My very first attempt at fitting a set of custom wheels to my very first Thunderjet wasn’t exactly my finest moment…
Having no idea what to expect, I thought I would just pull the stock wheels and axles, slip in my special aftermarket axles and presto.
Prest-NO. The new wheels were just larger enough compared to the originals that they didn’t clear the rear wheel arches.
Knowing that I was experimenting and learning, and expecting to make some mistakes as I did, I carved out the rear wheel arches of my hapless red Nova SS as carefully as I could with an X-acto knife to make room for those Torque Thrust II’s. I got them to fit, but the end result wasn’t as nice as I’d hoped. Thus I learned an important lesson: to buy one of these!
And it’s not just for fitting custom wheels. I have discovered that the Auto World Ultra G chassis are ever so slightly longer than the original Aurora T-jet chassis, and they also have a rear notch that isn’t as deep as the originals. Both of these present challenges when trying to fit many original vintage or reproduction bodies onto these chassis.
When working in HO scale, millimeters can become miles; clearances are often VERY tight and it is very common to have to grind tiny amounts of plastic off the bodies here and there in order the achieve the right look and fit. I often have to shave off micrometers from wheel wells, rear posts, the lower edges of rear window inserts, and sometimes even the insides of the bodies themselves in order to get it all to come together to way I want it. It can be time consuming and requires patience, but this is all part of the fun.
However, it would not be fun without a Dremel tool! A variable speed Dremel with a complement of relatively common attachments makes it all possible.
One example of the indispensability of the Dremel is seen here on this Model Motoring ’67 Camaro body. This is a great body that anyone would want, but it won’t fit the Auto World Ultra G chassis without some modification, which includes grinding out a significant amount of plastic from the front behind the bumper and grille in order to clear the tops of the pickup shoes. Without the Dremel and a grinding stone, this would be dangerous, if not impossible, to do without irreparably damaging the body
Another example of the usefulness of the Dremel: this Aurora-bodied Jaguar E-type looks great with its wire wheels and low profile tires courtesy of Road Race Replicas, but this body came stock with strange (and completely unrealistic) squared off wheel arches which would make fitting anything other than the original paper thin tires impossible. We’ve all seen butchered examples of this body on ebay with the wheel arches clumsily cut out using a knife, but with the Dremel and a proper grinding stone, the job can be done with the class and elegance befitting a Jaguar.
