’58 Plymouth Belvedere

[Jon Cole]

Does anyone here know of any issues building the AMT ’58 Plymouth Belvedere? Not only just the build, but also the alleged “rear window†issue. I recall comments that it was too narrow. True, or false? I did use the search feature, didn’t find any kit revues. Thanks.

[Nick Winter]

I had no issues with it infact I'd build another if I found one.

[JamesW]

I built a couple a few years ago. Didn't have any problems with them at all.

[Jeff Sauber]

The only problems I know of are with body accuracy....I haven't heard about any assembly issues...From what I know/heard, they seem to build up fairly well.

Never touched one myself though....I'd be interested to give one a shot when I get around to it.

[Jim Gibbons]

Here's my take on it. I built it a while ago, but had written some comments on my instruction sheet as I went along. I have pics in my "Builds" gallery.

To address the backlight issue, I didn't have a problem, and mine seems to be okay. Before I painted the body, I inserted the rear glass in place, then snipped the roof mounting studs flush with the glass, as they are a bit long.

I can't remember if I screwed up, or AMT did, but when I cemented the carb to the manifold, then test fit the air cleaner, it was in the wrong orientation, so I had to ream out the D shaped mounting hole on the carb to fix it. That might have been my screw up; I can't remember, but I suggest test fitting those parts better than I did.

I wish they had provided decals for the chrome instrument insert, as there's no detail for the faces. I used a black Sharpie, with tics of white paint for numerals, and red for needles.

I shaved the tierod ends thinner on one side, than used the old "hot knife" swage method to make the front wheels and tierod posable. I also found that you should attach the exhaust pipes before putting the tierod on. Fortunately I test fitted before doing it. The exhaust pipes do a funky twist around the torsion bars up to the exhaust manifolds, so I again suggest test fitting. I had assembled most of the chassis as a unit before painting, so may have had a trickier time than most with the exhaust. I also found that the mufflers do not align with each other; there's a slight offset. I found that installing the exhausts after cementing the chassis to the floor pan insured proper alighnment.

I also cemented the firewall to the body rather than the floorpan/interior assembly for a better fit. Just my opinion, I guess. That also allowed me to paint the body/firewall as a unit. I also inserted the rear valance to the body before painting, again to paint as a unit.

Those were the key points I found; again, some may have been mistakes on my part. I guess the trickiest thing was the fitting of the exhaust around the torsion bars. Hope this helps.

[Railfreak78]

I have one right now ( No I wont trade ) I have no problems doing a moch up Let me dig it out so any questions I'll post pics

Edited May 19, 2010 by Railfreak78

[MrObsessive]

I know of no assembly issues with that kit, but (I've vented about this before) the body is woefully inaccurate!

It's not just the roof, but the whole shape of the car itself is distorted due to the rear fenders themselves not being the right shape and angle, throwing off the side trim, tailfins, etc.

If I get time, I may post pics to show the deficiencies---------------but I'm in the middle of fixing dinner so I can get out of here to work in a couple hours.

[Jon Cole]

Thank you for the comments posted so far! Keep them coming!

[John Goschke]

Ditto what Bill "Mr. Obsessive" Geary said about this kit. One of the biggest disappointments by AMT ever. I bought one when it first came out, opened the box, looked at the body and put the kit away, feeling that it was not worth building. All the ones I've seen built have only confirmed that feeling, and many times I've thought "nice build, horrible kit." Opened it once since then to rob a rear view mirror for a Johan '56 Desoto. The mirrors are nice.

It clearly demonstrates what we've lost with the demise of Johan and the destruction of their molds. Their renditions of these car were much more accurate, but sadly they were promos molded in warp prone acetate. You can get a hint of how nice they were by looking at the body from their '59 Plymouth kit (shown below in mockup form during a resto). While it does have a couple minor issues (too much crown to the windshield and a slightly small and too curved rear wheel well) they're fixable or not really objectionable, and this kit really captures the character of the real car.

I believe Modelhaus offers '57 and '58 Plymouth bodies based on relatively unwarped Johan originals. Perhaps using one of them, and the chassis and interior from the AMT kit, one could build a reasonably accurate model. It would take a ton of work to correct the issues with the AMT body.

In this photo of a real '58 you can see that the top and bottom molding outlining the side spear are very nearly straight, not like the curved pieces on the AMT body. On the real car the fins start subtly rising at the rear edge of the door to the final kick up behind the window, a feature not shown on the AMT body, which actually seems to have a hump in the beltline at the rear edge of the door. There are also extreme issues with the shape of the roof on the AMT kit, but I don't want to bore you any further.

