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I've always liked 50's American cars and saw that the shell for this model is available in the US; the full Redcat model comes with a trick 'hopping' chassis which I simply don't want/need, so I've looked at options and decided on the TT-02 chassis; although the longest variant is still far too short for the wheelbase of the Chevrolet shell. I've sourced a used hopped-up tt-02 chassis, complete with charger, battery and basis RC transmitter from the 'Bay at a sensible price, and a set of the wheels and tyres as supplied in the Citroen DS model I recently completed. I've also bought a bare tt-02 platform and a pair of aftermarket propshafts, and the plan is to cut-and-shut the two platforms to create a 287mm wheelbase tt-02 chassis, and splicing the two propshafts with a stainless steel tube of the same inside diameter as the propshafts to create an extended shaft. It all sounds very simple on paper and I'm very sure there will be times where I just want to lob it from the nearest bridge; I do like a challenge though and will post progress with images as I go.
I'll also complicate things by adding sound and lights!

Nice idea, would love to see pics of the progress if possible..

You would benefit from a scaled down "rack" that telescopes out once the chassis is cut similar to what the limo fab folks do over here.. LOL

I was surprised that the Impala shell arrived from the USA today, and will post some pics of it within the next day or so; for now I am posting a pic of the unsuspecting TT02 chassis and the extra platform; having measured up and checked the data of the real car, the wheelbase will be extended to 298mm by cutting and shutting the two chassis and securely joining them together to achieve the required wheelbase. Likewise, the propshaft will get the same treatment by chopping in two and adding a length of the correct ID tube in stainless steel.
I noted that the screws holding the aluminium battery holder pegs are corroded and these will also be replaced with stainless, along with any other non-stainless fixings showing signs of corrosion. I guess the cause on the pegs was bimetallic......

If one of the moderators could help with making the image show properly I'd be grateful.....

 

  OK, so I have dismantled the rear suspension and installed it on the new rear platform; both chassis have been cut to size, and rather pleasingly to within 1mm of the required size! 

I decided to restart the project from scratch with two new chassis which I have joined together - the floorpan has a 0.5mm stainless steel plate rivetted (over-rivetted?) and the side runners are 0.5mm brass strips, again rivetted...

Not a pretty job, but the structure is very strong! I'm now transferring all the suspension and steering components to the new chassis.
I've replaced all the bearings and cleaned all the aluminium components thoroughly as the donor chassis was quite grubby from outside use. 
I'm currently waiting for a new pinion and spur (plus a new motor mount) to make it more of a slow runner and a new 540 motor as the existing one was noisy. 

The body is a lovely bit of kit; I've added some homebrew lighting to the shell; head, tail, and marker lights.

I've an engine sound module on it's way from China, along with a bluetooth speaker to play some authentic 50's doo-wop music when cruisin'.
The chassis has an extension added to the rear bumper mount under the trunk/boot space to accommodate the extra hardware.

That body is super cool. Is it hard plastic? 
Over rivetted, maybe.
A friend of mine once did this with a TT01 and a challenger body intended for a HPI Savage. Back then it was a drift car, it worked really well. If i can recall, he just used a a could strategically placed carbon pieces, countersunk a bunch of screw holes in the under side of the chassis halves, and then added 3mm allen head screws with nuts(inside the tub).
Looking forward to the end result!

The body is Lexan and the chrome bits are chromed hard plastic.
I have swapped the nasty white plastic wheels that came with the donor TT02 for the retro items that come with the Tamiya VW kit and whitewalled the tyres too; I have also ordered a set of the Kyosho chrome wheels with 'knock off' centre spinners and classic tyres, which I'll also whitewall in the same way using Plastikote flexible paint as I did on my recent Tamiya Citroen DS.
Thinking ahead, I have found a printable 3d model of the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado which make an impressive RC cruiser with some super-detailing.
I've always liked 1950's American cars; I was born in '59 in the UK and owned a '56 Mercury a long time ago (1980) and a friend had a '59 Caddy; I also had a number of British cars of a similar vintage and just on a cursory Google search have found a 3d model of a PA Cresta so that may be a future project!
I just need to convince my wife that a resin 3D printer would be a great addition to the kitchen......

Getting back to the Impala, once everything is complete I'll make a video with the car and post it in the thread, our elderly (13YO) cat has got used to me running RC cars up and down in our flat and does not consider them as prey items to chase, unlike the mini drone!

  OK, so the chassis has been built up with the engine sound module and a mini-bluetooth speaker....

 

It looks pretty nice. And with the body, it will be perfect. A pure west coast custom car with red alloy.

I've added the lighting to the shell and finished the interior with my own seat prints and added the shift lever too! The LEDs are now warm white as the ones I used initially were too white; I've also made up a set of '59 New York tags - the number was taken from a old picture I found online of a similar car!