1962 Bel Air final assembly

[minkos]

Hello everyone.  i'm having some difficulty getting the final assembly done on the AMT 62 Bel Air.  It seems no matter where i grind with the dremel, the body and tub won't sit on the chassis plate low enough.  and the tub wont't sit high enough in the body ...the photos show both problems.  Has anyone else had similar issues with this kit, and if so, any suggestions? Thanks in advance.   

[Brutalform]

This kit usually goes together quite well. One thing to check is to make sure the bottom of the firewall under car is fitting flush against the floor. I’ve had this snag me up once. 

[Snake45]

Whatever your problem is, I hope you get it sorted out. I LIKE this build a lot and can't wait to see it finished! You are making me want to build one of these, which is one of my highest compliments. 

[JollySipper]

It looks like the firewall should go up and over against the cowl a little higher..... that's a good looking build...

[David G.]

Hello Mark, A few years ago I had a similar problem with the assembly of the Revell 1960 Chevy. I eventually discovered a conflict between the windshield glass and the door panels. There was a cut-out on the front of each door panel that was supposed to accommodate corner of the windshield. The windshield, however was too thick for the space allowed preventing the interior from sliding up far enough into the body.

I tried a number of adjustments and modifications before I discovered this issue. Here's a photo of the problem and a link to the build page. 

Same company, similar models, there may be a similar problem.

Hope this helps,

David G.

[Anglia105E]

Mark.... I can't help you directly with the AMT 1962 Chevy Bel Air build, which looks really nice from what you have achieved so far, but when I was assembling a Minicraft 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud there was a similar issue. The kit is the most basic you could ever find, and it only has 26 parts, but when it came to mating up the body and chassis it just would not sit right. Turned out to be the interior tub butting up against the side window glass, and there was no cut-out where the side windows glass needed to fit inside the dashboard. Once I cut small pieces of plastic away from the critical areas all was fine. As other members on here are saying, maybe the firewall is hitting an obstruction in your case?

David

[JohnU]

Is this an older kit? Does it have a one piece windshield back glass? I have the Northwind edition and it has separate pieces. Your first two pictures looks like the glass isn’t sitting up tight to the roof and could be interfering with the tub fit. I’m always fighting with those one piece glass parts! They’re usually the first thing I work on before painting anything!?

[Brutalform]

I hope you get it figured out, because it looks fantastic so far. 

[minkos]

Thank you all for the feedback and compliments.  the trouble seems to be with the tub, since the body fits well on the chassis without it (see photo of firewall as it butts up against the floor pan).  I think it is either the windshield hitting the dash or the back window hitting the parcel shelf.  Kit is the Northwind type and I've got the windows glued in against the roof as far as they will go, I think.

[moparfarmer]

I built a 62 Bel Air 20 years ago and had no trouble at all fitting the interior/chassis to body..Your problem might be the side glass that is glued in..The interior sides don't line up with the body because of the side glass..Just a guess but it could be..Nice job on the model..Hope things work out..I find in building the most frustrating part is the mating of chassis/interior/glass and body..

 

[MrObsessive]

As Wayne mentioned and looking at this pic here, your side windows appear to be the culprit. I built this one too back in the early '90's but I left the side windows out. I had no problem with the floor pan sticking below the rockers. If it's not too late and you don't have things fully glued you might try taking the windows out and test fitting it to see if it'll go up further.

Chalk another reason why I try to avoid kit glass as much as possible. Too thick and many times too distorted which drives me insane.

Just the same, that is a very good looking model and that color suits it for a '62.

18 hours ago, David G. said:

Hello Mark, A few years ago I had a similar problem with the assembly of the Revell 1960 Chevy. I eventually discovered a conflict between the windshield glass and the door panels. There was a cut-out on the front of each door panel that was supposed to accommodate corner of the windshield. The windshield, however was too thick for the space allowed preventing the interior from sliding up far enough into the body.

I tried a number of adjustments and modifications before I discovered this issue. Here's a photo of the problem and a link to the build page. 

Same company, similar models, there may be a similar problem.

Hope this helps,

David G.

As you might remember with the '59 Chevy I did, I got so frustrated with the rockers hanging below the body, I got out my Dremel and ground away all the excess.

With some exceptions this is a malady that afflicts many Revell kits and a lot of times it's due to their 'platform' interiors. I see models from time to time that sit too high and this is part of the reason. When I can I try to avoid it, especially with detailed builds. Real cars don't have 'tubs' for interiors and it just increases the chances of 'stacking' in kits.

Edited March 11, 2019 by MrObsessive

[JohnU]

18 hours ago, minkos said:

Kit is the Northwind type and I've got the windows glued in against the roof as far as they will go, I think.

Good to know. I haven’t cracked into this kit yet just going by the box parts layout. If it’s any consolation, the heads up about the glass fit issue is greatly appreciated for when I get around to building this kit! I’m sure you’ll get this worked out!