Originally this car was release by Mattel in 1970 as the Chrome Heavy Chevy which was available only as a give away with the Hot Wheels Club Kit. By the time I got the car in 1999, twenty-nine years of being someones much loved toy had taken it's toll. As you can see by the picture, the redlines were pretty much a write-off and the A-pillars were both cracked. The blue tinted windows looked a lot worse than they really were. I was given this car because it's last owner thought it was beyond hope. I have to admit that I thought the same thing several times. I had the car sitting on a shelf above my work bench for about a year and every once in a while I'd look at it and think, 'Let's do it.'....then I'd take a really good look and put the project off again. Finally a week or so ago, I decided to just go for it.

The car is taken apart by drilling out the two rivets. Be careful when you do this and don't try drilling them out in one continuous motion. Drill a little then stop. Make sure you're drilling straight and then start the drill again. Do this several times as you make your way through the rivet. Just drill enough of the rivet to allow the car to come apart easily. If you drill too far you will come through the engine bay at the front or up through the trunk lid at the back. Once you have the body off the car you'll have to decide what you want to do with the wheels. The wheels on the right side of the chassis are the original redlines and as you can see, they've about had it. I could purchase redline decals from a supplier like Hot Headz, but if I did that, I'd have to paint the rims silver and no matter how much you pay for chrome paint, it will never look like real chrome. So I decided to use the redlines from a Toy Story Red Baron. Those ones are on the left. I removed the original wheels by cutting the axels with a Dremel tool and cut off wheel.

Here you can see the Red Baron redlines. As you can see, they were too wide for the Heavy Chevy so I had to narrow them. Narrowing an axel is not as complicated as it may seem. What you need to do is buy a length of tubing (I prefer aluminum) at your local hobby shop. The inside diameter of the tube should be no bigger than the axel itself. Now, take your Red Baron wheels and cut the axel in half using the Dremel. I find that using snips can slightly bend the axel at the tip and cause problems when it comes time to slip it into the tube. Now your axel is in two peices but when put together they will be just about the same length they were, and we know that's too long. So, again using the Dremel, cut about 1/32" off each axel. Cut a length of aluminum tubing just long enough to fit inside the wheel opening of the chassis. You will probably have to file the ends slightly, and you'll likely have to ream the inside of the tube. Now that you have a clean hole at either end, slide the axel, with the new redline on it, into each end. Set the entire assembly on the chassis and squeeze them together until they are the proper width for the car. Now place one drop of super glue on the axel where it meets the aluminum tube. Do not get any super glue on the tire or it will not roll. Once you have both the front and rear tires assembled, set them in their proper places on the chassis. remember the bigger ones at the rear. Then mix up a small amount of two part epoxy (I use JB Quick Weld) and place a small amount over the axel and chassis. There, you've just finished the chassis.

I intend to paint my Chevy with Boyds Grape Pearl. It is a beautiful purple that requires a very light color primer. When using pearls, I almost always use flat white for my primer. Once in a while I'll use silver, but usually it's white. This is a photograph of the basic body with a coat of primer.Now its ready for a light sanding and then the first coat of Grape.

Here we have the body and engine after the work has been finished. The original engine was very tarnished, as you could see from the first photograph. I wanted to keep the original engine so I used Aluminum Bare Metal Foil to cover it. I burnished it down with a Q-Tip and then clear coated it. The body was given six coats of Boyds Grape Pearl. Then a single coat of clear went on. Once the paint was thoroughly dry, I used white decal film to make stripes that were as close to original as possible. They are 4mm wide. At this time I also applied the numbers to the decal film. Once the numbers were dry, I sprayed them with clear coat and then cut them to shape. These were then applied to the doors. Once the decals were dry, Five coats of clear went on, and the car was set aside.

Here is the car after final assembly. I use a drop of JB Quick Weld on the rivet posts. this fits nicely into the holes drilled in the chassis. Afterward you can sand the weld flat and then paint it silver to match the chassis. Use flat black to detail the grill and rear facia. This is a nice car that will look good in anyones collection, and it didn't cost the arm and leg that a mint original Spoiler would have cost.

See more of Rickochet's customs on his eBay "Me" page

Here is of another of Ricks projects. He took a beat up Custom Mustang and an aftermarket hood....... He does still need a windshield for it so if you can help drop him an E-MAIL

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