Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I am not so sure handed that I would have painted the letters black.
I would have painted the whole thing black, and painted on the bigger less detailed white areas, just because you know I am lazy like that !!! :lol:

Looks good Mark!!

We land in Spokane this Thursday, wife and I are certainly looking forward to meeting you and seeing this beautiful work of yours first hand!!!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

such a nice truck!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Looks great Mark :thumbs:

Very nice detail oriented job as always.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

X'S 2 What the Captain said....Vernski:metal:

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Thanks for the comments guys.

Well I was out admiring my handiwork this morning and realized I must have applied too much paint to the Buick grille bar as it developed a couple of wrinkles. Of course they had to be right in front next to the hub so they really showed up. I pulled it back off for refinishing. As long as I had it out I thought I’d see how it looked with the chrome center instead of the GMC horn cap.

I’m torn because I like the GMC emblem, but not sure I’m all that crazy about how long it makes the center hub look. The chrome “emblem” makes the hub look shorter, adds a bit of sparkle, and a 3 dimensional aspect.

Here are a few photos with both the GMC and the chrome center. Opinions are welcome:

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/6623/001xhrp.jpg

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/2189/006pyk.jpg

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2198/007vs.jpg

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2674/008alj.jpg

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Diggin the bit of chrome personally
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Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I also like the chrome center. As you said it doesn't make the bar look so big. Also it gives it a just a little retro look like 50 Ford or 50 Studebaker Starlite front end. I like it.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

The repaint on the Buick grille has so far turned out to be a total disaster.

1st – I applied too much rattle can Rustoleum enamel and a week later the surface wrinkled in 3 places, two of which were right on top in the center and easily seen.

2nd – I attempted to sand off the paint and found it still soft and gooey inside. So I gave up sanding and started in with a razor blade, scraping 95% of it off. Amazingly the UPol 2K primer stuck like it was part of the metal.

3rd – My son volunteered to media blast the residue, and also offered to have it powder coated white to save me some time. I jumped at the offer figuring even if it was the wrong color it would make a nice base/primer coat.

4th – Got the grille back last night only to find something was incompatible between what was left of the original chrome and the powder paint, leaving every square inch of the entire surface covered in big nasty blisters.

5th - No problem, I figured I’d just hit it with the D/A and put some 2K primer over the top to smooth it all out. It took a couple of hours just to smooth out all the powder paint, after which some UPol 2K was mixed up and applied. After an hour in the 95 degree heat it was ready for blocking. It took at least another hour to block sand every square inch. Outstanding now it was ready for paint.

6th – The last step being a good wash with wax and grease remover, I noticed a couple of tiny specs sticking up in the finish. So I wiped them again and found they were actually small pieces of powder paint peeling off the metal! Then I found 3 more defects. ARRRRGGGHHHH! I attempted to feather the edges for more 2K primer, only to find it wouldn’t feather, it just kept peeling back and leaving a hard edge.

7th – Accepting that I was now screwed, I started in with the scraper again and stripped all the paint off that I could, then went to the wire wheel and stripper discs to return the thing to bare metal. My son is going to bead blast it again, after which I’ll do it right starting with epoxy primer. After that I’m covering the entire surface in Rage body filler, followed by 2K before finally applying the paint with block sanding in between.

Amazing how a little nothing project can end up consuming as much labor as painting the whole car, and it will never show how much work went into it.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I'm really thankful you post these videos. I'd never see any of them otherwise, and there are so many cool cars and trucks in there. The Willys and 62 Chevy certainly looked a bit scary! I particularly like their starters!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Yep, Hand Drop.
I love to see the old Pre-70 Traditional Hot Rods, Rad Rods, Altered Customs, Gassers, and Front Engine Dragsters. Nostalgia.:metal:

Here some more videos:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=506806

Also:
http://www.gasserwarsmagazine.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/GasserWarsMagazine/videos


By the way I have met "Big Daddy" Don Garlits in person when he came to Darlington Dragway once when he was doing a exhibition run. Pretty gold Ole' Boy. No camera. No autograph. I'm an idiot.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

One more:;)

Americas Car Collection - "Ivo Series"...

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I’ve always been a TV Tommy fan. The clip above showing the 4 engine car running is actually from the 1964 movie Bikini Beach. In the film the audio and video is clear and impressive. Once that sucker is up to speed the gears in the front axle scream as loud as the engines. He’s also in The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow, with both his early record setting dragster and his T bucket. The are some real nice close up shots of the dragster cockpit and engine.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

a couple of years from now this will be only a faint memory and i'm sure it will be perfect before you're satisfied. everything else looks great... do the grill, be the grill...

one things for sure, we all share that same experience at one time or another.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

You'll get it Mark and it will be Awesome!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

hey markeb, I kind of like the chrome center in the grill bar better than the horn button. wonder what a chromed horn button would look like...

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. Yesterday I picked up a new small stripper disc so I could get the rest of the powder coat off the inside of the hub. Applied two coats of DPLF white epoxy primer and left it to cure overnight. This morning I sanded it down and applied a tiny amount of Rage filler to a couple of spots.

This afternoon after sanding the filler I coated it again in UPol 2K high fill primer and am leaving it overnight to cure. Hopefully tomorrow the only thing left to do will be to block sand the whole thing (again) and shoot the paint. I’m getting to know this one part a lot better than I ever wanted to!

Craigerrr - I’ve also decided I like the chrome center better than the horn button. It looks more universal like a Cal Custom accessory, and I like how it improves the shape of the center hub. If the horn button had been stainless steel I would have at least polished it up to see how it looked, but it was just an old dull chrome finish so I lost interest.

