1957 Chevy Stepside Pickup

I started the AMT 57 stepside a couple of days ago. I have decided to do it as a mild custom with an approximately 3 scale inch chop.


Here is the chopped cab sitting next to a stock cab. As you can see even a 3 inch chop makes for a significant difference in appearance.


The chop required sectioning the roof in the side to side axis approximately 2 scale inches. No sectioning was required in the front to rear axis.

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I filled the gap with sheet styrene and Bondo. Very little putty was required.


The roof came together pretty well. There is a small defect visible at the center of the roof that will require a bit more putty.


Here is the chopped roor in place. The pillars still need some work and I will try to get them done later today.

Help!!: Now that the roof has been chopped, the kit windshield does not fit. I see no way to alter the windshield and am looking for suggestions for a replacement.

Also, before anybody asks; yes this cab is from the 55 Chevy Cameo kit. I had this left over from a previous project and wanted to save the 57 cab just in case the chop turned to dirt. :lol:

That's it for today. Hopefully there will be more progress over the next few days.

John, the chop looks great. As for the windshield, I would try to file down the top edges of the stock one to try and make it fit. Failing that, maybe a piece of clear styrene sheet heated with a hair-dryer to help bend the outside edges.

Paul: I think I'll give the heated styrene a try. The kit windshield is not wide enough now, lacks probably 3/32" of filling the opening. Was kind of a surprise as i expected to be able to modify it from the top to fit. The rear window did in fact fit with just a little modification.

Very nice chop. Really adds alot to the look of the truck. The windows in my 49 Merc are made from one of those clear pastry boxes from Safeway. Yes I did have to eat the Butterhorn in order to get to the clear plastic.

Man! What a difference a li'l work can do to make a great project that much better. Your chop looks picture perfect! Keep them updates comin'! 8)

I cleaned up the chop and got the body color applied.





I had a bit of a problem getting a truly smooth surface on the roof, but finally seem to have gotten it right.



The color is Testor's One-Coat Lacquer--Purplicious. It has been polished but no clear applied as yet. Got to make a trip to Idaho tomorrow so probably will not have any progress to report until later next week.

Cool.
Hope you can get a decent windshield !

That top chop it pefect for this truck. Super job. Like the color also.

Man looks sweet nice color as well... Very nice.

I missed your first post John.

Great job on the chop and section.n It looks perfect now.

Now, you need to get some flame masks on it and do a ghost flame job!! LOL

Skid wrote:I missed your first post John.

Great job on the chop and section.n It looks perfect now.

Now, you need to get some flame masks on it and do a ghost flame job!! LOL

Al: I still have the mask you sent me. In fact I got it out yesterday and I think it will set a good pattern for the flames. Now if I can just work up my nerve.

The color is a great one to show off the chop very well. Great job on the paint work and again on the chop. I'm waiting to see more on this beauty.

So you got the hint then!!

Actualy, I think you may have passed the pont of no return. Maybe the purple is already to dark for ghost flames!!

Between trips to the doctor and to the hospital with my wife, I have been chipping along on the Chevy. Fortunately, both my wife and the truck seem to be coming along pretty well. :lol:

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This mockup doesn't really show the stance well. In actuality the front end is so low that the axle is almost touching the ground.

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I enhanced the CHEVROLET on the tailgate using BMF. Tedious, but I think worth the effort.


I installed a wooden floor in the bed of the truck using strip wood and styrene I-beams covered with BMF.


I installed a radio antenna using a bead wire nail. Unfortunately, it doesn't show well in this photo.

That's it for now. Comments, suggestions, criticism always welcome.

Excellent update. This build is looking great.

Great job John, and glad to hear about the wife. :cheers:

Great stuff John.
The real wood in the bed looks beautiful. Nice backward work on the bed BMF too. :lol::lol:

Bed looks great- like the rest of the truck!

Got up early this a.m. and went down to the hobby room. I installed the rear window in the truck without problem. Started to install the windshield when the ##$%^@@**(^&* thing snapped in half. I guess there was just too much strain placed on it after cutting it to size. Fortunately I have another windshield, but I'm wondering if the same thing will happen with it. I'm not going to find out for a couple of days though, too ticked off at the moment. Wish me luck.

Luck John.

Good Luck John.

Really looking nice! I don't remember what I did when I chopped a '49 Ford with the windshield. Windshields are a pain unless they're flat! I always admire folks who can do a perfect job on post war curved glass, front and rear. Take your time and experiment until you're pleased. Best of luck and have fun or it's a chore to do.

John a little trick I use on the resin big rig cabs is to use clear .10 or .15 cut the shape of the windshield out of it and roll the corners on either side on some ally tube starting with 5mm and reducing the tube size until the desired curve is required for a snug fit then just slightly shave the exess plastic until it fits in the recess. With a little time and not losing your temper you can achive a perfect fit. You could also use the original as the buck (template) to draw around on to some paper with a pencil then place the clear sheet plastic over top and score round the shape below. If you have any problems I will put some pics on of what I mean.
Tony.

REALLY?! I always snapped the clear styrene (clear is the most brittle) and don't know if the flat clear stock one can buy can be easily bent, or heat or warm water must be used to get the clear plastic ready for bending. This is an interesting subject and would be handy for chopped, curving windshields.

Tony: Thanks for the info. At the moment I think the second windshield I trimmed is going to do the job, but if it doesn't I'll give your idea a try.

I have been having some trouble with the filler strip in the top of the cab when I chopped it too. Depending on temperature the paint over the filler will either be perfect or will "bubble". The warmer the plastic is, the worse the bubbling. When the plastic is cool the surface is absolutely flat.

I finally gave up and tossed the cab into the purple pond. Yesterday I finished stripping the cab and sanded the top of the cab again. I mixed a surfacer of Tamiya putty thinned with acetone and surfaced the top of the cab. After sanding again the top is perfectly smooth. I primed with PlastiKote primer and am going to let it set for a couple of days to see what happens. Hopefully the smooth top will maintain this time.

If anybody has an idea what caused this I would sure appreciate you letting me know. I'm at a loss as to cause.