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

[MrObsessive]

I've become a bit burnt out on building the Shelby, so for a diversion I ran across this rather forlorn MPC '74 'Vette I came across on the 'Bay. For $20 this wasn't a bad deal, but it's fought me along the way on certain details.

Here's where I am so far with pics and descriptions.............

Not a bad looking car at all for $20, but looks were a bit deceiving as I would find out.

Not terribly put together and not a total glue bomb, but this would need to be totally taken apart and pretty much done over.

 

Thread for spark plug wires! I chuckled when I saw that as this pretty much gives away when this model may have been built. I'm figuring at least when the 1:1 was new or just a bit later.

 

 

 

OK, this is something I dread when I get a built up! Someone used a bit too much tube glue (the worst thing for windows) and over the years, the glue is still eating its way through the plastic, resulting in the sink marks you see here. The glass was of the 'runner' type and sure enough that's where this was mostly glued.

 

 

I was able to pop the glass out, but not without leaving some of the runner stuck to the roof. I used my Dremel Moto Tool to grind out the rest.

 

 

After the glass ordeal, I sprayed the body with Easy Off Oven Cleaner (yellow can) to get rid of the paint. I put the body and hood into a sealed container and let it sit for a day.

After some scrubbing with a tooth brush, most of the paint came right off, but as usual there were some stubborn spots. As you can see the body is now pretty much cleaned up as far as the outside.

 

Something that's always bugged me about MPC's 1968-77 Corvette coupes is how they shaped the sail panels. The leading edge of the sail panel should extend just a bit beyond the trailing edge of the doors, not meet the door line as you see here.

 

 

I got out some .020 plastic sheet and corrected this area. When it was fully dried from the liquid cement, I sanded things down and tried to blend this into the sail panels as best I could.

 

 

With the paint totally removed you can see those sink marks all the better-------they stick out like a sore thumb!

 

 

Now to attack those sink marks.........

I sprayed the roof with a light coat of Plastikote T-35 grey primer, let it dry and got out my trusty Dynatron Putty-Cote. Spread it over those sink marks and let it thoroughly dry.

 

Sanded everything away and already this looks MUCH better! BTW, Dynatron is my putty of choice as there's some plastic in the mixture. If you ever need to glue trim or something over the putty, it'll stick right to it with no problem.

 

Stay tuned................

Edited December 31, 2018 by MrObsessive

[James2]

I like an old rescue and I really like old Corvette! 

[MrObsessive]

 

The front bumper cover was also a hot mess. VERY deep sink marks which I don't think are due to glue, but more how the part was molded.

 

 

I cut away the lower fascia from the bumper cover as this simply didn't look right when attached to the body.

 

 

I glued the lower fascia to the main body, and to me looks much better! It also gives the front bumper cover a more positive locating point.

 

 

The windshield would be my next hangup. I simply did not like how the kit windshield was fitting inside the body.

You all know how I can't stand ill fitting glass, so I decided that I'm going to try and make a windshield out of clear stencil sheet. Here you can see a pattern I made using a 3x5 card.

 

Same for the rear.......

I forgot to mention------take note of the scribed in 'split' in the rear bumper cover. This was a one year deal with the '74 and something that MPC forgot to do. For the '75's Chevy figured out how to make this all one piece eliminating that split.

 

I thought I would try a technique which I haven't done before, but is certainly needed here in the case of the 'Vette. I want the glass to attach from the outside since the 1:1 has near flush fit glass.

After MANY tries doing this however frustration began to set in........

 

Here's the pattern for the glass to fit from the outside. The trouble I've run into however is the glass does not have the same radii top or bottom. The made is terrifically frustrating to get the stencil sheet to cooperate as it likes to lay in one direction.

 

 

Soooo...............I decided to try my hand once again at vacuforming the glass. I haven't done this in nearly three years since the '59 Chevy, so I figured I needed to brush up on putting this to use once more.

 

 

Here's the buck I made using .020 sheet plastic, making a sort of Teepee shape and filling the inside with Plaster of Paris.

 

 

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....................

Edited November 11, 2018 by MrObsessive

[MrObsessive]

 

Here's the windshield as it sits right now. I may try another shot at it as I want the glass to lay in its channel on its own, without having to fight the epoxy to hold it in place.

