AMT '55 Chevy stepside... Changed directions... retired service station truck! (12/23)

[JTalmage]

My idea for this truck is somewhat of a 60s-70s vibe with a patina'd paint job. Going with a flat red over grey and red oxide primers that will show thru. I found some parts box Cragars, and some bias ply tires for the front, and M&H racemasters on the back.

 

 

I cut, swapped sides, and flipped the rear shackles in order to raise the rear axle just enough to fully clear the racemaster slicks.

 

 

Thats about all I have for now... will be working on it more!

Edited December 23, 2016 by JTalmage

[slusher]

Another cool project. I like this AMT kit. Look forward to your progress..

[JTalmage]

I think I found my inspiration...

http://bangshift.com/bangshiftxl/drag-week-2014-roadside-find-1957-chevy-1-ton-wearing-old-camper-perfection/

[bpletcher55]

love the amt ,55/57 chevy kits , looking froword to this ,

[Longbox55]

I think I found my inspiration...

http://bangshift.com/bangshiftxl/drag-week-2014-roadside-find-1957-chevy-1-ton-wearing-old-camper-perfection/

Neat truck, but they misidentified the year. That truck is a '55, not a '57.

[JTalmage]

Thats what I thought when I read the article. 57's have the things on the hood like a Bel Air of the same year. Similar.

New pictures!

Rusted the old cragars because the chrome was worn off. Also put a few dents and dings in the truck because hey, its an old neglected truck turned 60's Hot Rod! I followed that with a base coat of red oxide primer.

And I added my favorite 2 part solution... but should I add more??

Edited January 14, 2015 by JTalmage

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Needs some fade! Rust holes!

Great start!

What's the engine gonna be?

[JTalmage]

Needs some fade! Rust holes!

Great start!

What's the engine gonna be?

I'm getting to that part. No holes though. Wanted it to just be a faded southwestern truck. Still have two to three coats of other paint to go.

Engine will be stock kit engine. Smallblock chevy w/ edelbrock goodies. Maybe a little weathering or dull coat on that stuff too.

[Longbox55]

You might want to knock back on the rust in the centers of the wheels, real Cragars do not rust in the centers, as the centers are aluminum. They tend to have the chrome peel off, and get the chalky corrosion on them, or the chrome will pit badly. The other rims of them do rust, however, as they are steel. You have that look nailed.

[JTalmage]

You might want to knock back on the rust in the centers of the wheels, real Cragars do not rust in the centers, as the centers are aluminum. They tend to have the chrome peel off, and get the chalky corrosion on them, or the chrome will pit badly. The other rims of them do rust, however, as they are steel. You have that look nailed.

That was exactly what I had in mind when I did this. However the chrome was gone on the spokes of the fronts. The rears I tried to wipe off the best I could before putting the solution on them. I'm going to add some greyish paint to the spokes afterwards. Just a mock up pick. But good catch on that. Most dont notice that.

[Longbox55]

Sounds good, that should look just about right for a set of old crusty Cragars.

[JTalmage]

Threw a few layers of paint on it last night. The green turned more of a mint color because of the white I had to put down first. I'm not really sure how I like it yet. I was hoping it would be darker. Now I sort of miss the red oxide primer look...

Edited January 14, 2015 by JTalmage

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Do the primer over it and wear it some more so you can see the green underneath, like someone got halfway into the project and forgot about it or just didn't care anymore, more utility over beauty.

[JTalmage]

I'm hoping my plan I had for something very similar to that will pan out. I painted a red/brown color over the red oxide primer, then a white over the red/brown, then the green over the white. I'm hoping that I can wetsand it very lightly to expose the white and then go thru to the red/brown which will look like dull rust. We'll see. The paint doesnt stick to this purple plastic at all it seems which doesnt make me very happy.

[redneckrodder]

Just get a darker shade of green or maybe spray a thin coat of black or primer then green again

[Edward Gore]

I'm liking that green. The rusted spots are looking pretty good too.

[JTalmage]

Thanks! I didnt have much time to work on it this weekend. I had to go out of town. But I did work on it friday evening and when I got back yesterday. Here's what it looked like out of the bag on Friday.

I needed to do more parts and perfect the look so I added more iron surfacer, let it dry, brushed on the solution, and back in the bag it went for about 2 days. I wrapped them in plastic bags too... as an experiment to see if it would give it any textures. Here's what it looked like when I got back sunday.

It didnt let some of the spots fully react to the solution. So I touched those spots up with more iron surfacer and back in the bag it went...

You can really see the imperfections on the hood and a little on the roof.

I took it out of the bag this morning and it looked considerably better but I didnt snap any pictures. I think the body is done now as far as rust goes.

I did cheat a little and realized that the roof on '55 chevy trucks can be white. But I didnt know that when I painted it. So after I rusted the top I painted around the perimeter and some parts of the center w/ white, and then rusted it again. Looks perfect!

The window trim is deceiving because it LOOKS like it should have BMF on it for the trim... but pictures I see of most trucks dont have chrome trim. So I need to do more research on that.

Edited January 14, 2015 by JTalmage

[JTalmage]

I just gotta say... painting colored plastic sucks. I have to give everything multiple coats! I had to paint the engine orange twice, the headers steel twice, the intake aluminum twice... sheesh... I thought this build was going to be fairly quick.

[chunkypeanutbutter]

This looks a-freakin'-mazing. You've hit the sweet spot.

As I saw VWDave once say, "If you think there's one more thing you can do to make it perfect, STOP."

[redneckrodder]

I just gotta say... painting colored plastic sucks. I have to give everything multiple coats! I had to paint the engine orange twice, the headers steel twice, the intake aluminum twice... sheesh... I thought this build was going to be fairly quick.

It depends...it looks that this plastic in this issue is'nt normal plastic...looks like the kind diecast companies use and that of the AMT promo models

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Any updates?

[JTalmage]

Not yet. Painting, and painting again all those purple parts. lol

I took a few days off of this truck to scratch build an lsX intake for The Muscle Truck which may eventually get casted by a resin caster

[chunkypeanutbutter]

I used to have this kit. I got it at a yard sale. Found some of the parts the other day, but no cab or nose at all. I think we tried to paint it yellow or red but it wouldn't stick.

[JTalmage]

Yeah its been an adventure in everything I've painted on this thing.

[redneckrodder]

scuff the plastic with some sandpaper then use some good primer and the paint should stick

Edited September 26, 2014 by redneckrodder