The 1963 Kaiser Aluminum Special had distinctive hood scoops that need to be made from scratch. In this post I'll document the process I use to make the scoops.
The primary donor car for this conversion is a 1960 Leader Card Special. The body has the correct fuel filler and the oil tank is right. The left side engine cover will come from a Foyt car so I can use this one elsewhere. The exhaust will also come from the Foyt car.
The scoops will be whittled from pine sticks I bought at the hobby shop. The first step is to determine the correct length and width for the scoops and transfer the measurements onto the stick.
I use a hobby knife to carve out the general shape
Then I continue whittling until i get the rounded edges. The scoop should be a bit larger than needed at this point.
I use a rotary tool to hollow out the inside of the scoop. I leave the scoop attached to the stick as it is easier to handle.
After the scoop is hollowed out I cut it from the stick with a hobby knife.
The overall shape is pretty good.
The next step is to seal the wood by brushing on some Zap-A-Gap CA+ glue. This fills the grain in the wood and a ensures a smooth finish.
I use fine sandpaper to shape the bottom of the scoop to match the contour of the engine cover.
It's a matter of sand and test the fit, sand and test the fit, until it looks right.
The left side engine cover from the Foyt car has a small hump that is filed down and the part is attached to the body of this car with epoxy.
The car on the right gets the engine cover from our donor car. It will become the 1958 Ed Elisian car.
Once the fit is right, the scoops are attached with epoxy.
The gaps are filled with Milliput putty and sanded...
...primed and sanded; primed and sanded; and so on...
...until the shape is correct and the edges are smooth.
Then it's assembly, paint and graphics.
