Tom Geiger Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) Back in the day, I helped my wife's younger sister buy her first car. We looked at a lot of cars but the best value was a 1977 Chevette that was painted this bright lime green. I got to teach her to drive the clutch, but she took to it well and has bought manual cars for most of her life since. Over Christmas we got talking and the Chevette story came up. She spoke fondly of the little bugger that got her through college. So between this and Adam's recent Chevette build on the board, I got the bug to build it. And per Tom Petty: "Mary got a new car Mary got the one she was saving for Now everyone here is so charged Mary never looked so good before And we wanna go where she goes We wanna listen to her radio Can we ride? Mary, can we ride? Can we ride? Mary, can we ride?" I started with this 1978 version promo that I fished from the 'bay for $15 postpaid. At that price, and the relative abundance of them, I had no problem cracking it open for a project. And here we are today. Tamiya bright green right over the bare green plastic. I've never skipped the primer step, but it seems to have worked fine this time. I cleaned up some mold lines and scuffed it prior to a few coats of color. I did the side window surrounds with a black Sharpie, a bit hairy since there were few guide lines. Then I added the panel lines with acrylic black and did the BMF work. The emblems are dry brushed with Testors Metalizer Aluminum. Side lamps are BMF with orange and red Sharpie over them, with a black Sharpie surround that was drawn prior to trimming the foil. I was bummed to see that the actual tail light had three color lenses and a chrome surround, while the kit part was just clear red. After looking at it a while, I got the idea to just wrap the whole thing in BMF and used Sharpies and a white acrylic pen to add the colors. It worked wonderfully. I'm very pleased with the results so far. The above rear view is most representative of the actual color. I carved out the 1978 grill to match the 1977 one, and I soaked the bad chrome off the bumpers so I have some Alclad work to do. The chassis is done, just basic flat black with the front valance painted the body color. Interior is already painted black. Then I remembered that she had grey fake sheepskin seat covers on the front seats, so those will get flocked. Past that I have a set of New Jersey plates, and I'm going to create two stickers I remember on the car. A Snowbird decal on the drivers side rear window and a Ramapo College decal in the rear window. And that should bring that memory back to life in scale. PS - Yea Harry it will have mirrors. I stole them from a later model Chevette kit ! Edited December 10, 2014 by Tom Geiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Man, Tom that looks great... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Smith Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Nice work on the taillight-always a pet peeve of mine...yours look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemodeler Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I recently picked up a 77 Chevette in a trade (unbuilt) and haven't decided which way to go with it, but I like yours! I am sure your sister-in-law will appreciate it when it's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Very nice Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Great job Tom. Isn't it fun to sometimes build a car for someone..?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffs396 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Very cool Tom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 bad55 stan Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Very cool little car,A mate of mine drives his 1.1 car ,It,s his driver daily, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Customman Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 You made that promo come alive Tom, It looks good. The tail lights and markers look realistic now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Sweet! I had one that was painted Burgandy over that shade of green. Looked funny after getting rear ended.! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRoofNut Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 I like what I am seeing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 All these Chevettes are making me want one...in plastic and 1:1. Cheap to run and stone-axe simple. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faust Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Dude, that's coming along great! Using the Promo is a great idea, since they do seem to be common. I have gotten a bunch of promos for my brother, and oddly I've never come across this one! That's exactly how I did my Chevette's tail lights, albeit with clear acrylic paint. You've gotten that hideous green colour captured nicely, too! Power to the Chevette People! (Lord knows they need it!) Keep it up, man! Do we need a "Post your Beaters" thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Lynch Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelbuilder Mark Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I am sure you will work wonders with it, as it looks like you are already headed in that direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Looking great, Tom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Really nice. It just looks right. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fart Factory Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) Cool! I miss seeing these cars driving around Edited March 27, 2014 by Fart Factory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) A wee bit-0-progress... with the warm weather my attention has gone outdoors, getting everything ready for summer! The tough part is that we are already booked for every weekend in June. So it's tough even getting that stuff done. So I haven't been to the bench much at all. With a request from the board as to how to do sheepskin seat covers, I realized I hadn't taken and shared any photos since the Chevette's interior was completed! The interior was black with those cheap fake sheepskin seat covers that was all the rage in the 1980s. The black vinyl seats were all split at the seams under those, seats were sooo crummy back then. Oh, a funny side story.... my Geo Storm also came with those covers and we just assumed that the seats were damaged and never looked underneath. My daughter damaged the drivers seat, so I took off the cover to see the seats were perfect! Off they came. And I have no idea what happened to the top of the dash. This was a light green promo so maybe they had some odd clear coat on it to get that alligator look with Duplicolor primer