TOP SWAP '57 CHRYSLER

[customline]

The initial attachment of the new roof was at the cowl ends/A pillar. At one point I thought I might drop the C pillars down a bit to lower the profile but that would cause a problem at the trunk. I wish I had spent more time analyzing things because the trunk panel lines line up perfectly. It may have been possible to get a precision fit and retain the original panel lines on both mating parts. It's still pretty close but I have a gap to fill. The rear of the roof is attached now and this 👇 is how the finished profile will be. 

I reinforced the cowl with some styrene rod and CA. The top side will be filled and a strip will be added to the bottom of the windshield opening to have something to foil later on. 

I spent some time getting the floor pan to mate with the firewall. I had a 2mm gap caused by windshield-to-dash interference. I removed some windshield material, some dash material, and rolled the dash down at the front edge. Lots of trial and error. But I got it.

Yay! 😀

The rear attachment is reinforced around the C pillars inside. The "extra" material will be ground away.  Scrap sheet was added under the trunk gap to catch what squishes through the gap.

I

🤓☝ the next thing today is this stuff.  Let the fun begin! Thanks for your interest and your encouragement! 

[customline]

17 minutes ago, TopherMcGinnis said:

MADHD- Modeler's Attention Defi.....oh look!!!! A kit to start!!!!!

EXACTLY  !   🤣

[FoMoCo66]

20 minutes ago, TopherMcGinnis said:

MADHD- Modeler's Attention Defi.....oh look!!!! A kit to start!!!!!

Man this is driving me MAD, I high definition! 

[Kutnplastik]

1 hour ago, customline said:

it's not a perfect fit but close enough.

I have to say I was a sceptic and concerned about the gaps but you nailed it! The roof chosen is perfect! Can’t wait to see as you progress.

[Lunajammer]

I've always thought the '57 roofline was the weakest part of that design. Makes the whole car look clunky. I also think the GM swept back roofs look good on almost anything and I've been playing with your same kind of project on other cars. That roof swap looks wonderful on the AMT '62 Buick Electra.

[customline]

Did some body work.  It's my second-favorite task. I just like the smell 😌

Had to dremel the extra meat. Gotta plug a couple of holes. Sanded areas to be filled with 320. Almost Bondo time! 😛.  

More slugging at the C pillar, this is a backing wall for filler on the outside

Pistachio frosting 🥳.  Yay!

Blending in the dissimilar curves at the aft seam. The trunk panel lines will be a headache. 😕 but not if I square 'em off 🤔.......🙂

I tried to give y'all a nice mock-up. The Impala was available.  Not bad at this angle.

A bit of a wheelbase discrepancy,  apparently 🤣

I'm really into "roll pans". Bumpers are just dead weight. WDYT?

Uh oh.....who did this? 😦

Edited Sunday at 03:23 PM by customline

[FoMoCo66]

 

13 minutes ago, customline said:

Pistachio frosting 🥳.  Yay!

You guys may not understand this reference but...

[gotnitro?]

This reminds me of the Riddler cars custom designers dream up! So elegant 

[Starwulf]

It's giving off Chezoom vibes to me.

[customline]

10 hours ago, FoMoCo66 said:

 

You guys may not understand this reference but...

Mmmm....yeah. No........😔

8 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

This reminds me of the Riddler cars custom designers dream up! So elegant 

Uh...is this something I need to google?

7 hours ago, Starwulf said:

It's giving off Chezoom vibes to 

Now there's an idea.....🤓

[Bullybeef]

I’m liking this more and more Jim. It definitely needs to hug the pavement! 

[customline]

2 minutes ago, Bullybeef said:

I’m liking this more and more Jim. It definitely needs to hug the pavement! 

I believe so, Bil.  It's going to come down some.... but I don't want to worry about speed bumps. 😒

[Bullybeef]

11 minutes ago, customline said:

I believe so, Bil.  It's going to come down some.... but I don't want to worry about speed bumps. 😒

Well you could always make it with air ride!

“offtopic”
I saw a model on one of the multitude of groups where the builder had sectioned the body a couple of mm’s and it looked awesome. 

 

[espo]

12 hours ago, customline said:

Did some body work.  It's my second-favorite task. I just like the smell 😌

Had to dremel the extra meat. Gotta plug a couple of holes. Sanded areas to be filled with 320. Almost Bondo time! 😛.  

