39 replies to this topic

[Futurabat]

I am afraid this might get convoluted in the Christine thread and it fits better here.

This is in regards to the AMT 1958 Belvedere/Fury kit. Those of you who know the kit well and are knowledgeable about the real cars. Please post here with what is wrong/right about the kit as it pertains to 1958 Plymouth Fury's.

[jeffs396]

Maybe we can have a "photo-manipulation" expert overlay the kit body pic onto this side shot to show the profile differences?

[TooOld]

The most obvious problem is the side trim or spear or whatever you call it . See how nice and straight the edges of it are ? On the kit it curves downward towards the rear of the car like the trim on a '56 Chevy does .
There is another thread somewhere that goes into greater detail and I suspect this thread may be moved to it .

[Ace-Garageguy]

Harry posted these on the other thread.......

Edited by Ace-Garageguy, 26 October 2012 - 03:48 PM.

[TooOld]

Thanks Bill , I guess I was exagerrating a bit , but it still looks bad .

[jeffs396]

I think an overlay would still be beneficial as the 'greenhouse' looks off on the kit also?

[Futurabat]

I'm really hoping this thread gets left here. I have good reason for keeping this seperate from the Christine thread.

I also should have been clearer. OTHER than the documented body issues- what about the interior/chassis/engine? Is there anything there the AMT kit needs to be more accurate?

Let's remember the board rules and keep it clean guys.

You guys will have to help me out with the greenhouse...i'm still not seeing it.

Edited by Futurabat, 26 October 2012 - 03:10 PM.

[JunkPile]

The rivets on the greenhouse are just too small....can you see it now?

[TooOld]

I think the whole rear of the body , including the roof , is drooping down from the door jamb back . Somehow they got the bottom edge , from the rocker panel to the bumper correct .

[Futurabat]

The rivets on the greenhouse are just too small....can you see it now?

I'm not sure if you're funnin me. I don't see any rivets at all.

[Harry P.]

I think an overlay would still be beneficial as the 'greenhouse' looks off on the kit also?

If you look closely at the photo that Bill reposted above, you can see that on the real car the side window openings top and bottom are parallel until you get to the B pillar area (or where the B pillar would be if this car had a B pillar!), where the roof line begins to curve downward to where it meets the rear fender. To my eyes, on the model this roofline curve begins too soon, so that the side window openings top and bottom are not parallel. The whole roof looks slightly "smooshed" down. It's not horribly off, but to me it's very obvious (but only when you see it side by side with the real thing, as in the photo). Not sure if this would even be evident on the model if you look at the kit without seeing the real thing to compare to.

[ChrisPflug]

The kit engine is a mess- looks like a different intake on a big block and looks nothing like the poly 318 (although a 350 B engine would be optional)

Fury's were all buckskin beige with gold trim- not as "textured" as the optional aluminum inserts on the Belvedere

The kit interior pattern is a bit "off" for any Plymouth model

[Futurabat]

OKAY!I'm seeing it mow that Harry pointed it out! The roof sweeps downward too soon forcing the rear window to look a little shallow. That would be a fairly easy fix.

Chris, I have the proper twin carbs and cleaners already so we're good there. Where do I look for the best possible 318 without going to a Ross Gibson?

I know the interior was customised a bit, so i'm going to start researching that next after I get back from Dayton today. If anyone has pics they can post it would sure ly help. In the meantime here is what I have of a Christine movie used car.

Edited by Futurabat, 27 October 2012 - 12:17 AM.

[MrObsessive]

To add more to the the roof drama Jacen, the entire shape of the roof is wrong to my eyes. To me it appears that the rearmost part of the roof is too flat compared to the 1:1, (backlite is too flat) and the C pillars themselves are just too wide. I thought about "raising the roof" when I considered building this years ago, but an easier solution (for me) would be to simply replace the roof from a '59 Dodge body, and then use the windshield frame from AMT's '57 300C which would be correct for a '58 Plymouth.

The other divisions for '58 went to the more "bubble shaped" windshields. Now the drawback is the '59 Dodges can be a bit hard to obtain. I was fortunate years ago when I got a couple kits including a spare body from Okey Spaulding at an NNL who happened to have several on hand. I won't part with 'em because they're the only models that offer the correct 1957-'59 Mopar 2 door hardtop roofline.

One tiny detail that the '59 Dodge roof section doesn't have is this-------the chrome moulding that stretches from the A pillars to the C pillars, doesn't have the "strakes" in them per the 1:1. I don't know how you replicate that. At least the RC2 kit roof as incorrect as it is, does have this detail.

Hope this helps!

[Yahshu]

I'll throw my 2 cents worth in, a resin casting vs kit, you can see the difference in roof & side molding

Edited by Yahshu, 28 October 2012 - 03:40 AM.

[blunc]

Looks like the rear fins are buggered also.

[Futurabat]

At this point I think I have what I need about the body information. Let's move to the engine. I've been lucky enough to find exactly two pictures of the engine bay.

Then I tried some screen caps. My Powerdvd is glitching so I literally took pictures from the TV.

I actually have the twin carbs and air cleaners and they're in the molds right now. Does anyone have a good pic of the decal on the valve covers?

[charlie8575]

I think this kit has the only poly-head 318 in plastic, from what I've seen.

Curse Racing Champions for taking what could have been one of the best kits in AMT's catalog and completely bolloxing it. Oh well, I'll use the chassis under a Modelhaus '57 Savoy 4-door, and nobody can see the engine from the bottom on a curbside.

Perhaps someday, someone will have enough appetite to try again and this time, do it right.

Charlie Larkin

[Ace-Garageguy]

Your silver engine photo, with the gold valve covers (the shape of the valve covers is the give-away) is a polyspherical-head engine, possibly correct for the '58, and based on the early hemi bottom end. The copper engine has the distributor forward and on the passenger side, and looks like a B-series wedge, built starting in '58 and also possibly correct for the car.

Though the air cleaners are similar, they're two different, distinct engines.

[Futurabat]

Well Charlie, the whole point of this thread is to gather the info needed to get a decent, cost effective (hopefully) replacement setup for the Christine kit. So if I can nail down the rest of the particulars we just might. It's looking so far like it's all body work. Noone has said much about the engine or interior panels so I may have to start work on a body master soon.