Revell '66 Chevell Station Wagon Restomod

[atomicholiday]

...And here's my next victim!  I'm building the Revell '66 Chevelle wagon for a group build on another site.  No real progress to report yet, as I'm just getting started and brainstorming ideas at this point.  I did get the parts washed and ready to be cleaned up today though.
I'm thinking possibly two-tone paint, aftermarket wheels (on order), maybe changing it over to a modern fuel injection setup...  It may be my most ambitious project to date.  We'll see where I end up.

[Leon]

Really like station wagons! Built this kit and still on the shelf.

[kyledehart5]

I also really like station wagons. Looking forward to watching this one.

[sharp]

I just finished building the AMT 65 Chevelle wagon.I wanted to build a drag car out of it so I used the chassis from the 66 Nova pro street kit. Looking forward to watching your build.

[atomicholiday]

Yesterday I started trimming parts.  It’s been a crazy busy week for me, and I haven’t gotten much done, but things should start to settle down now.



Also, today I got the wheels I plan to use.  I went with Pegasus Shuey’s. Not crazy about how low profile the tires are, so I’ll be using the kit supplied tires to fill the wheel wells better.  Front tire will fit the new rim perfectly if I cut out the ridge inside the tire.  The back tire is too big so I'll need to figure out how to create a sleeve or something.  Any suggestions are welcome.



Here’s a rough mock up with the Pegasus tires.


Kit tire is the one on the left.

[70 STING]

Hmm, maybe a few layers of thinner styrene sheets could be wrapped around the rims? A little Tamiya Extra Thin to ‘melt’ the visible edges and putty and/or sanding to smoothen it all out.

[406 Silverado]

Jan 2, 2024 15:09:01 GMT -5 sharp said:

I just finished building the AMT 65 Chevelle wagon.I wanted to build a drag car out of it so I used the chassis from the 66 Nova pro street kit. Looking forward to watching your build.

Ummmm.....you wouldn't happen to have a thread on that one wouldja Mike? I'd LOVE to see that one. 

[406 Silverado]

Jan 5, 2024 14:41:54 GMT -5 atomicholiday said:

Yesterday I started trimming parts.  It’s been a crazy busy week for me, and I haven’t gotten much done, but things should start to settle down now.



Also, today I got the wheels I plan to use.  I went with Pegasus Shuey’s. Not crazy about how low profile the tires are, so I’ll be using the kit supplied tires to fill the wheel wells better.  Front tire will fit the new rim perfectly if I cut out the ridge inside the tire.  The back tire is too big so I'll need to figure out how to create a sleeve or something.  Any suggestions are welcome.



Here’s a rough mock up with the Pegasus tires.


Kit tire is the one on the left.

  I really like the direction you're headed with this one Jeremy. How low are you going to go with the stance? 

[kyledehart5]

Nice start. I like those wheels. I think I have a set of those stashed away for something. This’ll look great with those on there. I don’t have any brilliant ideas on the tire issue

[atomicholiday]

Jan 5, 2024 17:51:58 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Jan 5, 2024 14:41:54 GMT -5 atomicholiday said:

Yesterday I started trimming parts.  It’s been a crazy busy week for me, and I haven’t gotten much done, but things should start to settle down now.



Also, today I got the wheels I plan to use.  I went with Pegasus Shuey’s. Not crazy about how low profile the tires are, so I’ll be using the kit supplied tires to fill the wheel wells better.  Front tire will fit the new rim perfectly if I cut out the ridge inside the tire.  The back tire is too big so I'll need to figure out how to create a sleeve or something.  Any suggestions are welcome.



Here’s a rough mock up with the Pegasus tires.


Kit tire is the one on the left.

  I really like the direction you're headed with this one Jeremy. How low are you going to go with the stance? 

Thanks guys! 
I'm thinking I'd like the ride height to be close to box stock.  Not really a huge fan of cars like this dropped into the weeds.  So lower than factory stock,  but not low rider low.   Know what I mean?  And definitely a slight rake! 

[atomicholiday]

I raided the AMT '70 Chevelle kit as swiped the EFI setup from it for this build.  Not much time tonight for any real work, but I did mock the engine and EFI up to check hood clearance.  Looks like I have a little filing to do.  If it's gonna be a restomod, it's gonna need some good dependable power.




Also, the resin hood I ordered is here now. I know nothing about resin, so I won’t condemn it. But I was hoping it would be a little nicer than it is. Looks better in the picture than it really is. Not sure if I want to use it or not. I think I’m going to clean it up and paint both hoods and use the one I like best.



Resin hood is on the right.

[kyledehart5]

Resin can be a little rough…especially if it’s just a guy doing castings in his garage or something. Wash it well, Fill any holes, sand it smooth and make sure you get a good primer coat on it. It can look really nice when prepped well.

[406 Silverado]

Jan 11, 2024 21:31:44 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Resin can be a little rough…especially if it’s just a guy doing castings in his garage or something. Wash it well, Fill any holes, sand it smooth and make sure you get a good primer coat on it. It can look really nice when prepped well.

  Kyle's right on every count. I've put some resin goodies on cars that had to have their fair share of work done to 'em but they can be worked with FO SHO!! Looking forward to seeing what you do with this Jeremy.

[atomicholiday]

Thanks guys.  Yeah, I'm going to try to make it work.  But I'll do both hoods just in case.


Actually, that's what I was just working on. The hood was WAY too thick to use as is. A course sanding stick was used to thin the whole thing down to the same thickness as the kit hood.



It’s definitely better now, but it still needs a little more work in a few areas. For instance, the raised section will need more sanded if I want wiper blades.

[atomicholiday]

Working on the rear wheels today. The rims are too small for the tires, so I’m going to attempt to make sleeves using .02” stock. Here it is prior to any gluing or filling. Still a ways to go, but you get the idea.

[kyledehart5]

Sweet! That looks like it could end up working out nicely for you!

[atomicholiday]

Jan 14, 2024 17:48:25 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Sweet! That looks like it could end up working out nicely for you!

I hope so. I glued them this afternoon, so we’ll see if it holds in the morning. Wish me luck.🍀

[406 Silverado]

I hear you on these hood blues as a well as the wheel fit in the tires. I got sent a resin cowl hood that was so dang bad that it was only good for one thing......the trash. Looks like you may be on the road to making yours work out pretty dang well though. I've never sleeved a wheel into a tire before and I like your idea to make it work Jeremy. Lookin' good so far buddy. 

[moparman18064]

I hear you on the resin. When I cut the trunk lid off my Demon project, the trunk lid measured anywhere from.049 to .096, varying throughout. It definitely complicates things. I took my drivers test in a 66 wagon like this, was light blue metallic w/ black stripe on bottom. Neat build

[ak]

I try to stay away from resin as much as I can, but sometime you gotta do what’cha gotta do! Excellent work!

[lyle]

Nice subject.

[atomicholiday]

Thank you, gentlemen! Man, I really need to get back to this one soon. I haven't touched it in a few weeks.
My wheel shells didn't work out so well, but I have a new plan of attack to try.