'55 Chevy two-door sedan; best kit?

[62rebel]

looking for who has the best kit for doing a car similar to the "Two Lane Blacktop" '55.... needs to be the two door sedan body, not a hardtop, and in 1/25th......

wondering if the excellent chassis from either the "new" AMT '57 or the new Revell '57 will be a natural fit inside the AMT '55 body..... or, even, which one would be a better donor kit, as i know that the AMT '55 uses the '55 Nomad chassis plate, very similar to the simplified AMT "old" '57 BelAir kit....

i searched the kit reviews and couldn't find a Revell '55...

[Rob Hall]

Well, the AMT '55 is the only one for a styrene 2dr sedan. Revell did do a diecast 2dr sedan of the car from American Graffitti, which would be similar to the TLB car...

[Craig Irwin]

Yep, for a sedan the AMT kit is your only option for the body, pick up the Revell kit for a much better chassis.

[62rebel]

i hadn't kept current on the Revell tri-fives and wasn't sure they'd done a '55 sedan.... well; at least the AMT kit as i remember it had decent proportions, even with the aged chassis plate.

[henry57]

The Revell chassis fits the AMT 55 really well, almost perfect, just needs a little trimming

[henry57]

Hmmm, I posted two pics but only one shows up,

[fredgsanford]

Well, the AMT '55 is the only one for a styrene 2dr sedan. Revell did do a diecast 2dr sedan of the car from American Graffitti, which would be similar to the TLB car...

pretty sure the 1:1 two lane blacktop and american graffitti 55"s were one and the same

[Guest]

I would get the Revell '55 kit as the donor. That way you can use the better grille,head lights and tail lights also. Looks like the sedan would be a natural for Revell to produce a modified reissue.

[440 Dakota]

pretty sure the 1:1 two lane blacktop and american graffitti 55"s were one and the same

two of them were,heres a pretty good site with a bunch of pics and story of the resored camera car,i'm also planning a TLB build

http://twolaneblacktop.yuku.com/

[greymack]

Hey guys isn't that Monogram 56 chevy 2dr a good donor for '62rebel' ??????????

[62rebel]

i didn't check; is the Revell '55 Convertible from the new tooling or the old 1/24 Monogram tool?

[Rob Hall]

i didn't check; is the Revell '55 Convertible from the new tooling or the old 1/24 Monogram tool?

It's the new tool..the '55 convertible was the first of the new tools back in the '90s IIRC...

[Casey]

The Revell tri-five Chevies are all 1/25 scale. I does get a bit confusing when ex-Monogram kits are re-packaged under the Revell label, though.

[62rebel]

the LHS has the convertible in stock, i just need to get an AMT sedan for the shell, then. the rest is in my parts boxes.....

[Casey]

Hey guys isn't that Monogram 56 chevy 2dr a good donor for '62rebel' ??????????

No, not at all. I wouldn't receommend any of the Monogram 1/24 Tri-five Chevies as donors for anything. The more recent 1/25 scale Revell '55, '56, and '57 kits (and the AMT Pro Shop '57 Chevy Bel Air, which is going to be re-issued in 2012 by Round2) are far better donors IMO.

I'm guessing the 1/25 scale '55 hardtop and sedan roofs are totally different, otherwise I'd suggest the B-pillar be added to the Revell hardtop and you wouldn't even need the (not so great) AMT '55 sedan kit.

[Rob Hall]

The Revell tri-five Chevies are all 1/25 scale. I does get a bit confusing when ex-Monogram kits are re-packaged under the Revell label, though.

Vice-versa has been happening lately..the Revell modern-tool '55 ht and convertible have been reissued w/ the Monogram label in the last year or so..

[MrObsessive]

I'm guessing the 1/25 scale '55 hardtop and sedan roofs are totally different, otherwise I'd suggest the B-pillar be added to the Revell hardtop and you wouldn't even need the (not so great) AMT '55 sedan kit.

Yeah, the hardtop's roof is shorter (longer tulip panel) than the sedan. I've seen guys try to add a B pillar to the hardtop to make a sedan before the AMT kit came out, and it just didn't look right.

Chevy no doubt made the hardtop's roof shorter to enable the rear quarter windows to roll all the way down. In the sedan, the windows stick up slightly when rolled down, due to the wheel wells intruding on the space needed to clear the window mechanism due to the longer quarter windows and thus longer roofline.

[Greg Pugh]

What is it that everyone seems to dislike about the AMT '55 2 door sedan? I understand if it has poor chassis detail but is the body good at least?

[62rebel]

it has that platform chassis and the same style interior bucket as the old AMT '57; okay for what it was in '65 or so but clearly inadequate for a modern detail build. for a period style ( as in, built in that period) build it's fine.

[ChrisPflug]

The "old style" chassis and interior can be detailed and made to look just as good as the new stuff- its just a lot less work to use the newer stuff

On another note- eBay can be a good source for donor chassis and parts- usually can find kits a slot car guy has robbed of the body for much less- I recently got a new issue Revell '55 hardtop kit less body, glass, and chrome trim for ten bucks or so shipped- perfect for use as a donor kit

[62rebel]

done deal; i have both on the way from Spotlight. the convertible will not go to waste..... it just won't be the detailed kit it was born as.

[Guest]

What is it that everyone seems to dislike about the AMT '55 2 door sedan? I understand if it has poor chassis detail but is the body good at least?

The body in the AMT '55 is spot on as far as proportions. It's just the chassis that's the problem. It has a molded in single exhaust. I actually prefer the post top 210 over the hardtop Bel Air. Another chassis that fits under the AMT '55 is the pro street chassis from Revell's '67 Chevelle. I have one of those in the works.