Normally I wouldn’t feel so rushed but my stepson and his family are coming in from out of state. I need to get this finished before they show up or it will never get completed in time for the Goodguys show next weekend, and I’d still like to find time to meet up with McMurphy and his wife if possible.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

That is so cool, hope you guys manage to hook up! If you do, raise a fine Ale to all of us! Have a waiter/waitress take a picture of you guys raising that Ale, and post it up... Please:D

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

This morning I block sanded the 2K primer and washed the grille bar down with wax and grease remover one more time. Last time at the store I noticed Rustoleum now offers Professional High Performance enamel, which is probably the same paint in a bigger can, but one advantage it offers is a high output spray nozzle that delivers 50% more paint. It actually applies paint more like a spray gun. Two medium mist coats and one heavy wet coat did the trick. No dust or bugs got in the finish, and it stretched out into a nice high gloss.

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/4516/003byw.jpg

I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to paint the inside ring of the hub black which will require masking. I’m certainly enthusiastic to get this all back together and be done with this project.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Man you have patience!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Mark,
Since you're planning on masking & paintiing the inside ring black - does that mean you plan on baking the piece in the oven while your wife's away?
I do it all the time, my wife can never figure why the house stinks so bad when she gets back home. She got real mad when she found out I was washing car parts in the dishwasher.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I used to bake freshly painted exhaust manifolds and anything coated in wrinkle paint in the oven, but the results were not always consistent and the smell was really obnoxious. My wife is very tolerant of my hobbies but as I got older I had a lot less tolerance for the smell of the fumes in the house. So I started experimenting with heat lamps and now depend on them for all my small painting projects. I have two permanently mounted over the painting bench and two more portable lamps to cover bigger projects. They work great and keep both of us happy.

The worst paint smell I ever initiated was back when I was about 17. I sprayed black vinyl dye on a late model bench seat to put in my 54 Chevy, downstairs in the rumpus room. Being young and stupid it never occurred to me to open the windows or wear any kind of mask. The seat turned out looking like factory upholstery, but the hideous fumes smelled like ether mixed with lacquer. By the time I finished the seat I barely made it out of the room, and found the smell was so bad upstairs everyone had fled to the front yard where they remained for several hours!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

The grille project was finally completed this morning. I carefully masked the center rim of the hub and painted it black. The chrome emblem was centered in the housing and bolted in place. With the help of my wife holding the bar in place to prevent scratches, it was reattached to the truck and the fog lamps reinstalled. I really like the way it looks, but I’ve had enough “fun” with this thing to last a long time.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1601/002oih.jpg

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/111/001jqc.jpg

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Very cool!!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Honestly, Mark,
I didn't like this look you had before:
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/29/000gi.jpg


http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9370/002sfs.jpg

Maybe if you had used a chrome horn button:
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...ment-120-1.jpg

But I have to say, I like this look:

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Mark,
I like it a LOT!!! Fantastic!!!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

looks great Mark...blacking out the area behind the chrome really makes a difference

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Thanks for all the feedback. I thought the horn button looked okay up close, but once installed on the truck I quickly started disliking the way it changed the shape of the hub. The chrome version seems to accent the hub instead of messing it up.

I had so much trouble painting this thing I was tempted to try and get away with leaving the inside bezel area white to avoid possibly messing it up. But without the black accent if looked really cheesy, like the owner was too lazy to finish it right!

Again thanks for looking and offering your thoughts.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Great Attention to Detail! Awesome Job Sir!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Wow! That looks killer Mark. Great work!

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

that is way cool..great job

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Mark, grill bar looks outstanding. Nice work.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

http://jimcartertruckparts.com/image...aments%201.jpg
Perfect!
Like it was always meant to be there.
:thumbs::clap::wave:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1601/002oih.jpg
Hmmmmm...
Just got a thought.
http://jimcartertruckparts.com/image...20caps%203.jpg

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Markeb01 you have saved the day AGAIN, I was swapping carburators today and ran into some linkage issues and with a little research I found everything I needed to know here on your thread for changing up to 72 cable linkage and pedal install. Thanks for the info and great pictures, saved me many hours of figuring out. Works nice and smooth anf full throttle was found :canada:

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

Outstanding! Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad you found the information helpful.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a die cast front end from an original 1/25th scale 1955 Buick promo. Being somewhat lazy the last couple of days I decided to update the model of my real truck by adding the grille bar to match recent addition on the 1/1 version.

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3760/001xtk.jpg

After a session with the Dremel cutter the grille bar was cut loose and installed in the truck. A gas cap was used to simulate the center emblem. Here’s a shot comparing it to the original 1960 I built many years ago:

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/41/002mhn.jpg

I was impressed with how decent it looked with very little effort. After more modification the fog lights were refitted to the model, and since they are actually too big to be in scale, I decided the model looked better without them. Now I’m thinking the real truck might benefit cosmetically by removing the lamps. Here’s a shot of the truck as it sits, followed by a rather poor photoshop without the lights:

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/9...ighttest10.jpg

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/6...ighttest11.jpg

I don't really want to remove the lamps, but I’m also thinking their elimination really cleans up the front of the truck, and makes the grille look more linear and interconnected. As always opinions are welcome.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

That is so cool - you also making those changes to the grill on the scale model. :D :D

I think I like the look without the fog lites also. It showcases the grill better.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

i see what you mean...when i scroll up & down between the pics, the one with the lights looks good but does break up the overall appearance of the grille...then you scroll down, & it does look like a cleaner appearance that flows together nicely

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I think the addtion of the grill looks great and when I first saw it I thought it would look better without the fog lights but I didn't want to offend you by saying so. I'm happy you made the change. I think it looks fantastic.

Re: Markeb01 Build Thread
 

I think the fog lights look cool!