Posted in The Bench

The Bench – June 2019

 Published Date: June 30, 2019

F40

Finally! The F40 is done! After 12 years of starts, stops and generally avoiding this build, it is done. In May, I finished sanding and polishing the body and completed most of the detail work. Through June, I wrapped up the final details and completed the build.

While painting the engine cover, I broke it. In order to hide the damage, I needed to carefully mask and respray paint. Overall, the repair was convincing.
The side windows required body colored paint along with trim paint. Once completed, they were glued in place.
Once the windows were glued in place, it was time to marry the body to the chassis for the last time. With the body in place, I could finish the final details in the engine compartment.
Done!

’82 “Hemi” Charger

The ’82 “Hemi” Charger is the last “clinger” project. Having finished the F40 build, I felt motivated to dig into the Charger. My reluctance is a result of having considerable fabrication work to complete. The project started simply with the idea of a V8 swap and RWD conversion. I had a simple solution for the rear suspension but didn’t know what I would do up front. I had gone through several ideas that involved a fully fabricated front suspension, a narrowed 70 Roadrunner front sub-frame and suspension and never felt like I had the best plan.

Alas, while digging through my spare parts stash, I stumbled on parts from a ’69 Camaro. I cut out the front sub-frame and found that it fit the narrow width of the Charger.

This looks like a plan that will work! By utilizing an un-modified front sub-frame from a Camaro, I can easily use all of the front suspension.

I decided to remove most of the floor pan and create a new one from sheet styrene. It would give me a cleaner slate to attach the new sub-frame. I used one solid piece to replace the floor pan and cut out the transmission tunnel. Once that was done, I use plenty of tape to hold everything in place while I ensured proper fit in the charger. After marking it, I pulled the tape and glued the sub-frame in place.

I doubt a car would work this way if built in real life. Alas, I wasn’t going for scale accuracy and realism. It will pass for what I was trying to accomplish.
The Charger sitting on it’s new suspension. It looks “just right”.