Rambler Rebel Cross Country '59

[Sportabout]

I removed the original casted frame from the chassis. The new frame will are built with 0.08 x 0.125 styrene strip. It bends nicely even above rear axle. In fact Rambler has an unibody and the "frame" is welded to the body. The chassis is mostly ready now and the fuel tank in its place but not yet glued. The primer will show which places still need to be repaired.

[bisc63]

Glad to see you've returned to this one!

[MrObsessive]

On 8/4/2020 at 4:59 PM, Sportabout said:

Ok, back to Rambler. There are a few detailed pictures of the car so I bought the Rebel technical service manual CDs if that would help.

Rebel should have a 3-speed manual B&W T-85 and a Dana / Spicer 53 rear end. If anyone knows where to find one then I would be grateful for the information. It has also been used in 56-57 Mercury and Lincoln.

 

 

 

 

AHA!! I see I'm NOT the only one that buys shop manuals to see what's happening underneath!

I really like how the chassis is coming along! I'm saving your thread as reference as I'd like to turn my wagon into a Rebel four door hardtop someday.

[Sportabout]

Thanks Rusty and Bill.

Nice to hear that there are other weird builders here who are buying repair guides for their projects.

[NOBLNG]

Excellent surgery you’re doing on this. It’s gonna be nice!

[Sportabout]

I re-fitted the inner fenders after shortening the chassis and noticed that the battery tray is too front and needs to be moved to the right place. Pretty rough work, but filling and sanding will help.

[Sportabout]

The dashboard required little change. It was a little too narrow and upper dash pad portion was wrong shaped. Some sanding, sawing and putty helped.

The dashboard should look like this, but not all the details are in the right place on my dashboard and changes are nearly impossible to do.

[ChrisBcritter]

I'm really looking forward to seeing more of this one! One note: The headlights in this kit are nearly flush with the top edge of the front fenders; they should be more hooded. For my kit I took the hooded headlights from the AMT 1959 Mercury to adapt to the front end; they're a close match.

On 7/27/2020 at 6:10 PM, alan barton said:

I wonder if anyone has ever thought about fixing the broken roof on that wagon?  If someone like Foose or Trepanier got hold of it, I bet they would swoop the roof all the way to the rear pillar, kinda like a 50's version of a Magnum wagon.

I took the opposite tack when I did a 'shopped sedan delivery - chopped the front to match the rear:

[alan barton]

That works too!

Cheers

Alan

[Sportabout]

Thanks for the tip. The bumper-grill-headlight combination has caused little headache. The AMT Mercury '59 is a rare and expensive model. Fortunately, RMR is selling '59 bumper and hopefully it will have headlights included.

https://rmrmodels.com/collections/bumpers-tail-lights/products/1959-mercury

You have a nice wagon. 327 or inline 6?

[Sportabout]

The engine paint caused a bit of a problem, but the Revell SM330 paint is pretty close to right and I already had it. The alternator is a wrong model, so I sawed it away and I'll replace it with original type.

The engine had a manual transmission attached and I saw it away. I found the right type of automatic transmission (BW M-10) from Revell’s 1959 Ford Fairlane. The radiator is modified from Revell's '55 Bel Air radiator.

Next, I finish the engine and install the transmission. After that the engine compartment details.

[bisc63]

Coming along nicely!

[lordairgtar]

Beautiful work

[dimaxion]

Nice sourcing of Referencing Materials . Excellent conversion work . TY for the WIP . I don't go here enough . Thanx

[Sportabout]

I continued with engine compartment but I noticed left fender was warped upwards. The fender did not fit properly to the chassis and left side trim was not straight. I scraped panel line open and bend the fender a little downwards. I glued it again and smoothed it with some putty. Now both fenders are in the same height. It will make it much easier to continue.

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by Sportabout

[Bainford]

It’s coming along nicely. Interesting subject. You are certainly sweating the details. 

[Sportabout]

Some changes needed to be made to the Comet's engine compartment to make it more accurate. I had to build a new radiator wall and firewall. Comet shock absorber towers got some putty too. After these changes the hood did not fit and it needed some thinning.

[Zippi]

Boy does this bring back some memories.  My mom loved the Rambler wagons.  Rode in a many of them.  Coming together really nice. 

[Sportabout]

The interior began with benches. Originally I was going to use Edsel’s benches, but they are the wrong size. Suitable benches were found on the AMT ’57 Bel Air but they need some modifications too. First I sanded the fabric patterns off. Benches are too wide at the top and too narrow at the bottom. In addition, the Rambler benches are more angular and thicker at the top.

 

[oldscool]

Not my type of car but you are doing some fantastic work here.

[Sportabout]

The benches are starting to get their final shape. Some putty and sanding is still needed before painting. After that it's the turn of the door panels.

[Tom Geiger]

I like this project! I’ve been following along at all the modifications and details to build an accurate Ambassador wagon. There are those of us who would do a project like this and get it.  Then there are the “not a Hemi” guys who will click on past.  

[bisc63]

Very good thread here. Loving it.

[Sportabout]

I have never made interior panels myself but I think it’s easier to make the panels from one part. I taped a strip of cardboard inside the body and put the chassis on. I drew the floor and window line on cardboard and cut it according to them. Next you need to make the plastic sheets of the panels with the cardboard model.

 

[Scott8950]

Awesome work.