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AMT 1968 El Camino SS street machine – building hints and kitbashing ideas

RELATED TOPICS: SNAPSHOT | HOW-TO | SCALE AUTO
Here’s the help you've been waiting for to complete the AMT ’68 El Camino SS Street Machine. Plus, you’ll learn ways to improve upon some of the slightly dated components contained in this otherwise excellent kit.
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Reproduce the ’68 El Camino SS flat black factory lower-body accent. Apply Tamiya Flat Black (No. XF-1) in a single stroke with a wide paintbrush. Flow the paint on with a fairly thick coat and set the body aside to dry. A day later, repeat the process on the opposite side.
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The ’68 El Camino came with black, beige, and dark blue interiors. You can achieve factory-correct bright accents on the door panels, console, steering wheel, and instrument panel with thin strips of Bare-Metal Foil and a Molotow Chrome paint pen.
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Paint the engraved wood-grained pickup floor Tamiya Flat Brown (No. XF-10) followed by Vallejo Dark Gray Wash (No. 76.517) and semigloss clear. Then, accent the bed rub strips with a Molotow Chrome paint pen.
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If you don’t like the wood bed floor, pull the steel bed floor from the AMT Coca-Cola 1968 El Camino SS (No. AMT1362/12). Use the Street Machine’s floor as a pattern. Remove excess material with a jeweler’s saw.
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Before painting the vinyl roof, completely mask all other surfaces, both on the inside and outside of the body. Or you can sand the simulated vinyl texture and chrome trim smooth and paint the roof the body color.
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The subtle vinyl roof texture benefits from paint misted on from a distance to dry with a slightly pebbly finish. Alternate light coats of Tamiya Flat Black (No. TS-6) or White (No. TS-27) and Semigloss Clear (No. TS-79).
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To tone down the chrome and more accurately replicate the aluminum finish of billet wheels, mist on a couple of coats of Tamiya Semigloss Clear before assembly. Sand the tire treads for more realism.
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The kit replicates the El Camino’s chassis, including the four-link, coil-sprung, rear axle with stabilizer bar. In most cases, 1960s-era GM chassis and suspension assemblies were finished in various shades of black.
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Just a reminder that with this kit, you will generally need to slightly enlarge most of the locator holes for parts prior to assembly. That includes the clear styrene windshield and backlight.
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To avoid problems during final assembly (see the kit review), slightly file the forward edge of the instrument panel on both the driver and passenger side (shown in red). Test-fit the completed interior into the body with the windows already in place.
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The top of the interior door panel sits at the same level as the top of the exterior door skin, as seen here. Make sure you’ve achieved the same result on both the driver and passenger sides. If not, the chassis/interior/bed assembly will not properly fit in the body.
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Alternative to the instructions: Glue the radiator and firewall in place, add the assembled bed, and then the interior. Next, glue the frame with front suspension in place and slide the engine/transmission through the hood opening. Install the exhaust and rear suspension.
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Replace the kit’s 1985 supercharger and fuel injection system by combining its Chevy big-block (left) with contemporary intake/ exhaust options like those in the Revell Foose Eldorodo Chevy 502 (No. 85-4435) or the AMT/Ertl 1967 Impala Street Machine (No. 8208).
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For wheel and tire choices, go to the aftermarket or other kits, like the Revell Foose Ford FD-100 (No. 85-4426) big ’n’ biggers (lower left), the Revell-Monogram 1959 Corvette 2-in-1 (No. 85-2379, lower right), or the five-spokes in the AMT 1968 El Camino Coca-Cola kit (bed).
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