Yorkshire Barry

A lot of filling, rubbing down and frustration but at last I am getting there with the painting. Just needs a buff now to get the finish I want.

Halfords paints are acrylics and seem to have much more body than model paints and therefore I think are going to need more polishing. I know there is a lot or work to do but I want to get as good a finish as I can before i start the hard work. The good thing about Halfords paints is that are car colours, model paints are not muddy enough. My main colour will be black so not an issue but it will be for a contrast panel. I seem to get a better surface with model paints but not the depth of gloss. I'll get a few cans of different makes and do some test panels. I'll also go and talk to the model shop, I know he used to sell Pocher kits way back so probably knew what was used. I know of the paints that Codger uses but not easily available here and very expensive when you find them. Also they seem to be more stock colours that are imported so wrong shades, just sort of white, black, red, yellow etc. My panels are easier to paint than the car above as they are mainly flat so the spray angles are better controlled than an assembled car. That is why I am not going to paint the assembled body but I have had to make sure they all fit as I cannot be fettling a painted panel. All good fun. Barry

Yes I found the same thing on most panels; the doors were particularly bad, the side panels need some work but I was surprised with the wings, they have been primed, rubbed down and primed again and still not a flaw anywhere. Amazing! As well as surface finish the comment about warping was relevant but in the case of my doors they are fine, no need for the hot blower! And yes, my doors are bolted on, hot melt pins a bit like death, you only get one shot at it. Still a long long way to go and as the weather deteriorates the work rate will increase! Barry

Yes I have read your articles but my query was for any paints that UK users have tried, some mention Halfords. i am happy to get a few brands to trial before spraying the panels. No sign of warping on the doors. You refer to a way to hinge the doors for painting but I wanted to paint the doors off the side panels. I have done some initial trial fits and adjustments. Barry

Been quiet lately, things tend to slow down over summer. Current activity needs a lot of patience, I am cleaning up the panels for painting. Some areas need a lot of filling and rubbing down, I have got the doors nearly there, they were quite bad as supplied. Also the top of the firewall had some deep dents in it. Surprisingly the wings and running boards need no filler whatever, they are excellent. i am trying to decide what paint to use, up to now I have used a Tamiya acrylics but the main body panels need a high gloss finish. I have an airbrush but am getting good results with aerosols which avoid a lot of cleaning. My main colour will be black but then a contrast colour on the sides. I dont know yet whether I will need a clear gloss finish coat, need to do come testing.. Any recommendations on paint available in UK will be welcome.

Thank you got that, I’ve had a look and will go back when I get to that bit. Barry

I certainly want the bonnet (sorry hood) to open properly. i am however in deep thought about the end result. I have not finished with the chassis, I intend to go back and add a lot more detail. The only thing is that it will never be seen. I can’t see a way to make it possible to lift he body off after completion. I am pondering a display case with two transparent shelves, one above the other. I could then put the fully detailed chassis on the lower shelf and the fully trimmed and wired body on the top shelf, that way it would be possible to see all the detail. Maybe some bits of mirror as well. i may throw the idea out as silly but it is still revolving in the brain at the moment. Barry

Intricate phase of the build, checking the alignment of all the body components. I have introduced bolted construction wherever possible and with adjustment when things have to be repositioned from the Pocher fixings. This shot shows the adjustable attachment between floor and body for example. The rear panel is bolted similar to Codgers arrangement. The alignment of the wings requires a lot of trial and error. The Ambassador is one piece from front to rear, I don’t want to cut to modify. I have tried the fit against the chassis, some relieving necessary at the scuttle. Then checking the detail attachments of wing go body which will be bolted, not screwed. Pity with these wings I cannot fit the body in assembled state, can’t get them over the firewall. I would have liked to be able to lift assembled body off the chassis but it won’t go. I keep checking the bonnet fit and the top panels are fine. The side panels do not fit properly and I can’t see that I have done anything to cause this discrepancy. I have lowered the body but not enough to cause this bad fit. In this shot it us a bit high but that doesn’t explain the bad cut line at the rear. I can fix it but I thought the fit would be better from what I have read but I note Codger had a similar effect. Mine us better at the front edge. Having done all this fitting I have to do a lot of detail work. The rear of the floor needs modification. After much thought I have decided not to do further floor lowering as Codger has done. I want to preserve the option to display the chassis. My floor is lower than his first fit but he then lowered it further involving a lot of grinding away on the chassis and gearbox.The doors can now be cut out with a lot of trimming and cleaning up. I Then think I come to the point where I have to paint the body before assembling again. I don’t want to rework the panels after paint so a lot of care needed. There are mould marks in the door skins which need attention. i haven’t decided on colour scheme yet but I have to make my choice. I am tempted by high gloss black, very sinister and contrasts the silver metal fittings. I quite like dark blue with light blue lining. Decision time!! H

Progress seems a bit slow for two reasons, one is the fine weather. The other is that I have been taking a lot of time getting happy with the location of the body. As mentioned in other posts I found that the body needed moving aft. I was trying to work out the effects on the body inner panels but eventually decided that they some were going to be cut and fitted anyway, the inner panel forward of the door for instance. At the end of the day the body position works itself out, from the radiator along the bonnet panel and then the tub to butt up to the trunk. My wings are one piece front and rear so no trimming without cutting it up. i have made bolted attachment between body sides and floor and will make bolted joints for the rear panel. I can’t fix anything finally of course until after paint.

