54 Chevy Sedan Delivery-COMPLETED-09/16

Whoa! That PE fan is just plain nuts. It looks awesome. As for your door panel paint, meh, minor set back. I know you've got it. Keep the magic rolling Joe.

Thanks crown and Joe! Well after 3 attempts and strippings of the door panels I think I've finally got 'em down. I finished up the BMF job this morning on them.

Yes! It is great to see your perseverance pay off Joe. The door panel came out terrific. Good show my friend.

 Very sharp !

Yes, very crisp details. It going to look like a '50's diner booth with the seat in place.

Thanks Joe, Nick and Bob.

 It's at this point where I tend to want to rush things to get it done but am resisting that urge and instead just trudging along taking my time. I've probably got another two months on this bad boy still.

I started on the battery today. I robbed an Delco battery out of my AMT '51 Chevy kit and cut the molded in battery terminals from the battery and sanded the top smooth at their previous locations. After that I drilled holes out where they were and grabbed a diode that I bought at Radio Shack with the perfect .028" diameter rod to be used as steel battery posts:



Inserted through the holes in the bottom of the battery they look something like this:



I still have a little clean up to do on the terminal ends but here's what it all will look like with it all together:



I'm ALOT happier with this than the standard molded battery terminals. Next up will be the battery cables................

I like that ! 

Thanks crown.

Got the battery painted and detailed today. Gotta work on those cables and terminal ends maybe late tonight or tomorrow morning.

Totally choice detailing Joe.

Thanks good buddy Joe.

Started on the battery cables this morning by adhering the terminal ends to the cable. Will be routing the cables first and then painting after all the bends are finished.

Going back one page, that PE fan is awsome. Might be the best use of PE I've seen yet.

Battery looks great. So where did the battery terminals come from, are they a PE kit too? They must be itsy-bitsy, no?

Thanks Greg. I sanded the terminals from the top of the battery and drilled holes into the battery all the way through. That piece that you see in the back ground ( a diode from Radio Shack) I ended up cutting the ends from and squaring off the tops for the "posts". I then inserted them through the bottom of the battery to obtain the battery post look.

I'm clear on that, my friend.

Am asking about the terminals at the end of the cables.

Sorry Greg. lol. Yes sir those came as part of a PE battery terminal kit. The only thing I really don't like about 'em is that they are a bit too thin. Other than that they are the perfect shape.

I didn't know such things were available in PE, Joe. You're gonna have the best looking scale battery ever.

Great looking battery and the fan is too cool.  I'm in awe of the work to date.

By the way I have some 1/24 scale battery acid I was going to send you, but UPS won't ship it  over state lines, sorry

Cheers

Thank you guys.

I'm a little bit everywhere in the engine compartment right now. I'm not quite happy with the battery cable terminal ends and am in search of a more realistic looking part for them. So in the meantime I started working on something I could do something with. The master cylinder and brake lines:

Very cool Joe. Quite interested to see what little trick you come up with for the battery terminal clamps.

Thanks Joe. I'm still on a search for something one notch up for those terminals. We'll see if something surfaces fairly soon.

 In the interim , I did some more work on the master cylinder and brake lines today. Still gotta form and install the vacuum hose for the power brake booster but here's today's progress.

 I ended up trying to adhere the master cylinder assembly onto the firewall this morning and in the process of gluing it to the firewall I made contact between the two in the absolute wrong place on the firewall. I mean it STUCK and there wasn't any removing it without damage to the paint. I managed to break it free and wound up with a big 'ol primered spot on the firewall. Man I was pissed!!! Beyond pissed! I got up and walked away from the whole mess for about 20 minutes , came to my senses, returned to the bench and dispensed some Tamiya X-29 Black I had and shot it through the airbrush to cover up that God awful mess there on the firewall. My problem was that the vacuum hose was just a shade too long so trimmed it back and stared over again. This time I got it. If you look close you can see the outline of the boo-boo just to the right of the master cylinder but the good news is that the body L/H inner fender well will cover this up.

I also got the primer coat on the hood for the fourth time! They say the third time is the charm but I guess we'll have to make an exception here with this thing.

Today's progress:

Looks great  Joe, good coverup.

Well, as you and I know full well Joe, "It's not about the mishap but, rather, it's all in the recovery." With that said, you have pulled off a very nice recovery.

Thanks Joe and Lee. Hopefully I'll get a few more things done with this bad boy pretty quick.

I made some progress this morning with the rear door inside trim paneling and the door hinge in regards to painting and applying the clear coat.

As for the hood? Things continue to plague the finishing of it. I primed it the day before last, painted it yesterday and the finish came out really clean. All was well until I tried to airbrush some dispensed clear and it spider webbed on me. Looks like it's back in the brake clean for a fourth time.  Fifth try..............comin' up. I aint all that worried as I know I'll get it but man........resilient this thing is! Un....believable!

Look. I know that your going to get this Joe but, maybe it's time for a little karma check. Just seems that there is some negative forces at work in your world.

Aaaahhh! I'll get it Joe. Just a momentary frustration. Movin' on here. lol

Your correction is first class, I'm in awe. 

^{now is that part #6 or 9? Thay look almost alike--oh well what the heck what can it hurt?}

JOE RIX

Well, as you and I know full well Joe, "It's not about the mishap but, rather, it's all in the recovery." With that said, you have pulled off a very nice recovery.

 

Unbelievably, I'd never heard that one.

You might be having your share of trouble, Joe, but it doesn't show in your workmanship. That master cylinder looks cool hanging there, btw.

Greg

JOE RIX Well, as you and I know full well Joe, "It's not about the mishap but, rather, it's all in the recovery." With that said, you have pulled off a very nice recovery.   Unbelievably, I'd never heard that one.

Just another twist on "Stop living in the problem and start living in the solution."