1968 Plymouth Roadrunner COMPLETE 2-19-2017

So guys, as you all should know, I've been missing in action, due to a bad accident with fire works that I was in. Then had a bit of computer trouble to top it all off as well. Been rough, BUT, to give a bit of an idea, back in July (7-3-15) I was in a bad firework accident that mangled both my hands, took the tip of the pointer finger on my left hand, and blew up the palm on my right, cutting a tendon in my right-hands ring finger making it control-less (it still is as I'm under going intense physical therapy 3 times a week) to get passive movement on the knuckles as it was immobile for almost 3 months, due to healing wounds, and broken bones! Once the knuckles move freely, I'll then be able to have the first of 2 surgeries done to get the tendon working again. WELL, up to about a month ago, maybe a little longer ago, I just could not sustain any longer of doing absolutely nothing, Drove me crazy! (Its a short ride anyway but lets not push it! LOL)
Now, I'm gonna get ahead of myself, as I been planning this the whole time while not online. BUT before my accident in July, back in June, I took my completed '57 Chrysler 300C to the local hobby shop for display, only to find they had an up coming model contest! So, I thought, why not? I entered it..... And let the car there on display. Granted, not thinking this accident was going to happen but, that '57 300C, was made to have 2 hoods, both different, one with the car on display, one at home hanging in the shop. So, then July 3rd happens, I'm in the hospital for a week..... A month passes, I finally get to be in the shop talkin with my wife (shes got a craft bench in the shop for us to spend time together) Even tho, I wasn't able to do anything, talking with her and looking at what I all had, was a mind set on how or what I was gonna do to the "mess" in the shop, or a model I may have had her to open up for me. WELL all the times I was in the shop, I kept seeing this "second hood" to my '57 300C.... And then thought over and over "John, you need to go to the hobby shop, John you need to go to the hobby shop" so about a month and a half passes AFTER my accident and I ask the wife to drive me to the hobby shop..... so she agrees to take me the following day! Remember, I was unable to drive from July 3rd till October 15th.......
So, anyway, I get to the hobby shop, walk in, and the first thing, ALL employees there look up, and see me and say "HEY you WON!" Regular guy cashier looks at me right after that and goes, WHAT THE H**L HAPPEN man? I look at them and said, O----K, what I win and WHY? (I totally FORGOT about the model contest!) And they reminded me, and then began to say what all was what and so on, WELL, the judging for the contest, was on July 4th....... I was in the hospital! I then went on to explain what you all know, what and why I was in the shape I was in. WELL to continue on, there was 12 judges (was a bit bigger contest then I first had thought) that I got all "1st place" judgments on, which gave me a "Best of Show", as well as a 1st place. Win? 2 models one for each placement! I got a '69 Ford Shelby GT-500, AND a '96 Dodge Dodge Ram VTS Ram. The Ford well.... took a wild ride on the trade-in thought and mindset to bring home a '68 Plymouth Roadrunner, from the shop. Not a bad win I must say! SO, this '68 Roadrunner was gonna be the model, WHEN I was able to, be thee first model to be "tested" on to see what I was able to do when my hands were well enough to work on a model (YES I know, started yet another model John, thats all you needed to do! LOL) BUT all the rest, were already started, one. and two, I didn't want to ruin any of them I already had strong efforts invested into, and three, to show start to finish (if not close to being finished) what my mangled hands were able to do..... On a single model! Ruined, or not......
So like always, I started with the design of the car, what it was gonna have, what the engine was to be, type of transmission, etc. WELL the AMT '68 Roadrunner came with a 426 Hemi. Just. couldn't do it, wasn't feelin' a Hemi in this one! SO, being a Roadrunner, I went the "basic" approach, the 383..... 4 barrel "383 Roadrunner" engine, with a automatic 727 Torqueflite transmission (I went against ALL this model came with!) -Just because, I'm me, and can. I did the following, with 2 fingers only, on my right hand, pointer finger and thumb, Well one finger and one thumb I should have said. That was ALL I had for use on assembling the engine. My entire left hand was wrapped right up only having an exposed thumb on my left hand but wasn't usable for anything as it had massive wounds under it in the palm area, and pressure on the area where the pins were was dang near unbearable at the time.  





