AMT 1959 Chrysler Imperial: WIP

[David G.]

On 8/30/2021 at 4:34 AM, FLHCAHZ said:

I understand your dilemma.  That looks sharp with the body color roof

Yeah, I'm kind of leaning toward that direction.

David G.

[mustang1989]

I think I'd be in the same boat with you not knowing which way to go Dave. Looking good so far and really like the Continental piece on the decklid.

Edited September 1, 2021 by mustang1989

[David G.]

22 hours ago, mustang1989 said:

I think I'd be in the same boat with you not knowing which way to go Dave. Looking good so far and really like the Continental piece on the decklid.

Thanks Joe. I don't think it'll look bad in either case but I'm leaning toward the example in the above photo. Except I think I'll keep the continental piece in gunmetal to avoid a "checkerboard" look. Additionally, I think the winged crest in the center of the continental cover should be gold.

This week has been pretty busy for me, I hope to find the time today to get a little more done.

David G.

[mustang1989]

26 minutes ago, David G. said:

 

This week has been pretty busy for me, I hope to find the time today to get a little more done.

David G.

I know all about it bud. I've got so many things in line to do that I'll never see the true end of it. Crazy. Looking forward to more on this one.

[gotnitro?]

Very nice work  ! Excellent job fitting the roof panel in with a nearly seamless fit 

Love the color plan, gray is the new hot color 

[slusher]

color in the picture looks great. Leaning that way..?

[David G.]

8 hours ago, slusher said:

color in the picture looks great. Leaning that way..?

Thanks Carl, yes I am.

Right now I'm working on getting the drip rail moldings corrected and blended in.

I'll probably post some photos in the next day or so.

David G.

[TooOld]

Hey David , sorry I missed this  one , it's one of my favorites !  I like that you were able to adjust the front bumper/grille upward to fill that gap , and moving the mirror really improves the look of the dash . I've had to fit tops to bodies like your doing and it's a time consuming task but well worth the effort , looks like you've got it handled.

As for the track looking too narrow . . . I thought the exact same thing when fitting my '60 Dodge .  After looking at tons of photos on the web and at some finished models I decided to leave it alone . The finished models look great and none of them appear to have the track widened , check some of Steve's models and you'll see what I mean . 

[David G.]

22 hours ago, TooOld said:

Hey David , sorry I missed this  one , it's one of my favorites !  I like that you were able to adjust the front bumper/grille upward to fill that gap , and moving the mirror really improves the look of the dash . I've had to fit tops to bodies like your doing and it's a time consuming task but well worth the effort , looks like you've got it handled.

As for the track looking too narrow . . . I thought the exact same thing when fitting my '60 Dodge .  After looking at tons of photos on the web and at some finished models I decided to leave it alone . The finished models look great and none of them appear to have the track widened , check some of Steve's models and you'll see what I mean . 

Thanks for your comments Bob, I appreciate them.

Regarding the track, I've come to the same conclusion. I've gotten so used to the appearance of modern vehicles with their tight-fitting compact design that I have forgotten how much space the cars of this era had. Wasted space in many cases, but space and lots of it.

It looks like space truly is the final frontier!  

David G.

Edited September 4, 2021 by David G.
typo

[David G.]

Hello Everybody.

I was able to get a little more done with fitting the roof this weekend.

Having the roof in its permanent and stable position revealed that there was more work to be done... of course there was.

Because of the gap filler I added to the head of the roof the drip rail trim now falls short of meeting with the trim around the windshield. The end of the drip rail is also tapered and misshapen so it has to go.

I made a relief cut on each side with a photo etch micro saw and filed the trim molding to just above the roof. I wanted to leave a little bit of the old trim as a base and positioning guide for the replacement.

 

The next step was to cut and glue in the replacement strips.

 

On this side, the gap filler I added to the roof can be clearly seen behind the windshield frame. Adding this strip of styrene greatly increased the smoothness and stability of the joint. And yes, I did straighten out that tilt after I took the photo, gotta love that Tamiya Extra Thin Cement!

 

Right now I'm in the filling and filing stage and should have more done soon.

David G.

 

 

[FLHCAHZ]

Wow. That is some precise work

[David G.]

9 hours ago, FLHCAHZ said:

Wow. That is some precise work

Thank you Chaz.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

I'm still working on getting the drip rail moldings smoothed and blended with the rest of the body work. But while waiting for the various applications primer and putty to cure for subsequent sanding and shaping, I decided to get started on the front bumper and grille.

Those of you who are familiar with this model are probably aware of the huge chunky parting lines on the sides of the bumper.

 

I've smoothed those over and re "chromed" the areas with Spastix chrome paint.

 

I also have most of the black wash and detail painting done. I want to get some more acrylic clear in the turn signal lenses and there are still a few areas that need some cleanup. 

 

The other side came out pretty good too.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[slusher]

grill and and headlights look really nice, David..

[Mike999]

On 8/25/2021 at 7:45 AM, David G. said:

I never saw that movie but I did think that this body would make a great basis for an airport limo conversion. A courtesy car for the Las Vegas Hilton, circa 1961.

Looks like somebody had that idea back in 1958, and converted an Imperial into a 2-door station wagon.  The (bad) pic below is the only one I could find, when the poor Imp had seen better days.  The conversion doesn't make much sense to me, unless the 2-door wagon was only used as a "hack" to transport luggage and such.  I can't imagine that passengers of the Imperial class wanted to climb over the front seat to get in.

Even weirder...I have a resin kit of that '58 Imperial 2-door wagon.  It's a full kit, not just the body, with a chassis, interior and plated chrome parts.  I don't know who made it.  Found it at a kit swap meet many years ago.

