Nascar Convertible Division
Started this one about a month or so ago.
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]The subtleties will kill you on a build like this.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Both the chassis donor and the body donor are, more or less, Plymouth B-bodies, and both are Ertl.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]So, what could go wrong?[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]When I initially bolted the GTX body onto the Roadrunner chassis, there was an interference that did not allow the hood to close. As a matter of fact, it stuck up at about a 30 degree angle.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]WTF, Over? (I worked with a bunch of ex-Air Force guys for a while).[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]If you are familiar with this era of diecast, hoods, doors, and trunks (when they open) all have dogleg hinges. One would think that if you've seen one hood dogleg, you've seen them all, especially if the models appear to be identical.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]In my case, the doglegs of the GTX body donor were thicker than the doglegs for the Roadrunner, and would not clear the Nascar chassis cowl air induction.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]So, I swapped hoods between the two models, and, Eureka![/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]A few progress shots follow.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]One thing I am going to half to solve is whether to simply drill two holes and allow the roll cage to tie into the package tray, or carve out slots in the package tray to allow the roll cage bars to attach back to the donor interior.[/background]
I took a step back from this one, and pondered my options.
Here is the set of models that I have access to for this project.
The top one, of course, is the body donor, the next two are a Toys R Us exclusive Nascar Superbird and the initial potential donor, a Petty Roadrunner.
Well, just the other day, I was able to score another TRU Superbird, and upon delivery, I got this.
So, in a lemon/lemonade funk, I decided to take it apart and see what it looked like as the chassis donor.
One thing about the Ertl Superbird mold is that you have to remove the rear wheels in order to access a screw in that wheel well. I was able to acquire a tool that helps in removing those wheels, and with little bit of effort, was successful. The issue is that the rear axle has a mushroom head with a slot, and you have to compress that slot to get the wheel to pop off.
Looks good from the top. I particularly like the black interior against the red exterior. If I am lucky, no painting on this one, only decals.
Before I put the wheels back on, I made a test fit. Looks good from the side, as well. Getting excited about this build.
So popped the rears back on to get an idea about stance and rake.
Now that I have a clearer definition of the body/chassis donor relationship, the build can continue.
This catches you up through yesterday.
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Made some progress, at least in the disassembly stage.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]On the Superbird, there's an extension of the under tray to support the nose.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)] [/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]I had to remove this much of it to get the original test donor body to fit.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Here's our new body donor, straight out of the box.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Chassis ready to be recycled.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Underside of the body.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Knew it wasn't going to fit, but just for frame of reference.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]I know from playing around with the original body donor, that these tabs will interfere.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]So, a little bit of Dremel later.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Test fit again, but still some interference that I was expecting.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]I knew a couple of other things would have to be removed and/or eventually modified, such as the dashboard and the hood (due to the discrepancy in the dog leg hinges noted above.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]With those two elements removed, we now can proceed to see what needs to be put back on, and to what extent it will need to be "adjusted". On of the thing I will do is see if the dashboard from the Superbird will help. Can't use the Superbird hood, though, as I am going for a no-repaint solution.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Stay Tuned![/background]
Started this one about a month or so ago.
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]The subtleties will kill you on a build like this.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Both the chassis donor and the body donor are, more or less, Plymouth B-bodies, and both are Ertl.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]So, what could go wrong?[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]When I initially bolted the GTX body onto the Roadrunner chassis, there was an interference that did not allow the hood to close. As a matter of fact, it stuck up at about a 30 degree angle.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]WTF, Over? (I worked with a bunch of ex-Air Force guys for a while).[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]If you are familiar with this era of diecast, hoods, doors, and trunks (when they open) all have dogleg hinges. One would think that if you've seen one hood dogleg, you've seen them all, especially if the models appear to be identical.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]In my case, the doglegs of the GTX body donor were thicker than the doglegs for the Roadrunner, and would not clear the Nascar chassis cowl air induction.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]So, I swapped hoods between the two models, and, Eureka![/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]A few progress shots follow.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]One thing I am going to half to solve is whether to simply drill two holes and allow the roll cage to tie into the package tray, or carve out slots in the package tray to allow the roll cage bars to attach back to the donor interior.[/background]
I took a step back from this one, and pondered my options.
Here is the set of models that I have access to for this project.
The top one, of course, is the body donor, the next two are a Toys R Us exclusive Nascar Superbird and the initial potential donor, a Petty Roadrunner.
Well, just the other day, I was able to score another TRU Superbird, and upon delivery, I got this.
So, in a lemon/lemonade funk, I decided to take it apart and see what it looked like as the chassis donor.
One thing about the Ertl Superbird mold is that you have to remove the rear wheels in order to access a screw in that wheel well. I was able to acquire a tool that helps in removing those wheels, and with little bit of effort, was successful. The issue is that the rear axle has a mushroom head with a slot, and you have to compress that slot to get the wheel to pop off.
Looks good from the top. I particularly like the black interior against the red exterior. If I am lucky, no painting on this one, only decals.
Before I put the wheels back on, I made a test fit. Looks good from the side, as well. Getting excited about this build.
So popped the rears back on to get an idea about stance and rake.
Now that I have a clearer definition of the body/chassis donor relationship, the build can continue.
This catches you up through yesterday.
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Made some progress, at least in the disassembly stage.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]On the Superbird, there's an extension of the under tray to support the nose.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)] [/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]I had to remove this much of it to get the original test donor body to fit.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Here's our new body donor, straight out of the box.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Chassis ready to be recycled.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Underside of the body.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Knew it wasn't going to fit, but just for frame of reference.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]I know from playing around with the original body donor, that these tabs will interfere.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]So, a little bit of Dremel later.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Test fit again, but still some interference that I was expecting.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]I knew a couple of other things would have to be removed and/or eventually modified, such as the dashboard and the hood (due to the discrepancy in the dog leg hinges noted above.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]With those two elements removed, we now can proceed to see what needs to be put back on, and to what extent it will need to be "adjusted". On of the thing I will do is see if the dashboard from the Superbird will help. Can't use the Superbird hood, though, as I am going for a no-repaint solution.[/background]
[background=rgb(224, 224, 234)]Stay Tuned![/background]