Now something to point out here, notice how the engine is being held? NORMALLY I didn't use my "3rd hand" tool, BUT having less then a full working hand, I made up the difference! I have several of these, and this is one time I'm glad I had all of them, that I do (My wife actually uses them for crafts WAY more then I do! Now the other part of reality is, to get the engine out of my storage containers, took a bit, and then to open up a small zip-lock baggie that held heads, a separate one to hold the valve covers, was then an interesting task..... I won't go into the not-so-graceful way I went about it, and then using a set of tweezers to pull out loose parts in an organizer was fun too, but thats how I got the intake out, and then had to sort through them to see what one best fit the engine, as well as pull it out to use in 2 halves..... I got that all sorted and out in ONE NIGHT (Nothing absolutely NOTHING went fast or easy!) BUT, then again, all I had was time, right? The following night, I went on to assemble the block halves, messing with a mini plastic clamp till I was ready to through that dang thing in the dump LOL BUT I didn't give up, as you can see..... YES I fooled around, and cursed things not done in prior history, BUT, I didn't give up, wasn't about too..... The oil pan, also came out of an organizer, as well as the timing chain cover/water pump.
Needless to say, I spent the better part of 5 days to get this engine to where you see it here, maybe even longer! It once took me about a day to get a motor to this stage, but with my hands as they were..... Well, I'm not gonna kick myself over it any longer, I did it, and kept going. BUT part of the issue was trying to re-learn how to use/do things, with hands in the shape mine were. Sadly thats all behind me now, BUT, the one thing, that did not FAIL me at any given time, was my Unimat! I was able to use, control, set up, take down, re-adjust, you name it, with ease! I did A LOT of machining when I was hurting for the accident as it didn't phase me, when I was sore, it didn't make it worse, when my arms or fore arms were tired for over compensation. helped to give me something to do when the hands just hurt to bad to do anything but I wasn't tired to go to sleep, you name it, that one machine has been usable through this whole ordeal! -Needless to say, once I'm back at modeling fully, I got a bit of supply of parts, as well as some new things, to mold, as I made A LOT of parts not found or easy to get these days, from pictures online that I had before all this happened so I just sat down and went like a mad man on the machine when I couldn't stand doing anything else, but couldn't just not do anything......
Painting this motor, well that was an ungraceful thing too! LOL I broke a round bottle of custom mixed paint I made up to get this shade of Turquoise, for the Mopar engines of that color as its REAL close, if not dead on. Done before my hands got mangled, BUT in order to make this engine as it would have been in '68, I needed that bottle of paint open, AND it happened to have been put into a 1/2 ounce ROUND bottle.. the bottle I to this day, can't open! I literally sheered the top of the bottle off, as I tried gripping and turning the lid with a pair of vice grips in my 2 fingered right hand, as it was clamped in a bech mounted Pana-Vice.....
Between the vice jaws and the vice-grip pliers, I made one hellofa mess LOL Needless to say, I got the engine painted, in all of it, BUT I had a mess to clean up at the same time, NOW however, that Mopar engine Turquoise is in a square Testors thinner bottle!!!!!!! One of the big ones, 1.75 Ounce bottles as I had quite a bit, mixed up. In the end, I only lost 1/4 ounce of paint. Still ouchin over that one, not that it hurt me, but the paint loss, hurts (Its a custom mix I did with paint I can no longer get!)  
About a week in on this model, I on-and-off worked on other things too, as I mentioned, made up a LOT of master copy parts for molding when I'm able. I to date still can not hold a container, that has "stuff" in it, and use the other hand to mix it by stirring, how mold making/pouring is done. When I'm able too tho, I got A LOT to make molds for...... (I want to post them, but I have to see if there is an area for it) IF there is, I'll post a link here to see what I machined out.
More to follow! Stay tuned....

So, as all can see, I had gotten the engine assembled, heads on, intake on, oil pan on, valve covers on, and then painted, with a lot of trouble but had to get something "going" that well, I wasn't all to too worried about ruining, and so forth. (I wasn't willing to RUIN anything I had already started) PLUS, having said that, the fact remained my hands were NOT the greatest, so starting yet one more model, well, this would allow me to heal building ALL of ONE model, not combining a model with prior work, with the lack possibly there-of the new work from mangled hands to show "differences" from one to the other, that could be well seen, between the 2 different possibilities. This will allow me to "work" not in fear of ruining, or seen differences from one to the other, as well as show my hands from not so good, to almost healed, in ONE model from my accident so its building a "history" into this one model. Once I'm able, to use my air brush, I plan to go back and finish the 2 trucks under my "Father & Son" build..... They will be DONE when I'm confident in my work and use of both my hands.... So.....





Exhaust manifolds in place, and painted by brush. As well as Carburetor picked out, was chrome, dullcoted and also in place! I also went as far as to remove the kit part "oil filter" and replaced with one I had made some time ago, and also painted.





Just the other side, and I went as far to paint the little mechanical fuel pump, silver! I also added a aluminum turning I made on the Unimat for a valve cover breather!





Got a glue bomb starter, touched it up a bit and added it, simple painting of semi-gloss black, NO WIRES as I normally would have done! I wasn't going to try and press my luck doing/adding them, enough is enough at times when your not at 100%, and thats a hard pill I had to swallow...... BUT, shows a bit of what I am or was able to do when I was atthe worst part of this!
THEN, it hit me...... REMEMBER this model was made to have the 426 Hemi in it!!!!! The issue with that is about to come, the 426 Hemi has two 4 barrel carburetors on it, and the 383 had a single 4 barrel carburetor on it. Problem here? I had to come up with something OTHER then kit supplied air cleaner! SO, went looking through my extra parts organizerfor a suitable air cleaner. Sadly, NOTHING I had looked the part to that found on a real Roadrunner engine with a single 4 barrel carburetor air cleaner! -to the Unimat I went.....