[MrObsessive]

Here's a full on side shot of what John's talking about................

Pic courtesy of Plymouth Central.

One can see how the tailfin starts just behind the door like John mentioned. This is something I immediately noticed that was missing on the RC2 kit. Not to mention that my Dad once owned a '57 Plymouth when I was a kid, so I'm quite familiar how this car should look.

BTW, if you can catch Okey Spaulding at a show, he might be able to scrounge up a '59 Dodge body in styrene plastic. One can cut the roof and tulip panel away from the body and swap roofs on the incorrect RC2 body. You could then use the windshield frame from the '57 Chrysler 300C, since Plymouth hardtops used the same for '58.

The fins could be fixed using some plastic and putty-------------a lot of work for sure, but it's the only way I know to get a truly accurate '57-'58 Plymouth.

Then there's that pesky side trim that's got to be fixed.................

[The Modeling Hermit]

Before this kit was introduced, we were stuck with warping promos. We begged the model companies for a kit for a long time. They finally responded with this very fine kit, as well as the Chrysler 300 hardtop. This was followed with a flood of complaints about accuracy issues. I've built several kits of both subjects, and can tell you that they are very nice representatives of their subject. I had the chance to compare both with 1:1 versions at a Goodguys car show in Iowa before moving here. When placed next to the real car, you could find inaccuracies, but one had to actually be looking for them. If you demand absolute perfection, than this is not a kit for you, as would be probably every kit out there. There are those who will find fault with any kit, no matter what level of perfection it has obtained. I'm thankful that I'm not one of them, or I'd be missing out on the fun of building a very good kit.

I've found no fit issues with the kits that I've built so far. I did have one where the body was warped just slightly, and wasn't noticeable until I attempted to mate the chassis to it. I got the two attached, but I never was sure just exactly what I did to accomplish that endeavor. If you have a kit, build it and enjoy it. Other than a promo, that's hard to find, it's the only game in town. I've got several unbuilts of both kits, but as others have already stated about theirs, I'm not parting with mine.

[Harold]

I built a couple a few years ago. Didn't have any problems with them at all.

Prison City, eh? Marquette? Milan? Lapeer?

Edited May 21, 2010 by Harold

[Harry P.]

Here's a full on side shot of what John's talking about................

Pic courtesy of Plymouth Central.

Wonder why it was shot in a cemetery???

[Jon Cole]

Thank you all for the info. I already have the kit. I think I will have to live with what AMT gave us, as fixing it or making the changes sounds like a real pita. At least the side trim can be altered... which I will, as I plan on doing a '57. I already bought the chrome from the Modelhaus. My plan was to build the Tulsa "Miss Belvedere", but... I just cannot wrap my head around making a mud pie. So I guess I will settle for what Miss "B" looked like before she went in the vault.

[Jim Gibbons]

Thank you all for the info. I already have the kit. I think I will have to live with what AMT gave us, as fixing it or making the changes sounds like a real pita. At least the side trim can be altered... which I will, as I plan on doing a '57. I already bought the chrome from the Modelhaus. My plan was to build the Tulsa "Miss Belvedere", but... I just cannot wrap my head around making a mud pie. So I guess I will settle for what Miss "B" looked like before she went in the vault.

Sounds like a great project idea. If you are able, could you post pictures of the Modelhaus parts? I have another unbuilt one, and am thinking about converting to a '57. I love the taillight treatment on the '57. Would like to follow your progress, too, if you post it in On the Workbench. TIA

[Jim Gibbons]

Yea, terrible kit. Just throw it in the garbage.

I did run into a couple issues. , ,

I had to file down the rear frame crossmember where it tucks in behind the rear pan to get it in there and if you're not using the side windows you'll need to add a couple strips of plastic to the sills or the gaps between the body and inner door panels will be huge.

, , and of corse there's the 1/2 and 1/2 engine.

Only other issues I had were related to the customizing.

What did mine come out like ?? LOL

Wow, that looks great! I like your taillight treatment. Beautiful work!

[JamesW]

Prison City, eh? Marquette? Milan? Lapeer?

Jackson. We've got 4 prisons here.

[sjordan2]

I was in grade school in Tulsa when they buried the Belvedere as part of Oklahoma's 50th anniversary of statehood. I was sick when I saw what it looked like when they unearthed it.

[Eric Stone]

The exhaust manifolds' port spacing leaves me scratching my head...

Edited May 23, 2010 by Eric Stone