Sixties Sam Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Hey, guys. I just finished this AMT 51 Chevy Belair convertible. I built it stock to use on my 1950's diner diorama. The paint is Walmart spray can stuff. The color is a yellowish cream which closely matches a factory color from 1951. The brown in the interior is actually Rustoleum rusty metal primer buffed up a little to look more realistic. The engine is wired old school style - with sewing thread (I ran out of wire). I found some fit issues in this kit. The front inner fenders had to be sanded down almost 1/8" to get the body to fit, and those underhood air vent ducts didn't even come close to fitting! The uptop doesn't match the body where it sits on it at the rear of the top, either. Still, I am pleased with the results, and it should look good in the Starlite Diner parking lot. I hope you like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mikrut Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 (edited) It's beautiful. It's like looking back in time. I actually remember riding in cars like that. Very nice work. Edited July 12, 2010 by Dave Mikrut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janne Herajärvi Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 BB... Beautiful Belair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trekker4747 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Very nice, my karate instructor in highschool gave me one just like it for my birthday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAYTIME Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Those exahust manifolds are weathered just right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Nice work, Sam. I found the interiors on most of the 1951 Chevies were gray. The convertibles used gray with blue, red, green or black leather. The wagons used vinyl in a dark tan color. Mine will be Thistle Gray (pastel gray) with a red and gray interior. Thanks for the heads-up on some of the fit issues, too. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 She's a beauty! Glad to see one built stock instead of chooped, channeled and whatever. Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Looks like a great addition to your diner, Sam. Very nice job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRG Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Great job on building this one, I really like it. I also like the fact that those old school plug wires look good to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixties Sam Posted July 12, 2010 Author Share Posted July 12, 2010 (edited) Nice work, Sam. I found the interiors on most of the 1951 Chevies were gray. The convertibles used gray with blue, red, green or black leather. The wagons used vinyl in a dark tan color. Charlie Larkin You're right, Charlie. I took some liberty on the interior color scheme. I saw a photo of a real 51 in the yellow/cream color with a brown leather interior, and liked how it looked, so I fudged a little! We'll pretend the owner had it reupholstered in about 1959! Thanks, everyone for the compliments. Much appreciated! Edited July 12, 2010 by Sixties Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Cullinan Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Great colors on this, the boot looks great with the top down. Is it in the kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Johnny Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 That is just a sweeeet build! Beautiful job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyBradKeselowski Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Very nicely done, great job ! ! ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Sam, you have no idea how popular that sand color was back in the day . I remember that Beige being as popular as the Dk Blue metallic and the medium Steel Grey . Thats a good combination for a convertable as air conditioning was relitively un heard of in ANY car . Now Nash was an exception but, ya need to see one of those Early Kelvanator units up close too. Nicely done Bel Air . Ed Shaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalper Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Great classic build. looks like she just left the show room. Great clean build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldscool Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Looks kinda like the one Steve Mcqueen drove (abused) in The Hunter. oldscool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Ditto to what everyone else has said. That's a real beauty, nicely done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest old man Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 SWEET BUILD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horsepower Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Sam, you have no idea how popular that sand color was back in the day . I remember that Beige being as popular as the Dk Blue metallic and the medium Steel Grey . Thats a good combination for a convertable as air conditioning was relitively un heard of in ANY car . Now Nash was an exception but, ya need to see one of those Early Kelvanator units up close too. Nicely done Bel Air . Ed Shaver I could be wrong, (rusty brain cells) but to the best memories I have, the 1948 Cadillac was the first factory air conditioned car that was released, there is an old '48 Caddy in a local wrecking yard that has factory air, that would be a cool car to build a resto-mod out of. (pun intended) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Teresi Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Great build........AWESOME detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pharr7226 Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 She's a beauty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARTEMIS1759 Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Me and my wife hate convertibles except the pre 1955 styles. This is a beauty. I would like to build a 40 Chevy convert after my rod shop is built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsoder Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 That should look perfect with the diner!..beautiful job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixties Sam Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 I made a minor addition to this model. I added rear side windows to the uptop. I used clear plastic from packaging (I don't remember what it came with), and cut the windows from an area of the plastic where it makes a sharp 90* bend. This leaves a "lip" of about .020" on the front edge of the window that nicely simulates the chrome window frame. A little silver paint around the edges, glue it in, and it's done! Here's a pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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