I have a collection of scale models that I’ve built of “Dyno” Don Nicholson’s race cars, but I never got around to building his 1962 Chevrolet Bel Air. Round 2 reissued this AMT kit with new box art and a newly designed and expanded decal sheet that includes Dyno-Tuned markings. This two-in-one kit can be built stock or race-ready. It includes a 409 turbo-fire V8 engine, choice of intake manifolds, 5-spoke wheels, velocity stacks, Offenhauser valve covers, pad-printed whitewall tires, and plenty of other parts to fill your spares box with when you’re done.
Like most car kits that come with engines, the instructions say to start with the big 409. There is a substantial amount of flash on the engine and transmission, so make sure to run a file over the mating surfaces. And don’t forget to hit under the heads that mate to the block! It’s good to keep in mind that this is a reissue of a kit that originally appeared in the early 1990s, and while new parts have been introduced to the kit over the years, the bulk of the tooling is 30 years old.
Everything proceeds at a steady pace, from interior to wheels to chassis. All the clear parts fit the body openings well, although the headlights needed a little sanding to fit properly. The instructions direct you to install the radiator and fan shroud to the body before assembling it to the chassis and interior. To my dismay, the fan on the front of the engine interfered with the shroud. So instead, I took the radiator assembly off, mated the body to the chassis, and then installed the radiator and shroud. I see no way around this, and I built two of these kits!
The kit provides an optional tow bar. The instructions have you glue the tow-eyes to the front bumper, but I glued them to the frame underneath the bumper.
I used Bob’s Paint over just about everything except for the spots I used Tamiya Flat Black. The hardest part about the finish was the chrome down the side. With the Bare-Metal Foil, and Jimmy Buffet playing in the background, I just took my time. After all, it’s not a race.
I built two samples of the AMT 1/25 scale Don Nichols 1962 Chevrolet Bel Air Super Stock: the first as Dyno Don’s race car for a straight review model, and the other as the factory stock, employing what I learned from the first build. Both versions look great and went together quickly. The model cars took six hours each to assemble and paint. The decals went down beautifully. For the stock version, I made the front wheels poseable, an improvement that any modeler can make, and added a tow hitch in the back. I’d recommend this kit for any modeler with a few kits under their belt.
