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Bill Newcomer
The rear has kind of a mid sixtys Chrysler Imperial look to it.

Bill Newcomer
Lots of body work I see.

Nigel Chapman
Sorry Bill, missed your comments due to wrong settings.
Just been looking at Chrysler Imperial rear pictures, and your right there is a sort of similarity. It's something I never considered. Bodywork has been fun and a good learning curve

Nigel Chapman
Catching up with this build so got the interior completed after some mods to the dashboard and steering column. Rear bed is made up of drink stirrers painted then sanded for the worn look.

Danny Meer
Looking good allready 👍

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Danny. So near yet so far. Not happy with the fit of some components so rebuilt the prop shaft and modified the radiator. This is slow going

Danny Meer
Everything to keep us busy during the cold winter days😉

Nigel Chapman
Thanks for the thumbs ups guys.
Your right Danny. What would I have been doing if not modelling ??

István Szücs
A really "woww-build"! Great idea! Congrats!

Nigel Chapman
Thanks

Nigel Chapman
Prop-shaft problems with a bad fit so lengthened it and cut out the middle of chassis for extra depth then bridging the gap with scrap plasticard.

Nigel Chapman
Mated the chassis to body but not happy with end result. The wheel/tyre combo looks strange and the front end is not low enough.
So put on back burner while I look for another suitable chassis and some low profile tyres.

Nigel Chapman
Right plan B using 1:24 Revell MK1 Golf GTI chassis, engine and running gear.
Actual layout is not far off so hopefully minimal cutting will be required.

Nigel Chapman
Spent the afternoon cutting and trimming with the Dremel to get the chassis to fit. I have to say this is working really well (so far!). Middle section will need further adjustment to fit flush.

Nigel Chapman
More grinding and cutting and the chassis fits just fine.
The entire front clip and engine bay looks spot on. Why didn't I think of this earlier?

Brandon H
Very cool. I like your style, Nigel!

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Brandon. I'm even contemplating a change of colour

Christian W
What sanding, cutting, cementing, modelling, sanding, sanding, sandig 😄
Very cool idea and ralization- The bed looks fantastic.

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Christian, you missed another sanding!
Real pleased with the bed - very simple to do. It reminds me those old wooden speedboats.

Christian W
Totally. That came into my mind too. The interior is also great. Like one piece. Well done.

Dominik Weitzer
what a heck of work! i'm very interested of the finish.

Nigel Chapman
Me too!! Not sure about the wheel base. I think I may have to narrow the front and rears chassis parts so the wheels fit in the body. Even with the VW wheels and tyres it's a tight fit.
Some research is required before any surgery takes place.

Nigel Chapman
Bought a Dremel flexible shaft which has proved invaluable for this project. I've had to grind material from the inner body and interior tub to achieve the stance I'm looking for and to get a good fit the chassis parts.
So far the VW tyres/wheels will fit on the front using kit parts.

Nigel Chapman
More chassis mods and tweaks. Rear end narrowed and spare wheel area removed. Black piece is from an AMT Ford van floor

Nigel Chapman
Slow but steady progress. Front end is now done after more grinding to ensure a proper fit for the front clip.
Material removed from the front roll bar mounting area so it now fitts flush within the chassis.
Rear end parts narrowed slightly. Fuel tank had to be narrowed to fit the rear roll bar which now has a nice snug fit for the lowered look.
Hopefully the car will now sit nice and low at an equal height all round!

Chaz Gordon
The flex shaft is my number 1 dremel attachment. To really make the most of it, get yourself a footswitch. I got a £10 industrial one from ebay and wired it in the middle of an extension lead. My dremel is always ready for action now.

Nigel Chapman
Ah, brillant idea. I never thought about doing that. I'll se what I can find

Chaz Gordon
This is the one I Got. Needed to use a connector strip to connect the Neutrals and earths together, but loads of space inside to hold it all in there.
https://ebay.co.uk/itm/22283..pid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524

Nigel Chapman
Brilliant, thanks.

Nigel Chapman
Slow but steady progress. Chassis now ready for paint.
Paint stripped from body using Isopropyl alcohol.

Brandon H
Hmmm, so you did decide to change up the body color. What are you thinking instead?

Nigel Chapman
Yep, the Gold just didn't do it for me so now I've got some Rover Pageant Mid Blue

Brandon H
Nice!

Nigel Chapman
Managed to finish painting all the suspension and engine parts. It seemed to take forever!

Bill Newcomer
Suspension parts usually do not get many colors. I paint them all near the beginning of the build so I can get to the 1+1 gluing stage.

Nigel Chapman
Moving onto the bodywork. A couple of coats of primer to highlight the needy areas. More filler applied and slowly but surely I'm getting a decent base for the topcoat.

Nigel Chapman
Wow! Just over a year and I'm resurrecting this project. Bodywork has been much improved over the last month with more filling and sanding. I've bought a pack of various graded wet n dry paper up to 1500 which has helped big time. Still not perfect and a learning curve but I am happy with the result.
Second round of painting using the new paint booth.

Nigel Chapman
Resurrected this project [again] as it had been lying around for 2 years and the body was still not right in places the longer I kept looking at it.
24 hrs in brake fluid and paint was stripped for a second time (!), the photos show the end result.
It's not as bad as it looks and some areas could do with some extra work.
I have been looking at bodywork techniques so bought some Holts Cataloy knifing putty from Halfords for £2.99.
Applying it is an art form as it sets quickly so good practice on this body. Small amounts and one pass with the spatula seems best.
After sanding I've decided to refine the bodywork particularly the bumpers and rear.
So it is a restoration, remodel or build? 🤪

Nigel Chapman
Engine now 99% complete. There were some fiddly bits - issues with fitting the air intake, having to modify parts to fit. The drive shafts should have been attached from underneath once engine was fitted in the bay, you live and learn.
The kit distributor was removed and replaced with a pre wired aluminium one from Hiroboy.
It is a nice little engine that fits well in the Subaru engine bay.

Nigel Chapman
At last ready for another paint job!
New rear lights fabricated from clear sprue with red car headlamp tint stuck to the rear.
Thin strips of styrene glued to the bumpers to give a more defined profile.
Additional styrene strip added around the internal edges to give better edging and to hide the warped interior tub sides.
The roof hoop has also been reinforced with styrene to give a better definition.
New cockpit rear panel fitted and strengthened which also hides the rough edges of the wood bed.
Lastly repainted the interior parts with Humbrol Matt white to get a clean look - I couldn't believe how dirty the white parts actually were.

Nigel Chapman
Body now ready for its third paint job after spending the week filling and sanding. It's looking a lot better after some graft and has been a good lesson in body prep, not bad when considering it's around 45 years old.
Managed to drop it on the kitchen floor breaking the roof hoop so got a repair done and will attempt top coats tomorrow.

Bill Newcomer
Dude! You're not supposed to be dropping months of hard work! Be careful especially right after you paint.

Nigel Chapman
Memo to self don't carry too much at one times.
I didn't realise at the time but the photo shows a split between the grill and front wing so more repairs.
Luckily it's only primer.