Seen here turned, but unpainted! Was made from a slab of plexiglass I had laying around, and was EASY to get it into the lathe for turning! Seeing it, in real life to whats seen here is difficult to tell BUT, it has ALL the dimensions of a real one, angles and all as well as ridges to be painted up to look the part! And I'll add here, it sits quite nicely too, as the real ones sit on the carburetor kinda like a "top hat" and was a high sitting air cleaner (wasn't till '69 that they were lower sitting on the engine!) -For good reason tho, in '68 the power bulges on the hood were ornamental only. they really did not pull in fresh air from the top of the hood! In '69, they were operational and did just that with duct work UNDER the hood, to make them functional, and that required a lower stance to fit the duct-work to the underside of the hood! '70 brought along the "Air Grabber" hood scoop!



ENJOY........ More to follow...... (I actually did get a ways on this model!)

So a bit more to this build, as you all know, I went between this model assembly, build to machining out parts for molding in resin, one of them is the seen above air cleaner. This is the only known Roadrunner air cleaner, I have seen made to be used on the single 4 barrel carburetor. Among other parts I've made, in between times, BUT this engine you see thats going in this car, has taken about 1 and half weeks to get it together and about 2 weeks to get it to a somewhat of a standard from my own way of building things. So, with 2 weeks in, building this, I did let it set awhile in between times. Those times is when I did the machine work as well as see the doctors for my hands.
ANYWAY after the last pictures were posted and you see whats been done, I seen the doctor to have the broken finger "pins" removed..... THIS opened up a whole new advantage for me. I BEGAN detailing again!



SPARK PLUG WIRES on it, with my style distributor, but NOT "in-place" as to being cut to length, and tidied up to look as tho it was in a car, and have the wires placed naturally. I turned out a TON of distributors during those machine times I wasn't fighting to work on the model so I'll have a supply of them for when I'm back to full force modeling again.



Just a bit better shot of the distributor!



One side, showing how the wires look loosely "placed"..... I also painted the oil fill cap in the valve cover as well prior to adding the wires!


Same thing, other side!



A view showing the distributor "Drive stem" that mounts into the engine. This is an all one piece turning from scrap plastic........ I make all of them this way as it uses up a bit of scraps to keep the pile down to a minimum, BUT gives me parts to use as I build!



A little extra/further detail......adding wire looms (Thanks to a friend, Dale, for the idea! I LOVE IT!) Starting to take shape for the "John's regular added details" and being able to do it without a lot of trouble..... The hands, having a broken finger on each hand, and have both of them have pins to hold the bones secure was a real issue, trying to do things, even the most common thing, modeling or everyday life was a challenge! BUT once the pins were removed, I gained a lot of control in dexterity, AND alleviated a bunch of pain I was in as the pins were creating pressure points that made things hurt and be sore. Once removed, that part of it was ended.
That whole one "first" surgery, opened up a bit more being able to do detail work!



A bit more, the single wire "up-in-the-air" is for the coil, ALWAYS the center wire, and ALWAYS the longest when I make my distributors..... Makes placement easier to do.....
Stay tuned, More to come! I at the point this was, had to sit the motor down a bit, and do something a bit elsewhere as it got to be a little much on the engine, so I took and began the frame!

So, as I mentioned, I had to sit the engine aside for a bit, got to be a bit much on the hands but I wasn't willing to just "stop" either..... I began on the frame to the car! A little less intense, and a lot less stress on the hands to do the tiny things the engine was needing. Kinda setting it down to get more dexterity before I proceeded on the engine.



Front suspension in place, and all painted, with a flat black paint job to look or represent undercoating, and a clear coat of Matte "Semi-Flat" to give it an even look and a little texture as the real undercoating would look. This "spray is done with a spray can. Now, let me tell ya, it was a trick in itself to hold a spray can, with a bad hand, and be able to spray, and I used my THUMB on my right hand to push the nozzle in, holding the can with the rest of my hand...... Interesting way of doing it, BUT It worked and the frame turned out well! I was a bit weary on doing it that way but it taught me a little of what you can do when things aren't what they should be and compromise.....



Needless to say, it wasn't to bad doing the fuel lines, as you can see, they are simple bends in copper wire and painted Aluminum with a brush. BUT, that little valve body, for the supply and return line was a fun one to make with what I had to work with for hands! BUT, I fought through and did it! AND it looks good!



Long view of the fuel line plumbing. Mounted pretty good too and look good! When I painted the frame before ANY of the plumbing was done, I painted the fuel tank as tho it was treated too. The old metal fuel tanks a lot of times were painted with a glossy black "Epoxy paint" to prevent road grime from rusting them up.... Which looked a bit different then the undercoating on the frame and floor pan!
The fuel tank treatment took almost an entire night to do! REALLY! I had to work with tape to get it around the tank, and then burnish it down BEFORE cutting it around the take to get that clean sharp edge from one color of black to the other BUT also to prevent runs and bleed-under..... With my hands at the time, it was something, and gave me something to do, and I'm just the type if I'm gonna do it, might as well do it right the first time no matter what that might take...... -as frustrating as that might sound, I seen it through and the result is seen here!





