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Post by rlh5599 on Sept 8, 2018 1:57:52 GMT -5
I haven't been around for a while. I've been lurking off and on, but haven't been building much. Recently I got the bug, and decided to attack a project I've been thinking about since I saw the Hot Rod article back in the early 90's. So I figured I'd show what I've done, and hopefully, where I'm going First thing that has to go, is the AMT 57 Grille/Bumper Assembly. That looks an awful lot like the grille in the AMT 56, so. I took a pretty clean 1st issue 57 and started sanding and grinding and filling until I came up with this. I cut the sheet metal out of the engine compartment, and started work on the frame from the 56. As others have mentioned, the AMT 56 seems to sit high on the frame, a little too much frame shows beneath the rocker panels. the next few photos show how much I had to shorten the underhood and interior sheetmetal to get the frame tucked up inside the body like I think it should be. I also moved the front perches for the rear springs from the interior plate to the frame to make it easier to buildup the frame as an assembly A little preview of the rear rolling stock, those neat old AMT slot car tires-Firestone "Gum-Dipped" 9.00-9.50-15's More soon...Comments and suggestions welcome! (Anybody have an extra flat 57 hood??)....
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Post by Mr. Metallic on Sept 8, 2018 8:59:32 GMT -5
Cool mods. I'll be following along
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Post by lo51merc on Sept 8, 2018 9:12:30 GMT -5
Some real nice lookin work so far Ralph. Welcome back! Gary
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Post by krassandbernie on Sept 8, 2018 9:55:55 GMT -5
Everything looks awesome so far; and you've done a good job of making the AMT '56 parts work! I would really like to see more photos and explanation of how you reworked the grille. I do not think I am familiar with the original (?) issue of the '57 T-bird front bumper/grille assembly. It appears to have the grille surround (frame) all the way around the sides?
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Post by spex84 on Sept 8, 2018 10:24:02 GMT -5
This is a cool idea, can't wait to see it come together! I love the clear bullet covers over the headlights, they may be functional but lend the Tbird a show-car vibe.
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Post by rlh5599 on Sept 8, 2018 14:28:25 GMT -5
Everything looks awesome so far; and you've done a good job of making the AMT '56 parts work! I would really like to see more photos and explanation of how you reworked the grille. I do not think I am familiar with the original (?) issue of the '57 T-bird front bumper/grille assembly. It appears to have the grille surround (frame) all the way around the sides? Thanks to all for the kind words.
The grille and bumper on the old tool 57 are all one piece, made to simply represent the entire front chrome, instead of a separate grille and bumper. 56 is on top, when you try to cut out the grille on the 57, this is what you get. (bottom pic) I'm sure some folks can do what it takes to get this to work, but I ain't one of 'em. Comparo of the 56 and 57: These pics show what I had to remove to make the 56 grille fit. fortunately there's plenty of plastic to rework, so I was able to bed the new grille without any filler. you can also see the pieces I had to add to lengthen the sheet metal on the corners. I still have to a little cleanup and filling, and figger out the little spoilers on the ends under the headlights, but it's workable.
Last two pics show the wheelbase comparo, and the basic differences of the 3 bodies. Left, untouched 57, middle, untouched 56, right, modified 57. I thought about grafting the entire 56 front to the 57 body, but the closer I looked, the more it looked like there was enough plastic to fit the 56 grille. Glad I did it this way..
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Post by krassandbernie on Sept 8, 2018 14:32:15 GMT -5
Awesome! Thanks Ralph! That is what I was thinking you did; but the photos made it more clear to my dull mind! LOL!
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Post by rlh5599 on Sept 8, 2018 14:46:35 GMT -5
Glad I could help Ed, Nice thing about the old tool stuff is there's usually a fair amount of plastic to work with, and it's that nice white styrene. Seeing what others on here and other forums have done inspired me to get the needle files out and start carving. go slow, take a little off at a time and pretty soon it looks like you want it to...Hardest part is going to be that fairing behind the driver....