gray and gloss black. The body top surfaces also have very fine cracks all over too, and that's just Tamiya green directly over the kit green plastic. Go figger. I put the flocking on heavy to look like the sheepskin, over Duplicolor gray primer. Then I sprayed it with hair spray to keep the fibers from flying. I hate seeing models with those darn fibers all stuck with static on the kit glass! I had sprayed the interior bucket and rear seat Duplicolor gloss black which pretty much replicated vinyl. I used Testors Dullcote on the carpets as an experiment. And just for fun.. a bowling bag from the Johan '59 Rambler wagon luggage set. I thought I could pass it off as a book bag but no it's a friggin bowling bag. I made the decal for my sister in law's school, and painted the bag in school colors. Just something to add interest when someone looks in the back glass! The car has it's faults, but it's a curbsider that I'm planning on giving away so I'll press onward. The headliner is done complete with a rear view mirror and sun visors. All that needs to be done is final assembly, then pop on the mirror and antenna! Next time you see it, it should be done. Edited December 10, 2014 by Tom Geiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DynoMight Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Pretty cool man, never really like Chevettes, they were weird cars... KUTGW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 bad55 stan Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Those sheep skin covers look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Cool, Tom. With several possible jobs coming on the horizon, a Chevette's starting to look real good for some of the commuting I'll be doing if...oh, all but two or three of them come through. The others I'll be close enough to drive the Roadmaster and not care all that much. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robberbaron Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 The interior was black with those cheap fake sheepskin seat covers that was all the rage in the 1980s...Oh, a funny side story.... my Geo Storm also came with those covers and we just assumed that the seats were damaged and never looked underneath. My daughter damaged the drivers seat, so I took off the cover to see the seats were perfect! Off they came. Sounds like the clapped-out 79 Monte Carlo that I bought as a beater back when I was in college. Every panel was dented and most of the plastic in the interior was turning to powder. Had a set of those sheepskin covers that I was scared to remove, judging by the condition of the rest of the car. Turned out that the front seats were in better condition than any other part of the interior. That car was a mixed bag: solid sheet metal, but dents everywhere and oxidized paint. The frame behind the rear axle was nearly rusted through, but it had a good running 305 4-barrel. It also had the infamous Metric trans that slipped so badly that I had to shift it manually to keep it from blowing up. I bought it in the fall for $500, and at the time I was just hoping it would get me through the winter, so I didn't need to drive my "good" car. Somehow I actually limped it along the rest of the way through college and a year after I graduated, until I was able to buy my Formula, which was my first new car. Really enjoy seeing these Chevettes being built. These things were everywhere in the 80s. One of my sister's friends had an off-white one that they nick-named the Cream Puff, complete with one of those chintzy pop-up 80s sunroofs. My uncle also had one as a daily driver that he got really attached to: a couple times he got in fender benders where the insurance company wanted to total it out. He insisted on buying it back and getting it repaired, including a total repaint at one point. Think he drove that one for a solid 15 years without any major mechanical problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Nice interior Tom, those seat covers look so 80's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 (edited) The Chevette is finally done! Yea, it is a curbside and should've been a been a quick build, but you know the story. This is my sister in law's car that she drove to college. And it's the spittin' image. I am pleased with the results and I"m sure she'll get a big kick out of seeing it in scale. I got the details down, from her fake fur seat covers to the Ying and Yang sticker she had on that side window. These are the customary shots I take at the end of a project to look for things I can fix. I spot a few so it will get a short trip to the bench for a little of this and that. Lessons learned? Yea. Notice the slots in the body for the bumpers. The actual bumpers go no where near them, so I will fill them in on my next Chevette build. The outside mirror (yea Harry it does have both an outside mirror and a rear view one inside!) has no mounting point at all. The Chevette rebuildable models I've bought have huge messes of glue on the upper doors. So I did my usual pin mount. I did assume that the mirror was the right shape... wrong. Next time I will break apart the mirror from the stalk so that I can position the two pieces on the car. I did wind up doing about that in place with the painted parts. There was a bit of white putty added and a dab of green paint to make it look acceptable. Front view... I had to make the 1977 grills from the later style and I can see my own work. I now own a 1977 kit with the correct grills and these are just pressed in place so I can change them later if I want. The interior came out well, I even added a headliner, sun visors and a rear view mirror. Yea, you hardly see them but I know they are there! And I already have a headliner pattern for the next one! Rear view.. I wanted to do something else to add interest so I found a bowling bag in the old Johan luggage set. I thought I could disguise it as a book bag, but everyone who sees it correctly IDs it as a bowling bag, so be it! I did make the Ramapo State College decal in two sizes, one on the bag and there is a school decal on the rear window. I did the bag trim in school colors. All in all I had fun with this one. I'm guilty of my usual vice of over complicating any project. I finished the headliner and finally cried uncle on adding seat belts and more detail. Enough is enough! It was built from the promo version, so it's curbside and screws together. The glass and headliner are glued in place, but the interior, bumpers and chassis would all come off if needed. It's great to have an old family memory on the shelf. I did buy the paint to do my wife's old 1974 Mustang II to sit next to it... onward! Edited December 10, 2014 by Tom Geiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.