Following your build has been extremely valuable to me as is the DVD. I cannot imagine how anyone could build these cars from the instructions. Fortunately I had two friends who built Pochers, both sadly dead now so I knew that it would be a challenge and that nothing would fit. Getting the chassis built has been OK and I will be going back for a lot of enhancements. I think thus body alignment is the part of the build needing the most caution. I am trying to build the rest of the body in my mind to try and avoid unseen problems which could occur by getting the height more realistic. as well as height I am being careful with the fore and aft alignment . in answer to your previous the firewall is dropped down onto the chassis, I may also move it aft a bit as there is so much visible when the bonnet is opened which is not realistic. I note how long you are working on your model, as I am in my ninth decade I can’t afford to take that long ! Sorry I was not there for you when you needed a blind finder! Not rocket science!

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Yes you are right I read your posts up to the point that I was working, I did not study the build that I am not yet reaching therefore I did not see your later modifications. I have now read right through. However like you I was not satisfied with my first set of adjustments, I wanted the body to be still lower on the frame, like you I am looking at side views of the real cars. I then worked slightly differently. My packing pieces at the front of the floor are lower than yours by about one tenth but as you found the body us still too high. Unlike you I have been lowering the body on the floor, not lowering the floor onto the frame. I am still looking at the consequences of thus, nothing is bolted, all clamped or sticky tape. The scuttle is now down onto the firewall so I cannot get any lower unless I modify the latter. I may now be low enough. One point I looked at was the effect on the door sills and they actually fit much better. I am still looking to see if there are any other complications I have introduced by doing this. I chuckled a bit when you said you had tension finding the hole in the forward body side mounting. As an apprentice in aircraft manufacture we often had to put a new skin on frames where the rivet holes existed, we used a device called a blind finder which i think is what you needed. Perhaps you know what I am talking about and there is some reason why you could not use it. In case you don’t know what I am talking about I will do a sketch and post it here later.

Still messing about with tape but I am satisfied that I can get the body in a good position relative to the chassis in the fore and aft dimension , starting from the radiator the bonnet length positions the body fore and aft and the rear of the body reaches the trunk. Separately I have attached the floor to the chassis in a similar fashion to codgers 'i.e spacers at the front, slot to clear the rear cross member and captive nuts to bolt the floor to the chassis. I have found a issue with the height of the body on the floor which I have not found much about in all the online experiences but referring to one of Codger's pictures (hope you don't mind me copying it here) I am looking at similar fixings to attach the floor to the body, however if I had used the original fixings the kit provides (nowhere near strong enough of course) there would not be the gap between the floor and the body. . I am not sure whether this is in its final position and the next picture on the post does not clarify this. this. If the joint is made up in the above position with spacers clamped between the two parts then the body is effectively lowered from the Pocher stock position. If I locate it as above the fit around the door sills is much better and the body lowers nearer the firewall which has also been lowered. If I bolt my floor to body at the height in the above picture are there other pitfalls down the road that I have yet to find? I am finding the location of the body, chassis and floor the area demanding the most attention so it is not being rushed! Barry

Thanks codger for the helpful,comments, I have read your post but I need to work at it step by step to put it in context. I plan to reset the spring leaves when I finalise the height needed, I have pulled the body down with a loop of cord at the rear and will pull the front down the same way. Not sure why you advise against lifting the rad, I was only planning around 2mm. I certainly won’t be cutting the bonnet sides for some time, I keep in mind what my grandad said, always keep your wood as long as you can as long as you can. Why did you make a taller rear step, was that to get the floor lower onto the chassis?

This is the second “sticking”. Firewall has been dropped, rear springs lowered, floor cutout over chassis cross member. i was taking the floor in and out so often I removed the pedals and hand levers, will put those back later. The radiator needs raising slightly because the front apron is not fitting properly. The bonnet sides (sorry hood) have not been trimmed, I have just laid them on so that I know they are big enough. This shows why the radiator needs raising. I am concerned that the starting handle shaft might not line up needing a bit of fettling. When the body is lined up to my satisfaction it is not clear how it is intended to be bolted together, will need to engage brain.