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'73 Chevrolet Chevelle- Mastered by Tom Ellifritt


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I thought all of the Motion cars were SS's, not Lagunas.

1973 was the last year for the Super Sport package on the Chevelle ( and '73 was also the last year for a 454 / 4 Speed combo , if I remember correctly ... ) .

The Motion-built '73 Chevelle* originated as a 454 / 4 speed (a rarety in its self !) . Its original purchaser was "displeased" with the lack of power from the LS-4 engine , so he opened his wallet wide ($16,000 in 1973 !!) and had the folks at Motion build a 427 , add the Hone-O-Drive , slide some trademark Corvette sidepipes on , etc. , etc.

A really neat-o ride !!

* = An SS model

Edited by 1972coronet
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Our local speed shop had a mechanic who bought a new 73 SS 454 4 speed, I was impressed because I didn't know that you could still even buy anything like that.

All of these years later I feel like I need to model the 73 Chevelle SS, the 73 GTO and the 73 Hurst Olds.

Edited by Craig Irwin
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1973 was the last year for the Super Sport package on the Chevelle ( and '73 was also the last year for a 454 / 4 Speed combo , if I remember correctly ... ) .

The Motion-built '73 Chevelle* originated as a 454 / 4 speed (a rarety in its self !) . Its original purchaser was "displeased" with the lack of power from the LS-4 engine , so he opened his wallet wide ($16,000 in 1973 !!) and had the folks at Motion build a 427 , add the Hone-O-Drive , slide some trademark Corvette sidepipes on , etc. , etc.

A really neat-o ride !!

* = An SS model

For tall $ , yes this was available . A dog in reality with the Mandated Lawn Mower tiny valves .Please ,what is Hone-O - Drive ? Thanx ..

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  • 4 weeks later...

The "Hone-O-Drive" is a 60ties/70ties mechanical unit that allowed your vehicle to have overdrive. The engagement/disengagement was operated by a lever mounted to the transmission tunnel and overdrive was available at any time with no neutral or freewheeling. You just eased off the throttle for a moment, to lighten the drive train load, and then moved the shift lever. The Hone-O-Drive case was an aircraft-grade, heat-treated cast aluminum unit. The inside gears had helical teeth to minimize noise. The Hone-O-Drive model 300 was 17 inches in length and 6 1/4 inches in diameter. This unit could also be installed on all makes and models of vehicles; be they manual or automatic transmission. It was basically coupled to the transmission yoke and drive shaft. The Model 300 was a standard "option" for all of the Baldwin Motion Chevy`s.

InteriorHone.jpg

Hone-O-Drive-Model300_BaldwinMotionCamar

Hone-O-Drive-Model300_BaldwinMotionCamar

Hone-O-Drive-Model300_ChevyPickup-1.jpg

Hone-O-Drive-Model300_ChevyPickup-2.jpg

Edited by 69NovaYenko
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Updates on this '73 Chevelle?

I didn't see it on the ML website.

they are not on my website...most of my new stuff isnt, they are on my facebook page, if you email me it will put you on the waiting list by the date of your email, kawifreek@msn.com or even send me a pm here

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  • 4 weeks later...

I received my Chevelle from Kevin yesterday and all I can say is WOW! It is incredible! The only real flash on the kit is on some smal parts, left there intentually for shipping purposes. I seen Tom's work before and I knew it was first rate so I didn't have any question that the master was totally correct and and I know Kevin hie is a friend and I've ordered from him before so I the casting and service was also first rate. I PayPal him Sunday and the kit arrived Wednesday.

Here's what I got when I got when I open the box. The body, chassis,interior bucket,dashboard,bench seat steering wheel,

tilt column,firewall, sport mirrors & hood are cast in white resin and truly look like kit pieces.

The chassis looks a kit pit piece maybe modified but I I can' put my finger on it. No suspension or exhaust pieces are provided.

The body is straight and true with all all trim well defined. Even a a parking lot rub strip on the sides of the car.

The chrome parts include front and rear bumpers grille, headlight buckets, & tailight trim. The chrome is bright and clean with no mold seems better than kit pieces.

Clear red taillights, and clear headlights,are provided.

A vacuform can greenhouse is also provided.

A small decal sheet includes front and rear side marker lights, 2 gold Chevy bowties (unknown placement) a key lock ( presumably for the trunk) and a chevelle+bowtie (presumably for rear panel).

This is an excellent kit as far I'm considered it sets a new standard that all othe resin kits should be judged against. Move over modelhaus! The price ain't cheap at $87.50 shipped to my door but it's on par with Modelhaus charges.

I hope that Kevin can pipe in here and answer some questions about the decal placement, and sourcing chassis parts.

My plans for kit are kinda undecided. I'm not a big bone stock builder, street machines are more my cup of tea.

Now what to do a "last454" ,a BM 454 or a Laguna conversion.

In any event for now I placed the firewall & dash. in the interior bucket and placed that assembly inside the body and installed the body and taped the hood down until I complete my research and source my parts. The reason I do this past experience that the white resin is more has tendencies to warp in comparison to tan resin.

Thanks to Tom and Kevin and everyone at missing link for bringing us such a great product.

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This is an excellent kit as far I'm considered it sets a new standard that all othe resin kits should be judged against. Move over modelhaus! The price ain't cheap at $87.50 shipped to my door but it's on par with Modelhaus charges.

Thank you Vince for this great review. The kit is obviously unique and a great addition for the modeling community,

Price wise, it's still cheap. When you consider all the work that went into it's creation, $100 isn't out of line for a hand made product of this caliber. I think people have gotten spoiled by seeing the Jimmy Flintstone $10-20 bodies and R&R kits under $50. But neither of those are anywhere near the quality you are getting here.

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I'm building one of these myself. I want to give a heads up on certain things.

The front and rear bumpers were meant to hang on a little ledge on the body. Due to molding and plating needs, the bumpers will not fit the ledge properly. It's probably easiest to sand off the ledge and glue them directly.

Hog out the taillight holes a bit for an easier fit.

Remove some material on the inside of the body around the window areas for a better glass fit.

Remove some material from the back of the grille toward the bottom, or the grille will want to point up a bit instead of straight forward.

These are all little things that are easy to do if you do them before painting. I did not test fit before painting and paid the price.

Now that I have the issues resolved, I'm real happy with what I've got so far. I'm at work right now, so no pics.

Thanks Kevin, and thanks guys for all the support and compliments.

-Tom

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  • 1 month later...

I received mine recently and I can say that the parts honestly appear to have been mastered by AMT or MPC during the "golden age" - they truly are that nice!! It was well worth the price - thank you Tom and Kevin for all your efforts!!!

Edited by lizardlust
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