Bob Ellis Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I cut about 1 inch off the front of an AMT 1972 Chevelle kit and attached it to an ERTL AMT 1968 El Camino. All the '68 side trim was removed and Model Car Garage '70 Chevelle etchings will replace it. The 1972 needs wheel moldings and back up lights in the lift gate. Also, I swapped the 1972 dash. Still have some fit issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) I finally glued it together with a lot of evergreen patches inside. I had to CA glue with wire two pieces in the front that were weak. The primer paint really showed defects to be fixed. More fit issues, but I will tackle that next. Edited July 20, 2014 by Bob Ellis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom Mike Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Looks like a good start Bob! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadracer Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Nice project Bob! I like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherBuilder Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Looks great, I always thought about doing this my self, but I might have taken a little of top while the knife was out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemodeler Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I have wanted to do this with a '70 Chevelle to create a '70 El Camino. I had the opportunity to buy a 1:1 back in '82 real cheap and passed, wish I could go back in time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 I am sure you can use the AMT 70 Chevelle and do the same conversion. Yes, I remember seeing 1:1 64 Impala SSs for $2000 back in '82. No room, no money then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooOld Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 My kind of project , you're off to a good start ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Great project and start.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Hamilton Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Very nice work Bob!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) I had to add some Evergreen Styrene to fill hood gap and still needs more. It is really 3 AMT kits combined, so a little engineering is required. Sanded backs of 72 SS wheels fit okay too. Edited July 23, 2014 by Bob Ellis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DynoMight Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Really cool! Any plans for color? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Dynomight, I am thinking about light yellow with black vinyl roof. I have the Model Car Garage '70 Chevelle which has the SS and el Camino emblems. It will be an SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) While I think I did a pretty good job having cobbled together 3 kits, it has to look good as if AMT did it. Evergreen Styrene is my Bondo. I like to fill voids with Evergreen Styrene and rarely use putty. I have tried by pushing the grille in place, but it resists fitting like it did on the original AMT '72 Chevelle kit. My goal is to have the grille in place with no gaps. Varying pieces of 0.010 and thicker plastic shims are great because they become part of the plastic body. Edited July 23, 2014 by Bob Ellis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 bad55 stan Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Thats coming along nicely,good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragfreak Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Nice work, it looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platerpants Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 good work so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 '72 Interior is separated and trimmed fro use in the '68 interior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Gaps in the front were filled to make the grille flush with the hood and fenders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 I feel kind of dumb to just realize that Jimmy Flintstone already did a '72 El Camino. However, I decided after seeing it, that my avenue of approach actually wasn't bad after all. In this photo you will see a comparison of the original AMT '69 El Camino versus the AMT '68 El Camino body I used for my '72 conversion. It appears AMT used a hardtop vent window and no frame around the door window. Also there is a rear marker light in the rear quarter panel. The '68 ElCamino kit is a very nice kit. The Jimmy Flintstone '72 El Camino used the old kit. probably because the '72 kit and it match in width. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikelo Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I am actually doing the same thing. Keep up the good work. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DynoMight Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Very nice conversion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Thanks Mikelo and Dynomight. Mikelo, feel free to post your pics and advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 Got some color on the 72 Elky. Will have a black vinyl roof and interior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 The yellow will look great with a black interior and vinyl top... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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