fseva Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Is there a modern chassis in any kit that is still available either on eBay or elsewhere that could be used in place of the existing chassis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Your best bet would be the AMT '57 Chrysler 300.I can't imagine that there would be anything else even close. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fseva Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 Your best bet would be the AMT '57 Chrysler 300.I can't imagine that there would be anything else even close.Thanks, Steve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtx6970 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 The Imperial wheelbase is longer than the 300 by 3 inches . so if you use the 300 chassis you will have to stretch it slightly.Other wise you got nothing else even close Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fseva Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 The Imperial wheelbase is longer than the 300 by 3 inches . so if you use the 300 chassis you will have to stretch it slightly. Other wise you got nothing else even close I actually had a C300 chassis left over from another project. I noticed the difference, and now I'm wondering if I can handle such a big project and have it turn out successfully... Well, the body is soaking in Super Clean. So, it'll be a while before I can start up; maybe in the meantime, I'll convince myself that it can be done... by me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astroracer Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) And AGAIN... Frank, just letting you know there is absolutely NO reason to soak resin parts in ANYTHING overnight. This is an old wifes tale that got started years ago and has absolutely no basis. All that is needed is a good washing and scrubbing with TSP and hot water. I don't like to use the "cleaners" because there are other additives that are not needed to clean a model car body for painting...Use a ScotchBrite pad to scrub the model while cleaning. And keep it oil free while painting. Once there is a coat of primer I use automotive wax and grease removers to clean prior to spraying paint.Mark Edited January 24, 2016 by astroracer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 And AGAIN... Frank, just letting you know there is absolutely NO reason to soak resin parts in ANYTHING overnight. This is an old wifes tale that got started years ago and has absolutely no basis. All that is needed is a good washing and scrubbing with TSP and hot water. I don't like to use the "cleaners" because there are other additives that are not needed to clean a model car body for painting...Use a ScotchBrite pad to scrub the model while cleaning. And keep it oil free while painting. Once there is a coat of primer I use automotive wax and grease removers to clean prior to spraying paint.MarkThat may be the case Mark, but why do many resin producers "recommend" using a cleaner like Super Clean to remove mold release agents. From the Modelhaus website,Quote:CLEANING:The typical unplated castings will have a mold release film on them.TO PREVENT EVENTUAL PAINTING PROBLEMS, THIS MUST BE THOROUGHLY REMOVED BEFORE ANY MODEL WORK BEGINS.The best method that we have found for removing the film is letting the parts soak for 24 hours in a product from Por 15 called Marine Clean.Other soaking solutions that can be used are Castrol Super Clean or Westley's Whitewall Tire Cleaner. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 51 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) MY "Model King" Imperials are made of plastic,just re-issues of the AMT annuals.....or did I miss part of this conversation?Converting that kit into a full detail model would be very complicated and would require far more than just swapping the chassis...good luck! Unless you're going to display it upside down, I wouldn't bother.... Edited January 24, 2016 by mike 51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astroracer Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 That may be the case Mark, but why do many resin producers "recommend" using a cleaner like Super Clean to remove mold release agents. From the Modelhaus website,Quote:CLEANING:The typical unplated castings will have a mold release film on them.TO PREVENT EVENTUAL PAINTING PROBLEMS, THIS MUST BE THOROUGHLY REMOVED BEFORE ANY MODEL WORK BEGINS.The best method that we have found for removing the film is letting the parts soak for 24 hours in a product from Por 15 called Marine Clean.Other soaking solutions that can be used are Castrol Super Clean or Westley's Whitewall Tire Cleaner. Steve I don't know Steve. Like I said, it's an old wifes tale and I have no clue WHERE or WHY it became necessary to do this with a resin part. I did a LOT of paint work for Ray of R&R and never once soaked any parts , bodies or otherwise, in anything. Cleaning it with hot water and Dawn was usually enough to get it ready for paint.The injection molded bodies come covered in mold release also but you don't hear of anyone requiring those to be soaked in a "cleaner" for 24 hrs prior to painting... Same difference and the same cleaning process for those works just as well on resin.Like I tell everybody else, I will tell you to try it and see for yourself.Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) The AMT '57 Chrysler 300 chassis will get you pretty close visually, but remember that for '57, the Imperial got it's own frame / platform, with a heavy X-member in the center on the convertibles...if I remember correctly. The new-for-'57 Imperial platform lasted until '66, I think, well after the rest of the Mopar line had gone to unibody. This shot shows the '57 Imperial convertible frame. The very heavy, boxed rails and the X-member are readily apparent. Here's an overhead shot of the AMT '57 Chrysler 300 frame for comparison... ...and the underside, assembled... The '58 AMT Imperial underside shows the body mount outriggers arranged correctly for the Imperial chassis shown above, if that kind of stuff matters to you. Edited January 24, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fseva Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) The AMT '57 Chrysler 300 chassis will get you pretty close visually, but remember that for '57, the Imperial got it's own frame / platform, with a heavy X-member in the center...even on the closed cars...not just the convertibles...if I remember correctly. The new-for-'57 Imperial platform lasted until '66, I