Now a closer shot of the fuel tank and treatment. I am gonna point out here a flaw............. The fuel lines...... where they both enter the tank, should have "fittings" little brass colored parts, kinda like spark plug boots, that I fought to try and do for 2 DAYS, I just could NOT get the danged things to go over the wire, without bending it badly, and had to just settle for the wire fuel line entering the tank and call it "good". Took a bit to swallow that but, I had too or the frame, well still wouldn't be done! Remember, this whole build for what you can see, was done with a partly working right hand, with only 2 working fingers! A thumb, and pointer finger! -So you might say, I was limited!
I'm over it now..... We really are our own worst critics when it comes to our work!



Notice the front suspension, the axle "spindles" are missing, I did NOT add them at
this time! And you'll see why in a bit!



Seen here in the picture there is a "white" block. thats the mount for the rear brake lines that are to come! This will be seen painted semi-gloss black, to look and stand out just a tad.



Then you have the other side! I had to make the brake line that goes to the rear axle/differential. Much the same as the fuel lines, BUT a single line, one, and two, a bit different color of silver, and mounting ever-so-slightly different then the fuel lines!



Brake line triple valve/manifold that is supplied brake fluid from the master cylinder that is almost directly above, on the firewall.
More to come..... Stay tuned!

So to carry on, I got the spindles in the front A frames, they're painted semi-gloss black to look a little different then the rest of the frame with the under coating treatment I did..... They are also "free-swiveling"..... So they can be positioned AFTER the wheels and tires are installed!



Also, BOTH manifolds can be seen well here, one for the fuel supply and return line, that will connect to the mechanical fuel pump on the engine when its in place, that will be a hose. Then the master cylinder brake manifold that will be connected to the master cylinder, and the front brake lines through the frame rails.



Because of the way I changed the engine type, and having the rear of the brake line in place, I HAD to do the rear most exhaust pipes. The mufflers are thee only stock kit parts for the exhaust, As I had to make the pipe work match in diameter of that I custom bent from Aluminum wire, as it was a bit different in diameter from the kit supplied exhaust pipe. I also made my own mounts to go right where the stock location was as well.



Little bit better view, also seen here is the brake line "end" that will connect to the rear differential for the rear brakes! On its mount, and fittings to it, installed.
I sat the frame a side as well with the engine to get into the rear differential so that it could go into place as I had to do as much "frame work" as I could as the engine itself, remember is different from that came with the kit, changing the drive shaft length, and so, I got the exhaust in place, to be able to add the rear axle to the frame as all that pipe work for the fuel lines, the rear brake lines as well as the exhaust ALL lead under the rear differential! SO, ALL of that had to be placed first, and the rear axle, last..... I did not get pictures of the rear while detailing it, BUT had a serious mishap with its assembly, the glue puddled up on one side of the axle, and basically melted it in such a way that I had to cut it off the rear pumpkin, and turn a new one from scrap plastic and replace it. Fit well looks the part, and is solid, as well as fits the stock wheel backs! It then got its treatment of details, brake line across with fittings, as well as once on the model the rear brake line was connected to the brake line on the axle. What a fun task that was (sarcasm)......
Stay tuned, More to come!

Now that the frame is to the point its at. I was sort of "stuck" I had a buncha little stuff to do on the engine, and a lot to do else where...... THEN the night I was last working on the frame, the following day I had an appointment to see the doctor for a check up (follow up) from having the pins removed, and they had opened up the use for yet one more finger! my right hands "middle finger", which with that I learned that the middle finger of everyone's hand is the hands source of strength! (I did not know this!) as its centered, and has thee largest tendon to it. Mine originally was in-tact, working but sore, and I didn't know why till they opened up its use, it was slightly cut, down between my fingers, the ring and the middle. Not cut loose, but "nicked" and had to heal. ALL of the little webs between each of my fingers on my right hand got nicked, and had stitches in them! Because my hands were all wrapped up in the casts and such, I did not know all of this! SO, this gave me some more use, and at that time, I felt as tho, my right hand was able to carry on with detailing the engine, SO...... I tried, heres how that turned out!



So you see that the plug wires are in place, neatly tucked as they should be, with wire loom wraps, as well as the carburetor fuel line and filter in place, followed by the coil and its wire in place! The fuel filter is difficult to see in this shot, but it is there in behind the distributor, kinda right behind that, and the draped plug wires in the front. -I even went as far as to try and add "boots" to the plug wires and the coil, and now that my dexterity was better, I was able..... SO, the plug boots are on the wires, as seen on the coil as well. What fun it was, but it was exciting to see that I finally could get just that step closer to my normal detailing self!



Now ya can see the fuel filter, not well, but you can see it, as well as the draped wires from the distributor off the other side of the engine too!



