Donor roof for AMT Rambler Snap kit

[STYRENE-SURFER]

If I where to try to convert this kit to a hardtop, is there something close that I could use as a donor roof?

Trying to end up with something like this, just not the trendy wheels/tires.

 

[Oldcarfan27]

Looks like a 63 Impala or 63 Tempest would be a good starting point.

[Pat Minarick]

58 T-Bird maybe.

[SfanGoch]

I'm looking at a Lindberg '64 Dodge 330 body and the roof from this looks like a better starting point.

[Snake45]

11 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

Looks like a 63 Impala or 63 Tempest would be a good starting point.

Those were exactly the first two things I thought of, too!  (Actually I thought '62 Impala, but very similar.) 

[SfanGoch]

Interesting. Seems like everybody sees something different. I don't  see any similarities. Neither the '63 Tempest

'63 Impala 2dr HT

nor the '62 Impala 2 or 4dr HTs

are good starting points because the C Pillars are too narrow, meaning increasing the width will be necessary; and, there is the beveled edge along the rear of the pillar which needs to be removed if Kurt wants to model the roof as in the photo he posted:

The C Pillars on this  are flat, slab-sided, with to beveled rear edge. The C Pillar of the '58 T-Bird HT roof

is a lot wider than the pillar in Kurt's pic. This, too, needs to be addressed by performing surgery. The Lindberg Dodge roof, as I pointed out, shares most, if not all, of the characteristics he's looking for.

BTW, you guys must have an odd sense of humor or a large pile of disposable income to even suggest using an AMT '63 Tempest as a donor. It must be nice to be able to hack up a kit that goes for almost 200 bucks just to use the roof on a 15-20 dollar snap kit and not think twice about it.

 

[Snake45]

10 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

BTW, you guys must have an odd sense of humor or a large pile of disposable income to even suggest using an AMT '63 Tempest as a donor. It must be nice to be able to hack up a kit that goes for almost 200 bucks just to use the roof on a 15-20 dollar snap kit and not think twice about it.

 

The Funny Farmer AWB reissues don't go for NEAR that. You could probably score one for under $25. 

[SfanGoch]

You're still ending up with incorrectly shaped C Pillars. The Lindberg Dodge bodies can be had from Model Car Mountain for under six bucks and the roof requires a heck of a lot less work to make it look like the one in the photo.

[STYRENE-SURFER]

Hey, thanks for all of your thoughts/opinions on this.

The hardtop Rambler roof seams rather squareish and blocky after i took more time to google image it.

Maybe the "64 dodge would work if that kink/crease above the front of the C pillar could be either sanded in

or cut and tilted a bit. 

Found this line drawing on line, > points to crease across top of roof.

Again thank you for the input.

[SfanGoch]

Boy, are you in luck. I reduced that image to scale with the Dodge body and did a quick comparison. Just so happens that the Lindberg Dodge, unlike the real car, has a slight kink/crease that also starts to slope downward at the same location. Also, the angle of the C Pillar is a dead on match. Lowering the height of the rear window 2mm by adding some styrene inside the top of the window frame, and a little bit of block sanding to increase the slope, will convert it very easily. Say what you want about the documented inaccuracies of the overall shape and proportions of the Lindberg offering; but, in this circumstance, they're just what you needed.

[ZTony8]

Try the AMT '61 Ford "boxtop" Styline kit. it will probably need to be modified for size but the shape looks close to what you want.

[STYRENE-SURFER]

On 12/2/2018 at 5:42 PM, SfanGoch said:

Boy, are you in luck. I reduced that image to scale with the Dodge body and did a quick comparison. Just so happens that the Lindberg Dodge, unlike the real car, has a slight kink/crease that also starts to slope downward at the same location. Also, the angle of the C Pillar is a dead on match. Lowering the height of the rear window 2mm by adding some styrene inside the top of the window frame, and a little bit of block sanding to increase the slope, will convert it very easily. Say what you want about the documented inaccuracies of the overall shape and proportions of the Lindberg offering; but, in this circumstance, they're just what you needed.

Joe, I think you're correct. will probably have to narrow the roof (smaller car), have to see how it fits when I start this. Thanx!