Paul Payne Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 Will be following! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 12 Author Share Posted November 12 32 minutes ago, Paul Payne said: Will be following! Welcome aboard, Paul, hope I won't disappoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James2 Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 Mind if I sit in and watch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 12 Author Share Posted November 12 (edited) On 11/12/2024 at 1:53 PM, James2 said: Mind if I sit in and watch? The more, the merrier . Edited November 23 by customline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 12 Author Share Posted November 12 3 hours ago, Bullybeef said: Well Jim, I’d say you are having fun playing with your plastic puzzle, filling the gaps in the roof and the c pillars will be an adventure for sure. I’m hoping to learn some techniques for carving and filling to make some things smoother for my 40 build. Bil, I totally mis-read the above and sent you a PM regarding what I thought you wanted to know. Just disregard all that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 12 Author Share Posted November 12 Here's where I'm at so far. The roof was filled in with pieces from a '53 Ford roof, a discard from a previous roof swap, and some scraps. Bondo two part glazing putty followed several times, building up the low spots and getting ready for a quick dusting of primer to see what I need to do next. With Bondo, (and I know there are plenty of you who reject this) you can mix it, slap it on, give it 5 minutes to firm up, shape it with some 220 grit as it is hardening and mix another batch, rinse, repeat and be ready for primer in an hour. Individual results may vary. Then the package shelf had to be extended using some Evergreen sheet. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullybeef Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 1 hour ago, customline said: Bil, I totally mis-read the above and sent you a PM regarding what I thought you wanted to know. Just disregard all that. Useful information is useful, I appreciate you taking the time to correlate that draft of helpful custom techniques. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 12 Author Share Posted November 12 (edited) On 11/12/2024 at 5:20 PM, Bullybeef said: Useful information is useful, I appreciate you taking the time to correlate that draft of helpful custom techniques. 😂 Edited November 23 by customline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LennyB Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 1 hour ago, customline said: Here's where I'm at so far. The roof was filled in with pieces from a '53 Ford roof, a discard from a previous roof swap, and some scraps. Bondo two part glazing putty followed several times, building up the low spots and getting ready for a quick dusting of primer to see what I need to do next. With Bondo, (and I know there are plenty of you who reject this) you can mix it, slap it on, give it 5 minutes to firm up, shape it with some 220 grit as it is hardening and mix another batch, rinse, repeat and be ready for primer in an hour. Individual results may vary. Then the package shelf had to be extended using some Evergreen sheet. I’m on board with you there. I use the 3M finishing glaze. Dries quick, sands easily and you can get a lot done in a short time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BespokeHotRodsInc Posted November 12 Share Posted November 12 Wow, this is such an adventurous project. I will definitely be watching this one come together ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 13 Author Share Posted November 13 3 hours ago, BespokeHotRodsInc said: Wow, this is such an adventurous project. I will definitely be watching this one come together ? You already are! Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted November 13 Share Posted November 13 Enjoying watching your plastic surgery here. Your process on the roof is much like the way many 1:1 cars are done. Looking at the windshield opening you now know where the "mail slot" description comes from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 14 Author Share Posted November 14 12 hours ago, espo said: Enjoying watching your plastic surgery here. Your process on the roof is much like the way many 1:1 cars are done. Looking at the windshield opening you now know where the "mail slot" description comes from. Dave, I may have chopped it a smidgen too much. I thought the .25 inch cut was, give or take, 4" in 1:1 land. Actually, it's close to 6". But hey, I want it to look like it was done by a punk hot-rodder back around 1960. If it ends up looking decent in black primer, I may leave it that way. I added the front facia and the rear panel tonight and cleaned up the window openings some. The optional kit hood had a twist and wouldn't sit right plus the front right corner featured the mold defect common to both shoebox Ford kits. I played with it but ended up using the stock hood, which I shaved and filled. The grille candidates are the big toothy '53 De Soto grille, the minimalist '55 Plymouth, and the kit's '54 or '55 De Soto grille. There are others but I think a stock Merc unit would be great if I can find one. I need to find wheels and tires that will allow radical lowering (the front inner fenders won't play well with the wide tires in the box.) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted November 14 Share Posted November 14 16 hours ago, customline said: Dave, I may have chopped it a smidgen too much. I thought the .25 inch cut was, give or take, 4" in 1:1 land. Actually, it's close to 6". But hey, I want it to look like it was done by a punk hot-rodder back around 1960. If it ends up looking decent in black primer, I may leave it that way. I added the front facia and the rear panel tonight and cleaned up the window openings some. The optional kit hood had a twist and wouldn't sit right plus the front right corner featured the mold defect common to both shoebox Ford kits. I played with it but ended up using the stock hood, which I shaved and filled. The grille candidates are the big toothy '53 De Soto grille, the minimalist '55 Plymouth, and the kit's '54 or '55 De Soto grille. There are others but I think a stock Merc unit would be great if I can find one. I need to find wheels and tires that will allow radical lowering (the front inner fenders won't play well with the wide tires in the box.) Remember seeing pictures of these and other cars with tops chopped just this low many years ago, so you're right in line with what they did. There used to be a filler park in the kit for the hood, and that maybe what you did. The grill shell looks like a smooth transition into the fenders. Are you going to use the rear roll panel with the license plate relief in it? For lowering the front end, maybe cut out the inner fenders and use the old pill bottle trick to tub it like you would a rear end. The flat black look would look good on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 (edited) On 11/14/2024 at 4:28 PM, espo said: Remember seeing pictures of these and other cars with tops chopped just this low many years ago, so you're right in line with what they did. There used to be a filler park in the kit for the hood, and that maybe what you did. The grill shell looks like a smooth transition into the fenders. Are you going to use the rear roll panel with the license plate relief in it? For lowering