GM should build an SSR coupe, it would be much cooler than the truck, I have said this from the beginning, seeing the model confirmed it for me.

Thanks man i concour i think it would lokk bitchin aswell heres a few more photos hope you like

Heres a few more!! it has a 427 BB chevy in it with 22' and 18 ' to scale wheels truck has been shortened 13" scale inches behind the dorrs and straigthened the rear wheel wells to more od a nostalgic look also with a trunk like compartment and has a 61 chevy dash and a 41 plmouth windshield

alright guys. How about some 15" Baer Brake Rotors. I know, I know, 15 inches is quite overkill. But I needed something to fill up the wheels. lol let me know what you think The rotor will be a two peice design. The bottom piece which you see here, is the back of the rotor and the "vents" and then there will be a top piece will be drilled to match the bottom piece.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...5Image0001.jpg

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NICE WORK!
Man do I hate drillin, good for you that you´re gonna cast em instead of drilling 7 more of them. Or are you going for a smaller diameter in the rear?

Keep it comin!

/Fredrik

I am planning on using a smaller diameter in the rear. I am planning on modifying the cast pieces. I am hoping to be able to cut them down by scribing htem the same way I made the circles for these.

oh, Fredrik, I am going to get those wheels cast and packaged up on sunday, and have them out to you on monday.

Well, I got the first full set of wheels on their way to Sweden to have some sleeves machined. Both sides of the rotor are finished, they just need some finish work with 2000 grit to remove all the scratches and they are ready to cast. I saved one wheel that I have massaged and cleaned up and hope to have it painted soon. I am planning on Gunmetal Centers with aluminum hoops. The exterior I am leaning toward Black and Sunset orange pearl. Black on bottom Sunset on top. Any comments?

Great, will be very interesting too see the wheels up close :)

Keep up the good work!

/Fredrik

As I mentioned, they are FAR from perfect. But a little finess with some fine grit paper and a little filling in the center and they will be good to go. I have one that I have just about massaged to my liking. I also got some more styrene today and my mini mitre box. I hope to start on the front section and the rest of the engine. I found some nice shots of the LS7 and other LSx engines thanks to the new hot rod solstice and another rag on the shelf (can't remember which one) I started over on the engine. That is how it goes though. You learn something that will make it better each and every time. Hopefully I'll have some new pics to upload soon

Alright, I managed a little break in my school work. I got started on the new subframe. Did a little work on the hub mount for the wheels. And I've progressed on the engine. I am much happier with this version than the last. I have found some decent block shots of an LSX. I sent a set of wheels to Sweden to have some sleeves machined, Hopefully those will be back in the next month or two. No rush though Fredrik. Comments are more than wlecome!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF1558.jpg

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That looks great. I can't wait to see the machine work and the completed subframe. :thumbsup:

Thanks Scott! I got some Hi Res Images. I'll e-mail them and the write up to you tonight or in the morning

The engine is taking shape nicely, can´t wait to see some more progress on it.

Keep it comin!

/Fredrik

I got started on the oil pan last night. Once It is done, I will be able to "tack" it in place and get on with some of the other details

whats this...a new forum! cool. I went to find my thread and noticed it had been moved and was like... :_paranoid Then when I saw where it was moved to and said sweeeeet.

how about some paint?? I decided to play around with paint tonight. I re-primed my body and rear bumper with Cobra Colors Moon Mud primer. This helped fill any nicks and scratches. I followed with a coat of black. The only part that I got the final color on is the rear bumper. The color is Sunset Orange Pearl (GM Factory Color) Mixed with PPG acrylic Enamel. Let me know what you think!?!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF1888.jpg

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Like the color. :thumbsup:

-Paul

alright guys. The first round of clear coat is on. There is some trash that got in it.....one of the pit falls of spraying outside. I'll have to sand it out and hit it with my microfinish. I'll clear one or two more times. The shine is pretty good right now. I feel it could be better though. Enjoy:

MONEY SHOT!
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF1896.jpg

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A little more to show on this beast. The LS7 is beginning to take shape. I beleive that the line along the passenger side of the block should NOT be there, but it is too late at this point. I might also end up re-building the oil pan. As the area for the oil filter is wrong. Or I might creat a remote mount set up and mount it on the firewall or maybe lower side of the frame. Let me know what you guys think.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF1902.jpg

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Looks great Russell, I´m loving the orange-copper pearl it really suits the car perfectly. I´m impressed with your progress on the engine, its really starting to look like something!

