Mr.Zombie Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Hello Friends, As some of you know a while ago I asked about the '59 Chevy 4-door in 1:25, and thru very helpful guys here I got the Email adress of Mr. Tom Coolidge who in fact happened to have and kindly sent me a GM Sedan roofsection so I could begin building somewhat the holy grail of movie cars (for me). The car I want to build is a 1959 Bel Air driven in a Danish slapstick comedy series called "Olsen Gang": And here's the current progress: As said, I got the roof from Promolite, and now I am looking for some other things, some hardware, and alot of info. Questions: - Trim. Does anyone know/have pics of a '59 without the side trim, so I can find out with how many screws the moldings are held on the car? The movie car is missing some of them, I can see that there are holes, but can't make out how many. Most of the '59 have the full trim, and the ones I found on Ebay don't show it clear enough. - Engine. The car above was powered with a straight six. Although I don't plan to display the engine, I might change my mind if a donor kit is easily avaliable. Therefore: Where to source a Chevy straight six from? - Wheels. The car above rolls on steelies without hubcaps, where to get the correct steelies from? Does anyone have four steelies and would maybe like to swap with Bel Air hubcaps? - Trunk. Is the trunklid shorter on Sedans vs. Coupes? I had to cut out a good bit from the trunk in order to fit the Promolite roof. According to photos my theory is correct, but I'd like to reasure. - Doorhandles. IS THERE ANYONE WHO HAS THE REVELL BEL AIR/IMPALA AND BUILT IT CUSTOM AND THEREFORE DOESN'T NEED THE DOORHANDLES? I need two extra, and I really don't want to buy yet another kit only for the doorhandles. Thanks!
1930fordpickup Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Adam if you look in the aftermarket section you will see GM door handles are now for sale. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=98271
Toner283 Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Adam, The best kit source for a correct 6 cylinder is in the 1960 Chevy custom fleetside pickup truck kit. The engine itself is correct for a 1959 car, however you will have to source or scratch build an air cleaner as the truck one is different than the passenger car version. The oil pan may also be slightly different for the passenger car engine. For the steelies the best bet would probably be in the AMT 62 Impala kit. It has been reissued multiple times and is very easy to find. someone on this board probably even has one they would trade you the wheels out of. For the questions about the side trim I think your best bet would be to go on the HAMB and search for photos on there. If you cannot find any photos then post a question asking and I would bet someone on there will be able to answer your question. The guys on there are a wealth of knowledge about pre-64 cars and trucks. I could easily tell you how many holes are down the side of a 59 El Camino as I have one in my garage that is disassembled but the four-door sedan would be different. One thing to keep in mind is that the side trim for an Impala and the side trim for a Bel Air are very different. There were three different levels of trim available on the 59 Chevys and each one mounted differently and was shaped differently. You will need to know exactly which one you need to replicate your movie car properly. Hopefully this information helps you in your build.
Mr.Zombie Posted February 17, 2015 Author Posted February 17, 2015 Thanks. Andy, it's certainly a good way to get the doorhandles, but I'd prefer the original kit pieces as they are on the chrome sprue, and I'm a pure free time hobby kit builder, and I don't have the possibility to rechrome or Alclad stuff. Chris, thanks, I just checked the Impala, but can't find a single pic of the wheels in that kit, so if someone happens to have them and doesn't need it, I'm your man to take 'em off your hands. This car is very important for me, and though I have some steelies they are all Ford pattern, and I'd love to have this very car spot on and correct. As for the mouldings, yes, I'm aware of the differences, however, this very car has them only on the front wings, and on the left back door, the rest is missing. The two front ones are the same as on the Impala (or better, the ones that come with the kit are okay), and the one on the door I'd cut out of the middle of the back wing moulding. It'll go. Yes, HAMB I'm a member, I could ask there.
Tom Geiger Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 I have the resin door handles that Chief Joseph make. They are really nice, I'd say better than kit parts. They do make Alclad in a spray can, and that's how I do mine. Since you are building a worn and weathered car, the shine on these doesn't need to be perfect, so probably any shiny chrome like spray would be fine. Ken Kitchen of Kitchen Table Resins makes the proper air cleaner for the Chevy six in this car. The six in the 1960 pickup was mentioned and is the right engine for this job. If it doesn't fit, sometimes flipping the oil pan around will solve the issue. Don't use the engines out of anything older than 1955 since the top end, namely the valve cover bolt pattern is wrong. The chrome side trim on the kit body you are working with is Impala and wrong for a Bel Air. The other problem is that the trim is indented into the body which isn't on the 1:1 car. The easiest way to fix this is to soak the chrome off the kit supplied trim, then glue them in place. Then sand it all down as if the trim was molded on the body. That's how I did this car below. , Also, watch the car on your movie, and see if the chrome strips were removed (holes) or pulled off, which would leave clips. I made the clips out of Evergreen strip. Not 100% right but the correct look. Also, the big issue with these cars was the clips always rusted before the car and rust would leak down onto the body below the chrome. The rust on the clips would transfer to the body so there is usually rust behind the chrome, which would be visible once it's gone. I used to own a 1960 Buick, which is essentially the same body as the Chevy. I used my car to reference the rust patterns and trim clips, etc onto my model. In this photo you can see the types of chrome clips, and how they rusted. For more reference on how many clips etc, keep checking sources like eBay Motors, but aside from looking for cars, look for body parts like doors, fenders and quarter panels. Those off a Bel Air would show you the holes, mounts etc that you need to see. Good luck. This is a cool project
Mr.Zombie Posted February 17, 2015 Author Posted February 17, 2015 Hi, the Trim I solved different on mine, I simply cut 2,5 mm worth of 0,7 mm plastic sheet and filled the groves, sanded, done. The real car and the clips. Well, the movies are from the 70ies, but the car isn't like Starsky and Hutch Torino, as far as I am concerned there ain't one shot of the interior (though I know it was grey), on some pics it seems like there are holes, on others it might be that there are still the clips left... I'll probably go with holes for detail. We'll see. The car itself still exists, but it's a shadow of a Chevy... According to these images holes are the right choice, but would I bet? The car was pretty rusty while the movies were shot, here you add years of neglect and it's difficult to say how that thing was during the movie shots...
gtx6970 Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 I have a bunch of the AMT 1962 Impalas and if those are the wheels you need . pm me an address and they're yours
espo Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 It seems you have solved your side trim problems. From the pictures your subject is a Bel Air sedan ( four door ). The roof you received is a 2-door sedan roof, it can be made to work by making it longer and add the stationary windows that were in the roof behind the doors. I'll enjoy watching this build.
Bob Ellis Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 I was recently in Denmark (Lemvig and Holstebro) and I don't remember that '59 Chevy. LOL Wow, looks like the winters destroy the cars well there too. Those cars lasted about 10 years around Boston with the salt on the road. Very interesting project that is different. Good luck Adam!
Mr.Zombie Posted February 17, 2015 Author Posted February 17, 2015 The Roof is only a 2 door because of the B-pillar, (that I left on for adjustment purposes) other than that it's the same dimensions as a 4 door, alerady removed the pillar and added B- and C-pillars. The 4 door sedan had shorter doors, therefore I filled the doorgaps and I will create new ones in the correct places.
MrObsessive Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) Adam, in answer to your one question, the trunks are shorter on the sedans. Your conversion is looking quite correct from where I sit so keep up the good work. Edited February 18, 2015 by MrObsessive
Mr.Zombie Posted February 18, 2015 Author Posted February 18, 2015 Thanks! I did compare it to some reference I have and the measurements were correct. But it's great to have it reasurred!
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