complete the engine as well? I'm going to attempt to wire it (we'll see how that goes...) Should be fun! I don't have a complete understanding of the inner workings of a V-6 so I'll have to crack open some references. All my cars have been 4 cylinders or four-legged and coaxed with a carrot...   

Thanks - Jon                               

Welcome to the world of car building! I have built one of these kits and it was a total dream build. I did change the wheels and tires because the kit supplied ones looked somewhat wrong to me, too small. For the weathering question on chrome you asked, I cannot answer. Real looking weathering toatally escapes me, I just can not seem to do it. Have fun with your new adventure! Heres mine...

Thanks, I'll let you know what I think of it! So far, I've assembled the engine and chassis and its going together well. I have encountered some flash, Bgrigg, but like you said, not too much. I'll post some pics as I start to detail.

Any one have a good method for weathering chrome? This is the first time I've encountered it so I'm not sure of its characteristics...Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks again, Jon