1974 Corvette Resto------Update! 12/31/18

[Superbird McMonte]

Hey Bill,

I’m taking a slightly different approach to my Baldwin Motion 1974 Corvette. I’ve had this thought in my head for some time. I will start a thread on this soon. But I plan on using a Revell 69 Corvette body to build a 74.

[Snake45]

18 minutes ago, Superbird McMonte said:

Hey Bill,

I’m taking a slightly different approach to my Baldwin Motion 1974 Corvette. I’ve had this thought in my head for some time. I will start a thread on this soon. But I plan on using a Revell 69 Corvette body to build a 74.

LOTTA work changing a '68-'72 over to a '74+. There's way more to it than just the front and back ends. 

[Superbird McMonte]

On 11/28/2018 at 9:47 PM, Snake45 said:

LOTTA work changing a '68-'72 over to a '74+. There's way more to it than just the front and back ends. 

Yeah, I know that all too well! I made a list:

1) nose and emblem 

2) rear

3) fender vents

4) wheel openings flared

5) marker lights

6) longer L88 hood

I would also like to correct the rear window opening. It doesn’t wrap around at the ends on the real cars.

Aside from obvious interior changes, can you think of anything I missed? 

I appreciate anyone’s input. Except telling me I’m crazy. I already know that!??

[Snake45]

32 minutes ago, Superbird McMonte said:

Yeah, I know that all too well! I made a list:

1) nose and emblem 

2) rear

3) fender vents

4) wheel openings flared

5) marker lights

6) longer L88 hood

I would also like to correct the rear window opening. It doesn’t wrap around at the ends on the real cars.

Aside from obvious interior changes, can you think of anything I missed? 

I appreciate anyone’s input. Except telling me I’m crazy. I already know that!??

I think you'd be better off starting with a glue bomb (or distressed promo) AMT '73-'77 as a starting point. Second best would be an MPC, because I think the AMT and Revell bodies are closer in shape and would match up better. 

I know this because some time back I came into a very restorable AMT '73 coupe body with glass and interior, but no hood or front end. No one repros these parts (not even Modelhaus back in the day), and the MPC '75 parts don't come CLOSE to working with the AMT body. I ended up buying a mostly complete (water-damaged box) AMT '75 roadster on eBay just for the hood and front end (the bumper's not identical for a '73, but I can make it work, I think). Of course its chassis, engine, etc will be used on the '73. 

I just swapped off a very restorable glue bomb MPC '77 coupe. I'd have kept it, but I'm already working on that nice '75 promo which is virtually identical. 

I think trying to graft common MPC '75 roadster fender flares, fender vents, hood, front end, etc onto a Revell '69 body will prove to be a MAJOR PITA. If you try it, I wish you a LOT of luck. I think it's going to be a semi-major job just to graft a Revell '68 flat rear end onto an MPC '75 body to make a '73 roadster. 

Edited November 30, 2018 by Snake45

[Tommy124]

Hard for me to believe that there are no re-released kits for this period of C3's... Though I know it's a fact...  

[Superbird McMonte]

I removed my post because I felt I was highjacking Bill’s thread. I will start a new post.

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2018 by Superbird McMonte
Technical

[MrObsessive]

Just a teeny update as I haven't had a chance to upload any pics (about to go to work). I did get the front glass in, but not without a bit of trouble. I used just tiny drops of CA to glue put the glass in place since it's mounted on the outside, as opposed to the inside which is typical of most models when it comes to mounting the windshield.

Well sure enough, somehow I got a spot of glue on it, which I had to use a small bit of acetone to get rid of. This had fogged it somewhat, but I was able to polish things back out and it looks normal again.

My better sense told me not to tint the glass and I'm glad I didn't. With all the handling I had to do to get the glass up to snuff, it certainly would have ruined the tint (even on the inside) and I would not have been happy about that at all. Another fly in the ointment is I couldn't get the blue dye I needed to mix in the green so I could use an enamel clear paint which might have been tougher to handle than the acrylic. I have Tamiya's acrylic clear blue along with their green, but it's all now a moot point since I nixed the whole idea of tinting.

