1958 Pontiac project.... "Marlowe-ish!"

Posted by: @chris

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Stay tuned......

eagerly doing so, thanks for the update Chris

@marty-johnson ...as "right"  as I can get it, there's always concessions with projects like this.    😉

@geoff-jowett HA!   ....you may be more "eager"  than I am.      With two other projects going, I can only guarantee I'll be working on this 1958 Pontiac UNTIL I get the urge to return to either of those other two.    So yeah, we'll ALL "stay tuned."     Who knows what's really next....  🤔 😏 🤔 😀

Your lengthening of the trunk lid to that of the hardtop looks excellent. A detail many might not realize on the 1/1.

@bob-jackman Thanks Bob....and I agree, few would catch it.   

The ONLY concession I'll have to make involves those stamped "flutes."     They should extend almost to the rear window, but of course my "Impala section"  doesn't have them, and trying to machine those  would be nearly impossible.... so, my flutes will be a bit short.  🙄 

Otherwise, the trunk is coming along nicely.    The "epoxy blanket"  has now cured and 98% of all the shim work - to fill in panel gaps, giving a uniform appearance - is just about complete.

Thanks for the compliment!  😀 

PART 5:

Before any body work could start, I had to ensure all panel gaps were "right & tight."     This involved building up areas with strip plastic and sanding to shape - the largest gaps were on the right side of the trunk and the top edge of the hood.  I also removed both doors mirrors which left holes that had to be filled - first with plastic plugs then of course with body filler.  

Scale body work is identical to 1:1 body work.  That is, it's a tedious process that involves hours of repetitive tasks - fill, sand, shape, fill, sand, shape, etc...    Of course, all the sanding blocks, shapers, etc., can fit inside a thimble!  😀 

With 90% of the body work now complete and in primer, I need to move my attention to "everything else:"   the interior, the trunk, engine detail, etc...    Many parts will need to be adjusted (to fit this new hardtop body ) or fabricated from scratch (like the trunk interior - because it now opens! )

Lastly, I still haven't decided if I'm going to color-match this red and simply go with a red/white livery - OR - repaint the entire car in different colors.   As always, stay tuned....

the finished filled and sanded areas and spots look amazing Chris. Impressive

PART 6:

This will be somewhat boring IF you do NOT like trunks; I DO like trunks so.... I didn't mind.   

Since this trunk never opened, everything had to be modified, fabricated and installed....which included removing the rear body mounts, removing the entire trunk floor, re-shaping the gas tank, fabricating a spare wheel well and gas-tank filler tunnel, adding weld seems, making a trunk mat, etc...

NOTE: The floor of the trunk didn't have to look "perfect"  because the trunk mat will cover it.    Eventually there will be a matching "trunk interior"  to cover the inner quarters & that rear panel behind the seats. 

Just awesome Chris; can't wait to see the finished product.  There are so many attractive Pontiac colors for '58 to choose from.

@chris Chris I'm quoting from your response 12 Feb.

"I'll fill ANY gaps in ANY areas like I've always done:  "Any way possible."    

That is, "large gaps"  will be filled in with scrap plastic sanded & shaped to fit then anchored down with glue.   Any smaller gaps will be filled with Bondo-body filler, followed by spot putty.   The area(s ) will then be sanded smooth, filled again with spot putty, then sanded again, etc...    until every surface is just right."  

Is this what u have done to get the floor of the boot from this:

to this?

thanks

Posted by: @marty-johnson

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This is coming together really nicely.  Once again, you're slavishly adhering to getting it "right!"  

Uh HUH! What HE said!   

@jack-dodds Thanks Jack... but this was really EZ-peazy  stuff ONLY because neatness  wasn't much of a consideration.  Just a few basic shapes & dimensions had to be replicated, and that was it.  😉

@geoff-jowett Yes Geoff, for this Pontiac trunk floor all I really needed to do was fill in all the holes, gaps and depressions.  Once smooth enough, because the trunk mat will cover most of it, I sprayed it with high-build primer.   

- Once color-painted, all that will show will be both rear-wheel "humps."

- I plugged everything with scrap plastic, then three passes (fill, sand, repeat ) of Tamiya putty (which works great on METAL too ) followed by a bit of high-grade automotive glazing putty.

@perrone1 HA!   I thought that was a pretty cool phrase myself.....  I never heard anyone put it quite like that,  but OK, I'll take it.    He's right you know!  😉 😉 😉

Posted by: @chris

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@perrone1 HA!   I thought that was a pretty cool phrase myself.....  I never heard anyone put it quite like that,  but OK, I'll take it.    He's right you know!  😉 😉 😉