AMT '71 Duster

[berr13]

I'm having trouble with the '71 Duster,  getting the assembled chassis and interior into the body shell, and need some tips from those of you who have built this model.  It looks like the base of the windshield, where it glues to the inside of the cowl, is the problem.  Is that correct?  Any ideas for me?  This thing has been kicking around my closet for years, and I've re-glued the side windows any number of times after aborted attempts to mate the chassis and body.  Help!

[gtx6970]

I just finished one of these , but started it a few years ago. But I dont remember any fit issues getting the chassis or interior up in the body . definitly dont remember having to do anything special to the glass

[JTalmage]

I built one of these as a teen with no fitment problems. Was actually impressed with how well it went together. Sometimes you just have to pry gently to get things to pop past parts and fit into place. I bought a glue bomb recently that someone had fitment issues with though but I haven't explored it any.

If I recall correctly, once I glued the firewall in place, and had the interior assembled on the chassis, I had to just gently pry the body outwards to get everything to pop into place. I know there are tabs also on the rear of the chassis that have to line up in the body. Then once the front of the chassis fits into place you add the front filler panel behind the bumper. Then it just basically falls into place.

 

[berr13]

Thanks for the input, guys...I envy you your trouble-free building experience!  On mine, I have trouble getting the assembled chassis/interior unit into the finished body.  The windshield glass has a large lip at the front, extending under the front cowl, and that seems to be my problem.  I've had to severely trim the front of the dashboard, and now it's starting to fit but the chassis still won't go all the way up into the body--the firewall still is about 1/32" from the rear inside wheel well.  Guess I'll keep scraping until it sits like it should.