Justin Rogers's "Chopped 2 D Xtreme" Chevrolet S-10 Xtreme, Round 2

Here is a link to my photobucket page.  I have posted the "clean plastic" pics of the model.

http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii259/spydyrbyte/Chopped%20to%20the%20Xtreme/?albumview=slideshow

The following are some of the mods I have planned for "C2DX":

- Back-halved frame
- Roadstered top
- Unibodied
- Chopped windshield
- Aftermarket steering wheel
- Dragging rocker (of course)
- Fuel Cell
- Nitrous
- 19"F/23"R Wheels
- Full disc brake conversion
- Molded body kit
- Phantom front end
- Radiused bed corners

I also have a few suprises in store so stay tuned.  

cool, thanks for starting your thread.  

This is the latest and greatest on C2DX.  

Chopped 2 D Xtreme - Week 1

So far I have begun work on or completed the following:

Majority of engine assembled (Z-06 Corvette LS7 7.0L, ohhh, yeeeeaaaah!!)
The drive shaft tunnel was too short so I will have to extend it slightly.

Began the grafting of the Corvette IRS rear-end onto the S-10 framerails.  This is a complete subassembly that will replace the framework, serve as the suspension drop, and still provide "driveability."

Chopped the top for the roadster look, chopped and radiused the windshield as well as the A-Pillars.  More than likely I will fab some side "glass" with a complimentary rounded shape, but not sure about that.

Lastly I've begun installation of the Xtreme body kit and removed the bed floor for the body drop and to make room for the Corvette suspension and the front inner fenders (battery tray, etc).  

Alright, here is the progress from Week 2.

This is the rear suspension assembly.  I have competed installation of the upper Corvette IRS (the bottom has to wait until the transmission is installed.  I have also added plating to "clean-up" the apearance of the framework.

This is another view of the "Peek-a-boo" cut-out in the rear plating to showcase the Corvette transmission.

Here is the front 3/4 view of the frame and rear suspension assy.

Front 3/4 view of the cab on the frame.  I have raised the transmission tunnel to make room for the Corvette "Torque-tube" and have added material in between the engine and transmission to increase the overall length to match the S-10 wheelbase.  I also mocked up the interior with the Corvette buckets and dash.

This shot is to establish the way the rear-end will sit.

Mock up of the entire body assembly showing the ground-scraping stance.

Here is the Phantom Grill assembly.  I created this by grinding away the headlights and grill bar and replaced it with grill mesh bent to shape.

Here you can see how much I had to raise the tranny tunnel to make room for the Torque-tube.

And lastly you can see how I also clearanced the rear of the cab wall and front of the bed wall to avoid the Torque-tube  

Week 3

This week has been focused mainly on body work and other smaller details.
I have begun the unibody process by joining the bottom of the body moulding, joining the tailgate and roll pan.  I also had to narrow the rear-end further to make it fit within the wheel wells which were ground as thin as possible without break-through.  Also the front suspension from the Corvette was further grafted onto the frame.  I will still have to cut and re-pin the actual control arms to make them adjustable for a level stance.  

This is what the underneath of the nearly completed bed assembly looks like.


Here is the underneath of the front suspension showing the narrows Corvette IFS.


Here is the nearly completed bed assy from the top, showing the radiused bed corners and plated bed floor.


Just another profile view of the mocked up truck.


Rear 3/4 view from a low vantage point.
 

man that thing is look'n good so far. i like what you did with the covette stuff that your using, it's going to be wild when you get done. the unibody is sick man, it's a hard thing to do and make look rite so good luck.
chevyguy97  
MODELS FOR LIFE

Alright, this is a combined post for weeks 4 & 5.

I completed the unibody.  I accomplished this by glueing thin strips of Plastruct sheet into the separation between the cab and bed.  Plastruct is thin enough I was able to bend it to match the curvature of the body.  This also allowed me to not have to use as much body filler.  Here is a pic of the completed unibody assy.



Next up was the rearend.  I again used Plastruct sheet and made a filler panel to shave the tailgate as well as the roll pan license depression.  After application of this "patch" panel, I used body filler.