Now it's a matter of getting the rear glass in using the pattern I made and I can use regular epoxy on that since it'll mount from the inside.

Over the weekend if I get time (club meeting tomorrow after I get off work), I'll see if I can put up any pics, and get a bit more done. All the BMF is on now, and it's just a matter of getting the inner fenders, firewall, and other interior details done such as some sort of 'headliner' even though the car sports T-Tops. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by MrObsessive

[MrObsessive]

OK, this is weird! As some of you know I've had somewhat severe vision troubles for the last couple years ever since I had a torn retina in my right eye. It was 'fixed' but I still have very poor vision (especially the right eye) even after the surgery. It's one of the reasons I type with a bold font and in color so I can see what I'm typing much better than the small, plain font that the board defaults to.

Just now when I made that last post, it showed up in the black and white instead of the blue I used. Originally I got that stupid 404 Error but when I submitted it again, the post showed up sans the color.

Odd!

But! Now I might have zeroed in that much more what might be causing that error from time to time. It may be that I have to use the plain font when posting when I get that error so it will take.

I'll have to remember that the next time I get the 404 Error over, and over and over and over and over................

[ismaelg]

One of my favorite builders working on my favorite subject!  Thanks for sharing Bill!

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, MrObsessive said:

OK, this is weird! As some of you know I've had somewhat severe vision troubles for the last couple years ever since I had a torn retina in my right eye. It was 'fixed' but I still have very poor vision (especially the right eye) even after the surgery. It's one of the reasons I type with a bold font and in color so I can see what I'm typing much better than the small, plain font that the board defaults to.

Just now when I made that last post, it showed up in the black and white instead of the blue I used. Originally I got that stupid 404 Error but when I submitted it again, the post showed up sans the color.

Odd!

But! Now I might have zeroed in that much more what might be causing that error from time to time. It may be that I have to use the plain font when posting when I get that error so it will take.

I'll have to remember that the next time I get the 404 Error over, and over and over and over and over................

One thing you can do is type your post into another program such as Word or even your email, making the font whatever size and color you want it, and then copy and paste it here. The board will ask you if you want to leave it like that or transfer it to plain text, and you can just click for plain text at that time. AFTER you've submitted and the board has taken it, you can go back in and edit for size and color if you want. 

[MrObsessive]

45 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

 AFTER you've submitted and the board has taken it, you can go back in and edit for size and color if you want. 

In the after effects of the 404 Error, it wouldn't take the colored font,  only the bold print. I tried editing after the error in my one post but for some reason, it wouldn't work.

Sometimes I'll use word for very long posts such as in a WIP, but for just a coupla three paragraphs that's annoying to keep doing that.

[MrObsessive]

Another small update as I wind this up and head for the finish. As I mentioned above, I got the windshield in..........finally! Here are a couple pics..............

This was Take 2 of getting the windshield done. The first windshield while not bad, I wasn't satisfied about the fit of it especially in the lower corners. I took a chance and molded a couple more, and  the second of the two windshields yielded a much better 'curve' and it meant that I wouldn't have to fight the glass to get it to stay in place.

But, this wasn't without some drama.........I needed to use CA glue in this case as the glass mounts from the outside (better appearance than from the inside) and at first I was going to tint the glass from the inside. My better judgment told me to let that go as something told me that this still wasn't going to go as easy as I had hoped.

Well sure enough, somehow I got a small drop of CA on the glass and I had to use a small smear of acetone to remove it. Of course, this fogged the glass somewhat so now I had the task of polishing it all over again.

If I had tinted the glass with all the handling I had to do, it would have for sure ruined the tint (even though it was on the inside) and I would have had the troublesome task of taking the glass out and doing the whole process over.

Not something I want to do!

