{"id":2240,"date":"2014-06-13T10:53:40","date_gmt":"2014-06-13T15:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/importnut.net\/models\/?p=2240"},"modified":"2020-10-20T15:08:29","modified_gmt":"2020-10-20T20:08:29","slug":"1982-dodge-charger-mpc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/importnut.net\/models\/1982-dodge-charger-mpc\/","title":{"rendered":"1982 Shelby Dodge Charger – MPC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Compared to the Chargers of the muscle car era, this one doesn’t quite live up to it’s name. \u00a0However, during it’s time, performance was quite hard to come by. \u00a0The motivation for this project was to build as close to a replica of the ’82 Charger my dad owned. \u00a0I built this one along side the Opel. \u00a0The Charger my dad owned was 2.2 version which was a little different compared to the Shelby version. \u00a0Shortly after I painted this kit, I discovered that MPC sold the 2.2 version. \u00a0I was too far along to stop and buy the correct version so this one would have to suffice.<\/p>\n

This kit contained an astonishing number of parts. \u00a0Quite a bit more than I think it really needed in my opinion. \u00a0I found that attaching all of the additional body parts prior to paint greatly simplified the final assembly. \u00a0The suspension and chassis proved to be a rather large challenge. \u00a0Unmodified, the wheels stuck out by over 1\/8″. \u00a0The front also rode rather high. \u00a0I spent quite a bit of time grinding away the suspension to try and make everything fit. \u00a0In the end, I hacked quite a bit of the rear suspension and used wire to recreate the mounting pins. \u00a0Up front, I had to hack the mounting pins, mill the back of the wheel and move them into position and held them in place with superglue. \u00a0The end result turned out very well.<\/p>\n

The engine could have been built with\u00a0a standard carburetor or the turbocharged Shelby version. \u00a0The standard version appeared to be accurate compared to 1:1 shots but the Shelby turbo version looked nothing like the rear thing. \u00a0Ignoring that, the turbo setup looks good.<\/p>\n

I found that using Tamiya clear over oil based paint will lead to clear flaking a bit during sanding. \u00a0The problem only surfaced in a couple of areas so I wasn’t too worried. \u00a0Something to remember for future projects.<\/p>\n

The finished project turned out really well even with the challenges I faced.<\/p>\n