More slugging at the C pillar, this is a backing wall for filler on the outside

Pistachio frosting 🥳.  Yay!

Blending in the dissimilar curves at the aft seam. The trunk panel lines will be a headache. 😕 but not if I square 'em off 🤔.......🙂

I tried to give y'all a nice mock-up. The Impala was available.  Not bad at this angle.

A bit of a wheelbase discrepancy,  apparently 🤣

I'm really into "roll pans". Bumpers are just dead weight. WDYT?

Uh oh.....who did this? 😦

I like your roll pan idea instead of just bumpers. I built one and modified the bumpers and used the parts lower portion as a roll pan and painted it in the body color. Just a thought.  

[customline]

16 minutes ago, espo said:

I like your roll pan idea instead of just bumpers. I built one and modified the bumpers and used the parts lower portion as a roll pan and painted it in the body color. Just a thought.  

Thanks for checking in, David.  I think the front bumper is too massive and replacing it with a pan,  positioned as I have in the photo, accentuates the swept-under look of the nose.   For the rear, I removed the bumper "blade" so I could use the rest for a pan.  Wish me luck 🥴

[customline]

1 hour ago, Bullybeef said:

Well you could always make it with air ride!

“offtopic”
I saw a model on one of the multitude of groups where the builder had sectioned the body a couple of mm’s and it looked awesome. 

 

This slab of a body, I believe, would be relatively easy to section but, without a lower roofline, the proportions would not be ideal. This is just a proof-of-concept project and sectioning is not one of the elements I planned.  Maybe next time 🥴. I'll just be happy if I get the roof thing to work. 😕

[bill-e-boy]

Cool project. I like the modern roof line and it suits the lines from the tail fins. There is a 57 Ford around down these ways with an ealy Oz Falcon coupe roof fitted. Fins and a racy top looked real cool.

And yup the 57 Chrysler is a huge car - I compared it to a 56 Dodge resin I built a few years ago and the size difference is remarkable. But in saying that I reckon Virgil Exner got the proportions right on the money with his 57 cars. 

[customline]

1 hour ago, bill-e-boy said:

Cool project. I like the modern roof line and it suits the lines from the tail fins. There is a 57 Ford around down these ways with an ealy Oz Falcon coupe roof fitted. Fins and a racy top looked real cool.

And yup the 57 Chrysler is a huge car - I compared it to a 56 Dodge resin I built a few years ago and the size difference is remarkable. But in saying that I reckon Virgil Exner got the proportions right on the money with his 57 cars. 

'56s were taller, for sure, but the Dodge is a smaller car anyway. I had 1:1 '55 and '56 Dodges and a '56 Desoto ( same size as Chrysler). The Desoto was a tank but what a nice ride 🙂.

[Steve H]

Hi Jim, very interesting roof swap. You blended the roof beautifully. I wasn’t sure at first glance, but I really like the look now with the edges cleaned up. Nice bodywork sir.

[customline]

1 hour ago, Steve H said:

Hi Jim, very interesting roof swap. You blended the roof beautifully. I wasn’t sure at first glance, but I really like the look now with the edges cleaned up. Nice bodywork sir.

Thanks.  The rear worked out fairly well, Steve, and the front should be okay (I hope.)  

[LennyB]

I'm really digging it Jim, it's coming out so smooooth.

 

But,  and I know this is just me, when I look at the rear view my brain says Karman Ghia. 😵

[customline]

2 hours ago, LennyB said:

I'm really digging it Jim, it's coming out so smooooth.

 

But,  and I know this is just me, when I look at the rear view my brain says Karman Ghia. 😵

I can't explain that. The Karman Ghia looks like a suppository.  The rear of the Chrysler🤯 has these gigantic fins, Lenny! 🥴

Edited yesterday at 03:29 AM by customline

[customline]

I took the lower part of that bumper that somebody cut in half and added a piece of .030 sheet to the top and shaped it to mate with the body. I added bracing to the "bumper" ends inside the body and some half-round to the bottom of the ends for something solid to catch Bondo.  

I know, it's ugly but nobody is going to see it except you and me.

It's going to get prettier, trust me.

Hey, how about skirts?

WDYT?

[Starwulf]

Looking good! I'm hooked on this build.

[NOBLNG]

Rear end is looking good Jim. Heck, it’s all looking good.👍 I’m not normally a fan of fender skirts, but I don’t think they look bad here.🤔