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Topic starter
03/02/2024 10:39 am
I just counted. I've done 19 modification projects. Most took weeks or months to complete. This one required a weekend. It certainly is far from my more complicated modification projects, but it stands as one of my favorites. I really like this model and how my original idea concept turned out.
I never quite warmed much to the 2001 retro Thunderbird. I thought the retro idea was great, but Ford generally missed an opportunity to incorporate the best of early T-Birds into a modern car. The most difficult and time-consuming part was cutting out the exhaust ports through the 1/4" metal at the base of the rear quarter panel. That was a bear to deal with. In fact, I probably spent more time on that element than the rest of the model combined!
The photos pretty much speak for themselves as to how the project began and finished. Thanks for looking.
This topic was modified 2 years ago by Marty Johnson
03/02/2024 1:09 pm
Very nice mods Marty and you picked a great color for it !
03/02/2024 3:36 pm
Oh cool. I've seen your Greenbird before but never knew how you did it. Project pics are ALWAYS nice but.... Where's your body work pics? You did a fantastic job integrating that tonneau cover. It's hard to believe you did all that in one weekend. I'm glad you included the top! 😎
I too was a bit disappointed with Ford's retro bird. It's nice, but somehow it just didn't "pop" or standout like I thought it could have; the magic was gone. 🙁 😔 🙁
03/02/2024 5:40 pm
thats extraordinary Marty! My jaw is at floor level! Moulding the headrests in that way clearly incorporates a highly relevant retro feature and it is crafted beautifully.
03/02/2024 6:06 pm
It looks great in your customized form and all the work certainly paid off ! The green color is fantastic here, too.
I also like the regular Ford Thunderbird and for some years had a red 1/18 version with the hardtop that I picked up at Sam's Club. One of my young nieces liked it so much, too, that I gave it to her ! It is some years later but she now has her driver's license and I guess she may still like piloting the real 1:1 Thunderbird (and having a diecast model of it, too !)
Too bad we can't snap our fingers and have our 1/18 models turn into real 1:1 cars whenever we want !
Chav and Marty Johnson reacted
Topic starter
03/02/2024 6:22 pm
Too bad we can't snap our fingers and have our 1/18 models turn into real 1:1 cars whenever we want !
Man, don't you know it?!!! We'd need some awfully large garages!
Steve Jacobs and Christopher Moroni reacted
03/02/2024 6:26 pm
Man, don't you know it?!!! We'd need some awfully large garages!
Marty Johnson and Christopher Moroni reacted
Topic starter
03/02/2024 7:06 pm
Oh cool. I've seen your Greenbird before but never knew how you did it. Project pics are ALWAYS nice but.... Where's your body work pics?
Yeah, those are the only photos I snapped. Hence, that's why it ended up being only a weekend project. BTW, "weekend" might be a bit misleading. It's probably more appropriate to say "Long weekend project." I don't recall more than three days on the model. LOL! 😎
For me, as it did the original '62 Sports Roadster, the tonneau is a distinctive and essential design element. The '63 I scavenged it from made it too wide for the '02. I narrowed it in the middle so that it would line up with the front seats. Other customization elements were slightly lowering the car, filling in the original exhaust indents at the rear valance, filling in the lines separating the bumpers from the body, and tinting the "glass" on the removable roof. Everything else I did to the model is easily identified.
Initially, I thought doing the side exhaust ports through the body would be, as you would say, "Easy peasy." However, as all custom modifiers know, with every project, one of Muphy's laws always rears its ugly head. The Murphy's Law that applied to this project was, "Nothing is as easy as it looks."
The area was too small for my usual trusty Dremel carbon wheel. This project would require drilling holes the old-fashioned way! LOL! The diecast metal at that location is about 3/8" thick. Getting through that diecast metal chewed up a few drill bits. I recall sitting there trying to punch through all that thick metal and not making any progress! A sheer sign that this bit is at the end of its useful life! LOL! Plus, I had to be especially careful to remove just enough so that it could be correctly shaped. I spent an entire day drilling, cutting, sculpting, and filing just on those ports!
03/02/2024 9:19 pm
A sheer sign that this bit is at the end of its useful life!
1) If you had issues drilling through diecast (regardless of thickness ) then you most definitely had dull bits. Drilling tip #2: Sharpen them or buy new ones. A FRESH, SHARP drill bit MAKES A WORLD of difference. Those exhaust holes should've been EZ Peazy work. 🙄 😮
2) It's unfortunate no pics were taken of your VERY NICE tonneau bodywork; the results are killer-smooth. 😎
3) I forgot to ask: Why were the hinges removed from the hood?
Steve Jacobs reacted
Topic starter
04/02/2024 4:11 pm
A sheer sign that this bit is at the end of its useful life!
1) Drilling tip #2: Sharpen them or buy new ones. A FRESH, SHARP drill bit MAKES A WORLD of difference. Those exhaust holes should've been EZ Peazy work. 🙄 😮
2) It's unfortunate no pics were taken of your VERY NICE tonneau bodywork; the results are killer-smooth. 😎
3) I forgot to ask: Why were the hinges removed from the hood?
1. Buy new drill bits! NOTES TAKEN!
2. Many thanks for the tonneau work. Since it was a weekend project, I didn't want to consume time taking many progress photos. 😎
3. I honestly don't remember. I'm guessing my thought was the original hinges were so bulky and ugly that I preferred to have none. I guess I could have done a "Professor Moroni" and scavenged the excellent and realistic hinges from a Highway 61 model, but I was too lazy and took the easy route. 😉
This post was modified 2 years ago by Marty Johnson
Christopher Moroni reacted
04/02/2024 5:49 pm
Nice job, I like your changes and addition of the tonneau and exhaust outlets.
the color and wheel choice are perfect for the car! Thanks for sharing.
David Vandermeer
Corinth, Texas
