The base is now ready...

I've just gotta finish the body and put it all together:tongue-out3:

Base is ready by Gavin Snowdon, on Flickr

Thanks for watching

Looking very evil and Mad Max as it sits there Gavin, great work. The base is a really nice touch as well. Can't wait to see this with the body in place.

Cheers, D

Hi Gavin,

That is a remarkably clean conversion - fits together like it was supposed to all along! Looking forward to seeing it with the body!

Cheers
Nick

Gavin,
The chassis really looks fantastic. Looking forward to seeing the shell on it.

Joel

Well, back to the body.....

Did the chrome strip around the body with Alclad Chrome......happy with the look.

Trial fitting the bumper. Had to remove the moulded bumper strips as they were too fussy and did a bit of chipping......again, very happy with the look.

Next, more rust!

bumper dry fit by Gavin Snowdon, on Flickr

Thanks for looking

Chassis looks super cool. Rust work looks amazing.

Definitely nailed it with the chipping and rust Gavin, lovely work.

Cheers, D

Gavin,
The rust work is super realistic. Brings back some found memories of rides with college friends.

Joel

Hi Gavin

Fantastic work on the rust! That's a challenge I've set for myself one day, but I've a way to go before I try it.

All the best

Rowan

Thank you for the kind words!

Most appreciated!

I decided that she needed some seat belts, probably a racing seat with a five point safety harness would be a whole lot safer, but definitely not in keeping with the old style bench seat. So, it's gotta be old school lap belts.

Seat belts fitted by Gavin Snowdon, on Flickr

Thanks for looking

Gavin,
Back in those days, we usually just snapped the belts closed, and tucked them into the seat. Wearing belts just wasn't a cool thing to do.

Joel

Hells bells Joel, deceleration trauma ain't cool!

Anyway, the end is nigh...

nearly finished 1 by Gavin Snowdon, on Flickr

nearly finished 2 by Gavin Snowdon, on Flickr

It's been a long road, it has it's faults, but overall I am happy with my first attempt at this level of mod on a car.

Thanks for looking!

This is coming together beautifully Gavin, neat work considering the level of surgery required to make it happen.

"Deceleration trauma" is a great description, I will use that. The other one I use frequently to describe body damage to vehicles is "IFSM - In Field Styling Modifications."

Cheers, D

Gavin,
The overall heads down shot is fantastic. Just gotta love your version of a big V8 stuffed under Glass.

Joel

Damian,

Feel free to use it!

The fall did not kill him, it was the sudden stop at the bottom. They call it "deceleration trauma".

Thanks Joel,

I remember on one of those car modding TV programs, they refer to it as putting the Jewels on display. In this case, its an Audi V8 motor.

Thank you for the kind comments.

It's ALIVE!!

Finally this monster build, combining the 1/24 Revell Audi R8 with the 1/24 Revell VW Samba Bus to create a sleeper..... ala, R8 Samba "Sleepah", is over!

I have tried new things, rust, seriously modding a car kit & scratch building seat belts.

It has its faults, but I am more than happy with the final results!

side 2 by Gavin Snowdon, on Flickr

side by Gavin Snowdon, on Flickr

top by Gavin Snowdon, on Flickr

Rear quart by Gavin Snowdon, on Flickr

front quart by Gavin Snowdon, on Flickr

Thanks for looking!

Gavin,
A truly amazing build. You went to places that 99% of us would never venture for a car build. You built what was a truly iconic Hippy Wagon of the 60-70s. The look & the feel is just perfect.

Your decision of "stuffing" a Audi V8 in and under glass, really kicked up your build more then a few notches above what I've ever remember seeing in a VW bus back in the days. Mostly buses that were in the most urgent need of a complete engine rebuild and a new muffler system, but they ran forever.

Your build of a VW Bus has done what for me what it needed to do, and that's awaken memories of past times when even I rode in one of these contraptions with a group of my college buddies to all sorts of places for all sorts of reasons. I truly thank you for that.

Joel

Excellent build Gavin, and a great confidence builder given the new ground you have broken. I can't wait to see what your next "Frankencruiser" is going to be.

I love the base as well, I'm sure folks will scratch their heads at the "R8 Samba" until they take a closer look inside.

Cheers, D

Thank you very much for the kind words!

In turn I have to thank you for your work and genius that you post, that has provided me with insight and motivation to do this build!

I tip my hat to you.

Thank you!

Amazing build Gavin. Great idea and great execution.

So the next project, will be putting the VW engine, in the Audi

Jesper,
Now there's a unique idea. I wonder just what one would call it.

Joel