Side view, showing the wire looms in place, as well as the insert PCV boot in the valve cover. Also pictured, the engine WAS a MPC 440, that had a standard transmission on it, JUST the bell housing. I removed that and replaced it with one of my own 727 Torqueflite transmissions, just to be different. This seen transmission is one of my resin parts! I'm glad I had extra's of them made up, as mold making, and mold pouring right now are near impossible without more waste then good usable parts!



Now you see the PCV valve in place, with its connecting hose to the carburetor, from the valve cover. Also seen here was a VERY fun part to make, the little danged oil dip stick! I had a terrible time making that even with my hands being better, but, I fought through and there ya see it! -I'm impressed over the fact that I could do what you all see here, it was trying, to say the least, BUT all of this aided my healing and helped with the dexterity of my hands while healing, and not "hurt" or hurt myself, doing it! Having said that, I also went as far as to adding the carburetor linkage, AND return spring! Also all seen here!



side view showing the throttle linkage and spring a bit better. As well as the throttle cable going behind the engine that will lead into the firewall once in place! I also painted a bit onto the transmission as the other side got the transmission dip stick because its and automatic transmission! I left the end unpainted, to have a place to hold onto it without marring the paint as the paint seen, is the first light coat, it will get a complete coat, and then once dry a light second coat to even it all out.



This shot, rear of the engine furthermost corner away you can see a gloss black wire, thats the trans fluid dip stick "handle" or pull. Very basic engine, but serves a purpose, not over complicated, and looks good all in the while. Thats what the '68 Roadrunners were about! Simple, powerful and effective, at a good cost, NO wonder they sold so many of them!
More to follow, stay tuned!

Well being happy with what I've accomplished on the engine, I wanted to sit it aside for a bit, to take a break, (quite intense work on it to say the least) So, that I could put it down and simply pick up another "area" of the model not yet touched...... The surrounding engine compartment!
SO, this is where trouble starts. I had to pick a color for the car. Remembering that if I am to finish this car, I'd have to pick a color that I could spray paint on with a spray can, NOT my air brush! First color that came to mind was some sort of red...... SO, red it was, BUT what "shade" of "red" was I to use....... I did a couple days of research online to see what colors of red these cars came in, in '68...... Plymouth Roadrunners were very basic, standard colors as the '68 model year, was thee first year for the Roadrunner. Wasn't a lot of options to choose from to say the least, Plymouth "Tor-Red" (Same as Dodge "Hemi Orange"), a bright red, Plymouths "Matador Red" (same as Dodges "red"), and then Chryslers Red was "Scorch Red", as well as Imperials "Flame Red". SO this color was my best choice, and Testors red 1103 in the 1/4th ounce bottle, OR Testors red Spray paint 1203. SO thats what it was gonna be, it was close (NOT exact) but close enough for me. NOW that I had a color for the body, how was I to spray it? I got lucky! I had the 1203 Testors red in a spray can! (Chalk one up on John's paint inventory!) So, I got the engine compartment made, the firewall, the inner fender wells, and the radiator core support all assembled, NOT detailed and began spraying much the same way I did the frame, with a bit smaller of a can so it was just a tad easier to do!
Once painted, and dried good, (sat about 2 days) I gave it a light coat of clear lacquer gloss to make it shine as well as the body will when I get that far, ALSO in a spray can!
Once that had all dried, and sat for 2 days to all dry to be handled for detailing, I began working on other aspects to fill in the time. As your about to see....
So having said that it was time to think about wheels. What rims was I to pick for this car? My first thought was steelies, with dog dish hub caps, BUT I didn't have the correct ones, and so, I wasn't about to use my Rallye rims on this car, (I have others getting those rims! As I favor the Mopar Rallye rims!) So yet again, back to the parts organizer I went... I wanted something, but what? I really wanted to use Steelies but, I didn't have the right hub caps to fit and the tires I had are on another model so I had to pass and come up with another idea.
So as it stands, I'll be putting Mopar "Magnum 500" rims on this one! (Not my choice of rims), BUT will look good and they're from another model kit that I want the Mopar Rallye's on ANYWAY So, they won't need to be stored in an organizer! SO..... Heres what they look like from what I did!



I took a paint stick I use to hold things to paint, added tape to hold the rims and brush painted the center parts semi-gloss black, and allowed to dry, once dry, went back and drilled holes to add valve stems to them, which can be seen from the lower edge of the stick, on the rim, super glued from the INSIDE of the rim, to not have the chrome fog up with the white stuff the fumes create!
After a day worth of that, and picking details (took a bit to pick out rims and make sure they fit the tires as well as the wheel backs). I then checked to see if the engine compartment was ready for detailing, and it WAS. SO, off we go..............



SO, the first thing done was painting all the electrical boxes on the firewall semi-gloss black, and then to get it all right, a bit of online research to make sure. Painted the wiper motor gloss black, and then it was off to the races with wiring and plumbing, so the first plumbing done was the front brake cross-over line, that will couple to the valve manifold on the frame, and run across both ways to be plumbed into the frame with a brass fitting on both ends, and mounted to the firewall just as if it was a real car!



