Pearly Hue Merc

[eviltwin]

time for another project. this time it's a resin bodied (jimmy flintstone) 1939 matranga merc. this will have an amt 40 ford coupe chassis, a flathead from the new 48 ford coupe kit, inc the front and rear ends and drum brakes. tyres will be from the revell 49 merc kit. first off, i had to cut open the bonnet. this wasn't going to be easy, as there is quite a bit of material to be removed from the ahem, fiewall and inner wheel wells. i started to use my dremel with the saw wheel, and...............OUCH!! the saw snatched and caught the base of my thumb. after a ticking off and lots of finger wagging from my better half, i got on with the task and removed the bonnet along with the doors. these will open suicide style. the paint will be white base with crystal blue flip flop flake over the top. i have removed most of the original floor including the area with the moulded in exhaust pipe.

[Dave Neave]

That looks like a great start, hope your thumb gets better soon....

[jwhalen]

Hi,

I'm sure this will be another ace build - looking forward to watching it progress.

Hope your thumb isn't impeding the building too much!

Cheers,

[skidsolo]

That's going to be a cool looking car ET. Good work opening up the bonnet.

[eviltwin]

thankfully my hand/thumb has healed and i have managed to work on the merc a bit more. next time i'll wear steel gauntlets. lol

as you can see from the pics, i had to correct some gap issues with the bonnet and doors, and to do this i glued strips of plastic to the areas concerned. after drying and the application of body filler, i sanded the areas, checking the gaps as i went. the firewall and the inner wheel arches have been put in and i now have to work out the door hinges, as i have to consider the thickness of the resin.









steve

[Lee Croden]

looking damn good so far

[eviltwin]

well i have the hinges sorted, and fingers crossed they should work as i have tested them plenty of times. i have also decided on tunneled rear bullet lights, so it was out with my dremel again, being careful in not carving anything into my hand again,
(note the fresh scar on my hand).

[jwhalen]

Hi,

Lookin' good. Thanks for keeping us updated!

Cheers,

[eviltwin]

made some more progress on the merc. this is the mock up ride height, i dont know if i can get it any lower as the suspension travel will be at a minimum as will the tyre clearance. the chassis has been given new floor panels and the bumper brackets will be lengthened. these are the magnets that will be used for the doors and bonnet, and you can see the holes already drilled for them. the 48 ford radiator was cut down to clear the bonnet and the engine mounts were extended.

[eviltwin]

started doing the interior panels and decided on tuck n roll but haven't decided on what type of seats to use in the front, bench or seperate. the interior tub is scratchbuilt from sheet stock with half rounds used for the tuck n roll. the body is now in first stage primer, ready to be sanded back.

[Dave Neave]

That is looking stunning, the work on the interior is looking really good, lots of scratchbuilding going on there.
That scar is awesome!

[eviltwin]

yep, the scar will be a reminder of this build.

some more updates, and got a chance to use my new airbrush. i put a gloss black base coat on the front and rear axles, and on the front and rear interior window frames. the black will be the base for alclad chrome. i used matt white for the panels and the slightly modified 53 studebaker seats. i will rub the surface of the paint to simulate vinyl.

[jwhalen]

Excellent work - thanks for keeping us updated and giving such detailed descriptions of what you're doing, its not only really interesting but will help with our building skills as well!

Cheers,

[eviltwin]

the body has now got it first layer of paint. i will rub it down before laying more paint on. the engine has been started, although not literally lol, and it will have machined air filters and beehive oil filter. the carbs are from the 48 chevy fleetine kit, i thought they better than the 48 ford carbs. the wheels are also from the chevy but will have the custom sombraro hub caps from the 48 ford kit.

[eviltwin]

the pearl has now been laid on. i just made a couple of passes as i didn't want the pearl flakes to build up in the recesses. you should be able to see the effect, but it will be more evident when the clear is put on. before that though, i need to apply some pinstripe transfers. i also began to scratchbuild the throttle linkage and i may machine the airfilters at the weekend, new year party not withstanding.