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Thanks for the article. While the #2 ( gold car) was at Mid America I got to sit in it. Mike had restored it and maybe (?) painted it to red with flames like the movie. Iy was difficult to get into because the steering column didn't tilt and seemed to stick farther in than mine. Mike had a good time driving mine though . I still have photos . It was a good time .
Speaking of the steering column, check out this setup on the original car...
That's a Harley Davidson chain running from one side of the car to the other so they didn't have to move the steering box. That's the right-hand drive!
Speaking of the steering column, check out this setup on the original car...
That's a Harley Davidson chain running from one side of the car to the other so they didn't have to move the steering box. That's the right-hand drive!
As promised, here are the MGM data sheets on the car(s)...
Huh, I've never seen those documents before. I wonder where they used the magenta candy?
So was it a gold base coat with gold flake and crushed glass? Or silver base with gold flake? I've never had good experiences with base coats and flakes not matching in color.
Huh, I've never seen those documents before. I wonder where they used the magenta candy?
So was it a gold base coat with gold flake and crushed glass? Or silver base with gold flake? I've never had good experiences with base coats and flakes not matching in color.
I was confused by the "magenta" as well, since I cannot see where it was used. Maybe along the edges of the flames over the tangerine?
I don't see silver base mentioned but some of these old school techniques, like crushed mirror, may be matched by more modern flake materials and paints, from what I understand. However, I've seen pics of a clone that used holographic silver alpha jewels that made the paint sparkle all wrong, at least when compared with the original paint job we see in the movie. If I were to paint such awesomeoneness, I'd probably experiment on a panel or two to ensure I liked the effect and color.
I have recently chosen HOK Ice pearl in my paint, has a very similar vibe to the flake you see in the shot when they first roll the car in out of the shop, maybe in gold it might work.
I have a bunch of various shades of silver flake, in varying sizes. Same with gold flake.
I have some silver base coat left over from another project. I'll spray some panels out and see what's what. I can say with certainty that silver base with gold flake looks like dirt from far away. I have an L88 scoop hanging on the wall I painted that way, and it doesn't look great. Best bet is to match flake color to base color.
I have a spare 80-82 rear bumper I might spray out.
So here's a little update. Bouncing around between multiple projects sure does slow progress down on a build, but the rear clip is finally molded onto the body, and the bodywork has begun. The front clip is already done in rough bodywork, so the car is pretty much complete now. The doors needed a little help along the lower edges where they decided to de-bond from the inner skin. Got that all sorted out.
Up next is getting the rear window back in, figuring out a mounting solution for the tail light lenses, and finalizing the tilt mechanism for the front end. I think I have a plan for that, but wont know 100% until I try it.
This is fantastic, that’s a a lot of work but it will be soo cool when it’s done and when a real fan of the car sees it they will lose it. Get ready for middle aged men chasing you around lol
This is fantastic, that’s a a lot of work but it will be soo cool when it’s done and when a real fan of the car sees it they will lose it. Get ready for middle aged men chasing you around lol
It's definitely been a long road. The actual painting process will probably be longer than the bodywork lol
It might be a little weird dealing with all the people attracted to the car, especially since the movie came out way before I was born. Should make for interesting conversations.
It's definitely been a long road. The actual painting process will probably be longer than the bodywork lol
It might be a little weird dealing with all the people attracted to the car, especially since the movie came out way before I was born. Should make for interesting conversations.
I’m 48 and watched the movie as a little kid and passed it to my son who is now 21. We would both chase ya down lol 😂 The paint will be an adventure for sure.
I’m willing to bet that there is a Formula hood in that garage getting modified for a shaker at some point!
Dave
I actually have a Formula hood hanging up, but I can't paint a Trans Am black. Maybe if I come across a base bird, or an Esprit I could recreate the black bird.
I’m 48 and watched the movie as a little kid and passed it to my son who is now 21. We would both chase ya down lol 😂 The paint will be an adventure for sure.
C’mon, Mark Hamill repainted his in a few hours overnight when he got it back from the bad guys! 😂
If it helps, I dug up a couple of pics of the tail light lens area from the original cars, snapped when they were restoring/rebuilding the Australian car.
Last edited by rdblansett; Apr 20, 2023 at 03:01 PM.
Reason: forgot to add pics
If it helps, I dug up a couple of pics of the tail light lens area from the original cars, snapped when they were restoring/rebuilding the Australian car.
Very cool!
I have a fiberglass tail light bucket that houses the lights. The original is definitely a pretty crude design.
I've been toying with the idea of running an led outline around the entire bowtie as a running light. Similar to what you see on the new Chargers. Should look pretty wild at night.
Yeah, it was pretty crude, but these two cars were made for a movie, so many mods were definitely for the temporary schedule of shooting it. From what I understand, they lined these tail light buckets with paper egg crates and covered those in tinfoil so that they appeared like reflective lenses under the actually smooth plexiglass lenses. When the light hit them, or when lit from within, the effect worked for filming.
Originally Posted by Tranz Zam
Very cool!
I have a fiberglass tail light bucket that houses the lights. The original is definitely a pretty crude design.
I've been toying with the idea of running an led outline around the entire bowtie as a running light. Similar to what you see on the new Chargers. Should look pretty wild at night.
Yeah, it was pretty crude, but these two cars were made for a movie, so many mods were definitely for the temporary schedule of shooting it. From what I understand, they lined these tail light buckets with paper egg crates and covered those in tinfoil so that they appeared like reflective lenses under the actually smooth plexiglass lenses. When the light hit them, or when lit from within, the effect worked for filming.
Yeah, the original setup was ghetto as hell. Fine for a movie, but not cool for a car that'll see thousands of miles a year.
I'm thinking about experimenting with that chrome paint system to paint the inside of the light bucket. Either that or I'll spray it out in silver base with an *** load of metal flake, which should make light reflect pretty well.
Steering