Wiring is NEXT..... The holes drilled for the battery cables, the starter, the coil, and alternator..... I used ALL wire scraps from previous model builds to lesson the amount I had laying around for the short stuff! I try to use up as much as I possibly can to not have so much laying around and have to store all the scraps.....
Stay tuned! More to come!

This has been a trying model but healing me helping me, and most of all will have a "story" behind it as to why I choose this one!
SO, moving on with it (I'm posting EVERYTHING new so having said that these picswere taken as I was working, as difficult as it was, I wanted to be able to have something to show for my "healing model" and this is just that!
Next up as far as the build, Well continue on with the frame.... I also had to get the drive shaft ready too (different length as the engine is different) so.....



The rear having issues being assembled, looks pretty good tho! (I'm surprised it came out as good as it did) Closest line to you in the pic thats the rear brake line supply, seen just in from of the axle going across, nearest the well well you can see the mount that was a white block painted semi-gloss black and had to have a few fittings added to it as the line then goes from a "hard line" to hose for movement of the axle up and down in motion. This is also represented in a painted line in Testors "rubber" paint.
One of the things I don't normally do, that I HAD to do on this model was add the wheel backs to the axle. This was due to the axle getting melted from the glue and having a new "end" made to fit the existing part. Because of its design and the new added section to replace the bad area, I had to get the length and mount right to hold the wheel back. SO I could have done just one side, BUT when the time came to add the tires and rims, it would have made that difficult with the circumstances my hands were in during the build.
So, while that was drying, I got to looking at the drive shaft, WHAT THE.......? Some detail part, I guess, BUT, WASN'T about to allow it on the model (like a lot of times of other parts) to enhance its looks was in order!





I took it off the parts tree, and simply clipped it in half! It then got to take a ride on the Unimat Lathe, to have the ends where I cut it, trued (to be round) and made to fit within the inside diameter of a section of aluminum tubing, that was one end, on a larger diameter piece of aluminum. Then too and did the same to the other end, only difference between the 2 was that this end was made smaller, to fit inside of a smaller "telescopic" piece of aluminum tube, to be able to slide it into the larger one to span the distance from the transmission, to the pumpkin on the rear differential.



NOW a short quick lesson, they're made this way in real life. WHY? Well as the car is run, goes over differences in the road up or down hill, crosses a speed bump the rear axle moves, up and down, IF the drive shaft was one piece, and did not extend telescopically, It snap a U-joint! They have to extend and contract to work. SO, this gives making a model version a plus! You can use ANY motor, ANY transmission, and ANY rear differential, NO MATTER what distance apart, you can make the drive shaft fluctuate length to fit, ONCE thats done, add it, (largest end goes to the transmission) have the telescopic aluminum tube at its very shortest length, get it in place and then spread the telescopic tubing larger diameter to the transmission, smaller diameter tubing to the differential, then add a small tooth pick drop of CA to the drive shafts slip joint, allow to dry, and then paint, DO NOT add glue to the joints to the transmission, or the differential, WHY? Cuz, you can "spin" it and paint it in place, just as I will. Once paint is dry, you can then add a VERY SMALL drop of glue to both ends of the drive shaft!
More to follow! Stay tuned, and thanks for looking!

With the rear differential being in place, meaning all the pipe work on the rear half of the frame is done, fuel lines, brake lines, and exhaust pipe. The drive shaft being made, NOT in place, this means the engine was ready to be installed! SO, having said that, it goes IN!





A few things here, 1, notice the engine is FINALLY in place, 2, the transmission is completely painted, AND has a distinct transmission "pan", 3, front "larger" diameter drive shaft section is in-place, BUT "setting" (its NOT glued!) UNPAINTED..... This is what I was speaking about a few posts ago. Then:



Smaller diameter drive shaft, in-place, now, once "spread" apart, and in place on each end to the transmission, and to the rear differential, a small drop of CA glue applied to the slip joint will hold it in place, but allow the whole "unit to spin freely, to paint ALL sides of it.



Painted, and glued solid in place! NOT to shabby!
Now that the engine is in place, A BUNCHA detailing is coming!
ENJOY, more to follow!

So with the engine in place........





I had my work cut out for me, the whole engine has A LOT of wires going to and from it. Alternator wires, to the coil, and onto the surrounding places. I also got the windshield wiper "sprayer" tank, in place, painted one color as I had to go back and paint the cap. Then the little hose from it to the wipers themself in place with there rightful "mounts". I had decided to run the alternator wire (blue one) to the coil and then onto the firewall. The other wire from the alternator runs onto the inner fender well to the core support and across to the battery side and through it again. This then goes to the battery terminal. (NOT in place yet)
Master cylinder in place, and has its brake lines in place running to the valve manifold below (seen in other posts of the build) and yes........ they ARE connected!