Keep up the awesome work!

/Freddy

Fredrik,

Thanks for the comments. I sent you an e-mail with a picture of a wheel thanks to scott (owner/operator of lateral-g). I'm still not sure on the placement of the valve stem. Any ideas?

I'm watching this one with great interest. I have been in the hobby, on and off, for the last 17 years. I was even lucky enough to have a couple of my cars appear in the Scale Auto Enthusiast Contest Annuals. I've just started a a 1/25 65 Chevelle, pro-touring of course.

I'm going to update my in progress photos and start a thread shortly. I hope that my build catches your interest as well. It will help keep me motivated...I have no one locally to share the hobby with.

Jason

I too have the same problem of not having anyone local to share with, other than family. I've got a pair of 65's waiting to be built. One is getting the Malitude treatment. I'm glad you like the build. I'll be keeping an eye out for yours! You might also visit the automotiveforums.com auto art section. There is a forum there for plastic models. Great bunch of people. The muscle cars don't get the respect they deserve over there but they really appreciate the builds. and there is a LOT of good knowledge to be gained by searching the forums.

Malitude was one of the inspirations for pulling the 65 off the shelf. So was this one:
http://popularhotrodding.com/feature...velle_02_z.jpg

I made some real "HEAD" way tonight. I hacked up the original head design and "stole" the exhaust port area and mated it to the new design, as well as constructed the valve covers. The pins you see on the top are the center bolts/coil location pins. The detail on the back side is rather poor, however it wont be seen once the intake is in place. I have decided not to cast this or any of my parts for resale. I will be casting these heads, so that the left is identical to the right. Some details have been left off and will be added after the heads are cast so that their orientation is correct, mainly the spark plug holes and the oil filler neck. The detail on the sides of the block is slim to nil, but again, once it is in place and the mounts and oil lines and details are in place, it wont be noticeable. ENJOY!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF1913.jpg

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Alright. I got back to work on the Transmission last night. Since I wont be progressing much on the engine until I get the heads cast and there are several more things that I want to finish before I go mixing more RTV. I need some comments on t his thing. I went off of measurements I got from a Resin t-56 in 1:25th scale. It looks a little off though. There is not any bracing on it yet. Please, give me some comments and criticism on the trans. I've been considering rebuilding it, but am unsure as of yet.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF1917.jpg

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its finally beginning to look like a transmission. I've got nearly all of the ribbing on and shaped. I re-did the tail housing. It isn't quite finished yet, but it is looking a lot better than the original one that I did. Still not 100% happy with the driver's side of the case, but I got over it. Let me know what you guys think!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF2041.jpg

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It looks awesome Russell, though it looks a bit too "round", at least in the 3rd pic. The ribbing made the whole difference.

Keep at it bro!

/Freddy

I agree, it does look a tad too round. I'll have to correct that. I spent some more time on the tail section. How are the sleeves coming?

here is the intake that I am planning for this beast, paired with Twin Turbos.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...%2012/main.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/number_3.jpg

Well, here is some more progress. I thought that I had an LS1 timing cover, but I don't. I've got the rear main cover and valley cover. So I had to eyeball it. It still needs the plug for the sensor but other than that I am happy with it. Once all of the pullies, accessories, and the snails are in there, it will no longer be the highlight of the front side of the motor. Also, I managed to get the hats constructed for the rotors. This will be universal for the front and the rear. I think I am going to make some smaller rotors for the rear. 15" is overkill for the front. But they helped to fill out the wheels a little bit. I am going to play around with the axle length today. Maybe I can get that sorted out and then begin on the 4-link rear suspension. enjoy the pictures

