Graeme Ogg's six-wheel post reminded me of one of my projects. Bill Flynn's Yankee Peddler

After Supercar Collectibles released their full range of most of the factory hardtop Dodge and Plymouth 1965 Altered Wheelbase cars, the one still missing was Bill Flynn's 1965 Dodge sedan called the Yankee Peddler.  In 1965, it was one of my favorites mainly because of the striking paint scheme of the car done by the famed Alexander Brothers.  There are a couple of other fascinating historical facts about the vehicle.  Of all of the factory AWB Mopars, it was the only one not built by Amblewagon.  Instead, Chrysler gave the Amblewagon designs and blueprints of the AWB to Dick Branstner Enterprises, and the car was modified and built by his organization.  If you'll recall, I recently mentioned Dick Branstner as the builder of the Little Red Wagon, Dart Charger, and the Cotton Picker. 

Bill Flynn saw how the original chemically milled (acid-dipped) hardtop cars were twisted out of shape due to the torque demands placed on the bodies by the powerful HEMI engines.  They built all of the hardtops with window and door frames, hoping that would provide more structural strength.  It didn't work.  Bill Flynn didn't want that for his car, so he decided to use a sedan to give the body more rigidity.  As a result, Bill Flynn had the only factory-built AWB Mopar with a sedan roof.  FYI, Sox & Martin also had a sedan roof, but their car was not a factory-built effort and was done in-house at the Sox & Martin shop.  

Since Supercar1 omitted the Yankee Peddler in the 1:18 scale, AWB Mopar offerings, I thought it would be cool to modify one of their existing models into the Yankee Peddler Dodge.  For it to be accurate, it would require a sedan roof.  

I told Jim Thoren at Supercar1 about my intentions.  I needed an AWB Dodge that didn't need to be in pristine condition.  Fortunately, Supercar1 had a Dave Strickler purchase return model with some easily replaceable broken bits that they let me have for about $80.  I had a Plymouth sedan roof left over from my first major modification project, which was the Butch Leal California Flash Plymouth.  All that would be required was to swap out the roofs.

Interestingly, the trunk lids had different widths.  That meant some "massaging" would be necessary, but nothing of a major concern.  The most challenging part would be to duplicate the Alexander Brothers paint.  I gathered all the reference material I had from various drag racing magazines, and confident I understood all the painting elements, I began my modification project.   

Similar to Graeme, about one year later, I was honored by Supercar1.  They planned on doing their version of the Yankee Peddler and asked if they could use some of my photos for the model's pre-sales launch advertising pieces.  Of course, I agreed, and later, in appreciation, they gifted me a finished model of the factory-produced Yankee Peddler. 

As I do with almost all of my projects, I begin with a Photoshop of how the model should look.  I find Photoshopping very useful because it helps me visualize the engineering in my head of what will be required to do the modification.  This is especially so if it requires significant cutting, sectioning, etc.  Also, I use Photoshop to do the artwork for decals, and I send the finished file to a professional printing service with an ALSP printer.  That type of printer prints decals with white, gold, or silver lettering.  Also, the decals are opaque and don't allow the paint colors to bleed through the decal, causing it to change color.  

The first photo is a photo of the Dave Stricker model by Supercar1.  It's not a photo of the car they sent me, as I received a damaged model.  The second photo has been Photoshopped to show the modification I would make by swapping the roofs.  The rest of the photos are pretty much self-explanatory.  However, other than apparent changes, some of the not-so-obvious modifications were as follows.  I had to cut out a space in the radiator mounting brace to accommodate the Moon tank in the grill.  I found the leading edge of the hood scoop too thick, so I thinned that out to more realistically match the 1:1 car.  The Plymouth trunk hinge piece was too wide to fit on the Dodge properly.  So I cut end pieces off the Plymouth hinge and attached it to the Dodge trunk lid.  Viola!  It worked!  I slapped the paint on the model, and it was ready!  

Thanks for looking!