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`70 Chevelle SS454


Oddball

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Time for my first car build on the forum.

I am a big fan of cars from the 50's to the 80's, especially the big american monsters from the late 60's and early 70's. Now at the moment, being unemployed and too young to have built up a really decent stash, i'm pretty stuck for stuff to build. I do have a box with quite a few of my old build sitting in the cupboard. So yesterday I pulled out the old AMT chevelle I built many moons ago, with the intention of stripping it down and rebuilding it.

I'm afraid no photos fo the moment as right now it's sitting in a bowl of bleach to remove the paint and all the nasty old AMT chrome. Shouldn't be much longer now so I'll post a few pics when she's done.

Edited by Oddball
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Hey guys, piccie time!!!! Woo!

Unfortunately I forgot to get a "before" shot before I started stripping it down, but here are a few pics of the process so far.

One box, plus bits. Add glue and shake well.

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Stripped chrome parts after a coat of alclad's black base.

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And the body all primer'd up and curing, should be ready for smoothing down tomorrow.

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Thanks for the comments guys, yep things are coming along nicely. I'm picking up some tamiya white primer on friday so that I can get the body painted soon as possible, since I find it best to do the body first so I can work on the rest while the paint cures.

Done a little more today, decided to add a little headlining detail to the inside, as well as making some sun visors.

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Still need to add the C pillar flocking.

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Hello all! Got a little more work done today, this time on the chassis and rear axle. The one thing I don't like about the AMT kit is the nasty way they've done the propshaft, moulded into the underbody. That and the whole stupid rear axle and exhaust molded together thingamybobber. So, i've decided to do something about it. Since I had a spare propshaft and rear axle in the bits box, I figured it was time for some scratchbuilding.

Here you can see the moulded detail of the original axle on the right, along with the one i'm mutilating on the left.

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And now the axle is pretty much done, brackets for the suspension arms, coils and shocks.

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Also removed the moulded in "propshaft" and blanked the gap up to await painting.

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And lastly, while I was waiting for bits to dry and glue to set, I made some window winders for the door cards.

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  • 5 months later...

Well it's been quite a while since I posted any progress on this, but I've made a done a fair bit of work on the old bucket.

Fist off some of the bits that have been sprayed, including my reworked rear axle and scratched radiator.

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And a couple of shots of the body, mostly done apart from a few small details and clearcoat.

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Cheers,

Odd.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, the beast is pretty much done now. It feels good to have given new life to an old banger of a kit. I may not ever get the chance to own or even restore a real one, but at least I have it on a shelf in my bedroom. ^_^

Some pics of the bodywork and interior, well, what little can really be seen.

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The big ole 454 mill, plus and minus the air cleaner, I decided to scratch up a throttle cable and return spring while I was at it.

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And some of the underside, showing off the short (loud!!) pipes, my scratched rear suspension set up, and some wire bits. The battery had sadly taken its leave of the kit, so I decided to have the battery in the boot, with the wires going along. They'd probably be inside the body in real life, but I like the little splash of colour.

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Very nice indeed Oddball.

I love the body colour & the black rims & yellow lines give it a real tough Street-fighter look.

You’ve made a good job of detailing the motor, fuel lines, hoses, throttle linkage & harness look exceptional. And that motor is really going to bellow with open headers & cut-offs.

Nice job on the rear end. I agree with you, the whole promo `moulded in’ prop & diff is a bit naff but AMT and many others have addressed this issue with separate parts in later moulded kits.

Did you use Bare metal foil for the chrome body trim ?

All in all a very nice model Oddball, one you can be justly proud of.

I look forward to seeing more of your builds.

:goodjob::cheers:

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Hi,

Suddenly there are lot of cars on this forum. Very nice to see some many builds. The Chevelle is done very well with nice color.

as u said:

I may not ever get the chance to own or even restore a real one, but at least I have it on a shelf in my bedroom.

from me -- I started collecting and building kits on the same thought.

Cheers,

rishi

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Many thanks for the comments guys, i'm glad you like it. Dave, good to see you back buddy, can't wait to see your Plymouth and Chevy finished. I'm really pleased with the look the rims give. I was going to alclad them, but when I did a mock up and saw how mean she looked, well, I just couldn't resist. I used humbrol metalcote for the body trim, polished aluminium, buffed up then sealed in with future.

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Thanks guys. RFT, if you don't mind shopping overseas try modelexpress, it's an american company but their list is absolutely astounding. I daren't even browse when I have a full paypacket in the bank. :sick: Bye bye christmas!

Edited by Oddball
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  • 3 months later...

Very nice! My parents had a blue '72 Chevelle when I was just reaching driving age. They were afraid for me to get it though, I ended up with a '72 Nova two-door with a 350 auto that I bought and drove to high school. Sometimes I miss my good old V8 cars...but not what I would pay for in fuel these days.

jerry

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Jerry, my man, I am green with envy! Most guys in this country end up with a little 1 litre for their first car (around 60 cid), I did a little better with a 1.6, but still. I would love a big burbly V8 at the end of my heavy foot. I bet you didn't have to pay much for your Nova either. :worthy:

I want to emigrate!!

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Very nice! My parents had a blue '72 Chevelle when I was just reaching driving age. They were afraid for me to get it though, I ended up with a '72 Nova two-door with a 350 auto that I bought and drove to high school. Sometimes I miss my good old V8 cars...but not what I would pay for in fuel these days.

jerry

Not sure what you're paying over there these days but over here it's approx $7.70 a US Gallon........

And I'd still love a V8, but will have to make do with a V6

As for models, I have a few in my stash that need sorting....including my favourite muscle car (ok, pony car), the 67 Camaro

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