 

 

Moving on to the engine, I semi took apart the engine that was in the car and stripped it all down. Repainted the block Chevy Engine Orange which would be right for a '74 454 block. Not a lot of heavy detailing here as I'm trying to keep this as drama free as possible!

 

 

The chassis was in need of some serious help. The suspension parts were so heavily glued that there was no saving them. I was fortunate that I found someone on eBay that was selling a very similar 'Vette kit (a '73) for parts only and the kit happened to have all of what I need to get this done. Got a nice box to boot also for all of $10.

 

 

The chassis when set in the car looked 'short' to me. Seems as though the rear of the frame should extend all the way to the rear without so much space.

 

 

I'm remedying that with cutting away the rear section and extending things just a bit.

 

 

Attaching it all back together with some plastic stock of like size.

 

 

And then smoothing things out once the glue has dried.

 

 

The front suspension was tricky as this had actual metal springs for the front coils, but getting them to cooperate and stay put was tricky at best. You can see the clothes pin I used to keep things still while things set into place.

 

 

Just mocked up for now to get an idea of how things should sit once it's all said and done.

 

 

Here's the engine in the chassis now. I chuckled at the thread I saw for plug wires, but then a light bulb went off in my head thinking that may not be such a bad idea! I needed to replicate the shielded wires that the 1:1 has for cars with a radio. I got out my nylon grey thread and then very carefully painted the thread silver to represent braided ignition wires. Crazy, but looks OK to me!

Carburetor I got courtesy of Chief Joseph from Fireball Models.

 

Here's the chassis all done up now. Since I lengthened the chassis a tad, I likewise had to do the same with the exhaust. Since that parts kit had the exhaust pipes in it, I used those instead of the boogered up ones in the builtup. I took a section off the old exhausts and glued it on the new ones to make them a bit longer.

It was all airbrushed with Alclad's Magnesium paint.

 

Time to move on to the interior. Nowhere could I find TAN embossing powder as I want the exterior to eventually be a dark metallic green, and the carpeting to be a nice shade of tan/brown. eBay again to the rescue as there's a seller I found that does sell it.

 

 

Dashboard redone so far with guages from BestModelCarParts on eBay. Steering wheel spokes were painted with the Molotow Chrome pens and set in the dehydrator overnight. Just a few touch ups to do here and there...........

 

 

The interior now so far............in a bit I'll set the dash and seats in permanently and then the door panels. I have to remember to put a brake pedal in before all that as this is an automatic car. Nothing fancy here, just repainting and such to make it more presentable.

After the interior..............FINALLY time to paint the body!

That's it for now. Over the next week or two, I'll get things ready for paint and hopefully over the Thanksgiving holiday I'll be able to do just that. Just some final details to do on the chassis and interior and then it'll be good to go.

Thanks for checkin' in!

[Snake45]

VERY cool project, I am so digging it!   And your pics and your explanations of what you're doing are excellent--thanks so much!

At the moment, I'm working on a '75 promo, molded in orange. Won't hijack your thread but here's a couple pics of what I started with. Looks like I bought this in 2016 at the local toy show and I don't remember the price but doubt I paid more than $20 for it. 

I am polishing the orange plastic, which of course brings problems of its own. 

The rear bumper on mine "fit" so badly it looked like a separate piece badly assembled, but it's all one piece (with the body) of course. I spent several evenings filing the deck lid and rear quarter sides so they matched the bumper perfectly without all the waviness and humps it came with . This had to be VERY carefully done because I'm polishing the bare plastic for the finish. 

As you mention, the fit of the (separate) front bumper is a nightmare. I have several evenings of careful filing and sanding just to get the top/front edge of the body and bumper to line up. I'm finally pretty close--almost there. The bottom edge of it, where it meets the fenders, is even worse. I'm not gonna cut it apart, as you have, but I will probably end up gluing it in place solid and then filing and sanding the lower edges of the front fenders and the pan to meet, mate, and flow smoothly together, as they should. I think there is just enough meat in the plastic in this area to get away with it, though I might have to grind away a little of the front of the chassis to get that in afterwards. 

