It was a pretty easy build up in the end. Just drill the chassis mounting rivet off in the front and pry it down so the back pops loose. This car is a 3 piece model. Between the chassis and the body is a black plastic piece that is the motor, interior, and rear wing, and windshield. You need to save this part if you want to use them. Clip the back section off the chassis with a sharp side cutter or saw it off, just a bit behind the rear axel. The parachute (which also serves as the rear mount to the body) is molded into this section, and you need to glue it in place and drill a hole through it to mount the body to the chassis. Then drill out the front mounting post. I had to clip the side pipes off to fit the engine into the cavity between the slim-line chassis and the hood without hitting the tires. Trim the rear wing off the black plastic center section and mount it behind the drivers seat, then mount the roll cage inside the drivers compartment. Thats the race version.
I guess you could leave the wing and engine off, turn the car upside-down, and glue some thin stip plastic over the holes, then fill the gaps with Bondo or Testors model putty, sand it smooth, primer it and paint it up however you like. You would still have the parachute on the rear, but you could file it to fit the body lines and fill the gaps, or file it flat, glue on a spare tire and have a "continental" style spare tire. The big problem is finding more of these cars. It is a Hot Wheels "Fiat 500 C". Sadly, I hacked up the first one I found for parts, before I thought about converting it. I found the second one (the one posted) at an auto parts store. Good luck hunting! I have not seen it [I]anywhere[/I] since.
I am going to see if Chris or Roger would be interested in making resin castings of this car, so if I can work out the details with one of them, the body just may become available through them. Maybe DAC can even come up with one of his cool custom boxes and we can put it all together in a real nice package!
Sorry this was such a long post folks. Have a great long Labor Day weekend! Joe!