Not that it should be here from the factory, BUT I couldn't get much more to go across the firewall with the way my hands are, so here is the battery wire from the alternator going through the radiator core support to run across it, to the other side, near the battery and through it again. -Left "loose" as it needs to go to the battery once in place, and then a second wire off that same battery terminal to the firewall electrical details.



More of a shot of that side of the engine compartment.



Battery painted, and in place, the wires spoken about in place on it as well.





Wiper sprayer tank with "cap" painted! A few other small details seen here too!



Alternator wire (black) seen with the horn wire (blue) running to the battery side of the car, to then go to there rightful places, (horn wire directly into the firewall)



Something to note here, the Alternator! It was a chrome part that I dipped into Dullcote to get that look, and once dry, applied "copper" color paint to the openings that a real one would have to show the copper wire "windings" in side seen through those openings, which are meant for cooling of it when running.
Engine compartment is now Complete, (I may go back and have a look at a detailing part thats just not quite right, BUT will see what I can do about it. Thanks guys!

Well having the engine in place, to stay, makes for doing the remaining exhaust follow up the build on the frame. SO, without delay, lets get right into it......



I have to say now, I did NOT get good pictures of this as it was happening, so..... They are lacking in detail as I went along. BUT here you see, one in place, mounted and painted Testors steel. THEN across from it, you see a "gold-ish" colored pipe, that will have the same thing done to it for painting it steel. At the first frame cross-member off the engine you can see my exhaust pipe "joint" WITH a black hanger! I made ALL of the pipe work for the exhaust from aluminum wire. The only kit supplied part, is the mufflers!



Both pipes match......



A view to where they go and meet up with the engines exhaust manifolds. This was a fun task to get the pipe to fit each side differently, PLUS doing it, with the condition of my hands, (bending pliers is all I was able to use) where I would have used them, a vice, and all sorts of other shaping tools in my shop BUT I was unable to operate the rest of the tools correctly so the pliers is all I had to use, and was able to use somewhat comfortably.....
ALSO notice, the tires, rims are in place, both on the front AND the rear! I got them in place as well! The front tires were added with the spindles/axle mounts "steerable" so once the tires and rims were on, I could position them however I wanted..... PLUS, allowing them to steer helped aid me in getting the brake lines and fittings in place on either side if they had been "glued" it would not have been easy..... Not with my hands anyway, had my hands been in regular shape/condition, I wouldn't have had any issues with that.



Going out the back. I'll say here, the exhaust tips, will be THEE LAST part added, as the exhaust pipe has been left "long" for when the body goes onto the frame, and the pipes have been bent (if needed) down below the rear bumper. Till then, they will remain as you see them! Slightly long, for tweaking into place.



Frame up on all 4's...... Tires having "GOODYEAR" whited in with a white gel pen, (BOY was THAT a task) Doing the word "GOODYEAR" on 4 tires took me 3 DAYS! And on the frame they are, with the front steering turned, and all the brake lines in place on the front as well as the back. -I think it was all worth its effort I put into it!





Enjoy, More to come! This has been a difficult build due to my hands, BUT a fun one at the same time just to see what I was capable of doing, and NOT ruin, no matter how long any one thing took.... Why rush? All I had when I started, was, well..............time!
Thanks for looking!

So, the only part of the model yet not done, or touched and the last part that I can actually do as the body paint won't be done till I feel I can. SO that means, this car will be set aside till that time comes. -Meaning, I'll either be working on existing "detailing" of frames of prior models started, OR starting something new. (I have plenty to do, so. Detailing others is what its gonna be till I try to see what I can do with my air brush.
ANYWAY, the part or area I haven't touched yet? The interior! Remember its a '68 Roadrunner, these cars had very little as far as options so...... The interior, is VERY plain!



Mostly, flat black with some highlights with semi-gloss black to stand out just a little. Seen here with different area's details painted silver chrome to justify the looks within the car!



Flat black over-all, BUT, the floor mats painted semi-gloss black to have a vinyl look to them and then the seats to reflect this as well, both front and back bench seats.



Better view to show the "sheen" differences on everything!



Plain jane dash...... REMEMBER, this car was to have a 426 Hemi in it, meaning it had a Mopar A833 transmission, as a standard 4 speed transmission. I had added the 383, with a 727 Automatic, SO, the pedals had to be changed to reflect this. Automatic, on the floor shifter was the idea.....
I haven't to date got a good picture of the completed interior, THAT will follow. (The ones I took did not turn out to be clear crisp pictures, SO......I have to get them yet to date!
SO, there will be one more posting to this build, showing the interior, AND I have yet to finish the engine (it needs its air cleaner still) BUT I'm working on that still.
ENJOY! Thanks for looking!

So as a lot knows by now, I was in a bad accident and was merely building as much as I could with what little use of my hands and fingers, that I had at any given time. WELL, I got this model to where you see it here, and had to sit it aside as I had to go and get my hands to the point that I could run my air brush correctly. So, it sat, for over 2 months maybe 3 (I can't remember) BUT it has been in the box for a bit!
Anyway, at one point, I got out my spray can of Primer, and did a wet sanding on BARE plastic, to get any mold lines gone and smooth the whole thing to take primer nicely, which it did! So, heres that!