I shaved (filed) down the rear part of the roof a little--maybe .010" or a bit more--which gave it a more accurate profile. (The "new" AMT '70 Corvette kit REALLY needs this done--the rear of the roof is visibly too high on that one.) I'm probably gonna paint the interior saddle/tan, because I'm afraid of black "ghosting" through the orange plastic on the roof. Had that happen with a red Revell '63 Vette I polished up. 

I can relate to you on having to grind/Dremel out glass. Not too long ago I had to do that on an original AMT '67 Vette glue bomb I picked up cheap. First time I've ever had to do that. I'm pretty darn good at either prying or cutting out glued glass, but this one was just WAY too bad and there was no other way. 

Thanks again for this thread, and do keep us posted! BTW, there's very little reason to put plug wires on a '60s-'70s street Vette. The big radio shield over the distributor pretty much hides the plug wires anyway. 

 

[Snake45]

12 minutes ago, MrObsessive said:

 

 

Dashboard redone so far with guages from BestModelCarParts on eBay. Steering wheel spokes were painted with the Molotow Chrome pens and set in the dehydrator overnight. Just a few touch ups to do here and there...........

 

I'm surprised you didn't open up the slots in the steering wheel spokes!  No I don't do that on EVERY Corvette model I do, but I've done it on a couple, and it really makes a difference in realism. If you don't want to do that (and I wouldn't blame you, as it's a PITA), maybe try flowing a black wash into the slots. That would help. 

I was typing my post with the distributor shield tip as you were posting this one. 

Kudos on saving that chassis. I don't think I'd have bothered--I just picked up a couple of '75 roadsters CHEAP at Ollie's just for parts. I think I'd have just built me a new one. 

I have an AMT '73 coupe glue bomb to restore sooner or later. But I think I'm gonna take one of these '75 roadsters and graft on a Revell '68 or '69 rear end and make a '73 roadster out of it.  The '73 is my favorite year of the "shark" Corvettes, with the no-chrome front end but the original squared-off rear. (Last year at the local toy show I walked away from a '73 MPC promo coupe in yellow. He wanted $45 for it. Any other show I'd have grabbed it in a heartbeat but I'd already spent nearly $100 at this show, VERY high for me, and figured I already had the AMT '73 coupe, which has a better shape...but I've been kicking myself ever since...)

[Lordmodelbuilder]

Looking good so far Bill!

[Monty]

Bill, as a certified C3 freak and former owner, I'm loving this thread.  Since you're all about accuracy, I hope you won't mind some input on your build. 

The rear tray covers on C3s are usually the same carpet color as the rest of the area.  The small driver's side rubber floor mat will also generally be the same color as the carpet.  

Thanks for including all the steps you used to improve the gauges etc.  MPC's C3 dashes are notorious for lack of top surface detail, so consider putting in defroster venting and radio speaker grilles at a minimum.

This '80 was mine for 20 years, and I still miss it.

 

Edited November 12, 2018 by Monty

[MrObsessive]

Thanks for the interior pics Monty! The dash does have vent detail molded in, it's just a matter of painting that detail before it's permanently in the tub. As far as the radio speaker..........I'll have to see if I have a PE piece or whatnot for that. If not, I won't sweat it as this won't be a major contest goer in the least. Just building this up to get me out of another burn out phase which had set in.

Your '80 was a sharp looking car! I can remember when those were new.

Snake, one of the spokes was busted when I got the model so drilling that out was a no-no!

I'll flow in some flat black paint before long, but I want that Molotow paint to fully dry which it should be by now.

[kelson]

Really nice resto work so far.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Gonna be pretty.   

[MrObsessive]

Snake, you just gave me an idea about what to do with a junker Revell '68 I have! I got this "68 Revell convertible body and it's either turn it into as a future project a Pontiac Banshee concept car (convertible) or turn it into a '73 like you mentioned.

Great idea!

About those plug wires..........I've got detailed engine shots of a '74 454 in a 'Vette and those braided wires are quite visible. In the 350 maybe not, but definitely in the 454. I'd post a pic, but I'm at work right now and won't be back home for another few hours.

Now I've got yet another WIP on my wish list!  

[Gramps46]

Really looking good, I love these saves.  Please keep us posted.

