M W Elky Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 This pair was built 30 years apart. The 1962 bel air was built straight out the box.Thirty years ago I couldn’t wait for this kit to come out. In my opinion the best super stock kit from ertl. As for the 1963 Z-11 Impala it is a classic kit bash of the Amt 63 impala and the super stock version of the 62 bel air. All of the parts came out of these to kits the modifications for the Z-11 include the following remove the front fender wells from the bel air body, and glue them on the bel air chassis you may have to file a little off the tops to get the right fit. cut the center consoles out of both interior tubs. Then fit and glue the bel air transmission tunnel into the impala’s interior tub. Use the bel air bench seat, shifter , tac, and gauge panel in the impalas interior tub. Use the bel air chassis with the raised front suspension parts. To get that super stock stance use either the stock front coil springs on the rear or cut them down to get your desired stance. use the slicks and front tires, and wheels from the bel air kit use the bel air engine with the Z-11 intake manifold and headers this combination of these to kits fit together very well with just a little tweaking here and there, and now there both available at the same time. You can sometimes find the 63 impala at hobby lobby for 40% off. Get 2 or 3 as their are many aftermarket decals available for them. I got these from SMP decals until next time good luck building, thanks for checking this out. Mike 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papajohn97 Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 Thanks Michael for posting these two builds. I grew up in So. Cal in the 50’s-60’s and Hayden P. was one of many local drag racing legends. These two all-red beauties are a fitting tribute to his very successful 409/ Z-11 racing period. Thanks also for describing all the details to kit-bashing the ‘63 Impala Z-11 using the ‘62 Bel Air chassis, all your efforts really paid off, especially in the period correct front “jacked-up” stance on both cars. You’ve inspired me to build these two in the near future to add to my growing super stock collection. The one criticism I have is not with your build execution but with SMP’s decal graphics. They offer a wonderful selection of early super stock drag subject decals but unfortunately most of them appear to use really large litho rastor graphic files instead of vector graphics like Slixx uses. You can really see the difference if you zoom up and compare the clean sharp decals of the ‘62 Bel Air (Slixx?) with the fuzzy ‘63 Impala (SMP) graphics. Sure hope SMP can eventually address this issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisc63 Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 Nicely built pair of racers. Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altered Ego Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 Those are really awesome, nice job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage AMT Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Awesome builds. great kit bashing work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Nice pair.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M W Elky Posted May 17, 2022 Author Share Posted May 17, 2022 On 5/16/2022 at 11:40 AM, papajohn97 said: Thanks Michael for posting these two builds. I grew up in So. Cal in the 50’s-60’s and Hayden P. was one of many local drag racing legends. These two all-red beauties are a fitting tribute to his very successful 409/ Z-11 racing period. Thanks also for describing all the details to kit-bashing the ‘63 Impala Z-11 using the ‘62 Bel Air chassis, all your efforts really paid off, especially in the period correct front “jacked-up” stance on both cars. You’ve inspired me to build these two in the near future to add to my growing super stock collection. The one criticism I have is not with your build execution but with SMP’s decal graphics. They offer a wonderful selection of early super stock drag subject decals but unfortunately most of them appear to use really large litho rastor graphic files instead of vector graphics like Slixx uses. You can really see the difference if you zoom up and compare the clean sharp decals of the ‘62 Bel Air (Slixx?) with the fuzzy ‘63 Impala (SMP) graphics. Sure hope SMP can eventually address this issue. Yea I know what you mean about the decal sharpness. The decals on the bel air are kit decals thirty years ago slixx was just getting started. From what I understand they subcontracted out the decal printing. I think some of their sheets are better then others. Not so much with the resolution but with the way they respond to setting solutions. Some crack and others soften, and settle right down. Right now I’m just glad to have all these choices from the different decal makers. Even with the difference in quality it’s way better than that time when all we had was Fred caddy decals and snail male. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransAmMike Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Nice job on both...the Z-11 409 my favorite tho.👌 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M W Elky Posted May 18, 2022 Author Share Posted May 18, 2022 30 minutes ago, TransAmMike said: Nice job on both...the Z-11 409 my favorite tho.👌 Thanks my it’s my favorite out of the two, and it’s such a easy conversion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 Nice pair! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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