So no tint for this and the glass is shined up (some more polishing I'll do) and the rear glass should be no problem to get in, as it's basically a flat piece------no curve whatsoever.

All BMF is on now and one saving grace about this era of Corvette is that there's not much chrome to 'em at all. Corvettes were never very 'chromey', so unless you're building something like a '58 car, yes you're going to have a fair amount of BMF to do, especially on the sides.

That's all for the moment! I'll work on making some semblance of a headliner which would represent the car's removable tops, make an inside mirror, and then get it buttoned up with the chassis in place and get the wheels redone and mounted.

Thanks for keeping up with this guys!

Edited December 3, 2018 by MrObsessive

[kelson]

Very impressive work!,i`m enjoying your rebuild.

[kpnuts]

Looks great 

[montelsc]

Great color choice that 454 badge is going to stand out very nice 

[Tommy124]

Great paint, brilliant job on replacing the windscreen and beautiful BMF work. Looking forward to see this lady finished on her wheels! 

[Len Woodruff]

On 11/11/2018 at 11:50 AM, MrObsessive said:

 

 

 

Here's the result of the vacuforming and so far so good. This was not without trying five or six times till I got it right. I recommend if you ever want to get into making your own glass via vacuforming, make sure you have PLENTY of .020 Vivak (PETG) sheet on hand!

 

But wait there's more! Stay tuned....................

Thanks for the info Bill. Looking forward to the finish on this one.

[mod3l Lover]

   That wind shield looks great Bill! And you seem to have

a way of over-coming problems that get in your way!!

  And that green color is incredible looking on that car!

       David S.

[MrObsessive]

Since I've been off for the last several days for the holiday, no better time than to get this one caught up and 'bout done!

Got 'er sitting up on all fours now. There's a bit of a wonky thing going on with the suspension. I didn't add or change anything 'cept for replacing parts that were either badly glue damaged, or flat out busted.

It sits just a wee bit high and the wheels I had great difficulty in getting them 'squared', but then I'm comparing it to the pics that I took when I first got it. Looking at pics I have of the 1:1 on my hard disc, it sits about right and I'll just chalk that up to how the kit was originally engineered. We are talking about what's now 45 year old tooling (actually older than that as this I believe dates back to the late '60's).

I'm waiting on new taillights from a seller on eBay as the original ones were just too glued up to be usable. I need to touch up just a little the areas surrounding the lights as I didn't paint that as heavily with the airbrush as I'd liked. Yes, I see the piece of BMF missing on the trailing edge of the drip rail.

So, with some minor cosmetic things I'll do to the exterior and then making of an antenna for the rear, this one's all but done. This was not intended for any show, just a bit different direction I needed to go in with modeling as I was getting bogged down with focusing on one car for a bit too long. I haven't abandoned the Green Hornet BTW, just taking probably a long break from it.

I liked doing this so much in fact, I've got another 'Vette that I'll be restoring------a Revell '68 427 Convertible. That one shouldn't be as much of a hassle as I originally built it and didn't use near as much glue as this one had on it!

So the next time you'll see 'er Under Glass and then I can move on to the next one.

[MrObsessive]

Just for those wondering, this is what I use not only for polishing, but also to handle the model when it comes time for those final details.

Nothing drives me crazier than to have  fingerprints or worse yet, paint wearing away due to sweaty hands and the oils that are in your skin. Good 'ole chamois cloths which you can pick up at most auto parts places.

[oldnslow]

Nice looking Vette , Bill.

[Renegade]

Very nice, great color.

[ismaelg]

On the home stretch now!  This baby is looking really good Bill!

[Snake45]

Looking VERY good! Drive on! 

[<profile removed>]

Stunning! And thanks for noting that you use chamois! I have been using a microfiber cloth, myself, but will try a chamois. Quick question that you may have covered in a different post: how/where do you store/protect your finished builds? These are museum quality IMO and this Corvette is just awesome!