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Not that it's always apparent, but I'm really anal about putting a car together. I'm always so paranoid that I'm going to ruin it (because I HAVE ruined a couple) that it takes me forever to get up the nerve to move on to the next step and finish a car now and then. I always think stuff like, "this is my last Gloria shell, and you can't get them anymore. If I screw it up, that's it. I MUST cut perfect masks and lay the perfect coat of primer...." You get the picture.

Anyway, a while back I got a bunch of Thunderchargers for $2.50 each, mainly to rob for parts. They're actually quite decent chassis in their own right, but they have a slightly longer wheelbase than bits and require a fair amount of fussing to get any other bodies on them. I usually was just robbing the PCBs, wheels, knuckles and steering springs. I threw some of the bodies in the garbage because they just sucked so hard. I figured while I was stressing out on my real projects, I would start a few projects out of disposable parts that if they didn't work out, I'd just junk it, not care and move on.

Here's one of them. I tried a little experiment with this one, in that I painted it with nail polish shot through an airbrush. It dries super hard in less than an hour. I had some really crappy decals that were blurry and out-of-register, and the last bit of clearcoat in my jar had started to look like old honey. So basically starting with complete crap all the way around, hence the number and sponsor.


Started with this:




Turned it into this:



On the course:

umm.... SUPA FLY! nice color choice

Man, I always struggled with trying to justifying spending my time on a shit body - it's so hard. I've dealt with my fair of starting from crap.

I think you made it tons better, looks great. Dig the colors.

I like it!

13 is my lucky number.

looks good

SuperFly wrote: So basically starting with complete crap all the way around

Like turning water into wine.

That's badass!!

Awsome ride.

Get that beast a little dirty.

Just the right paint and highlights and that thing looks good! The color really brought it out and the detail on the lights is great!

My faith that crap can be beautiful is restored!

OMG, that IS crap (in my pants). B, no one breaks the law of math. Crap IN, crap OUT.

DON'T BREAK IT AGAIN. Caribbean cops stick your head in a bag filled with bug spray if you don't co-operate. you do not want that.

Clear?
Maxx

It's fuckin amazin what new paint and decals can do for a shit body.
That's tight Pimp The new decals really does wonders, but they hafta
be placed just right too! Great Job ! (as always)

Looks nice! That's the best Thunder Charger i've seen!

That is fucking nice!

I hear ya on the nerves before a project after youve screwed up But damn You did this shell up perfect!

Thanks pimps! Glad you like it. Given that I have a pile of these shells, you might see some more of these in the future.

A couple minor things to mention about that car:
It is actually tab lowered in the front, but it has a full-travel spring suspension that puts it at a normal ride height. The sway bar in Thunderchargers is really thick and high, so I had to ditch it when I lowered the front tab. Because this is basically a crappy car that I don't have a huge time investment in, it will be a driver. Since it's kind of a rally car, I wanted it to be able to handle rough surfaces or carpet so it's riding on uncut slot car pick-up shoe springs with better than 1/8" of travel.

Also, one of the cool things about Thunderchargers is the internal antenna. You can see it in the bottom picture, it kind of looks like a roll cage.

Good job. You flossed a turd and made it look good.

I've got one of those sitting in a small case all by itself waiting to be modded into a Camry. One thing after another though. I have at least three mods just in my head that I want to do first. One day though.

Nice job on the decals.