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57 chevy four door hard top or sedan


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I'm thinking I'd like to build a 12th scale 4 door 57 Chevy cop car. I know it seems a bit ambitious and maybe not even possible but I'm doing some research to see if it is. The 57 Monogram 1/12 kit is the only 4 door based car available that I can think of. I need to get as much imput as possible.  Have you ever turned any 2 door into a 4 door? Is a 4 door longer wheel base? The roof longer? Will I have to add height to the roof? What lays ahead for this project... Thanks ahead... here are a couple pics of what I'd like to have as an end result...

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 The 4 door conversion is pretty easy on these cars. Nothing is different besides the length and number of the doors. The wheel base is the same and the roof is the same so all you are left with is filling in and re-scribing the doors and building B pillars out of sheet stock.

If you want to do some research Google '57 Chevy sheet metal. Cars Inc., Danchuk, Sherman's, and a number of other aftermarket shops sell all of the replacement sheet metal and even provide a few diagrams.

Mark

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Something about that police car doesn't look quite right...is that a Bel Aire and are those the optional rubber bullets on the front bumper?

Most police cars I've seen are the cheaper models with no frills from the factory.

Watch out for the height of the roof, The Monogram 1/2 kit is a BelAir hardtop - like a two door of the blue car in your reference pictures.  The black and white is a sedan.  The roof on a sedan is two inches taller than the hardtop.  The BelAir four door hardtop is top of the line and would probably be too deluxe for a police department - but it would be cool!

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Something about that police car doesn't look quite right...is that a Bel Aire and are those the optional rubber bullets on the front bumper?

Most police cars I've seen are the cheaper models with no frills from the factory.

Ray-  Look at the scene around it.  That's obviously a modern recreation of a police car, probably owned by the department or someone close to it.  

As far as building a 4 door,  I have a 1957 resin 4 door hardtop (done by F&F and later by his son)  as well as a 1955 4 door sedan (I believe mine is an All American). While both of these companies are long gone, these appear on eBay from time to time.  I wouldn't be surprised if someone is currently making Tri-Five  4 door sedans and wagons.  There is a market for them.

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You're talking a LOT of work to turn Monogram's '57 Chevy two door hardtop into a sedan! As Steve mentioned not only is the roof taller on the sedan, it's also a bit longer. Chevy shortened the roofs on their hardtops just a bit to allow the rear quarter glass to roll down the whole way, as opposed to having is sit up slightly on the sedans, particularly the two doors. This aided in that cleaner look that makes hardtops look better IMO.

Also, you'd need to reshape the beltline somewhat on the sedan. Hardtops had more of a "dip" in the beltline, whereas the sedans beltlines were a bit straighter, except for the little dip which would be about in the center of the rear door.

Yeah, definitely some work's involved for this one, and this is where very good reference pics would be paramount.

 

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Ray-  Look at the scene around it.  That's obviously a modern recreation of a police car, probably owned by the department or someone close to it.  

As far as building a 4 door,  I have a 1957 resin 4 door hardtop (done by F&F and later by his son)  as well as a 1955 4 door sedan (I believe mine is an All American). While both of these companies are long gone, these appear on eBay from time to time.  I wouldn't be surprised if someone is currently making Tri-Five  4 door sedans and wagons.  There is a market for them.

Tom, he's speaking of the giant 1/12 scale Monogram '57 hardtop. I don't know of any sedan equivalent that anyone makes of that one. 

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Something about that police car doesn't look quite right...is that a Bel Aire and are those the optional rubber bullets on the front bumper?

Most police cars I've seen are the cheaper models with no frills from the factory.

It's probably a present-day "re-creation." 

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It does appear to be a phantom, most likely someone's "interpretation" of what a '57 police car coulda looked like, at least in their mind. 

 

However, that said about this particular car, it should also be said that one cannot dismiss oddities.  Many small town departments bought their police cruisers from the local dealership and were often limited to off-the-lot purchases due to time ("we need it right away!") or even financial considerations ("I can give you a better deal on this one, Chief, than I can on a special-order"). 

It wasn't too uncommon to see unusual trim or accessory packages on the "squad car," even including up-graded models.  Hey, if they had an unsold Impala at model year's end and the town needed a new prowl car, a killer deal might be had on a 4-door hardtop police car and Barney might have 6 taillights instead of 4!   