the front end, maybe cut out the inner fenders and use the old pill bottle trick to tub it like you would a rear end. The flat black look would look good on this. Yeah, it's a street custom, either done at home in the barn or by a local shop, probably on the east coast, trying to emulate the west coast lake cars. I'd buy that story. The kit supplied custom grille shell was a poor fit, as is most everything in this kit. The hoods are both slightly warped or the whole body is. I had to add some styrene to the top of the grille shell to get the hood to align better (its still not right). The rear panel's plate recess was filled and the plate recess is now in the trunk lid. Since the tail lights will be stock units, I felt I should do something custom back there. The big thing I need to deal with is getting the car low. There isn't much room between the rear axle and the body. I stole the tires and outer wheels from the '65 Bonneville kit but that may not work out and the rims aren't very cool anyway. I may use the steelies from the kit, paint them red maybe, I dunno, but the backing plates must be eliminated and the inner wheels will need to be modified. If that doesn't work, the springs will need to be relocated and the axle housing narrowed. The plan was to use the skirts but that may not work out either. Here's a few pix from today's endeavors. Edited November 23 by customline 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK9300 Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 Very fine job stitching your roof back together. Sure like the stance - hope you can get the rear end to cooperate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledsel Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 Chopping anything is not easy and wow there was a lot of cutting on this one!!! She is looking good but may I play devils advocate? The roof is too flat from side to side, you lost some of the windshield shape in the center. I think the rear quarter windows need more taper to them. Now, these are my opinions and opinions only. I have seen things in the past I thought were off but finished nicely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stitchdup Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 enjoying watching this come together. when i did my 50 i chopped the tops off the tyres to get it lowered 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 6 hours ago, stitchdup said: enjoying watching this come together. when i did my 50 i chopped the tops off the tyres to get it lowered Great idea! You just made my day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 (edited) On 11/15/2024 at 1:48 AM, Sledsel said: Chopping anything is not easy and wow there was a lot of cutting on this one!!! She is looking good but may I play devils advocate? The roof is too flat from side to side, you lost some of the windshield shape in the center. I think the rear quarter windows need more taper to them. Now, these are my opinions and opinions only. I have seen things in the past I thought were off but finished nicely. Yup. That's how it looks to me too. The idea was to make this coupe look like a tudor but I chopped it a bit too much. If I ever get my hands on another one of these, I'll use narrower tape. I think if I did a mild chop, I could maybe lean the pillars out and avoid the longitudinal cuts. Maybe. I thought about adding more material to the roof but there is a thing they did way back called "pancaking." I could say "well, it's pancaked!" But y'all are too smart for that ☺️ (although the idea has merit.) After I get some primer on it I'll see how bad it looks and maybe try some stuff. I dunno. It's an experiment and a sort of proof of concept, moving the backlight to the rear. I much prefer the look of the chopped tudor over the chopped coupe. I wanted more of a Merc look. I appreciate your observations, Andy, they are spot-on. Edit: I can't (or won't) fix the windshield but I am going to add a bit more to the flat spot. With Bondo, all things are possible. Edited November 23 by customline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledsel Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 (edited) 3 hours ago, customline said: Yup. That's how it looks to me too. The idea was to make this coupe look like a tudor but I chopped it a bit too much. If I ever get my hands on another one of these, I'll use narrower tape. I think if I did a mild chop, I could maybe lean the pillars out and avoid the longitudinal cuts. Maybe. I thought about adding more material to the roof but there is a thing they did way back called "pancaking." I could say "well, it's pancaked!" But y'all are too smart for that ☺️ (although the idea has merit.) After I get some primer on it I'll see how bad it looks and maybe try some stuff. I dunno. It's an experiment and a sort of proof of concept, moving the backlight to the rear. I much prefer the look of the chopped tudor over the chopped coupe. I wanted more of a Merc look. I appreciate your observations, Andy, they are spot-on. Edit: I can't (or won't) fix the windshield but I am going to add a bit more to the flat spot. With Bondo, all things are possible. ? Maybe after adding bondo maybe reshape the windshield opening and use some half round evergreen to replicate the windshield trim? If you try it again maybe get a donor '49 Merc for the longer roof to start with and incorporate the Ford rear window? I am glad you did not take offense to my observations. I'll be watching. Edited November 15 by Sledsel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnut Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 I love it, I’m glad to see somebody else willing to cut these up besides myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 (edited) On 11/15/2024 at 1:55 PM, Sledsel said: Maybe after adding bondo maybe reshape the windshield opening and use some half round evergreen to replicate the windshield trim? If you try it again maybe get a donor '49 Merc for the longer roof to start with and incorporate the Ford rear window? I am glad you did not take offense to my observations. I'll be watching. I'm not happy about the prospect of reshaping the windshield and, honestly, I kinda like the look. I do think a bit more crown on the roof might look a little better. The reason the windshield looks that way is because I didn't quite get the roof back together right which tells me another method needs to be learned or found. The Merc roof idea is probably worth exploring and if I had a Mercury to sacrifice, we might not be having this conversation. I suspect the Merc roof is a bit wider as well as longer and would not need to be widened at all. I'll let someone else find out about that. Andy, I'm cool with any and all comments, criticism, questions and advice and I appreciate your ideas. They are good ones. I'll get some primer on it and re-evaluate the windshield situation. Edited November 23 by customline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customline Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 (edited) On 11/15/2024 at 4:06 PM, carnut said: I love it, I’m glad to see somebody else willing to cut these up besides myself. Hey, Michael, I see you like Fleetlines.... here's mine Edited November 23 by customline 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo1303s Posted November 16 Share Posted November 16 I love it looks great !! I think your chop on my section would be awesome !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.