think, well after the rest of the Mopar line had gone to unibody. This shot shows the '57 Imperial frame. The very heavy, boxed rails and the X-member are readily apparent. Here's an overhead shot of the AMT '57 Chrysler 300 frame for comparison... ...and the underside, assembled... My biggest concern right now is coming up with the underbody. The frame of the C300 looks great, but the front fender wells are considered part of the body in modern tooled kits, on the AMT Imperial, they are part of the old one-piece chassis. I doubt whether I'm capable of such fabrication of the front fender wells. Edited January 24, 2016 by fseva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 I don't know Steve. Like I said, it's an old wifes tale and I have no clue WHERE or WHY it became necessary to do this with a resin part. I did a LOT of paint work for Ray of R&R and never once soaked any parts , bodies or otherwise, in anything. Cleaning it with hot water and Dawn was usually enough to get it ready for paint.The injection molded bodies come covered in mold release also but you don't hear of anyone requiring those to be soaked in a "cleaner" for 24 hrs prior to painting... Same difference and the same cleaning process for those works just as well on resin.Like I tell everybody else, I will tell you to try it and see for yourself.MarkWell Mark, I don't use a lot of resin myself anyway, but if the manufacturer recommends it, I assume that there must be some validity to it. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 MY "Model King" Imperials are made of plastic,just re-issues of the AMT annuals.....or did I miss part of this conversation?Converting that kit into a full detail model would be very complicated and would require far more than just swapping the chassis...good luck! Unless you're going to display it upside down, I wouldn't bother....I'm not sure where the resin connection came in either Mike.I was also assuming that Frank was using styrene parts & was soaking them to remove paint. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 My biggest concern right now is coming up with the underbody. The frame of the C300 looks great, but the front fender wells are considered part of the body in modern tooled kits, on the AMT Imperial, they are part of the old one-piece chassis. I doubt whether I'm capable of such fabrication of the front fender wells. Unless you're wanting to save the 300C body intact, it should be relatively easy to cut the inner front fenders out of it, and use the 300 firewall too. Than everything would fit your chassis, and all you'd have to do is trim / fit the tops of the inner structure to the Imperial shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 51 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Well Mark, I don't use a lot of resin myself anyway, but if the manufacturer recommends it, I assume that there must be some validity to it. Steve I agree...I think Frank was soaking paint off his plastic body anyway.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fseva Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 Hey guys... How did we get on the topic of resin, anyway?! I do not intend to use any resin components in this project. Heck, if I was considering resin, I would be looking for a complete kit-not just some parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Unless you're going to display it upside down, I wouldn't bother....I agree with Mike.Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with it.Not every build needs to be a full detail build.I have a lot of curbside builds that I display proudly that have nothing more than a flat black chassis plate, including the '59 Imperial. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Hey guys... How did we get on the topic of resin, anyway?! I do not intend to use any resin components in this project. Heck, if I was considering resin, I would be looking for a complete kit-not just some parts.Just a misunderstanding it seems Frank. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 51 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) Not "guys"..Just Mark perhaps he was confused by your comment about soaking the body? Edited January 24, 2016 by mike 51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fseva Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 Unless you're wanting to save the 300C body intact, it should be relatively easy to cut the inner front fenders out of it, and use the 300 firewall too. Than everything would fit your chassis, and all you'd have to do is trim / fit the tops of the inner structure to the Imperial shell. That would be great if I had the extra body, but it was used to replace the one I screwed up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fseva Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 Just a misunderstanding it seems Frank. Yeah, I was sure that was the case, but it was threatening to overwhelm the thread. So, I figured I'd better say something. It was kind of neat seeing the "HOT" flag on the front page, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 51 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Yeah, I was sure that was the case, but it was threatening to overwhelm the thread. So, I figured I'd better say something. It was kind of neat seeing the "HOT" flag on the front page, though! LOL...too funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 That would be great if I had the extra body, but it was used to replace the one I screwed up! So...do you still have the one you "screwed up" ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 This is an interesting thread because a while back, I thought about doing this exact conversion. The pics are a big help as I can see just where changes need to be made. Y'all know I have no problem hacking and cutting away at plastic------so those molded in fenders are no problem for me.I have to wonder what the engineers involved with the Imperial way back when, why they decided to stick with the separate frame, while the rest of ChryCo went unibody starting with the '60 models? Sales numbers? Exclusivity?Thanks for all the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astroracer Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Not "guys"..Just Mark perhaps he was confused by your comment about soaking the body? Yup! My bad. I saw "soaking" and the immediate knee jerk was resin body... Sorry about the mis-direction... Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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