Plowboy Posted January 24, 2021 Posted January 24, 2021 Nigel, one issue with this kit is the placement of the right front wheel. It's off center towards the rear pretty badly. But, it's a fairly simple fix. IIRC, I just just shifted the upper A arm forward. Not an ideal fix. But, it works. I look forward to seeing this finished up! I like the idea you have for it!
espo Posted January 24, 2021 Posted January 24, 2021 You have mentioned the hoses on the inner fenders. On the driver's side this would be part of the electrical wiring and can easily be detailed with some flat or semi-gloss black paint. On the passenger side it is hard to say what they represent. The heater hoses are a separate part. Setting the front suspension for ride height you can change the mounting angle of the control arms, upper and lower, somewhat but removing the spindles and remounting them further up on the upright will gain maybe a scale inch or two.
TransAmMike Posted January 24, 2021 Posted January 24, 2021 A whole lotta work on this Nigel but gonna be a cool looking '67. Keep up the great work!!
Spottedlaurel Posted February 28, 2021 Author Posted February 28, 2021 (edited) This one has taken a back seat as I've worked on completing some other projects, but I got on with it again this weekend: 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Interior largely done, just a bit of tidying required. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr A shame this will be barely visible once it's finished. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I'm going to use the Corvette radiator set-up, as it incorporates the LT5's air intake. Looks like I need to lower that crossmember between the front end of the chassis rails. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Looked good out in the sunshine. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Something I've been very conscious of with this kit is the need to reguarly trial-fit as components and sub-assemblies get finished. I'd already had to trim the firewall to the get the chassis fitting tightly under the bodyshell. The big test would be with the glass, the back was OK....... 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr But I'm going to have to do some work here. The front screen fitment issue had been pointed out to me on someone else's "Under Glass" topic. Even with the quarterlight glass tucking behind the door panels it's never going to work, so I either need to trim the front of the dashboard top or shave as much as I can off the bottom of the screen (without cracking it!). I also need to do everything I can to get the glass sitting at the top of the aperture. As a final measure I am also leaving assembly of the suspension until the body, interior and chassis are assembled. Slightly unusual maybe, but how it will sit is a big part of this car's look Edited February 28, 2021 by Spottedlaurel
espo Posted February 28, 2021 Posted February 28, 2021 The windshield looks like it isn't sitting all the way in the body and the rear window has the same look as well. there are mounting pins on the under side of the roof for the "glass" and maybe the glass isn't aligning as it should. I have had to enlarge the holes in the glass before to get them to fit, just a thought.
Spottedlaurel Posted March 1, 2021 Author Posted March 1, 2021 7 hours ago, espo said: The windshield looks like it isn't sitting all the way in the body and the rear window has the same look as well. there are mounting pins on the under side of the roof for the "glass" and maybe the glass isn't aligning as it should. I have had to enlarge the holes in the glass before to get them to fit, just a thought. A good point David, thanks - I'll open out those holes slightly. There are also some moulding marks on the underside of the roof which need to be removed. I need to gain every little bit of clearance that I can. Without the glass installed the interior sides fit really nicely against the bodywork, with the shaped glassline matching up well inside and out.
espo Posted March 1, 2021 Posted March 1, 2021 7 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said: A good point David, thanks - I'll open out those holes slightly. There are also some moulding marks on the underside of the roof which need to be removed. I need to gain every little bit of clearance that I can. Without the glass installed the interior sides fit really nicely against the bodywork, with the shaped glassline matching up well inside and out. I have found in some cases that getting the glass in correctly so that it fits the opening is best done before adjusting for the interior. Sometimes the fold down sun shades will interfere with the windshield getting in place as well as the thickness of the area around the glass as well. Worst case if the glass is in as far as you can get it then sanding the bottom edge of the glass is needed or even the leading edge of the dash and interior. This shouldn't be by very much or there may be some fit issues else where.
Spottedlaurel Posted March 3, 2021 Author Posted March 3, 2021 I think I've got there with my fitment issue...... 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Lots of cutting and shaving around the front end of the interior. Dashboard is going to need another squirt of paint. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr All glass holes drilled-out, moulding marks on underside of roof sanded down, bottom corner below the quarterlights trimmed, firewall depth reduced. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr That's better, not quite perfect but it doesn't feel like it's going to need excessive clamping to fit together. 1:25 AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr As I was in the mood for shaving things I got rid of the hoses or whatever they're meant to be on the inner wing. Only got one tiny nick on the beige paintwork, which should touch in OK. Obviously would have been better to do this at an earlier stage in proceedings......
AMT68 Posted March 4, 2021 Posted March 4, 2021 The Impala is coming along very nicely. I had a similar fit issue with the front glass in my build of the AMT '70 Monte Carlo and it's basic design bears similarity to this Impala's glass.
Spottedlaurel Posted March 4, 2021 Author Posted March 4, 2021 4 hours ago, AMT68 said: The Impala is coming along very nicely. I had a similar fit issue with the front glass in my build of the AMT '70 Monte Carlo and it's basic design bears similarity to this Impala's glass. Thanks Tom. It's a funny one with the glass, at least there's plenty of hidden surface to glue it in but I wonder if the bottom portion needed to be quite so large, or even there at all? If I was braver I think slicing that whole bottom piece off would do the job, but I don't enjoy cutting clear parts.
