# NEW JL '62 Impala ragtop gets the roof/windshield mod!



## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

OK, at first I thought I was just gonna have to live with a grossly malformed roof and windshield on the '62 Impala. But I started playing with this last night, and I think it came out really good and it makes a HUGE difference...





































hey, would somebody be so kind as to post a pic of a stock JL Impala the way it comes from the box for comparison? I forgot to snap a pic of this before hacking it up (again  )

However, I DO have close-up pics of what the roof piece looks like after it's modified, and I've even drawn a couple little guides on the pic to give an idea exactly what has to be cut. BUT... I have to get the kids off to bed first, then post the rest later or tomorrow...

--rick


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## TX Street Racer (May 8, 2004)

Again Rick, FANTASTIC work. I am looking forward to that '62 more than any of the other cars in the release. '62's have always been a favorite of mine...... :thumbsup:


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

OK, here's how I did it:

First of all, I mostly used this to remove material:










It gives a nice sharp edge at the top corner, much cleaner than you could get with a sanding drum and easier to control (I think) than a cutoff wheel. Guys who've been using Dremels for a while will probably have 10 better bits than this one to do this job, but this worked for me. If you're new at this (and that's who I'm writing this for--the new guys), GO SLOW. This kind of bit can DESTROY small pieces of plastic in an astoundingly short time.

First, remove the roof by grinding off the melt posts in front of the bottom of the windshield and the gluey material at the bottom of the rear posts. You'll have to lift the rear of the roof up first, then wiggle out the tab attached to the bottom of the windshield. I cut off most of that tab right away... it keeps the body from getting low enough on the chassis to look good.

On this car, the windshield post and the wing window post actually sit on the top of the body, and an inner lip of material extends below the body line. The idea was to shorten these posts so the whole roof assembly would sit lower in the body opening. I didn't remove all the material below the body line; rather, I thinned it so there was still a lip on the inside edge to help locate the windshield in the body opening.










I also removed a TINY amount of material at the rear roof pillars to change the angle at which the roof sits on the body. This pic shows approximately what was removed in bright blue:










The red line shows roughly how the roof sat on the top edge of the body before modifications. The white line shows the new orientation of the roof to the body. Notice there's a tiny blue wedge of the roof removed at the back of the side window opening... I mean TINY, and it should reduce to nothing at the back edge of the roof. If you haven't done mods like this before, try to remove like a hair's width of material at a time, and that goes for the front pillars too. If you've done Dremel work like this, then you know how easy it is to go too far without even realizing it. When I did the first cuts to the front pillars, the sides were uneven and I had to concentrate REALLY hard not to keep taking a little off each side till the roof was sitting on the dashboard. When it's done, it looks like this:










I also ground a little on the rear roof locating tabs to make them a little easier to get back into the slots... since you're putting them back in at a slightly different angle, they need a little play.

Mine isn't perfect, as you can see in the photos in the first post... the black part of the roof doesn't sit perfectly flat on the body on both sides (you can see daylight under it on one side) and on the other side the windshield post is a tiny bit shorter than the wing window post. But I've learned that when I try to "fix" little things on a small-scale job like this, after a certain point, I just make them worse. Besides, you can't see any of that when this thing is zipping around a track... 

--rick


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## jack0fall (Sep 8, 2004)

Hey Rick, :thumbsup: Thanks for the details... :thumbsup: I will admit that I am a "newbie" when it comes to using a dremel on plastic... Can't tell you how many bodies I have wrecked by getting in a hurry, wrong tip or both... But I am learning so I guess that is a good thing (who said you can't teach us old dogs new tricks...)

I also like the trim lines you posted.... Keep them coming... 

Jeff


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

*A few more details...*

OK, I've been looking at some pics of 1:1 Impalas, and I have a few more ideas to make this one more realistic. First of all, JL did a couple weird things to the roof details. They put a chrome drip moulding on a convertible and extended the black color of the top down the windshield posts. I fixed the drip moulding with a black Sharpie and the windshield post with a silver Sharpie. To see what i'm talking about, check the pic on this page:

http://www.seriouswheels.com/1960-1969/1962-Chevrolet-Impala-Convertible-White-Red-Top-SA.htm

Now compare it to this:










(Yes you're allowed to be a dork like me and click back and forth between the pics...)

You'll also notice in the 1:1 pic that there's a section in the center of the bumper that's not chrome, but painted silver. Hit that with the silver Sharpie too.

Finally, this grille is BEGGING for a detail wash. Dip a tiny detail brush into flat black acrylic, then into water. Float a little of the thinned black paint into the recesses in the grille. Quickly but gently wipe off the excess from the grille bars with a folded paper towel or a Q-tip. Voila, the grille looks like there's empty space behind it. (The things with the grille and the bumpers work well on the Bel Air, too...)

OK, it's really time for me to step back from the Dremel and glue and paintbrushes for a few days and spend some quality time with my favorite Parma... 

--rick

p.s. Look at that 1:1 pic again. Which one of youse guys is gonna be the first to put fender skirts on this little ride? :devil:


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## vaBcHRog (Feb 19, 2003)

Hey Rick is the rear bumber cocked down on this car??

Roger Corrie


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## micyou03 (Apr 8, 2003)

I think he bumped another car while backing into a parking space.


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

vaBcHRog said:


> Hey Rick is the rear bumber cocked down on this car??
> 
> Roger Corrie


ya know, now that you mention it, it is... I hadn't noticed. I guess a picture that's 2-3 times life size tends to bring that stuff out...

--rick


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Don't know about the rear but the front looks a little tilted towards the rear of the car. Still a clean looking Chevy. :thumbsup: rr


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