JTalmage Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Hi all, I just finished up my '68 Mustang Cobra Jet before I signed up, and I've moved on to my newest project. it's a '55 Chevy Bel Air, but it's a 2 door post. didnt think a 2dr post Bel Air existed... Not sure if that was a mistake by Ertl back in the day, but either way... this kit was originally built by another buddy of mine when he was like 9, and he gave all his old models to me a few years ago so I decided i was going to salvage what I could and use the rest for parts, and this '55 chevy was just too cool to use for parts. I knew from the get go I was going to make this car into a barn-find gasser. There was enough missing from this car I could get away with building it however I want. The kit I am using for the chassis and suspension parts, and other odds n ends is a '55 Nomad that I goofed up years ago and decided to part it. So, here's what I got so far: It's all about stance! I cut the single exhaust off the chassis and also removed the spare tire well and gas tank from the nomad chassis. Will patch that up a little later on. My methods of removal are crude, but effective.... a flaming hot exacto knife! lol Found a 9" appearing axle with a metal axle rod and wheel backs, so I decided on some goodyear slicks with deep steel wheels, just checking fitment.... will have to modify or replace leaf springs Also, it's not a true gasser if you dont radius the fenders... and I really didnt want to do it... but I googled some '55 chevy gassers for some inspiration before cutting... Prostreet gasser mix! Just kidding! here's the engine I'll be using, it's a big block chevy, 427 according to the valvecovers, and I found a high rise, carbs, and velocity stacks from a '70 Chevelle model I built years ago, so thats what it will get. I'd love for it to have a blower, but I dont have a spare that fits right. Hopefully posting more pics as soon as I can make some more progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Buckaroo Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 It is always nice to see a model given a second chance , plus it being a '55 chevy makes it even better. Your off to a good start - nice job on the rear wheel radius cuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnslow Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Just move the springs to the inside of the frame rails, that's what I did to my 1:1 before going to trailing arms and coil overs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 Thanks guys, The leaf springs attached to the axle now are just too flat, and actually a bit short. Dont know what it came off of, I just found it in my stash and said "oh, an 9" ford" The nomad kit that I am using for the parts needed to complete it has ladder bars, and straight axle front end, but to get the height I want up, I may have to modify it. I'm not a scratch builder so we'll have to see what I got in terms of extra straight axles. it probably wont be pretty underneath w/ all the "modifying" that I have to do, but it will look good overall. I've got loads of models in need of a "2nd chance" so this wont be the last one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 NICE start!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Looks good so far. Just a FYI Chevrolet did in fact make a Bel Air tudoor post as well as the 210 and 150 series. The outside differences were to do with chrome trim. The model you are working with has the Bel Air trim in the proper place on the rear quarter but the front fender trim is very faint. The body line from the headlight going part way back on the front fenders had a chrome trim present on the Bel Air and not on the more common 210. There was also some very small additional chrome trim around the windows. Since your building a Gasser anyway, most of these got fiberglass fenders, hoods . and doors. Many even removed all of the exterior trim. It's like Burger King, build your way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Thanks! Didn't know that! I also did some googling and found some M/T valvecovers I would like to get, and some high boy front springs, along with some sweet dumped headers. Will probably get those in a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Looks like the rear end is from the AMT '57 Ford, if those rear "shackles" are molded onto the springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 (edited) Cut the springs off the axle, and found some 68-69 Dodge Charger leaf springs in my parts box, and heated them up and bent them to give it more height on the rear end. The blue panel in the chassis is actually the tonneau bed cover for an old small scale bigfoot snaptight I had as a kid. Cut it down and molded it/glued it in place as the filler. glued the leaf springs to the axle, and got them settled in to place. I may add a small block to the back just to give it a touch more height, but overall it looks good in the rear. As you can see below, even w/ the extra height on the rear springs, the front straight axle set up just made the car sit too level for my liking. So, I cut the shocks in half that were molded to the front axle, and added some material in there to simulate "extended" shocks, then added a small block above the transverse leaf spring to bring it down from the cross-member. Not the greatest way to do it, but I got the results I wanted. Looks MUCH better now that it has the true gasser stance. I also ran into an issue w/ the motor, I think it's 