Spottedlaurel Posted March 13, 2021 Author Posted March 13, 2021 Did more on this one than I was expecting during the week and today: RH inner wong not perfect but better than it was now the hoses have been removed. BMF commenced. 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Most of the BMF done, I think just the door handles to go. Glass is fitted, panel lines and front scuttle vents given a wash. 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Rear lights/bumper assembly detailed with a wash of thinned matt black, might need a touch more but it's almost there. Rather than mess around with white glue I taped the rear lights in place with a large piece of BMF. Also trial-fitted the Corvette's radiator, with some 'adjustment' of the Impala chassis I've got it fitting in a place where the air intake will work out OK. From this point onwards I'm going to assemble it in a slightly odd order, putting the body and chassis together then carefully fitting the suspension. That way I can adjust it as necessary and be confident that I get the ride hieght and wheel position just how I want.
Spottedlaurel Posted March 21, 2021 Author Posted March 21, 2021 Slowly grinding to a conclusion on this one. 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Even with yet more shaving of the interior I'm still getting a fitment issue. So I'm not just relying on glue to keep it together I added a bent paperclip tie each side to link the chassis and front inner wings. 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Most of yesterday's time on the bench was spent fiddling with the suspension. I cut the rear springs, but because the chassis hasn't fitted perfectly into the bodyshell I ended up with a slight ride height discrepancy and had to shim one side back up again. To get the front end lower I'm simply going to swap the uprights from side to side - I'll lose the steering arm connection, but that's no bad thing as it gives me the option of turning the wheels. Must remember to attach the exhaust before getting carried away and fixing the rear axle in place! Has it worked?........... 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr I'm happy with that. Just about to go and detail the Keystone Klassics.......
Spottedlaurel Posted March 21, 2021 Author Posted March 21, 2021 (edited) Thanks Carl and Chaz! It has to be said that it was a bit of a slog carrying on with this one today - it would have been much productive and pleasant if I'd swapped over to some other builds, but I'm sure there'll be a sense of satisfaction when I've got this one across the line. 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr The wheel detailing went well. A tiny bit left to do, but I'm glad I made the effort. The suspension was a struggle, all I can say is that I got there in the end with all four wheels touching the ground. I think my problem still goes back to the original fitment issue, the suspension components went together pretty well. Swapping the front spindles worked out OK. 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Getting the LT5 fitted and the Corvette's radiator and fan set-up in place was somewhat more satisfying. The radiator was a good fit between the front chassis rails, I drilled and glued a couple of pins to secure it in position. The bottom edge is just visible below the front bumper and the air intake joined-up to the manifold. I'll try and fit as many of the ancillary components that I can, to give it a vaguely plausible look. 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1:25 AMT Chevrolet Impala kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Edited March 22, 2021 by Spottedlaurel
Dragonhawk1066 Posted March 21, 2021 Posted March 21, 2021 Coming along nicely! The Keystones look great!!
AMT68 Posted March 25, 2021 Posted March 25, 2021 Looks excellent and I like your panel washing around the door and trunk openings.
MeatMan Posted March 25, 2021 Posted March 25, 2021 Awesome project! That engine looks sweet! I'm going a similar route with mine but just adding FI to the big block.
Steve H Posted March 26, 2021 Posted March 26, 2021 Hi Nigel, great looking Chevy. The extra effort on detailing the wheels was definitely worth it, they look fantastic. I’m a GM guy, so love it. Cheers, Steve
Spottedlaurel Posted March 27, 2021 Author Posted March 27, 2021 (edited) On 3/21/2021 at 11:16 PM, Dragonhawk1066 said: Coming along nicely! The Keystones look great!! Thanks Craig! On 3/25/2021 at 10:17 PM, AMT68 said: Looks excellent and I like your panel washing around the door and trunk openings. Thank you Tom. Just a bit of thinned Revell enamel, brown in this case so it goes with the beige bodywork. On 3/25/2021 at 11:45 PM, MeatMan said: Awesome project! That engine looks sweet! I'm going a similar route with mine but just adding FI to the big block. The LT5 fitted so well it's like it was meant to be. The sump is the right way round and even the mounting hole matched up. On 3/26/2021 at 2:15 AM, Steve H said: Hi Nigel, great looking Chevy. The extra effort on detailing the wheels was definitely worth it, they look fantastic. I’m a GM guy, so love it. Cheers, Steve On 3/26/2021 at 3:14 AM, Bills72sj said: Gotta love those detailed Klassics. Thanks Steve and Bill. By coincidence I saw an early Keystone ad and back then it didn't apear to have the familiar detail painting - definitely looks better with it done. This is where I started with it today. Got it finished at last after a relatively straightforward final assembly session, trying to get as many of the Corvette's ancilliary parts fitted as I could. More to follow in the "Under Glass" section later this weekend. Edited March 27, 2021 by Spottedlaurel
Steve H Posted March 28, 2021 Posted March 28, 2021 4 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said: Thanks Craig! Thank you Tom. Just a bit of thinned Revell enamel, brown in this case so it goes with the beige bodywork. The LT5 fitted so well it's like it was meant to be. The sump is the right way round and even the mounting hole matched up. Thanks Steve and Bill. By coincidence I saw an early Keystone ad and back then it didn't apear to have the familiar detail painting - definitely looks better with it done. This is where I started with it today. Got it finished at last after a relatively straightforward final assembly session, trying to get as many of the Corvette's ancilliary parts fitted as I could. More to follow in the "Under Glass" section later this weekend. Excellent tease photo. Looks amazing!
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