[MrObsessive]

Ok, I'm back home and wide awake for the moment so I thought I'd add a couple pics that I forgot to include earlier. Here are a couple engine shots and as I mentioned earlier, I didn't go crazy with details as I need to get through this slump and don't want to get bogged down with too many details at this point. I did scratchbuild pulleys for the belt as I don't like the "hanging free in the air" look of the alternator-----a feature all too common for kits of this era. So there's an upper and lower bracket to hold things up. Other than the throttle linkage I cobbled together, that's about the extent I went to "superdetailing".  

 

@Snake45 Here is a pic I have of a Corvette 454 that I used for somewhat of a reference.

 

 

Yeah, the wires are a lot more visible here.............you might be thinking of the 350 engine of this era which had much more hidden wires due to how the exhaust manifold was shaped and spark plug location. I've seen mid year 'Vette's that particularly with a car with a radio, the ignition shielding all but hides the wires.

 

So, I'll detail paint some areas that need attention, and that'll be it for the engine.

Edited November 12, 2018 by MrObsessive

[mustang1989]

No matter what you're building I always learn a lot from your builds. Thanks for taking to the time to go step by step with your processes and methods Bill.

[Snake45]

7 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

Snake, you just gave me an idea about what to do with a junker Revell '68 I have! I got this "68 Revell convertible body and it's either turn it into as a future project a Pontiac Banshee concept car (convertible) or turn it into a '73 like you mentioned.

Great idea!

Glad to help!  I'm still trying to figure out exactly where to make the cut. It has to be back of the rear wheel flares somewhere. I seem to recall that some narrowing or widening of the Revell tailpiece might be required to mate up with the width of the MPC body, but it's all definitely do-able. 

[Tommy124]

Some really great restoration work going on, here... Keep up the good work, Bill.

[drodg]

Great work you are doing.  I have a 1974 Corvette I painted white back when I built it when I was 17.  I loved the 74 and I think I got the idea for the white Corvette from the TV series the Magician (Bill Bixby).  He drove a white Corvette with WSW tires and loved the show and the car.  Anyhow your work is amazing and looking forward to your progress.  

[W-409]

Great work on that Corvette! Glad to see you building one, as I haven't seen much of these '73 and newer C3 Corvettes built. Very nice work so far, the engine looks really good and it's always good to see that nice bodywork being done. Can't wait to see more pics.

[Superbird McMonte]

I told you this would happen Bill. Now I have my 74 Corvette out! I think the interior is going to be similar. Mine will replicate the last Motion Corvette though!

[MrObsessive]

29 minutes ago, Superbird McMonte said:

I told you this would happen Bill. Now I have my 74 Corvette out! I think the interior is going to be similar. Mine will replicate the last Motion Corvette though!

[mikemodeler]

Nice save Bill and way to replicate that car so well. I was wondering if you were going to properly replicate that rear bumper as those tended to be "warped" soon after production. I remember a guy I worked with had a 1:1 74 and he grew frustrated with the back bumper that he put a '75 on and ended his problems!

Dark green with tan interior would be a good choice, so would a brown or dark red, IIRC those were all over the place in the mid 70's !

[MrObsessive]

2 hours ago, mikemodeler said:

Nice save Bill and way to replicate that car so well. I was wondering if you were going to properly replicate that rear bumper as those tended to be "warped" soon after production.

Hmmm.........I never noticed that about the '74's. I always wondered though why that split was in the bumper cover. Chevy I guess couldn't figure out how to mold that in one piece till the '75's.

I know that in later years, those covers tended to discolor faster than the surrounding fiberglass. Such was tech back in those days when it came to molding/painting those.

[mikemodeler]

5 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

Hmmm.........I never noticed that about the '74's. I always wondered though why that split was in the bumper cover. Chevy I guess couldn't figure out how to mold that in one piece till the '75's.

I know that in later years, those covers tended to discolor faster than the surrounding fiberglass. Such was tech back in those days when it came to molding/painting those.

Bill, If you look back to cars in the mid 70's, the automakers were working hard to find ways to meet crash standards and reduce weight to improve fuel economy. Those Corvette bumper covers (front and rear) tended to age faster than the rest of the car and GM had so many issues across the whole brand offering to rectify that something had to give. The paint available in the day is nothing like what is available today and 40 years of refinement makes today's bumpers so superior.

[kpnuts]

Amazing work so far.