I saw this on a model car messageboard and was blown away by the surgery involved. Keep in mind that there is no actual kit available to build this car, so a lot of cut-and-paste involved...
Go to the link below to see detailed pics of the build process:
Here is the description of the build posted by the builder:
"A year ago, one of my previous projects was a '57 Chevy sedan delivery using a cheap low-rider toy car as the starting material. The toy had lots of proportion issues but the station wagon structure was remarkably accurate. That model had turned out well and, during my research of the real vehicle's details, I also came across lots of info on the rarer Pontiac version of the '57 sedan deliveries.
All of Pontiac's sedan delivery production in '57, as well as a few previous years, had been built on Pontiac's Canadian assembly line in Oshawa , Ontario and, as with other Canadian Pontiacs at the time, were built on a Chevrolet platform...shorter wheelbase, Chevy based motors, chassis, and some upholstery trim. The sedan deliveries were commercial vehicles based on the Pontiac Pathfinder entry level station wagon series, but since Pontiacs were considered a slightly more premium vehicle line than the Chevies, even the basic sedan delivery used the regular bench seat instead of the Chevy's utility bucket seats and also used a deluxe steering wheel from the Chevy line. The six cylinder motor for Canadian '57 Pontiacs (the American versions came only with V8s) had 261 cu. inches with 148 advertised horsepower. This motor was based on Chevy's 235cu. in. six, but not available on the Chevy passenger line. Like the Chevy sedan deliveries, most current Pontiac SD restorations now sport lots of deluxe trim and V8 power, but the original vehicles were intended as work horses and the vast majority of them left the factory with six cylinder motors. The production versions all left the assembly line with the basic Pathfinder trim, upholstery, and rubber floor mats. There were only 857 Pontiacs Sedan Deliveries manufactured in 1957 and, with those low numbers, the Pontiac sedan delivery model lasted only one more year before production ceased. I enjoy building 1/25 or 1/24 stock vehicles that aren't otherwise available as toys or mainstream kits and I'd begun to accumulate the starting material I'd require for the Pontiac SD model months in advance. Another West Coast Choppers toy low-rider '57 Chevy wagon was bought cheaply on Ebay , missing the engine hood trim (fortunately, I wouldn't need any of the Chevy trim), and a Unique Replicas Chevy Nomad coin bank toy would supply the firewall, steering wheel, and basic chassis starting material. I already had a damaged Franklin Mint '57 Pontiac Bonneville parts car that would supply the much needed Pontiac grille, bumpers, and lights. Most of these various parts would require a good deal of modification to be suitable as the Canadian Pontiac but heck, if it was too easy, I probably wouldn't have been interested in the project. One of my lucky breaks was finding that the '69 Revell COPO Nova small hubcaps could be relatively easily modified to represent the basic '57 Pathfinder hubcaps. I used Renshape (a resin based modeling material) to fabricate the wagon style fuel tank, low profile oil bath air filter, and the folding bench seat. Side trim was formed from stainless jewelry wire, and most of the interior was fabricated using styrene sheet. Other fabricated detail included an opening fuel filler door, and chassis parking brake detail. The body paint is automotive basecoat/clearcoat to approximate the available Pontiac Pathfinder Malabar Yellow and the Pontiac lettering on the front fenders and liftgate is done by hand."
Unbelievable work, especially since it is a metal body.
Don
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
That's a heck of a lot of work! I wonder, how many hours?
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Wow, he painstakingly got all the little details and made them happen with a variety of materials. Love it! A++
I can relate to tackling a project like that, but rather than in plastic I create virtually with photo editing software, actually a really old version. Scanning a car picture then doctoring it into something else. It's fun trying to bring a vision to light. Some projects die on the vine while others can be ongoing. Certainly the devil is in the details.
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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton
It just hit me that the tail lights on this 57 model are the regular passenger tail lights and not the flatter looking tail lights that came on all 57 Pontiac wagons except for the Safari (Nomad) wagon. The actual quarter panels on the real 57 Pontiac wagons were 56 Chevrolet quarters, i kid you not for those that do not know this all ready. The model is not correct in this regard but obviously still fabulous in every regard. I never under stood why GM did this to the 57 Pontiac wagon with those 56 Chev quarters. The 57 Pontiac looks so much more classy with the proper tail lights and quarters.
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1957 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe sedan restored 261 six
1974 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon low mileage original 400 V-8
It just hit me that the tail lights on this 57 model are the regular passenger tail lights and not the flatter looking tail lights that came on all 57 Pontiac wagons except for the Safari (Nomad) wagon. The actual quarter panels on the real 57 Pontiac wagons were 56 Chevrolet quarters, i kid you not for those that do not know this all ready. The model is not correct in this regard but obviously still fabulous in every regard. I never under stood why GM did this to the 57 Pontiac wagon with those 56 Chev quarters. The 57 Pontiac looks so much more classy with the proper tail lights and quarters.
You are correct, of course, but in all fairness to the builder it would have been very difficult to scratch build 'correct' taillight bezels for a detail that only the most sharp-eyed '57 Pontiac experts would pick out. The identifiable '57 Pontiac pieces were scavenged from a '57 Bonneville diecast car.
This build is way above my skill level, but I can tell you from the building I've done that making intricate pieces from scratch in 1/25th scale is incredibly difficult to get the right look.
It just hit me that the tail lights on this 57 model are the regular passenger tail lights and not the flatter looking tail lights that came on all 57 Pontiac wagons except for the Safari (Nomad) wagon. The actual quarter panels on the real 57 Pontiac wagons were 56 Chevrolet quarters, i kid you not for those that do not know this all ready. The model is not correct in this regard but obviously still fabulous in every regard. I never under stood why GM did this to the 57 Pontiac wagon with those 56 Chev quarters. The 57 Pontiac looks so much more classy with the proper tail lights and quarters.
You are correct, of course, but in all fairness to the builder it would have been very difficult to scratch build 'correct' taillight bezels for a detail that only the most sharp-eyed '57 Pontiac experts would pick out. The identifiable '57 Pontiac pieces were scavenged from a '57 Bonneville diecast car.
This build is way above my skill level, but I can tell you from the building I've done that making intricate pieces from scratch in 1/25th scale is incredibly difficult to get the right look.
Mark, i totally agree with you and there is no denying that this 57 Pontiac sedan delivery model is mind numbing in its perfection. I thought i was a seasoned model builder but compared to this gentleman, i am just starting out. I wonder what a master piece like this would cost to buy out right, if it was for sale.
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1957 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe sedan restored 261 six
1974 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon low mileage original 400 V-8
Hard to say value-wise, as it's a one of one. That said, I've seen buildups of resin models of subject matter not readily available sell for four figures, so who knows.
Whatever it is, it would probably work out to a low dollar-per-hour payday for the amount of time into a model like this.
If you can't have the real thing.....next best thing!
