Second Time Around -- '64/'65/'66 Chevy Sport Truck

[Casey]

I tried something similar to this a few years ago, prior to Revell releasing the '66 Chevy Suburban, but nothing ever came of it. Now, with the aforementioned '66 Suburban, a '64 and two '66 Chevy Fleetsides on hand, things are starting to take shape. The tail end needs plenty of work, and the rear wheel arches will be replaced with those from a pickup bed, but so far, so good.

Edited August 19, 2021 by Casey

[espo]

This looks like fun. That's a good slice out of the middle, sectioning. The design of the kits hood being in four parts make this an easy thing to do in the hood area. 

[Mattilacken]

What are the plans for this project? Did not get that part ? I am not that knowledgeable about these years of trucks.

[Casey]

On 8/16/2021 at 4:06 PM, espo said:

The design of the kits hood being in four parts make this an easy thing to do in the hood area. 

I'm sure that was a major influence on my thinking, both times. It just seemed to make too much sense not to try it.

On 8/16/2021 at 4:07 PM, Mattilacken said:

What are the plans for this project? ?

I'll share after I've decided upon anything further. Nothing too wild, really. I think European style rectangular headlights would work well on this truck, but I haven't even thought much about the front end yet.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Casey

[Zippi]

Looking good.  You've got a good run at it.

[Oldcarfan27]

There was an article in Truckin' magazine way back in the 80s where the owner did this same sectioning to a 60something Chevy pickup and he put stacked quad-headlights and a tube grill on his, but I don't think the whole thing worked out as good as yours is going.

I like the styling line through the middle, it adds to the sense of motion and keeps it from looking too slab-sided.

[Casey]

31 minutes ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

I like the styling line through the middle, it adds to the sense of motion and keeps it from looking too slab-sided.

Thanks. The reveal/shadow line was chosen for the very reason you mentioned, but it also necessitated widening the body by 3 mm. Doing so will allow me the use the box stock windshield, roof cap, and hood width.

Speaking of the hood, I got the rear edge nearly parallel to the cowl, then realized I will likely need to remove a millimeter or two to allow the front edge of the hood to sit further back. ? Still undecided how I am going to finish the leading edge of the hood and what the grille area will look like, but that will fall into place soon enough.

 

I did get the Fleetside pickup bed's wheel arches in place on both sides, and am pleased with how they look. The plastic from the pickup is significantly thinner than the same area on the Suburban, but a bit of plastic strip added to the backside should remedy that. 

[cobraman]

You have my attention.

[Oldcarfan27]

3 hours ago, Casey said:

Speaking of the hood, I got the rear edge nearly parallel to the cowl, then realized I will likely need to remove a millimeter or two to allow the front edge of the hood to sit further back. ? Still undecided how I am going to finish the leading edge of the hood and what the grille area will look like, but that will fall into place soon enough.

I say, just round off the edge and roll it under. Just leave it as a styling line.

I had a friend years ago who was so into the smoothy look, he would sand off any and all details, styling cues and trim.

I would compare the look to a used bar of soap.

[Casey]

14 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

I say, just round off the edge and roll it under. Just leave it as a styling line.

I had a friend years ago who was so into the smoothy look, he would sand off any and all details, styling cues and trim.

I would compare the look to a used bar of soap.

Yeah, unless the starting point is something highly sculpted and visually overly busy (looking at you '58 GM cars), you can only take the smoothing so far. Knowing when to stop isn't always easy, though.

The front valence is back in place and roughly blended...and mostly straight. The pickup and Suburban panels are not quite identical, but there's enough material present to make everything even in the end. 

 

The two grilles I am (was?) considering below, but I think I want headlight lenses which are slightly more rectangular than these from the AMT '60 Chevy Street Machine kit. They are very close to what I am looking for, though, so I may end up using the lenses and buckets, and ditching the center area.

Not sure where the other grille is from...Chrysler Imperial custom, maybe? ?? It kind of has the right look, but is a bit too narrow once the surround is removed.

[mikemodeler]

Wondered what you were going to do with that Suburban, now I know!

