Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

I think the kit comes with a 348 W-engine, so you'll need to fit a "327 with 6 strombergs"

Yep, it was a 348 4 barrel. The owner put the 3 deuces on it when he rebuilt a 348 for it later.
The car was sold last October by auction, but I can't find the selling price. The estimates before hand were from $800,000 to 1.2 million. Quite the profit for hanging onto it for 42 years.

I'll try and build 'em as represented in the film... however even this leaves some "artistic license".

The '58 was stated as "It's got a 327 w/ 6 Strombergs", but the 327 just came out in '62... a hotrodder in '62 would probably gone 409 in an Impala.
The '55 was one of the (3) cars from "Two Lane Blacktop" with either the 454/TH400, or 427/Muncie...(don't remember which) but you never saw the engine or heard mention of what was in it.
The '32 had a SB w/ 4 2bbl Rochesters on a Man A Fre manifold. (The real car had a 327). Again, no script/lines/mention of what was in it during the movie.

- I've got enough parts in my scrap-box to build a SB for the Impala, but coming up with the manifold & 6 carbs will be interesting. I may just stay W power.
- The MPC "American Graffiti" '32 kit (hard to find and $$$) has a Chevy SB, but with a dual quad manifold (wrong). Revell makes a '32 coupe, but with Ford power. I could kitbash a SB into it, probably scratchbuild the manifold & carbs, and I'd have to chop the top myself.
- There are two '55 kits readily available, one is somewhat stock (with great detail(s), the other has the (correct) tube axle front, roll cage, but crappy over details. Haven't given it much thought yet.

I was really surprised that only 1 car, of one of the most popular "car cruising" movies was offered (wrongly) as a kit.

Progress report on the '58 build...

Since the car was primarily seen (in the movie) driving around, or static with "Toad" & "Debbie" in it, the paint-job and interior are the focal points. My goal on this project is to try and accurately recreate the car "as seen" in the movie. The undercarriage, engine, etc. will still get the detail treatment, but the interior and paint will be the focus.

The kit is surprisingly well detailed. It features opening doors, subsequently requiring a lot more detail on the interior than most kits.
Good & Bad for me. "I just love Tuck-n-Roll upholstery!"...

It's got all the factory detail molded in, but NONE of it is accurate to the prototype! I wound up shaving off all of the seat detail, and am cementing .040 (scale 1") half-round to recreate the seat details.
Also on the prototype, the rear deck is flat with "tuck-n-roll", not the molded humps to the window.

Once the 1/2 round is in fully in place, I'll knock it down to not be so "humpy".

You are truly working on "Saint" status with patience...

Quite the amazing transformation of the rear seat and package tray !!

Sorry to hear you were sick, but you got stuff done...

Such amazing talent and patience!

I am doing great, thanks. I am block sanding my Chevelle. Like any 50 year old car, it has a LOT of door dings, but is basically straight and solid.

For every step forward, there are 2 steps back...

I got the body of the '58 in primer, it sat for 3 -4 days to flash-off and get good & dry. Come Saturday morning a light scuff with 2000g, tack rag, and I mixed up the color. got the airbrush loaded, did a few test patterns, and started to spray...

Light tack-coats to cover the primer, gently building the coverage (without clogging the details), then a final wet coat. It is F'in BEAUTIFUL!! Flowed out perfect, no booger's in the paint, then it popped off my spray-stand and landed "jelly-side-down" on the workbench.

If anyone needs an entirely new stream of cuss-words - I have invented a complete new chapter of the English language.

(It is salvageable - the final wet-caot saved me - it did flow out a LOT of the damage. But now I have to wait about a week for it to totally flash-off & harden, then start wet sanding the roof & one corner of the 1/4-panel and re-spray/blend. AAARRRGGGG)

I'll get some photo's up soon. I just don't want to go in the "Skunkworks" shop right now... too painful.

Are you in recovery mode yet ?

Well... the "feathering & fogging" didn't turn out too well. The area was just too damn small for me to do it as on the original.. but I'm still pleased with the results.

Find attached some pics of the unmasked body, with all of that wonderful '50's chrome trim "foiled" in place. The camera doesn't lie, but when more than 6" away the damn trim looks like polished chrome!
There's 5+ coats of Model Master Enamel "Classic White", the same of "Guard Red", then 4 coats of clear Lacquer. I haven't given the job a buff or wax yet - these pics are "as sprayed".

The chassis is 99% done. Scratchbuilt touches are the coil springs & shocks. I did some weathering/dirt on the undercarriage & engine using very thinned-out washes of black & rust colors, and some dusting/brushing of earth-tone chalk dusts.

Getting close to final assembly! (A Monogram '32 5-window, and an AMT '55 post-Coupe are on the shelf... who's next? Milner or Falfa?

(the last pic is a "selfie" of me with my mega-bright LED/5x power magnifier head-gear)

The '58 Impala from "American Graffiti" is done! 

All I had left was final assembly of the sub-assemblies already done - the chassis/engine, interior tub, then the final trim pieces on the body.
As far as kits go, this one is pretty good. Lots of molded-in detail, and many extra parts. It's a 3-in-1 kit, and can be built stock, drag, or custom.

Assembly is difficult - I'd call it a "Level 3" kit, not for a youngster or noob to the hobby - you definitely need some modelling experience, specialty tools, and lots of patience to get good results. Many of the parts need some tweaking to fit properly, and multiple adhesives are needed (model cement, "crazy" glue, epoxy to name a few).

Yes, Very Nice!