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Post by goofy62 on Sept 16, 2020 11:07:52 GMT -5
Now that my '64 Pontiac Grand Prix is in the record books, it's time to move on to another rare Mopar kit.
I'll be doing another full detail build on this pretty much pristine MPC 1968 Dodge Coronet R/T, utilizing parts from the Revell 1968 Dodge Charger kit, among others.
This is going to be a Hemi car and at this point, I'm thinking white with a red bumble bee stripe and dark red interior.
Come along for the ride! 
Steve
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Post by goofy62 on Sept 16, 2020 16:17:11 GMT -5
Getting a start on the preliminary slicing and dicing.
This is always some of the most important work when it comes to retrofitting modern parts into a vintage body.
Everything has to be in perfect alignment or.........well, you know what would happen later. 
Steve
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Post by goofy62 on Sept 16, 2020 19:26:57 GMT -5
Next order of business is to get rid if those big clunky backing plates for the grille.
They will only look bad under the hood as well as be in the way for head light buckets to be added later.
Steve
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Post by deuce on Sept 17, 2020 9:02:33 GMT -5
Does it come with that U-Haul trailer? That way you can throw in all the parts you'll need from the Revell kit.  Can't wait to see how this one comes out. |
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Post by goofy62 on Sept 17, 2020 10:25:13 GMT -5
Does it come with that U-Haul trailer? That way you can throw in all the parts you'll need from the Revell kit. Can't wait to see how this one comes out.
It did have the trailer, but I gave that away some time ago.
Steve
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Post by goofy62 on Sept 23, 2020 17:38:56 GMT -5
So, the most pressing and time consuming modification on this build will be to eliminate the convertible top mechanism wells in the rear passenger compartment, and it's not going to be an easy one.
The door panel design is a pretty complex one, and carrying it over seamlessly from front to back was going to be difficult to say the least, so rather than try to do something in the rear to match the front door cards, I decided that I would just make the leap and commit to fabricating completely new door panels, front and rear.
About the only thing that I wanted to, or could save, was the top portion of the door panel.
I kept the dashboard mounting section in place as well to help with interior alignment and to facilitate mounting the dash later.
The next task was to try to replicate the "ribbed" section if the door panels.
I attempted this by gluing fine pieces of stretched sprue to a piece of plastic sheet.
It will be cut to shape and added to the panel later.
A backing plate of sheet plastic will be added to the door top and the lay out process begins.
It took a while, but I believe that the first door panel is pretty much finished.
The detail is more pronounced than the actual 1:1 door card, but I prefer it that way anyway.
It will add definition to the interior.
Most of the detailing was accomplished with shaped pieces of plastic sheet, plastic rod, and thinly stretched pieces of plastic sprue.
I'm relatively happy with it, but I'd be happier if they were all done!
Steve
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Post by mustang1989 on Sept 24, 2020 8:36:56 GMT -5
Aside from removing that convertible top retracting mechanism , one of the good things about MPC is that they tend to do a good job on their interiors OOB so it should make things a tad easier to detail for you.
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Post by goofy62 on Sept 24, 2020 11:02:35 GMT -5
Aside from removing that convertible top retracting mechanism , one of the good things about MPC is that they tend to do a good job on their interiors OOB so it should make things a tad easier to detail for you.
In this case, not really. 
Not only will the door panels all need to be scratch built, but the rear seat will need to be widened.
In addition, MPC molded the seat belts to the seats in a lot of these later 60s cars, which I really don't care for, so I'll very likely be trying to redo the seats to eliminate them.
There's going to be considerable work done to this interior.
Probably the most I have done to date.
Steve
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Post by mustang1989 on Sept 24, 2020 15:44:27 GMT -5
Yikes!!! I've built a few kits from them and they seemed great in the interior part as far as detail goes. I know fully well that you're going to do a great job with the interior but it does syphon that you have to do pretty much a remodel job on it. I'm looking forward to seeing you work your magic Steve.
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Post by goofy62 on Sept 24, 2020 15:57:24 GMT -5
Yikes!!! I've built a few kits from them and they seemed great in the interior part as far as detail goes. I know fully well that you're going to do a great job with the interior but it does syphon that you have to do pretty much a remodel job on it. I'm looking forward to seeing you work your magic Steve.
You are right.
The original interior was not too bad in the detail department, but with removing the convertible features in the rear passenger compartment to resemble a hard top interior, it creates quite a lot of work to the rear panels and seat anyway.
remodeling the seats is the least of my worries at the moment.
Steve
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Post by goofy62 on Sept 24, 2020 16:02:20 GMT -5
I believe that the drivers side panel is now finished.
Sometimes it's a little difficult to tell how things are going to look in the end when looking at the bare (and dirty) plastic.
It will become much clearer when some primer is applied.
Before
After
Steve
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Post by mustang1989 on Sept 24, 2020 16:02:54 GMT -5
LOL!!! I think I know what you mean. Sometimes I feel like I bite off more than I can chew it seems and I have trouble just knowing where to dig in and start building. My Maverick build has been kicking my A$$ for a few months but I think I've got the main "obstacle" that's been giving me so much grief sorted out now.
That door panel looks like the "bee's knees" buddy. Fantastic work.
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Post by goofy62 on Sept 24, 2020 20:43:06 GMT -5
Thanks "mustang1989".
I think this door panel is going to have to do.
Got some primer on it, and it looks like it will work.
Steve
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Post by goofy62 on Oct 25, 2020 16:19:43 GMT -5
I haven't been able to spend as much time working on this project as I would like lately, but work does continue slowly.
Been doing some suspension work to correct the stance, but that's not particularly interesting and probably not worth posting pictures of at this point.
I did however rebuild the interior door panel that I had previously finished.
The first one began to cup due to the overly liberal use of plastic cement, and I wasn't particularly happy with the ribbed portion of the panel anyway, so I purchased a sheet of Evergreen #4525 "Metal Siding" and rebuilt the entire panel using it instead of the previous hand made portion.
I like it much better. 
Steve
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Post by deuce on Oct 26, 2020 8:30:19 GMT -5
I wondered where you had been. Glad to see you're back at this car. Looking forward to the build.
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It's an interweb thing.....