Chrysler 300 Touring Wagon Finished

[Peter Lombardo]

Ok, just off the workbench, this is the 300 Touring Wagon that I had at NNL East on the primer table next to the Dodge Magnum Super Bee Concept. I made a few minor changes from the original drawing I did back in March. The plan was always to have sliding rear doors, Lambo front doors and two tone paint, but I added an orange tribal stripe, with a charcoal "shadow" stripe under it, to the final model as it was looking a little too sedate. When I started the project, I had no idea how I was going to do the two different style doors. They would not be using normal hinges. One night as I was working on the car, I was thinking about how to do the front Lambo hinges. I thought about building a complicated hinge like the new "UpTown" Revell kits have, but I thought I could do something easier. While I was thinking about it, I was using one of those new "Floss Holder" units to do a little flossing. I saw the thing on the work table and it hit me. It was the perfect size and shape for a Lambo hinge. You can see how I cut it and installed it. It works as good as I could have wanted any hinge to work. The rear doors required brass rods with tracks built into the floor and roof for the brass "slides" to move in. I fabricated struts for the rear hatch and hood, ala Bill Geary, only mine used wire insulation instead of brass tubing, which I now have acquired from a better stocked hobby shop then my local guy. I had made struts before, but never this thin. So thanks Bill for showing that the tiny little buggers could be built. I used metal washers from Home Depot for the disc brakes and wire mesh for the Bentley Grill. I have to say, this was a tiring and tedious build. With all of the openings, hinges and moving things, it really worked me over. Also, because I reworked the Chrysler interior into the Dodge body, there were "fit" problems all over the place. This was a difficult build that I had to handle far more then I wanted to. I am glad this one is done. It completes my Chrysler 300 modified builds The 300 chopped 4 door cruiser, Luxury convertible, woody convertible, 2 door coupe and now the touring wagon. All of these are on the Flickr site if you haven't seen them yet. Overall, I am pretty happy with the final look of this touring wagon, I am glad I did it, and the next time I do Lambo or sliding doors, I will know all of the tricks and pitfalls. Your comments/complaints are always welcome. Next to be finished is the Camaro Convertible concept which is currently waiting for a delivery of Aftermarket parts to complete it. I really like how this one is looking and it has a neat little twist to it. Thanks for looking.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpl3k/sets/72157594500070294/

[Peter Lombardo]

Second group of pictures:

[Peter Lombardo]

Third group of pictures:

[Peter Lombardo]

Fourth and final group of pictures:

[Gregg]

Mama mia!

Wow!

I quit

I'm going home

That came out fantastic!

Does the windshield fit okay?

I had a huge gap in mine that I had to fill with clear epoxy

I may try another using your cut styles for the front

[Peter Lombardo]

You hit it right on the money. I had the same problem with the windshield gap. I also filled it with clear epoxy. I then painted it black. The windshield wipers cover most of the problem area. But with all of the problems I encountered with all of the doors and hood and things and stuff fitting properly, the windshield was the least of my problems. Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it.

[MrObsessive]

Nice execution Peter! I thought about hinging the doors on my Magnum (the conventional way ) but decided against it for time's sake!. Good to see you attempt this.

Thanks for the heads up about the windshield...................did the problem come up because of the change in the cowl, or is this the general fit of the kit? I'm thinking about using clear acetate for the windshield because as per usual kit molding...............the surface has that "wavy" look from the outside which drives me crazy!

Thanks for the kudos about the hinges and struts BTW!

[Peter Lombardo]

Thanks Bill. The windshield fit problem is because the AMT 300 nose clip has a different lower windshield radius then the Revell body. So the Revell windshield that otherwise fits fine, leaves a gap at the bottom. Your Magnum should be fine should you decide to use the kit supplied windshield. I thought about using acetate for the windshield, which is what I did on the 4 dr 300 that has a chopped top that I built, but opted for the kit windshield for the sake of speed. By the way, I really am looking forward to seeing your Magnum build as it nears completion. I tend to be impatient when building so I don't always take the kind of care I need, certainly not as careful or precise as you are.

[MoparMarc]

WOW, what a build this is. I had to have the kids bring me a second drool bucket because I already filled the other one. I love the sliding rear doors, nice touch.

[Daniel]

It's a good thing you floss your teeth!

[MikeBoyle]

Excellent work and two thumbs up for thinking outside the box!

[Moon Pie]

Holy Moly! That's outstanding!! She's a winner.

[lonewolf]

Peter,

I've seen some incredible builds on this site, but those gull wing and sliding rear doors are over the top!!!

Kudos on a fantastic job.

[Mike]

Absolutely BRILLIANT execution on this. You've made the total package without over doing anything.

[Steve H.]

Wow, Thats some incredible engineering on all of the hinges! I love the use of floss frames as hinges, pretty ingenious!

A great build, taking a common kit a notch (or several) above anything else you'll see on the tables!

[Peter Lombardo]

Thank you very much, and thanks to everyone that had kind words to say about this build. I know I always say that I build cars for my own satisfaction, and I do, but it is so nice to hear positive comments, especially on a build that took so much out of me to finish. Near the end, it was becoming a blear. Thanks again.

[Tom Kren]

WOW That is just sweet! great job!

[drnitrus]

WOW that is a top notch build. Great work on all the body mods. That can end up in a big headache but you brought it all together nicely.

[kelson]

great looking build! hopefully some resin caster will offer the same type of kit .to cool.!

[ajulia]

Hello there! That is one baddd mutha......... Shut yo' mouth . Jus wanted to drop in and say that is one nice build. It strikes me as amazing with the things you can find around the house. My cousin thought i should buy the "uptown" kit to transfer the door fixtures to another build. ( So Silly). thanx for the heads up on fabricating your own style ( awesome innovation). Will mos-def keep in touch.

Peace

AJulia

[Tonioseven]

Astonishingly terrific!

[Lou Kolar]

What a great job. The working doors are over the TOP. You are a Master Builder and Visionary to be able to use items totaly removed from Model building and make use of them. You do think outside of the box. A Great Build you can be very proud of.

Edited November 23, 2007 by Lou Kolar

[Raul_Perez]

I hate to pull stuff from the archives, but this one deserves another look! (Mostly because I missed it the first time through)

Great work, Peter!!

[E St. Kruiser50]

I hate to pull stuff from the archives, but this one deserves another look! (Mostly because I missed it the first time through)

Great work, Peter!!

Thanks Peter.

I missed this one too.

Glad it came back up again so I could enjoy it . The entire build is "Over the Top". The hinges I can especially relate to becauese their always a challange to design and make work properly.

GREAT JOB

[ScrappyJ]

Great job there, Peter!