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I believe the color transition came about with the '58 model year products. My reasoning comes from ( yes I'm old enough) looking under the hoods of brand new '57 Chevrolets before they were delivered to customers. I owned a '57 Chevrolet when it was considered a late model car and was purchased from the original owner. The engine was the darker red color and had never been touched. About this same time a very good friend of mine received his parents '58 Chevrolet Impala as they were buying a new car. He had the 283 engine and it was the red/orange color and had also never been changed in anyway before he got it. This leads me to believe that that is the time of the color change. While it was at a later time I purchased a new '66 Impala SS with a 396 and 4-speed and the engine was the same color as my friends '58 Impala. All of the engines in Chevrolets that I bought new after that time were the same color until the last being a '74 Chevrolet 1/2 ton with a 454 engine. Some time around '75 Chevrolet went to the GM Corporate Blue color and then all engines were painted black after a time. I hope this helps.

Well I tried to contact Moebius on their web sites "customer service". I think there is a problem with my server and it would not let me send. That's when I called direct. The unidentified man I spoke to knew of the problem and said I would just have to scribe the panel lines and said that I should just let the frame reshape the body. I mentioned the Ventura that I was finishing and its badly warped frame. The warped frame didn't get straight by mounting it to the interior floor and it rocks a little after mounting the suspension and tires. So so much for that idea. I feel that when dealing with Moebius in the future it will be a buyer beware type deal. I may be criticized for what I'm about to put forward, but it is what I feel. I have built and enjoyed the Hudsons and could not have been happier with how they turned out. I have done the Chryslers and it was more of the same. When I saw the Ventura came out I was a very "happy camper" since this was something I personally have wanted for years. I over looked the faint body side moldings and even tried to work with the warped frame. Then the Satellite came out. I did a cursory inspection and thought I could deal with the panel lines but didn't even check to see if the body would sit flay since this has never happened with any of there other products. Then the Belveder I shows up and this just happens to be the type of vehicle that hits my personal "hot button". After looking inside I couldn't help but notice that the panel lines were just not acceptable. After seeing other here mention the warp body I checked, and sure enough it was warped that made me go back and check the Satellite and it is also warped. The stance I got from Moebius was that I just had to deal with it. I always do the panel lines on a build anyway but the Belvedere has to be turned just right under a light with a magnifying glass to find the panel lines. Let me say that it is my opinion that Moebius should be praised for their engineering of frame and interior design, and most certainly for offering some truly great subjects to build. Up to this point I have gladly paid the premium selling price and feel that I have gotten my monies worth. But based upon the two latest purchases and their lack of interest in making it right I will wait and see what others here find in the box before I purchase another one of their products. As I said buyer beware.

I think I agree with the "B" paint scheme,.

Looking good. Don't forget to save the hump, you just never know when you may need something like that in the future.

I just got the Belvedere I yesterday and the body is warped also. This made me look at the Satellite that I was getting ready to build. The body is also warped and the door seems are just about as bad as the Belvedere.

Just the way a Camaro is supposed to look. Your outdoor pictures make the Black Mt. look almost like a very dark Gray. That would have made a great OEM color but styles were different then.

They are all beautiful builds and accurately depict the OEM paint schemes.

Are you going to build as "out of box" or do you have bigger plans for this ? On Wheeler Dealer on Velocity TV they redid a Citroen van that looks very similar to this. I understand that these are very popular in parts of Europe at this time.

I can understand your wanting to change the boot or trunk on this, but it was one of the original design elements when new. The only big problem I can see is the transition between the trunk area and the base of the roof or convertible top. It would seem that who ever had this kit before was going to modify it with the extra parts you mentioned. There was someone else here modifying this same area and if you can find their post you might learn from the problems they may have had. I will be interested to see what you come up with on for this build.

This is when I start taking the bus.

I start with the engine and chassis. I'll work on the body prep basics such as removing parting lines and imperfections on the side as chassis parts are coming together. I what in the final paint work until I recheck how the chassis fits into the body. After paint and polish on the body I try to minimize any handling so as not to leave any marks in the paint.

In addition to Snake's information, GM was known to use various shades of red "Oxide" primer and sometimes various shades of gray prior to the body color application. The difficult part is that this would vary from one production plant to another as well as year to year. It was also not uncommon to order these cars with factory "Undercoating" which was almost like the spray in bed liners we see in pick ups today. I don't know if this helps or confuses what you're after, but it was really all over the map as far as finishes go.

A great build it looks beautiful. It can be very rewarding building a model to order for some special.

Very nice work truck. Going so far as adding right hand drive really ads to the realism.

Very creative, really like the engine detail on this build.

It seems from what I have seen here this is becoming a common problem. We live in what could be called a rural area , but that is changing as more and more people are moving in with a lot of new houses being built on what used to be farm land. Last year in one of the areas south of use the same thing started to happen with coyotes taking small dogs and cats. We sit on the deck at night and we can here them howl but have not seen any yet. I have no idea of your expertise with weaponry, but I do know that a .22 can travel a long way if you should miss your target. If you are within city limits you might want to check with the PD as to what you can or can't do about the coyote. If your in the county the Sheriff may be a little more understanding about shooting at them. Locally one thing the "experts" said was to not leave any dog food or even water out as that may attract them. Kept your little "Pac" well and inside at night.

Great looking weathering, very realistic. I would not have known this was a brush paint job if you hadn't pointed it out.

You are correct if you intend to go straight to a clear top coat. What I have experienced is that if the paint imperfection is "rough" to the touch or the color is different the clear will only exaggerate the imperfection. My experience is that if you are going to use additional color coats over the area then the surface should be uniform and ready for the clear.

I'm sure you are correct about using their 1/2 oz bottles. I have not tried that since I tend to use other companies paints now. My frustration with the spray cans was pretty much as I stated. The few times that everything went as it should the final finish was acceptable at best.

I have always had a great respect for the slant six. I have worked with many of our northern neighbors thru the years and have always wondered why they all seam so content with the base engines in their personal cars.

Looks like a great show. To far away to attend of course. I hope that someone will post picture for those of use that can't attend.

You might even give the body another light sanding with say a 3200 pad just to eliminate any uneven finish.

As you can see there are many different paint options. For myself I have two very big reasons I no longer use Testors Enamels. #1 its the bloody spray nozzles and #2 I sure you have heard the expression of "watching paint dry" tells you all you need to know about the drying time. If you have the time the product its self is good.

Very nice, if you are headed off road you will want a much better air filtration system.

Love your build. I never realized that AMT issued this with the duel rear tires like the box art. Always knew it as the 3 in 1 with the stake bed option.