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Post by krassandbernie on Sept 8, 2018 16:56:54 GMT -5
Glad I could help Ed, Nice thing about the old tool stuff is there's usually a fair amount of plastic to work with, and it's that nice white styrene. Seeing what others on here and other forums have done inspired me to get the needle files out and start carving. go slow, take a little off at a time and pretty soon it looks like you want it to...Hardest part is going to be that fairing behind the driver.... Perhaps part of an airplane body or a sectioned down rear portion of a dragster body might be a good starting point for the fairing behind the driver? Also, if you are interested in having a couple copies made of your grille to work with future projects I would be willing to pop a mold off of it. I know there are a number of members here (including myself) that wouldn't mind having a copy too! I am making molds as we speak; and could have it done and back to you in a timely manner so as not to hold your project up.........just an offer. Ed
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Post by rlh5599 on Sept 8, 2018 17:13:00 GMT -5
Glad I could help Ed, Nice thing about the old tool stuff is there's usually a fair amount of plastic to work with, and it's that nice white styrene. Seeing what others on here and other forums have done inspired me to get the needle files out and start carving. go slow, take a little off at a time and pretty soon it looks like you want it to...Hardest part is going to be that fairing behind the driver.... Perhaps part of an airplane body or a sectioned down rear portion of a dragster body might be a good starting point for the fairing behind the driver? Also, if you are interested in having a couple copies made of your grille to work with future projects I would be willing to pop a mold off of it. I know there are a number of members here (including myself) that wouldn't mind having a copy too! I am making molds as we speak; and could have it done and back to you in a timely manner so as not to hold your project up.........just an offer. Ed Hey Ed, message me your address. I'll get a grille off to you. You kinda need the whole donor 56 to do one of these, but if someone just wanted to do the body to put on the old plate chassis it would be a great place to start. If I can get the fairing done, I might have you cast some of those up too. Heck, we throw the tonneau in and we have a transkit...
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Post by ChrisV on Sept 8, 2018 17:15:11 GMT -5
Amazing project!
FYI: The earliest versions of Monogram's 1955 Chevy Convertible/Coupe had a pair of domed headlight covers, that should fit this build perfectly.
If you're using the '56 frame and floorpan, remember that the '57 was the first year to have a spare tire well in the trunk.
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Post by krassandbernie on Sept 8, 2018 17:59:39 GMT -5
Perhaps part of an airplane body or a sectioned down rear portion of a dragster body might be a good starting point for the fairing behind the driver? Also, if you are interested in having a couple copies made of your grille to work with future projects I would be willing to pop a mold off of it. I know there are a number of members here (including myself) that wouldn't mind having a copy too! I am making molds as we speak; and could have it done and back to you in a timely manner so as not to hold your project up.........just an offer. Ed Hey Ed, message me your address. I'll get a grille off to you. You kinda need the whole donor 56 to do one of these, but if someone just wanted to do the body to put on the old plate chassis it would be a great place to start. If I can get the fairing done, I might have you cast some of those up too. Heck, we throw the tonneau in and we have a transkit... I am not opposed to doing some sort of trans kit; but would not be able to cast the clear headlight pods. I have a couple '57 T-birds that I plan on building as drag cars; and would like to personally have the grille without the bumper molded in place. If the lower portion of the front fenders could be cast to go along with the grille than anyone could modify their AMT '57 T-bird body by cutting off the lower portion and replacing it with the resin counterpart.....so the modified '56 grille (a casting) would fit. I will send you a pm.
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Post by rlh5599 on Sept 8, 2018 18:02:02 GMT -5
Amazing project! FYI: The earliest versions of Monogram's 1955 Chevy Convertible/Coupe had a pair of domed headlight covers, that should fit this build perfectly. If you're using the '56 frame and floorpan, remember that the '57 was the first year to have a spare tire well in the trunk. Thanks, now I have to see if I can find one of those kits. I have the domes that came in the early 57 bird kits, but they look a bit small. I had a pic somewhere showing the trunk interior. They stacked another fuel tank on top of the factory one, and moved the spare to the area over the rearend. I have a chassis I can cut a tire well out of. Might do that just for grins.
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Post by rlh5599 on Sept 17, 2018 19:48:51 GMT -5
So, when I started this thing, I told my self I wasn't gonna go nuts with minute details, I was just gonna build a model. well I'm still tryin to hold true to that, but if you're doing a "replica" you need to at least catch some high points. The pictures of the car from back in the 50's shows the doors were completely gutted, to the point of having semi jagged edges in the sheet metal. I tried to do that, but decided to go with just a door with the upholstery removed. Most of the interior details will be covered by the tonneau cover, so I'm not REAL concerned with the minutia, but I thought I'd try something new. (at least new to me) A couple shots of where I'm at on the interior.. not much is glued together yet, so there is still some gaps and such that will get filled..
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Post by Bernard Kron on Sept 17, 2018 23:46:27 GMT -5
So much careful, considered and finely executed modeling going on here. This should be a knockout when you're done!
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