Plowboy Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 I picked this promo up a while back on ebay. My first idea was to build a replica of one my older brother had in the late '70s. But, his was a 500 with a bench seat and different side molding. He had stuffed a 351 Cleveland,/ C-6 into it and added a set of Keystones. It was an ugly brown color with a red interior. But, it was scary fast for what it was. Here's how the promo looked when I got it. Really clean with only a bump mark on the right rear tail fin. Of course, the chrome is shot. First task was to blow it apart and pitch the old chassis, wheel covers and tires. Everything underneath is being replaced with parts from the Revell '64 T-Bolt. Once apart, I cut out the underhood detail and replaced it. Only modification was filling in the hinge holes. I'm thinking I'll also get rid of the duct holes. Nothing is glued yet. Then, I got the chassis fitted. I had to narrow it down some on the sides and trim a little on the rear. It almost fit perfect with the original interior tub. The wheelbase is spot on as it should be. I grabbed a set of wheels and tires and did a quick mockup. Not sure if I'll keep these wheels or not. You can see the chassis is hanging down a bit. After seeing the fit of the chassis to interior tub, I made the decision to rework it also. So, I cut the interior apart. I'll be reworking the seats to fix the bottoms so they slope inward instead of out. I'll also add brackets to the buckets to get them up off of the floorpan. The console will have to be modified to fit. It's a lot of work. But, the results will be worth it. Especially when it comes time to paint and detail. With the interior out, I did another mockup with the chassis where it needs to be. Better. But, it still needs to be lowered more. I'll have to get the engine together with the headers to see how much I can lower it. I'd like to have it down where it was originally. But, that may not be possible. With my original idea out the window, I really don't have a set plan for it now. But, it'll come to me I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Looks like a great project Roger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drodg Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Looking forward to this . Not easy to find one in this good of shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
br67 Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Great start Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbill Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 This has the feel of super cool to it, looking great so far. Will be following this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCostello Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I really like the raised stance on this car. It gives it a late 60s high school hot rod look. I'd lose the console too, just put a nice Hurst shifter on the floor. (Just my opinion, whatever you do will look great.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam I Am Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 We rebuilt one at the body shop I used to work at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggie427 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisc63 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Cool project! I like how that car looks in red, but then I like most cars in red. Black with red interior is wicked, too. A handsome body style like that can wear pretty much any color and look nice, though. I'd love to see it wear the Keystones, and the post above was spot on in that it looks like a late 60s high school hot rod. It just needs some yellow traction bars and cherry bombs below! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyc Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 I love the drag star wheels. Or whatever they are! Where did they come from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geno Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 Great start on a sweet project Randy, I'm diggin' it. Keep us posted.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyc Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 3 minutes ago, Geno said: Great start on a sweet project Randy, I'm diggin' it. Keep us posted.? This is Roger's, not mine. I'm here with you, waiting to see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plowboy Posted October 16, 2019 Author Share Posted October 16, 2019 8 hours ago, randyc said: I love the drag star wheels. Or whatever they are! Where did they come from? They're Pro Stars from the AMT '57 Corvette Street Machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambles Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Ah, brings back some fond memories. Great project and nice work. Keep us posted with your progress please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyc Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 11 hours ago, Plowboy said: They're Pro Stars from the AMT '57 Corvette Street Machine. Thanks. May have to look into that one just for the wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geno Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 21 hours ago, Geno said: Great start on a sweet project Randy, I'm diggin' it. Keep us posted.? Oops, sorry Roger and Randy, my fingers got ahead of my brain lol.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plowboy Posted October 16, 2019 Author Share Posted October 16, 2019 3 hours ago, randyc said: Thanks. May have to look into that one just for the wheels. You'll get way more than just the wheels Randy. That kit also has one of the nicest BBC's with an automatic and headers along with a nice 9 inch Ford rearend. I've bought a few of them for the parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyc Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Cool, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plowboy Posted October 16, 2019 Author Share Posted October 16, 2019 Ever build an interior inside the model with the chassis in place also? I don't recommend it! That's practically how I had to do this interior. First mockup, I taped everything together and stuck it inside the body. Then, placed the chassis. It still hung down below the body! Then, I noticed the floor pan was in the wrong spot in relation to the chassis. The interior floor pan will only fit the chassis in a certain spot. No fudging at all. So, I temp glued the door panels, dash and rear seat together. Stuck it back in, placed the floorpan and chassis. Once everything was where it was supposed to be, I made reference marks. The problem was the door panels actually fit the floorpan different than they did with the '64. So, the door panels had to be lengthened to position everything where it needed to be. It was confusing to me as I did this same conversion on a '61 Comet years ago and it practically fell together. Then, I noticed that the '63 is a hardtop (shorter roof) vs the '64 sedan. The Comet is also a sedan. Anyway, I got the buckets and console modified. Everything is now back together and fitting like it should. Next, I'm going to work on getting it lowered down some. I'm thinking three scale inches in front. Maybe four in the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 I know where you're coming from Roger! I had to work my way through a lot of these issues when I built my '65 Fury. There was almost zero space to get the body, interior an chassis together correctly. I spent countless hours not only rebuilding interior door panels, but revamping everything to achieve a correct fit. Everything from the chassis plate and interior floor to the dash, rear package shelf and even the glass, had to be ground down to get the chassis to seat up into the body without protruding. It was mind boggling at times. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plowboy Posted October 16, 2019 Author Share Posted October 16, 2019 Yeah Steve, it's a lot of work. Mind numbing at times. But, the results always pay off IMO. I now have a direction for this model nailed down. As I've been working on it, I've been comparing it to my '61 Comet that I built as a sleeper/phantom S/S. I've decided to make this Fairlane the total opposite of it. It's Wimbledon White. This will be black. The Comet looks stock. This won't. I'm thinking a champagne or blue color for the interior. Can't be red. Wheels are staying. The stock buckets may go. I may add in a four or six point roll bar. I got the front lowered exactly how I want it. The rear may get lowered a touch more. I'll have to check the driveshaft clearance and fit of the ladder bars before I go any lower. I also added a tear drop hood scoop. I know they're a cliche/me too thing on a Ford anymore. But, to me, it just fits the model) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 I like the raked stance as is Roger but whatever you choose it looks great so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyc Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 stance is perfect in last photo, to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarheelRick Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 It's a FORD, it is beautiful - end of discussion. I liked the high-boy look of the first rendition, but then I fondly remember those from my high-school years. The lowered look does seem to fit this build a bit better, maybe I have mellowed in my senior years. Looking forward to more updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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