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Post by chepp on Sept 9, 2017 14:23:51 GMT -5
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Post by chepp on Sept 9, 2017 14:36:23 GMT -5
Here's my fictional history story behind the revised build:
In early 1961 the powers-that-be at Pontiac decided that, in conjunction with the revitalized stock car racing image Pontiac was developing, they also needed something to appeal to the "youth market." With the newfound popularity of hot rodding in the public mind (such as the tremendous appeal of the Kookie Kar T in the 77 Sunset Strip TV show), Pontiac decided to commission a rod to gain publicity at car shows and possibly get placed in movies and TV shows.
To that end it had to be all Pontiac. The Club de Mer show car from 1956 could be the donor car for the body while the engine could be the 421 that would be arriving in late 1961. Although the factory 421 would have one or two 4 barrel carbs the rod could have the Tri Power from the 389 — or maybe an aftermarket supercharger. Since I'm rewriting history, I'll paint the engine in new-for-1966 metallic blue and claim that the popularity of this rod was the reason the color was adopted later for production.
As for the chassis, a tube frame with modified Pontiac front and rear suspensions would be used.
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Post by ChrisV on Sept 9, 2017 15:19:45 GMT -5
Great build Charley - It reminds me of the early sixties' Car Craft and Rod & Custom "sketchpad" concepts.
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Post by spex84 on Sept 9, 2017 19:08:28 GMT -5
Yep, definitely built in the spirit of the models that appeared in the mags in the 60s. I love how that Beatnik chassis looks under there. Creative, and super cool!
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Post by lo51merc on Sept 9, 2017 22:41:01 GMT -5
Correct me if I'm wrong, are you going to build a second, seperate version with the planned changes? I sure hope you aren't going th tear this one apart. Gary
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Post by chepp on Sept 10, 2017 17:40:05 GMT -5
Correct me if I'm wrong, are you going to build a second, seperate version with the planned changes? I sure hope you aren't going th tear this one apart. Gary Yes, I've taken it apart already. It didn't look as good in real life as it did in the three carefully composed photos. I had built it for an informal online contest where only the photos would be seen. The body only rested on the chassis and its details were just barely attached. Both the body and chassis had a lot of little problems. The body details have been carefully removed and stashed away. A light wetsanding with 320 grit paper is the first step toward making improvements. Pods from the Club de Mer kit may be added to make rotating headlights similar to those on the 1963-1967 Corvette. An early '60s Pontiac "nose" might be added to the front, too. A Moebius 1961 Pontiac Ventura kit should be arriving next week. That should provide the engine and front/rear suspensions that can be connected with a tube chassis.
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Post by chepp on Sept 10, 2017 17:48:22 GMT -5
Here's a photo from my original build in 2012 comparing the partly-modified body with the image on the kit box.
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Post by chepp on Sept 28, 2017 18:47:00 GMT -5
That Ponti-rod name has got to go. It sounds too much like Potty-rod. Since Pontiac was using place names like Ventura, Catalina and Bonneville I'll come up with something similar. Zuma might work — it's a surfing beach in southern California. I'm proceeding at a glacier-like pace. Here is the beginnings of the rotating headlights. They will be removable until final assembly to make bodywork and painting easier.
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Post by spex84 on Sept 28, 2017 22:04:43 GMT -5
How 'bout Oxnard. lol.
The rotating headlight idea is hella cool. Can't wait to see them posed!
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Post by lo51merc on Sept 29, 2017 8:08:40 GMT -5
I have a feeling I'm still gonna like this in its new updated version. Gary
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Post by chepp on Oct 2, 2017 15:59:12 GMT -5
Oxnard! How about Lompoc? ...or maybe Cucamonga? ...or my childhood home town Tarzana? Here's the basics of the rotating headlights. They'll need a lot of filing and filling. When they look OK I'll shoehorn a 7" round bezel and lens in each. A Moebius 1961 Pontiac Ventura frame was shortened 30mm to fit the body (note the staggered joints and reinforcement added to the outermost rails in the top photo). This kept the front and rear sections aligned. The trans crossmember was removed. The new frame rails were pinned and cemented on. This effectively "Zs" the frame to lower it a little. The marked parts of the frame will be removed. The front and rear parts of the frame will need to be revised, too, to fit the body.
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Post by chepp on Oct 11, 2017 17:37:02 GMT -5
There's not much left of the '61 Pontiac frame and floor. The frame jig should minimize handling while building. Here's the general arrangement to test the fit before cementing and adding sheet styrene to fill in missing sections. The kit's multi-part suspension should look really good but it would be a bear to mock up so I didn't. Instead of lowering the suspension I've lowered the body. Giving it a rake by angling the frame will raise the engine into the body opening. I'm reading a book, 3-1/2 Weeks Until the Model Contest by Willy Makeit. I wonder how it ends?
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Post by chepp on Oct 18, 2017 19:55:32 GMT -5
It took much longer than I expected to figure out and build the engine mounts and the radiator location but they had to be done before I could move on to the body. The two color samples for the engine are Tamiya acrylic gloss: X-13 metallic blue by itself and 1 part X-13 + 2 parts X-11 chrome silver. I'll probably add more silver to the mix to make it look more like the '66-up Pontiac metallic blue engine color.
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Post by spex84 on Oct 19, 2017 2:10:41 GMT -5
Cutting it close! The frame mods look good. This is tricky work to do...I know I've gotten stuck several times trying to do stuff like this. //Didn't Willie Makeit have an editor named...Ida Gnow?
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Post by Murphy on Oct 19, 2017 7:24:38 GMT -5
Wow...quite impressive. I really like the inspiration, and I'm sure the sequel will be incredible.
-I think the illustrator was "Betty Wont"
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