Your work on this kit is impressive, and I'm stealing your ideas!

[David G.]

12 hours ago, slusher said:

grill and and headlights look really nice, David..

Thank you Carl.

11 hours ago, Mike999 said:

Looks like somebody had that idea back in 1958, and converted an Imperial into a 2-door station wagon.  The (bad) pic below is the only one I could find, when the poor Imp had seen better days.  The conversion doesn't make much sense to me, unless the 2-door wagon was only used as a "hack" to transport luggage and such.  I can't imagine that passengers of the Imperial class wanted to climb over the front seat to get in.

Even weirder...I have a resin kit of that '58 Imperial 2-door wagon.  It's a full kit, not just the body, with a chassis, interior and plated chrome parts.  I don't know who made it.  Found it at a kit swap meet many years ago.

Your work on this kit is impressive, and I'm stealing your ideas!

Hi Michael. Considering that Packard, Plymouth and Dodge all offered wagons, it's not really that much of a stretch (sorry) to consider a factory conversion of a Chrysler Imperial. Out of curiosity I did do a quick search and found examples from most of the years in the second generation, 1957 to 1966, so somebody was buying them. It would be a little upscale for an ambulance but I could see funeral homes ordering them for flower cars.

I'm intrigued by the kit you mentioned. Does it seem to be a promo based kit similar to this one?

Thank you for your kind comment. Please feel free to use any of my ideas, chances are that I stole them from someone else anyway.  

Regards,

David G.

[Mike999]

2 hours ago, David G. said:

I'm intrigued by the kit you mentioned. Does it seem to be a promo based kit similar to this one?

Here are some pix.  I was wrong about the plated parts, it doesn't have any.  Bad memory!  I also have a resin kit of the '59 Mercury Commuter 2-door hardtop wagon.  But that was offered standard from the factory. 

 

[David G.]

Thanks for posting the pics Michael. There seems to be a bit of work to do but it looks like a fun kit.

It does look like it may be lifted from an old promo like the AMT one we're all familiar with.

In my mind the finished model is painted metallic lavender with a gold "Las Vegas Hilton" script on the doors... and a couple of suitcases in the back.

David G.

[espo]

You have the front end coming together nicely. I also always hated those mold marks on the bumpers from that era. never understood why they couldn't figure out a better place to make the mold lines that would have been out of sight. The Spastix paint seems to blend well.   

[Mike999]

1 hour ago, David G. said:

In my mind the finished model is painted metallic lavender with a gold "Las Vegas Hilton" script on the doors... and a couple of suitcases in the back.

David G.

Or a "Harrah's" script and bags of money in the back.  Casino mogul Bill Harrah was famous for his hot-rod station wagons.  Like the Pontiac wagon with a 421/3 deuces engine and 4-speed.  Harrah said he enjoyed surprising young hot-rodders, when they tried to blow past the old geezer in the long-roof.

In the late Sixties, he asked Chrysler to build him a plain-Jane Plymouth wagon with a 426 Street Hemi.  MoPar asked why he wanted such a car.  Harrah replied, logically enough, that he often transported large sums of money between his casinos and wanted to make those trips quickly.  

Chrysler finally said they might build the car, but needed $10,000 up front to do an "engineering feasibility study."  Harrah laughed at that and said, "Sell me the car, sell me the Hemi, and I'll do the swap in my garage."  And that's what he did.  (His "garage" was a totally equipped restoration facility with full-time mechanics.)   

[ve safari]

Great thread, I love the many minor changes that combine to turn a basic kit into something far more precise and impressive. Following!

[FLHCAHZ]

The front end is looking great!

[David G.]

17 hours ago, espo said:

You have the front end coming together nicely. I also always hated those mold marks on the bumpers from that era. never understood why they couldn't figure out a better place to make the mold lines that would have been out of sight. The Spastix paint seems to blend well.   

Thank you David. Maybe the parting lines weren't so bad sixty years ago when the molds were new and in better shape.

16 hours ago, Mike999 said:

Or a "Harrah's" script and bags of money in the back.  Casino mogul Bill Harrah was famous for his hot-rod station wagons.  Like the Pontiac wagon with a 421/3 deuces engine and 4-speed.  Harrah said he enjoyed surprising young hot-rodders, when they tried to blow past the old geezer in the long-roof.

In the late Sixties, he asked Chrysler to build him a plain-Jane Plymouth wagon with a 426 Street Hemi.  MoPar asked why he wanted such a car.  Harrah replied, logically enough, that he often transported large sums of money between his casinos and wanted to make those trips quickly.  

Chrysler finally said they might build the car, but needed $10,000 up front to do an "engineering feasibility study."  Harrah laughed at that and said, "Sell me the car, sell me the Hemi, and I'll do the swap in my garage."  And that's what he did.  (His "garage" was a totally equipped restoration facility with full-time mechanics.)   

That's a great story Michael. I didn't know anything about Bill Harrah but now knowing this story, I can see that the "Harrah's" script would be a great idea.

10 hours ago, ve safari said:

Great thread, I love the many minor changes that combine to turn a basic kit into something far more precise and impressive. Following!

Thank you Eyman. I like to get the best that I can from every kit I build.

15 minutes ago, FLHCAHZ said:

The front end is looking great!

Thank you Chaz.

Regards,

David G.

[espo]

Actually the bumper parting lines on this are better than most from that era of model building. This was just a common issue at the time but we didn't have the chrome options we have today.    

[David G.]

On 9/13/2021 at 9:10 AM, espo said:

Actually the bumper parting lines on this are better than most from that era of model building. This was just a common issue at the time but we didn't have the chrome options we have today.    

Given its age, this kit is in surprisingly good shape. 

David G.