Moving on, I tackled smothing the rest of the bed.  I arched some sheeting by wrapping it around a thick hobby knife handle overnight and then trimmed it to fit the wheel tubs.  I also added panels to close the gap between the arches and the panels on the chassis.  On the top of the bed, I applied filler to all corners, which already had plastic sheeting cut to fit and glued in in my last post.



Of course it goes without saying that I used filler to smooth the taillight indentions, door and tailgate handles.  I also removed the molded in wipers and sanded the cowl smooth.

I have begun the painting process on the engine/tranny combo and will finish it before my next post.  The body is almost ready for primer, it just needs sanding to knock down the filler.  

This is a profile of the engine/tranny in the chassis.



Front view of the same.



Rear 3/4 view of the same.



And finally another mock-up of chassis and body.

Interior work, paint, and polish are all thats left.  Coming into the home stretch.  

it's looking good so far.  
MODELS FOR LIFE

Weeks 6 & 7

I finalized the body work (fill, sand, prime, sand, repeat...)  Here are the pics of the finished body work prior to paint.





I also began final paint and assembly of the chassis and engine.
The following pics show the painted frame, completed independent front and rear Corvette suspension and the mostly completed LS7 7.0L Corvette engine.





Not much left but body paint and final assembly of all subassemblies.  

Aaaaaaand finally, Week 8.

Here it is, the coup de gras.

I will list mods as a summary at the bottom of this post.






















The Lowdown:

Rolling Attire
Wheels: 19" T combo (Torque Thrust)F/23" T combo (Torque Thrust)
Tires: No name, low profile rubber

Chassis Modifications
Suspension Front: Corvette Z06 IFS narrowed and grafted onto S-10 framerails, redrilled for ride height reduction with aftermarket drilled rotors
Suspension Rear: Corvette Z06 IRS narrowed and grafted onto rebuilt rear clip, Corvette Z06 cross-drilled rotors
Control Arms: Modified Corvette Z06
Shocks: Ah, who needs shocks!
Frame Mods: Back-halfed, removed cross members, but plated rear clip for added strength, cut peek-a-boo hole in top plating to showcase Corvette rear-mount transmission

Body Modifications
Shaved: Tailgate handle, tailgate, roll pan, tail lights,unibody, molded body kit, door handles, wiper cowl, all emblems, capped rear cab/front bed wall
Body-dropped: Raised tranny tube to make room for Corvette Z06 torque tube and exhaust, bed floor raised, wheel wells tubbed
Body Mods: Unibody, radiused bed corners, roadstered the top, cut the rear cab wall even with front bed wall, custom made "phantom" mesh grille with floating bowtie emblem (a'la 2010 Camaro concept), chopped and radiused windshield and cut down Corvette Z06 mirrors with custom cut "glass" (actually reflective tape with a coat of Testors clear glaze)

Paint
Brand and Colors: Model Master "Go Mango" for the body, Semi-gloss "Gunship Gray" for the interior, "Gunmetal" for the frame and suspension, various metallic hues for the shiny bits.

Interior
Seats: Stock Corvette Z06 covered in two tone gray/orange "vinyl" (paint, actually, but who's keeping track, right?)
Dash: Cut-down Corvette Z06 with "billet" Tsunami steering wheel
Misc: Tall skull shifter

Engine/Performance
Stock Corvette Z06 with cut down radiator and ram-air induction, no firewall (cuz it wouldn't fit with that big 'ol engine in there) and color matched coil pack covers.  Also cut down and rebent Corvette Z06 exhaust exiting in front of rear suspension

Misc: Two NOS bottles, fuel cell, custom license bracket for the obligatory Z06 tag, Corvette Z06 & LS7 emblems, anything else I forgot to add, feel free to ask.

Special Thanks from Owner
To Scale Dreams (thanks for the discount), to MiniTruckin' for being the greatest mag on the planet (reader since 1991), to my family for putting up with the modeling junk on the dinner table constantly, to my brother-in-law (Danny "Da-Bomb D-50" Melton) for the encouragement (read as nagging) to work on the model even after long days at work and for acting as an idea sounding board, and last but certainly not least to God, for without Him, we are nothing.  

Good job I like it  

awesome man! Lots of time and effort, good job!