Quiet Eric Posted October 15, 2020 Posted October 15, 2020 (edited) This is one of my favorite builds to date. I don't think I ever finished anything when I was building years ago quite as thoroughly as this one. AMT '55 Bel Air kit to start. Shaved the trim to 210 level. Raised the rear wheel openings to the bottom of the trim. Thinned the front bumper filler to look more accurate. Shaved molded in wipers and door handles to use separate ones from the parts box. Molded in exhaust removed from the chassis. Bellhousing mounts and stock rear spring mounts removed. Rear springs relocated in line with the frame rails, 9" Ford rear end added and lift shackles made. Scratch built Lakewood traction bars. New engine and trans crossmembers made. Added the frame mounts at the firewall. Revell '56 firewall added, and core support from the same with the radiator moved to the 6 cylinder spot. Engine (block, heads, front accessory stuff) is from a Revell '66 El Camino with a modified tunnel ram from an AMT Old Pro Nova and resin valve covers that are copies of Revell Pro Stock stuff. Cut the hood bar area out of the grill and made one that actually attaches to the hood, added the grill support and hood latch detail behind the grill. I would like to re-do the grill on this as the wash didn't work out at all and looks pretty bad, a phoho etched grill would be nice...maybe someday. Wheels are from an AMT '65 El Camino kit, front tires are from the Moebius Don Nicholson Cyclone kit, rear tires are Mickey Thompson N50-15's from Fireball Modelworks and I LOVE them. Rear bumper is the kit supplied nomad version, mold lines cleaned off and bumper bolts added then Alclad coated (I need a lot more practice with that but it does look better than it did out of the box). Parts box steering wheel and seats. Color is Tamiya British Green and clear. I did miss a couple things like rear shocks and a license plate which I'll be adding shortly but for now, this one is off the bench! Edited October 15, 2020 by Quiet Eric
doorsovdoon Posted October 15, 2020 Posted October 15, 2020 Beautiful build there. The interior is very nicely done and paint looks great, very nice.
espo Posted October 15, 2020 Posted October 15, 2020 Beautiful looking '55. I like the Gasser flair. A lot of well thought out modifications that make this far more accurate looking.
Snake45 Posted October 15, 2020 Posted October 15, 2020 Very, VERY nice! I like this one a LOT! Well done and model on!
TransAmMike Posted October 15, 2020 Posted October 15, 2020 Excellent work there Eric!! Great details. Love Tri-5 builds.
Watertown Posted October 15, 2020 Posted October 15, 2020 Love the shackles and "slapper" bars. I recall a number of cars like this while in high school—mid-70s. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Quiet Eric Posted October 16, 2020 Author Posted October 16, 2020 Thanks everyone!! Glad y'all dig it. I've got another green tri-5 210 sedan build coming up soon to look out for. Stay tuned!
Cpt Tuttle Posted October 16, 2020 Posted October 16, 2020 Nice, I have some similar plans for a Revell 56 I've got.....
echo Posted October 16, 2020 Posted October 16, 2020 Wonderful build. '55 is one of my favorite body styles. It's a lot of work to clean up the body to make it a 210, I've done it so I know what you went through. You have a lot of nice features in your car. Looks great !
ChrisBcritter Posted October 16, 2020 Posted October 16, 2020 Nice work, Eric! Reminds me a lot of this '55 I shot in Paducah, KY in 1975: Bel Air, though, and I remember it being dark red.
thatz4u Posted October 16, 2020 Posted October 16, 2020 Nice 55 2dr post body....paint & chrome look great..
Nazz Posted October 17, 2020 Posted October 17, 2020 Great looking '55 Love the stance and your choice of wheels and tires. Can't go wrong with Cragars and Fireball tires. Well done Eric!
Quiet Eric Posted October 17, 2020 Author Posted October 17, 2020 19 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said: Nice work, Eric! Reminds me a lot of this '55 I shot in Paducah, KY in 1975: Bel Air, though, and I remember it being dark red. Wow, that is a great car! Thanks for sharing. One of the best eras of hot rodding. Thanks for all the kind comments folks, really appreciate it!
Bills72sj Posted October 17, 2020 Posted October 17, 2020 Excellent job on all the mods. I love the gold MOROSO valve covers. I had them on my Grand Prix in the 90's.
Quiet Eric Posted October 18, 2020 Author Posted October 18, 2020 6 hours ago, Bills72sj said: Excellent job on all the mods. I love the gold MOROSO valve covers. I had them on my Grand Prix in the 90's. Thank you! The gold Moroso valve covers were part of the plan from day 1, a must have. I bet that was a cool Grand Prix. I love Pontiacs.
NOBLNG Posted October 18, 2020 Posted October 18, 2020 That is just fabulous! One of my all time favourite cars and you did it justice.
Bills72sj Posted October 18, 2020 Posted October 18, 2020 4 hours ago, Quiet Eric said: Thank you! The gold Moroso valve covers were part of the plan from day 1, a must have. I bet that was a cool Grand Prix. I love Pontiacs. The Grand Prix that engine went into burnt to the ground. I replaced it a couple of years later and still have it. I have pics if you are interested.
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