Need some design help. AMT '57 Chrysler

[Jantrix]

It's a nice car, but it's DeSoto and Plymouth cousins were much more beautiful.

I quite agree. I'd much rather build a '60 Desoto Adventurer. 

We're probably going to be in the minority here, but I'm going to agree with you. With all due respect, I have too many kits of good looking cars that I know exactly what to do with to spend much time worrying about what to do with...let's just say..."also rans." 

For me, variety is the spice of life and it's very important in my building. Once I have done a particular "type" of car, odds are very low that will do another one. I might build the same kit, but it will be in a radically different way. For me filling the niche of a type of car is important. I'm going to do as many types of car as I possibly can. Finding something really unique to fill that niche is the fun part. I mean I could have done a lot of different models to be the drift car in my collection, but making it an AMC Pacer Wagon is just fun. 

I've just looked at the Flintstone wagon. Very disappointing that it doesn't come with an interior and glass. 

Edited August 20, 2016 by Jantrix

[Snake45]

Okay, I have two actual ideas for you.

1. High school hot rod: Pick a year in the '60s or early '70s. Some poor kid is saddled with this ark for his ride. What could he do to make it as cool as possible on just about zero budget? (I'm working on a couple projects of this type.)

2. Beat it mercilessly with the Ugly Stick. Dig into your spare parts stash, dig out all those early '60s AMT customizing parts, and use as many of them as possible. Fender skirts! Extra chrome trim! Continental kit! Bumper guards! More chrome trim! Scoops! Gangsta whitewalls! Big shiny wheel covers! Spotlights! Dual--hell, quad!--antennas! Seats that look like lawn furniture! Extra headlights! Lake pipes coming out the front fenders! White pleated wheel wells! More chrome trim! And then paint the whole hot mess some hideous shades of purple and/or pink in a Watson-like scheme.

And then take the styrene joke to your local club meeting and put it on the display table, and I guarantee you, you will get at least three or four sincere compliments on the vomitatious eyesore.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Okay, I have two actual ideas for you.

1. High school hot rod: Pick a year in the '60s or early '70s. Some poor kid is saddled with this ark for his ride. What could he do to make it as cool as possible on just about zero budget? (I'm working on a couple projects of this type.)

Oooooo...fake hood scoop...or the old-favorite: massive over-carburation with two 750-double pumpers on a tunnel-ram manifold, long shackles with the ass way up in the air, silly-wide rear tires...you get the idea. Engineering-free doofmobile, built to the fashion of the day. Evil-handling and slow gas-hog, with a bunch of mismatched bolt-on "performance" parts that don't work at all.

Edited August 20, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Snake45]

Oooooo...fake hood scoop...or the old-favorite: massive over-carburation with two 750-double pumpers on a tunnel-ram manifold, long shackles with the ass way up in the air, silly-wide rear tires...you get the idea. Engineering-free doofmobile, built to the fashion of the day. Evil-handling and slow gas-hog, with a bunch of mismatched bolt-on "performance" parts that don't work at all.

I was thinking more along the lines of lowered in front, black steel wheels, maybe with chrome trim rings, maybe dechromed and/or primered, maybe a metalflake top, maybe some lace work--in other words, stuff that could be done with paint and sweat and the occasional $10 bill....

[russosborne]

Actually Bill, one or two of the customs you posted look pretty nice.

But the idea of using all the custom pack parts is hilarious. I may do that myself if I still have any of those around, but I think all I have left are a couple of sets of the bumper/grille ones.

Russ

[Jantrix]

Oooooo...fake hood scoop...or the old-favorite: massive over-carburation with two 750-double pumpers on a tunnel-ram manifold, long shackles with the ass way up in the air, silly-wide rear tires...you get the idea. Engineering-free doofmobile, built to the fashion of the day. Evil-handling and slow gas-hog, with a bunch of mismatched bolt-on "performance" parts that don't work at all.

This.................I have already done. Good suggestion though. I do like the "Ugly Stick" idea though. Call it the JC Whitney Special. I will have to find more parts packs though. Thanks again guys. this is great stuff.

[MrObsessive]

Well Rob, you know I'm a replica stock kinda guy, so this is what I think could be done with that '57 Chrysler 300C.

I always thought that a lot of Chryco's '57 offerings looked a lot like custom jobs right out of the factory. You'd need to shorten up the chassis (I believe the wheelbase is more of Dodge's territory), and then the challenge would be to find taillights, bumpers, and Desoto badging. 

With Don and Carol Holthaus out of the picture unfortunately, getting those pieces might be easier said than done as they did make those. 

Still, a beautiful car just the same............

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Well Rob, you know I'm a replica stock kinda guy, so this is what I think could be done with that '57 Chrysler 300C.

... the challenge would be to find taillights, bumpers, and Desoto badging. 

I believe there's a front bumper for that DeSoto in the old AMT bumper parts pack...(upper right, upside down)

[MrObsessive]

I believe there's a front bumper for that DeSoto in the old AMT bumper parts pack...(upper right, upside down)

Sure enough it is! Now if one could get the rear bumper and the taillight/fin inserts, then the hard part would be done!

Edit: Oh! I just remembered that Jimmy Flintstone did a '57 DeSoto Adventurer! That included the front and rear bumpers which would be correct for that Firesweep model I posted above. I don't know how I forgot about that as I had one.......but let it go as there was just too much that needed to be done to the resin to make it right. 

If it were plastic, that'd be another story. Don't know if that's still readily available, but now there's another source for 'em.

Edited August 20, 2016 by MrObsessive

[ChrisBcritter]

You could also use it to convert the Jo-Han/X-El '59 Chrysler New Yorker four-door hardtop into a two-door, or just combine it with the rear half of the '59 body to make a 300E. You will have to reshape/extend the fins almost to the driver's door jamb.

I'm redoing a '59 DeSoto as a two-door using the '57 300C; a couple quick-and-dirty shots of where it's at:

And what I need to do next: Move the door handles back and fix the fins to match the line shown...

What do you think?

[MrObsessive]

Chris, that looks to be a very good conversion so far! You're a brave man cutting up an old Johan!

I can't say anything bad about that as down the road I'll be doing the same thing in trying to convert Johan's '61 New Yorker into a 300G. It's the only way at times to get what we want as we'll never see certain cars come from the major kitmakers. 

[thatz4u]

I'm working on this kit now...I'm going against normal on it, mixing AMT & Revell early hemi parts, waiting on nice weather for painting...

[Russell C]

You could section it in a big way, fill out the back of the roof and flatten it a bit, and then call it a Chrysler Thunderbird.

[Fat Brian]

When that kit first came out there was a Sketchpad feature done on it and the one that stuck with me and I'm going to try to build was a graft of the then new Charger front end and replacing the top with something more modern along with a Viper engine. It was kind of in the style of Troy Trepanier.