Body in primer
Body in primer
And the first color going on:
Second coat and clear:
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
Nice color!
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
Looking great!
Serious progress on the Healey. I will not be done early with this one, but it will be done. Painting the cockpit combing was a challenge for the steady hand, but it came out OK. Still a lot of little fiddly bits to go on, and all need to be painted in place, because a previous owner of the kit removed all of them from the sprue and discarded it. This one is a first issue with no chrome either, so all of the lamp rims need the Molotow, and I need to scrounge something better for the head lamps, they're awful.
I had to mock mine up again once I got the body inside.
Lawdy! After I regained consciousness, I grabbed a quick backdrop. This color is hard to photograph!
Okay, breathe into a bag for a few minutes and then get back to work.
I got the passenger x-bars installed, made both door bars, got the third overhead bar, and the rear downtubes installed on the cage. Paint it and then the dash is ready to go in. I also installed the parachute lever.
And yes, the rear wheel tubs are carbon fiber.
Painting the roll cage:
Running into some complications while hitting the homestretch. Biggest problem was fitting the interior and body. Everything test-fit OK but when it came to glue time I found interference with the dashboard, windshield, and body itself. I wound up having to remove the dash and buzz down the door panels to lower the dash itself. This also meant I had to heat and tweak the steering column to keep the steering wheel off the seat cushion. That fixed most of the problem, but I also had to buzz down the base of the windshield a hair (and, if you look closely, a hair too much) and as of now I *think* everything will play nice.
The chassis half of the deal is finished. I found some snags in that the engine and its headers are keeping me from using the inner fenders per the instructions. But I've seen street rods without inner fenders, so this isn't going to be outside the realm of possibilities. The body is ready to go on the chassis once the glue dries as I just installed the windows, package shelf, and inside mirror.
Once the body goes on, there's a ton of chrome to go on. A lot of it is fairly delicate, and some is frustratingly fiddly. The outside mirrors are two pieces, chrome, and the connection points are very small so I have my doubts that they'll go on the car without my having to repair something along the way.
In reply to Claff :
It's looking great!
My build is a fail for this round. Recent events just have me depressed.
noddaz said:My build is a fail for this round. Recent events just have me depressed.
Me too, man, me too. Half of my family is multiracial and half are very conservative. I have poured myself into the build as a reprieve from all of that. So don't focus on finishing, don't focus on the events, just build. Hopefully you will find some solace as well.
I want to get back to my Corvair soon. There is just too much going on.
It didn't help that I screwed up the paint. This is harder than doing a real car.
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
Same here. Current events and losing our dog on Memorial Day have taken the fun out of things. I'm still plugging along on the model and running lots of miles as meditation. Both help. A lot.
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:And working on making the 4-rotor look like a billet Mazda based unit:
NICE!!
Started the day with putting the body on the frame. Needed rubber bands as there was just enough tension to create a gap between the nose and the splash pan on the chassis.
Then tonight it was a matter of putting all the trim on ad buttoning up a couple loose ends. It's 99% done now. I'll take care of the last 1% tomorrow and then keep my fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and I can get adequate pictures.
All of you are amazing!
Finished painting the roll cage and chassis:
Dashboard, steering wheel, and ECM ready to go in:
Looking good, everyone!
I got the decals on the body and finished with the engine bay. I still have to put the decals on the wheels & tires and make a harness for the seat. I probably won't meet the deadline. I have to go back and hit a couple of the decals with some Solvaset to get them to cooperate and they will have to dry before I can clear coat everything. I'm going to have to glue the engine cover closed because it doesn't fit very well and has to be forced in place. It's a shame because I'm pretty proud of how the engine turned out!
Submitted for approval
Overall, I'm happy with how this came out. It didn't have any of the patience-testing wrinkles in final assembly that the El Camino had, so there was no last thrash just to get it done and over with. It's roughly what I thought I'd end up with when I started, which was a late '50s sleeper with a surprise under the hood. If I were thinking ahead in the bodywork stage, I'd have filled the mounting holes for the spotlights and left those off, as it seems strange to have a nosed/decked custom with door handles shaved and then add big clunky chrome spotlights at the base of the windshield.
The stains on the paint from newsprint polished out to my satisfaction, and the paint shines adequately, so this will live closer to the front of the display shelf rather than buried in the back. I like it.
These builds have me itching to pay mom & dad a visit so I can see what kits/supplies/parts I left in their basement and see if I can get some of those built and displayed rather than languishing in their boxes. And I'm going to have to add to my display area soon at this rate.
Let's do this again sometime.
In reply to Claff :
I love it man! It turned out really nice and it's a super cool build.
Interior is completed:
In reply to BenB (Forum Supporter) :
Dude, I would live with the not perfect fitting rear cover to have access to that engine. I can this with experience because I left the ill-fitting covers able to open on both my Miura build for the first build off and a Porsche 904 I did years ago. It's too pretty to hide!
Oh, there's no way in heck I'm gonna finish...but I'm gonna try! Claff, BenB, Javelin, those builds are all looking awesome!
Engine is installed:
Note the electric water pump and mechanical fuel pump on the front of the motor, charge pipe now goes from the turbo to the intake, and there's an ECM on the firewall.
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