One side, then the other:



In the last picture it got wet sanded one more time with 1500 grit wet/dry, and then I got that last picture, it had to then sit and dry for further inspection.
Short update, BUT more to follow! Thanks for looking.... ENJOY!

Well I waited for the body to dry from wet sanding with 1500 grit, I got to try to see if I was able to run my air brush with no issues. And yeah by God, I was able.... (Been trying to run it on and off over the span of time since I began building, again, from the accident) so..... This means, all those models I have "sitting, waiting for body paint, can NOW be painted, or well, started to get them ready for paint!!!!!
Having said that, What did I have sitting there, waiting? OHHHH yeah, my '68 Roadrunner. so out came the paint, Lacquer thinner and some stirring sticks to mix/thin the paint for spraying through my Air Brush! Heres the 1st coat of color....



Let it dry for 48 hours.... then gave it another wet sanding with 1500 grit paper.....
2nd coat of color:



Let it set again for 48 hours, and gave it a final wet sanding of 1500 grit..... Let it dry, and gave it a 3rd coat of color:



Painted just like a real car would be. Each coat is VERY THIN, and VERY light, to not cover up any detail, BUT build up the paint to be "worked" and smoothed out.
At this point, I think one more nice "wet" coat of paint, and a light wet sanding with 1800 to 2000 grit will be great, and then I can move on to the first coat of clear coat.
More to come as time allows! Thanks for looking! ENJOY!

-Now so everyone is aware, this model is being "put on hold" I'm awaiting decals to finish the body.... As its required to have "PLYMOUTH" written across the hoods edge as well as a little emblem that says "PLYMOUTH" on the right-hand edge of the trunk lid.... SI till I locate those this one will set till I have them (thee only thing holding me back right now) so. or this one would be completed by now!)

Also please note, I began this model right after a really bad accident with BOTH my hands, and the very first 10 postings the model itself was built, with merely one thumb, and one finger on the same hand! The other hand, during that time was a vice, clamped to my work bench! -That all happened over a year ago now.....

That's one of my favorite cars ever... Love that "jelly beans" version !

What happened to your hands, to they work properly now?

Awesome job
when I think of work done with one hand, and when I see what I do with two is unbelievable.
I hope that now your hands are repaired and all is well

Fred, try working with your hands instead of sticking the airbrush and Tools  into your asshole and I'm sure you'll build far better models !

Fred, try working with your hands instead of your feet, I'm sure you'll get fantastic results !

Attention Gwendo, les limites ne pas dépasser tu dois!

J'édite alors !

This version should be better... Every trace of an asshole was removed !

   non mais bon, parce que s'adresser à un en ces termes, c'est inconcevable! tu cherches les ennuis! lapidation ou flagellation? je te laisse le choix, mais te connaissant tu préfèreras certainement la deuxième... bon en tout je comprends mieux maintenant pourquoi c'est compliqué pour moi  et voilà encore un mythe qui s'écroule

a ROADRUNNER !!!!!!!


the better muscle car of the world !!!!!!! (for me of course )

very nice and accurate work !!!
i hope to see the next of this build

thanks John

A+

franck

MrBigBlock a écrit:That's one of my favorite cars ever... Love that "jelly beans" version !

What happened to your hands, to they work properly now?

Thank You! Mr BigBlock, I was in a bad fire work accident last year on July 3rd 2015.... I lost the tip of my pointer finger on my Left-Hand, and the use of my ring finger on my Right-Hand, that I am still in need of surgery to well loss part of that finger! (That surgery is going to happen this winter) So that I could suffer through Summer trying to get things around the house down in and out side! SO....

Thanks tho for asking, as for this, my hands are semi-working, just limited to use the "whole" right hand.... as that ring finger doesn't function. And slightly limited use on the pointer finger on the left hand although I do use that hand way more then I once did!

Now, for the build here, yes! I have to say the '68 Roadrunner has to be my favorite of the body style of car. I like the '68 Roadrunner better then any of the Roadrunners built! Although, again, I do like them all, I am after all a "Mopar guy".....

roadrunner a écrit:a ROADRUNNER !!!!!!!


the better muscle car of the world !!!!!!! (for me of course )

very nice and accurate work !!!
i hope to see the next of this build

thanks John

A+

franck

Franck,
I'm pleased you like it! I thought there would be good responses on this one! Everyone likes a Roadrunner so it seems!

And Mrbigblock and Fred, I'm laughing my ASS off with you 2 LMAO

-I take it the 2 of you know each other pretty good! (I have a twisted sense of humor, so, please, don't think your gonna "offend me".... I too have sailor mouth so...... A friend of mine from Australia and I talk much the same.....

SUis pas un pro de l'anglais j'ai donc rien compris a l'histoire (trops de texte ça ma soulé donc j'ai meme pas lu )
Niveau maquette donc,tu bosse vraiment bien