Well it turns out--a clean build takes a lot of time!!! As I discovered last time, the '66 442 Olds kit had side trim moldings that is great for a vinyl top build, but for a "normal" roof, which I am using here, they had to go. I have been sanding, filing, carving and sanding some more.
It turns out getting rid of the trim is easier said then done! We're talking hours of work. Finally....the trim pieces are gone, but on the 1:1 car there is a "crease" in the sheetmetal, down the side of the car, right underneath the side molding. It's proving impossible--or at least extremely difficult--for me to get a sharp crease here. After 2 weeks of knocking it around on the bench, I reached the point of diminishing returns; the more I sanded, the worse it looked....
And another problem: After removing the trim strips, the door lines needed to be carved out again. I was not sure exactly how to do this, so in "experimental mode" I used the sharp tip and back of an X-acto #11 blade, a Micro Mark reaming tool, and a bit of .020 plastic as a guide, that I taped to the door before carving.
I filled in some of the spots and holes and carving slip ups with superglue, which I then sanded down....
A lot of the rear trim had to go as well; it will be replaced by photoetch parts. From this photo I also notice that the styrene rod I put in place to help fix the rear window is visible from certain angles. It might be that once the headliner is in it will be harder to see. But it's something I hadn't thought a lot about, until now. I need to file that down, then, it'll be ready for primer-sand-primer- repeat.....who said this was going to be easy?