Local politics being what it has always been, there's powerful pressure on smaller governmental entities to patronize the local businesses.  For example, the small town where I grew up alternated between the two dealers:  one patrol car was a Chevy and the next purchase went to the Ford dealer, then back to Chevy again.  There was no brand-loyalty, just politics, and since there was no Dodge-Chrysler-Plymouth dealer in town, we never saw a Mopar cop car.  Realities of a one car fleet!

Even the county sheriff's department "spread it around," driving a couple of everything.  Only the state highway patrol bought on spec and operated a one-brand fleet.

 

Later, in the late 60's - early 70's, the concept of letting municipalities and counties "piggy-back" on the state's fleet bid was born.  Then, small towns could add their one patrol car purchase to the mass state buy and they could end up with a real, honest-to-gosh police package police car.  It became the gold standard, and off-the-lot police cars/oddities became relics of the past.

 

 

 

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Thanks guys, for the input... I am aware of the differences, but I thought if I had enough resources I could  make the changes. I have access to a Monogram 57 big scale Junkyard. I'd probably buy a new one also just to have a fresh kit to start with.

I'm thinking about cutting the Body center of the roof and just before the door opening. Sacrificing a junk body, I could make it longer. Then I think for the front windsheild I could add the height fairly easy. The rear will have to be raised also. since I prefer the sedan I'll have to add side windows frames also and recut the doors also. I'm still gathering data on this project so I'm not ready to get out the saw quite yet. 

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HA! Danno, you got that right! In the borough I live in, there are THREE brands of patrol cars! A Chevy Caprice (the Australian Holden Commodore), a couple Dodge Chargers, and an older Ford Crown Vic.

No corporate bigotry there huh?? :D

Edited by MrObsessive
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Later, in the late 60's - early 70's, the concept of letting municipalities and counties "piggy-back" on the state's fleet bid was born.  Then, small towns could add their one patrol car purchase to the mass state buy and they could end up with a real, honest-to-gosh police package police car.  It became the gold standard, and off-the-lot police cars/oddities became relics of the past.

New Jersey had that state wide contract.  We got boring police cars and the towns got the lowest price possible on a police package car.  At one point Monmouth County decided to buy all the cars at a county level and rent them to the towns.  It was odd to see all the police cars in town with county plates on them instead of the usual municipal plates.

Back in the 1970s when I was in high school you spotted the police cars by town.   Hazlet had Plymouths (Chrysler Plymouth dealer in town)  Holmdel had Oldsmobiles,  Middletown drove Mercuries and Matawan had Novas.  And back in the 1950s  Keyport had Studebakers because there was a dealer in town.

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HA! Danno, you got that right! In the borough I live in, there are there are THREE brands of patrol cars! A Chevy Caprice (the Australian Holden Commodore), a couple Dodge Chargers, and an older Ford Crown Vic.

No corporate bigotry there huh?? :D

My town in PA is similar.  A few Vics,  a brand new Charger and some unusual unmarked units you'd never suspect, like this Ford pickup.  Kinda sly since it even has civvie plates.  I snapped this quick with my phone at an accident scene.  Normally you see this truck sitting on the side watching the rush hour traffic... or in the shoulder with some poor unsuspecting soul.

pd exton fordpu

Edited by Tom Geiger
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Getting back on track, a 4 door coupe conversion is a lot easier than a 4 door sedan in 1/12 scale.

Go 1/25 n your options are better.

I started a 1/12 4 door conversion over 20 years ago. I will try n find pics but its still not finished.....

 

Which is what I was saying. Use the roof as is in the Monogram kit and add the new doors and some window frames. NOBODY is going to know the difference or even be able to see it in that scale. Cutting it up is just making a lot more work then is necessary. :)

Mark

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Which is what I was saying. Use the roof as is in the Monogram kit and add the new doors and some window frames. NOBODY is going to know the difference or even be able to see it in that scale. Cutting it up is just making a lot more work then is necessary. :)

Mark

Good post! With the 4 door as long as you have the main ingredients there it's definitely getting the point across and probably not alot 4 door savants out there to pick out what may or may not be wrong with it in the end. I do appreciate accuracy but oftentimes it's one's own critical obsession standing in the way of completion. 

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Good post! With the 4 door as long as you have the main ingredients there it's definitely getting the point across and probably not alot 4 door savants out there to pick out what may or may not be wrong with it in the end. I do appreciate accuracy but oftentimes it's one's own critical obsession standing in the way of completion. 

Exactly. I did a '56 2 door post conversion to AMT's 1/16th scale '55 Hardtop. There were so many things wrong with the original body it wasn't funny. I just bit the bullet, did the conversion so it looked good and called it a day. :)

Mark

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