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF2054.jpg

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Here we go. I began the mods to the rear end. I settled on 4 3/4" of offset on the wheels. I wrapped them in THIN .05 styrene cut to the proper width for the rear wheels and played around until I was happy. This then allowed me to mock up the rear wheels and brakes and get a proper measurement for the new axle tubes. They were made from 1/4" Brass Tube. There is a slightly smaller tube inside of that that helped me to keep the outter tubes square with the main housing, and also to help the rear axle support the weight of the car without buckling. Once that was complete I referred to pictures of Scott's 4-link set up and began to work on the 4-link brackets. Originally I was going to cut them from brass sheet and solder it all together. Well that didn't pan out so they got cut from styrene sheet and will be superglued to the axle. The inner bracket is for the upper link and the coil over shocks, the outer bracket is for the upper link. All that is left, as far as the rear end is concerned is the panhard bar bracket, housing ends, and caliper brackets. I am hoping to have it completed sunday and ready for primer. I am just about read to pour some RTV for the little things. Heads, remaining wheel parts and the breaks. The next round of RTV will include intake parts, and the rear brake parts. This is coming along quite nicely. I begin Summer I classes on June the 5th so I am cramming as much work in as possible until then. Enjoy the pics.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF2060.jpg

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here is a small update. I managed to get some heads cast. so it is beginning to look like an engine. I had to pick up some more brass tubing yesterday so I could continue on with the four link and the intake. I am going to the lake this weekend so progress will halt after tomorrow afternoon. but stay tuned and keep the comments rolling!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF2119.jpg

I truly admire your scratchbuilding talents.....scratchbuilding is one of my shortfalls.

Hey Russ, you are doing a bang-up job. I love the color. I wish I had time to pursue my latent modeling desires...
If I could offer a couple of suggestions I will pursue them through your efforts...
When I look at your 4 link brackets it looks like you are making them one at a time. Can I suggest "stacking" them? Cut them out to their rough shape, drill two holes (the "axle" hole and one suspension attachment point work well) to pin them together and then finish sand the final shape on ALL of the pieces at one time. Doing this will make them all identical and they will look like you stamped them out...
You can use the same process for the brake rotors. Cut them to rough shape drill one hole and use that to run a screw through the stack. Chuck the asm into a drill motor and sand the shape on all discs at one time... Only use alumnum sheet to make the rotors... no painting and they will look good in the natural aluminum color.
Mark

Mark thanks for the comments. The way I cut the brackets was to drill several holes in a sheet of styrene and trace out the bracket. I then stacked them and shaped them the same. There is one bracket that is not the same. The link and coil over holes were all drilled at the same time when they were stacked. The rotors will be cast in resin I'd much rather use up some RTV and have them available for future builds, than to re create the vents on the rotors 4 times over. I have about 3 hours of VERY tedious work in them. I am gone to the lake all weekend. I hope to have the main parts of the intake and the smaller brakes for the rear done early next week so I can pour those molds.

wow... just amazing! Good work, love the color too. I'm a big fan of shaving the drip rails too :)

Alright, somewhat of an update....ITS WHEELS!!!! well...kind of. lol. I got my aluminum ordered. I finished playing around with the offset and here are the wheel dimensions

Rear
11x20 with 5.2" of offset

Front
8.5x20 with 2.25 inches of offset

My girlfriends brother is going to be writing the CAD program and machining the wheels for me. After I receive the sleeves, I'll be getting back to this, cleaning up all 4 wheel blanks and getting them mounted on the sleeves and beginning on the tires.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF2215.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...2/DSCF2216.jpg

on a side note, I've heard talk here and there of machining pieces by hand. If anyone can shed some light on this, please share! If you'd like to explain in an e-mail send it to, [email protected]