[Modlbldr]

Wow! I like everything about this so far. Keep it up. I'm watching.

Later-

[Smoke Wagon]

20 hours ago, Casey said:

Yeah, unless the starting point is something highly sculpted and visually overly busy (looking at you '58 GM cars)

Looking at you, 2019+ Silverado!

Your project is coming along great! The new design is smooth, but not too smooth; it looks just right. 

 

[afx]

Great looking project Casey.

[1930fordpickup]

This is looking nice Casey. I liked the other wheel wells better but it is your project, not mine. Even better you will finish it, unlike me. Can't wait for the chassis and power plant. 

[1930fordpickup]

Isn't there a custom grill with square headlights for a tri 5 Chevy, or is that for a pickup? 

[horsepower]

Looking really nice, the only thing I think I would have done differently was use the front fender wheel openings, with the way the body is shaped it would have taken a straight cut in front of the opening and another at the rear. 

What do you have planned for the interior? I am using an interior from one of the Boyds kits for the bucket and modifying the door panels to fit together with the stock ones for a different really custom appearance. I haven't decided yet but I'm leaning on a '55 or '56 car dash and maybe the seat from the AMT '62 Pontiac Custom version (front or back which ever one fits the sectioned body best) but if that isn't feasible I have a lot of fancy bucket seats and with a little plastic sheet even a full length center console ala Corvette style can be built with saw marks to simulate where the different lids would be and there are a couple of custom dash inserts with gauges that would work great in the front part of a console and would be different, especially if I put some dark tinted clear plastic in the gauges on the dash to look like a digital dash with the lights and ignition off.

Keep the good job it's going to be a real head turner when it's done.

Edited August 19, 2021 by horsepower

[Casey]

Thanks, all. Just trying to keep the momentum going on this one, really. So far, so good.

8 hours ago, 1930fordpickup said:

Even better you will finish it

I would never bet on such a thing. ?

8 hours ago, 1930fordpickup said:

Isn't there a custom grill with square headlights for a tri 5 Chevy, or is that for a pickup? 

I recall a few, but I think I have the headlight lenses and housings locked in with the AMT '60 Chevy Fleetside's custom pieces. I did a bit more digging and found a Chrysler Imperial (I think?) grille bar which may end up being used in some narrowed or shortened form. I'm not all that keen on the circular center area, but it may end up working out:

 

8 hours ago, horsepower said:

Looking really nice, the only thing I think I would have done differently was use the front fender wheel openings, with the way the body is shaped it would have taken a straight cut in front of the opening and another at the rear. 

I considered that early on, but though it would make the body area above the rear wheel arches too thin looking. I wanted less visual mass, but didn't want to remove too much:

 

I had an idea for the rear end of the truck I was sure was going to look great...until after I cut the top corners free and it became clear it was not, in fact, going to look good...so I glued them back into place:

 

I did get some sanding done on the leading edge of the hood, but there's still some fine tuning to do. The front-to-back length is correct now, but some edges on both the hood and header panel need to be redefined and evened, too:

 

8 hours ago, horsepower said:

What do you have planned for the interior?

Not much at this point. I need to set the floor height, make a new floor pan, then create a frame. Fortunately, there should be plenty of space under the (mostly) flat floor, so locating the main battery pack shouldn't be too challenging.  There's plenty of room for some type of electric motor setup and front suspension in the engine compartment, but l will need to get a bit creative packaging the rear suspension/drive on both sides.

[Jonathan]

Oh man, this is cool!

[Casey]

I purchased a 1/25 Revell "Dream Car" turbine engine kit a few weeks ago, with the hope of installing it in this truck, so I stripped the engine parts' chrome plating, assembled some pieces, and generally tidied things up. I will not be building the turbine engine as it comes-- creative liberties will be taken, but I will try to keep things believable for the most part. Here's where the engine is at so far, with the first image also containing a '60s Chevy I6 for comparison:

 

Below, the exhaust pipe and flange are (almost) resting against the engine, and are not yet attached:

 

Very loose test fit of the red bellhousing/mount on the '66's stock frame: