Model Car List
57 Chevy Project

Covering steps 2 & 4 we'll build up the chassis and install the engine.

First take the floorpan (part # 50) and paint it according to your interior color choice. Paint the interior side first, mask it after it dries, then airbrush the rear trunk section and the bottom side of the floorpan Model Master Black Chrome Trim. Disregard the instructions showing floor mats as being Flat Black. This color should be matched to the rest of the interior carpet color. As near as I can determine for accuracy purposes the Bel Air Hardtop carpet color should be Black except for:

Light Green/Dark Green interior - carpet is Dark Green
Light Blue/Dark Blue - carpet is Dark Blue

With these exceptions, paint all of part # 50 either Black Chrome Trim or Flat Black along with the front springs (# 29). My preference is Black Chrome Trim since Flat Black seems to be less realistic in most cases. Either way, the floorpan is meant to be flatter appearing than the semi-gloss painted chassis.

The next hurdle to overcome is removing the chassis (part # 23) from its tree. Use care doing this as 2 of the 3 connection points are rather large and can damage the chassis if pulled away. I used my Xuron trimmer to cut these points well away from the chassis then filed and sanded them down smooth. Also check the whole chassis thoroughly for flash to be removed. I found a fair amount of flash on mine. After this you'll have to decide if you want to go to the trouble of puttying the sink marks running along the lengths of the main frame rails, some of which are more apparent than others. This problem is common to molded chassis whether they are separate from the floorpan or not. For a shelf model it's not too critical, but judges will most likely take note at model contests.

I removed the rest of the parts from the trees in steps 2 & 4 and filed down all the mold lines using flat and rounded riffler files, medium and fine sanding sticks, and a 4000 grit sanding cloth for final smoothing on rounded surfaces like the driveshaft, exhaust pipes, muffler edges, and shocks. All parts in this lesson require removing mold lines. Next, to partially build up the chassis prior to painting, I attached parts # 24 & 25, upper A-arms (# 40 & 41) and the stabilizer bar (# 32). A nice touch on the A-arms is the differing pin pattern used to mount these to the chassis to keep you from putting them on backwards. This is the first subassembly as all these parts are the same color. The second subassembly is the fuel tank (# 62 & 63). Group the following parts to be painted the same color airbrushing recommended to eliminate brush strokes) : Chassis subassembly and parts # 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 43 - Tamiya Semi-Gloss Black.

Fuel tank assembly and part # 35 - Model Master Metalizer Magnesium. Parts # 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49 - Model Master Metalizer Aluminum. Regarding the Metalizer sprayed parts, airbrush on a few mist coats of Metalizer Sealer to prevent the metallics from rubbing onto the floorpan later on in the assembly. Very light coats are needed to prevent the Sealer from glossing the parts. Paint all these parts the appropriate colors then allow them to dry overnight.

Brush paint the front springs (# 29) with Model Master Steel being careful not to cover the Black recessed areas between the spring coils. Attach these to the lower suspension piece (# 26). Attach the kingpins (# 27 & 28) to the chassis so as the mounting pins line up with the lower suspension piece then glue on the lower suspension. This is a bit finicky so try to do one side at a time while gluing. There are 8 bolt heads on part # 26 that should be brush painted Silver as well as 4 on the upper A-arms (# 24 & 25) and the bolt heads on part # 32. Attach the tie rod (# 33) later after the engine is installed. Finally, attach the chassis to the floorpan before installing the engine. It appeared to me that the chassis glued securely to the six mounting pins would be sufficient enough to hold the two together.

Mounting the engine proved to be difficult due to the tricky and vague fitting multi-piece assembly of the rear engine mounts. Once the engine's front mounting pins are in the front suspension piece, the rear mounts don't appear to line up where they should be. To cure this, I filed off the small triangular areas on the mounts (# 40A & 40B) where they attach to the chassis (# 40 & 41), painted these Semi-Gloss Black, then glued them to the transmission. I then glued the front engine pins into the front suspension piece then positioned the engine so it lined up lengthwise matching with the chassis/floorpan. Once the engine was in the position that looked correct I positioned parts # 40A & 40B up next to parts #40 & 41 then glued them together. After this I painted the bolt heads on the tie rod (# 33) and attached this to the front suspension. Once dry, I touched up the paint on everything to cover the shiny glued areas.

Moving to the rear, mask off the two straps on the fuel tank assembly and paint them Black Chrome Trim. Since the straps are molded fairly lightly on the tank I decided brush painting them would look too sloppy. Instead I masked them with Bare Metal Foil, carefully trimmed them with a sharp X-Acto knife, then airbrushed the straps. BMF gives you a nice fine separation line. Once dry, remove the mask and glue the fuel tank onto the floorpan.

Next in is the exhaust. I brush painted the mounting pins on all the exhaust system pieces Flat Black as well as the rear exhaust pipe holes. # 44 & 47 first then 46 & 49 second. Once these were in I glued the muffler pieces #48 & 45 into the floorpan overlapping the other pieces. After all the exhaust pieces were securely mounted I then joined them together. I then painted the muffler clamps Model Master Steel.

Next the rear suspension. I joined # 34 & 35 then attached the leaf springs (# 36 & 38) to this assembly, then the shock mounts (# 37 & 39) to the leaf springs. Make sure this assembly is very secure to prevent it from coming apart later when you attach the wheels. I glued the rear leaf spring mounting pins into the floorpan then positioned the driveshaft (# 43) first into the transmission then the rear end while gluing the front leaf spring mounting pins into the floorpan.

The shocks (# 42) are listed in the instructions as being painted Blue. I'm not sure if this is accurate or not as I thought they might have been White. I have a few photos and artist renderings showing them as White but I don't know how accurate these pictures are since some are black & white photos. I'm leaving these off until I figure out what the correct color is, otherwise paint them and put them on now if you prefer. If they're Blue, I'll use Model Master Ford & GM Engine Blue. The shocks can be easily added anytime though.

Several areas of the chassis where bolt heads are shown probably should be left Black. Also, I think the rear end cover (# 35) should be Semi-Gloss Black along with the rear end. I followed the instructions and painted it a separate color (Magnesium) figuring that a little contrast would look OK even if it wasn't accurate. Those building models for a Box Stock contest category might consider during these assembly steps adding flocking material to the interior floorpan and drilling out the exhaust pipe exits. Some, but not all, contests allow these modifications in the Box Stock class.

The next lesson will cover assembly of the wheels.

- Leon Tefft