1/24th scale, and this car is 1/25th scale, so the engine is bigger than it should be, so I cant run ANY front accessories to the motor. Going to have to think on that, may have to "clearance" the firewall and move the motor back a little. Edited December 23, 2013 by JTalmage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lower99 Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Cool project, so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 Thanks! I've also seemed to have misplaced the original chrome torq-thrust front wheels to the nomad, and I cant put the front suspension/wheels together with any other ones because of how the front axle is made. So I'll have to dig thru my parts to see where they ran off to. I think they're in my '62 impala convertible box.... for some reason if memory serves me right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbs99 Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Look"n good. I've always had a thing for those 55's. Can't wait to see the finished product. -Newbs99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted December 24, 2013 Author Share Posted December 24, 2013 Found my front torq-thrust wheels. I threw them in my AMT '67 Mustang kit I guess thinking I was going to do a Bullitt.. then the Bullitt model came out... anyway.... I also ordered some M/T big block chevy valvecovers, Hillborn intake, and Hillborn stacks for the motor as well. All of this came from Speed City Resins. Now, I'm trying to decide on the color of the car. I'm going to weather it as well so I'm probably going to do something in layers. Then rust. I would also like to spray the windows w/ some translucent paint, for that 60's gasser look. But what color.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 Painted it. Wasn't decided on paint but I couldn't find anything that really spoke to me in my boxes of paint. So I went subtle. Good thing 12yr old spray paint still looks good! Waiting for my engine parts to arrive before I cut a hole in the hood and paint it. I also used a translucent red to spray the windows. This car is almost looking too good for me to want to make it rusty looking.... I also painted my front wheel centers gray, and cleared them with dullcoat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lower99 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Cool paint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmvw guy Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) That is totally cool!!! This is the style I remember when I first started going to the Drags. Also inspired me to make my first car a '55. I love it!!! Edited December 31, 2013 by rmvw guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greymack Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Ah its beautiful.Nice gasser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Small update! Got my parts from Speed City Resin a while back, and got my engine mostly finished. I think I may rust the hilborn stacks. Not sure yet. Or spray the engine with dullcoat. I also finally got around to using my rust solution from Michael's... Sophisticated something-or-other... and I must say... for my first time with it... I'm kinda impressed. Turned out pretty much exactly how I had it in mind! There are still a few touch up's I have to do to the rust, like places that I missed w/ the reactive solution, and places I want a little more rust on, but I'll touch that up soon. But I'm overall happy with it. Still have to let the hood rust, and the core support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Love the engine. nice weathering... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 I started working on this car again. I need to finish it so it's not on my mind that way I can finish my Charger. I've ditched the hilborns. I could NOT get them to stay glued to the intake. Even w/ CA glue. I've given up on them. I've switched back to the dual 4 barrel intake and high rise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mademan Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 any chance you can take a picture of the rust stuff that you got from Micheals? very good looking build so far, loving the weathering would really like to give it a try myself . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bige37 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Looking good so far! Nice job on the weathering! Another step you could have used for the worn rusted look is applying your base coat as you did then spray on a coat of hairspray once that's dry using a paint brush and water start rubbing away the hairspray it will give that weathered look then when you reach your desired look use the browns and reds to get the rusted look! If you also go real heavy with the hairspray it will crack the paint which is also a cool effect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superbike-shaun Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I second that request for a pic of the stuff you got from michaels, i really like how it turned out.thanks shaun.s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 http://www.amazon.com/Triangle-Coatings-Sophisticated-Antiquing-antiquing/dp/B004BNDH0M Here you go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 bad55 stan Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Well Jesse you have done a really neat job on this build,I don't know how i missed this 1 but im glad i found it,way cool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.