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AMT Prestige '63 Corvette convertible


FordRodnKustom

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Solid lifters has always been my understanding. I may be wrong on this concerning Chrysler's Hemi. But in Chrysler's B body cars there looks like there would be enough room for both the engine and the a/c compressor. And true, they did switch the Hemi over to hydraulic lifters in the end. I don't know why it was not offered then? Then again, how many hydraulic lifter Hemis were built in '71?

By the way, Chrysler did offer air conditioning with their Hemi engines from 1953 - 1958. And those Hemis have big heads, just like the 426. Yet air was offered there. The more I think of it, the I'm inclined to think space was the big reason.

I do know, Chrysler for space reasons would not offer air conditioning on '70 and '71 E body cars with the shaker hood option. No matter what engine. This is one of few examples I know of were space was the consideration.

The solid lifter issue is the reason you could not get air conditioning in Chevrolet's Camaro Z/28 until 1973. The first year for hydraulic lifters in the Z/28. All solid lifter factory built Corvettes were not available with a/c

It has been very well documented that Chrysler was developing other versions of the 426 Hemi for street use.  Specifially, for use on the Mopar C-Bodies (Plymouth Fury, Dodge Polara/Custom880/Monaco/Monaco 500 and the entire Chrysler lineup)  A 1966 Chrysler 300 "M" letter car, with the 426 Hemi, was in the approved 1966 production cycle until it was cancelled in the middle of 1965, and a similar Dodge Monaco 500 was also in the plan (with, at one, point, the "fastback" C-pillar treatment lifted from the '66 Chrysler 300).  These were both to be limited in production (500 units each), but were to be more broadly available in 1967 when the Hemi engine was to be modified to add A/C availability, as well as a tri-power carb setup to replace the dual quads for these C-Body applications.  That program, too, was cancelled before production started.  There are a few 1/1 scale prototype parts floating around that were cast up to support these applications, in particular, driver's side exhaust manifolds modified to fit the C-Body application.  Oh, what might have been!    Cheers...TIM    

Edited by tim boyd
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Got my sealed Prestige '63 Corvette convertible in the mail today. Opened the box and was very happy with what I found. Everything was in great shape. The tampo printed tires are perfectly centered. Only one minor problem. It only came with one metal axle. Two are required. Not a major problem. I'm sure I have extras.

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Most hobby shops have the K&S display of metal stuff. They have a long rod/wire that's the perfect diameter and will make MANY axles. Only problem with it is, it's kind of hard so you have to cut it with a hacksaw or as I do with a cutoff wheel in a Dremel.

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Most hobby shops have the K&S display of metal stuff. They have a long rod/wire that's the perfect diameter and will make MANY axles. Only problem with it is, it's kind of hard so you have to cut it with a hacksaw or as I do with a cutoff wheel in a Dremel.

You can get the rod in brass the same size as the piano wire and it's even a little cheaper, .062 piano wire, and 1/16" brass rod, same size.

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I'm kind of sorry I mentioned the missing axle. I want to hear more people's opinions on the kit itself. Which again, after opening the box, I was very please with what I found. This should build into very nice model of a '63 Corvette convertible in the end. I especially love the two tops. The soft and removable hardtop.

i don't think replacement axles are that big of a problem.

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Hahaha, we are on a crusade about the axle!

The prestige issue is a really great kit with a lot of extra stuff. The next release of the '63 convertible was missing the removable hardtop and wheelcovers. Probably other stuff too. Remember, at $15 in 1987, this kit was 2X more expensive the usual AMT kits.

Despite how good the kit is, they can be found cheap on eBay. That is good for the builders, not the collectors.

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  • 1 month later...

As a side note. The missing axle was in the folds of the box top.

Beyond that, the kit is coming along nicely. I'm very impressed with how well the removable hardtop fits on top of the car. A very fine piece of engineering. There is a very small V in the bottom rear of the top that matches the small ridge on the rear deck perfectly. Also the front of the top seems to know how to sit on the windshield header just right. And the rear window fit and glued in perfectly. I'm impressed.

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