1966 Chevy Suburban

[modelcarjr]

I started this one this afternoon and started looking at photos on the internet of these Suburbans. I noticed a few that were dropped and looked pretty good. So whilethe primer was drying I began looking at the chassis and devising a way to drop this bus...I mean truck or maybe SUV. So I mounted the axle high on the kingpin by cutting it off and pinning it about 1/8" higher. Then I cut the rear supporting posts for the rear suspension by the same 1/8". That would be about a 3"drop in scale. I want to put some big wheels on this truck so I will have to cut up the interior floor and find some wider and taller wheel wells to graft on. Thanks for looking! 😎


I moved this from Motorsports Trucks


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[406 Silverado]

I like what you're doing in regard to stance on this old classic JR. Will be watching this one .......

[lyle]

What a great oldie! Those things were huge.

[handiabled]

Bookmarked! This will be a good one to watch come along

[project510]

That looks like a perfect stance. Good luck on the build. I love these early Suburban's.

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, All! I appreciate your comments!

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I had a good day today, starting this morning over coffee. I found an adequate 32 Ford fender unit in the parts box that has now lost its rear fender wells. I cut the interior platform, glued in the wheel wells, trimmed them with plastic strip. I also  traced the new wheel wells onto the interior panels and then cut them to fit. Finally, after about 3 hours and multiple cups of coffee I had a platform to paint with new wheel wells and I didn't need any putty. The right side is a little taller than the left as I did a better cut on the second one but you won't be able to tell once everything is together. I then painted the interior pieces with Krylon Matte Sand Pebble better described as Tan or Beige. 

Next, I painted the interior body and let it dry. Then, just before lunch I taped off the body and painted the exterior with Tamiya Aluminum for a base coat. After it had dried I then painted the color coat, Metallic Orange or as I like to call it, Sierra Gold. Sierra Gold was a 1957 Chevy color and it sounds so much more nostalgic. Tomorrow, I add the color for the window area, Ivory, and then add another coat of clear.  I think the combination will look good for 1966. Photos are below. Thanks for looking! 😎



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[kyledehart5]

Excellent progress! The orange looks wonderful. Can’t wait to see it with the ivory.

[dupes]

This is all done today? Daaaang. Speedy, excellent work! That orange is hot.

[tcoat]

[handiabled]

That's an impressive amount of work done already. The wheel tubs look like they were there all along. That orange paint job absolutely glows!!

[tcoat]

Feb 7, 2024 9:29:42 GMT -5 handiabled said:

That's an impressive amount of work done already. The wheel tubs look like they were there all along. That orange paint job absolutely glows!!

That orange paint was made by Tamiya specifically for painting the kit of my old car. It looks spectacular on the Suburban but I am biased.

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, all! I appreciate your comments!

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Painted the Ivory today and all the other parts. I've been toying with the wheels for this bus for a few hours.  I have a lot of these big wheels but generally don't use them. I also have to pick ones that will fit the axles so I don't have to do too much more work to adapt the wheels to the axles. I had it narrowed down to two different sets. One set that were all the same size and not too large and another larger set of big and littles. I think I am going with the big and littles as the rear wheel fills the wheel well better. Let me know what you think! Thanks for looking! 😎

Smaller wheels first

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[kyledehart5]

I agree with your choice. I like the second set. Looks fantastic with the ivory on there. Great looking build so far.

[handiabled]

Yes the second set most definitely!

[406 Silverado]

That color is HOT on that ride along with that cool a$$ stance and THEN there's the wheel/ tire set up. A real looker this one's turning into. What do you have in store as far as the powerplant is concerned JR?

[project510]

Wow fantastic work on the paint job. Im also liking the 2nd set of wheels.

[TJ]

Definitely the second set

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, everyone! I appreciate your comments! I found that the second set is 1/24th from a Monogram Mustang. I have also found another set of wheels that I might try but haven't get there yet.

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I took a day off on Thursday and got back to this one yesterday. Nothing to exciting, finished the chassis and had to cut the exhaust pipe and shortened the shocks. I also installed the windows and painted the inner fenders.

Today, I took a look at the headlight/grill area. I wanted to recess the whole thing so that it wasn't sticking out and looking a bit bug-eyed. So I started hacking up the kit piece and ruined it. Next, I had another set up started, when I dropped a headlight piece on the floor. I looked for it at least an hour and even had my wife look for it but it is not to be found. So finally, I cut off the square leadlight buckets from a 1980 Plymouth Volare (an old kit that I may or may not ever build).  So I found an old tube grill in my parts box and added that for a grill. Now its recessed and even though the headlight buckets do not have lenses, its the best I can do at this time. Maybe better luck tomorrow! Thanks for looking! 😎


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[kyledehart5]

Some days it’s like that. I like the square headlights and the tube grille though! Pretty cool.

[dean48ws]

This is a killer build! Looks great!

[handiabled]

I like the look of the grill you substituted. It totally changes the look of the look of this

[modelcarjr]

Thanks, Kyle, Dean, and Handlabeled I appreciate your comments!

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I changed my mind again on the grill and went back to the original kit piece and thinned it down and then left the square headlights. I like this better as it fills up the grill area better, its recessed, and has the Chevrolet brand included. I went with the big and littles for tires and wheels and left the 283 engine kit engine. I would have liked to substitute a big Chevy engine but I don't have one without kit bashing another kit. No wiring just box stock. So the only customizations are the tires and wheels, ride height and grill/headlights. I did add the black window trim and first used paint on the left side and then had the idea to use black masking tape that I cut for the right side. I like that better so I went back and added some tape on the left side. I used tape on the windshield but I had to use paint on the rear as it didn't look good with tape. I put the interior together and kept it pretty basic. So in the end I guess I have a custom looking family bus!  Just a few more pieces and this one will be done! Thanks for looking! 😎

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[TJ]

Oh man......this looks fantastic

[406 Silverado]

The blacked-out window trim goes with this truck very well as does the grill JR. I also like the fact that you went back in with the stock center portion of the grill to give the front end an added factory touch to go along with the custom headlights. Beautiful work on this so far and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[tcoat]

That thing is gorgeous and normally I could not care less about this type of vehicle.

To give some lenses to the headlights just paint the inside a silver to be different from the chrome, lay the lights flat and fill them with white glue (that dries clear of course) or Testers window maker if you have that. It will shrink when dry so may have to do it a couple of times. When dry you can scribe some lines in it to look like lenses.

[handiabled]

The stance on this is perfect!

[kyledehart5]

Outstanding work. Love the color, love the wheels and stance. She’s a beauty so far. Close now!