AMT-1124 Supernatural Impala

[1972coronet]

Is it just me , or is the shifter for the 4-speed missing in this iteration ? I recognise the column-shift for the automatic ( TH-400 ? Powerglide ? ) , but no Muncie (Hurst ?) . 

I'll either parts box a shifter , and make a 325hp 396 / 4-speed ( a legit option for the 4 door according to the brochure)  *or* use the 396 / TH-400 from the El Camino .

[RichCostello]

38 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

Is it just me , or is the shifter for the 4-speed missing in this iteration ? I recognise the column-shift for the automatic ( TH-400 ? Powerglide ? ) , but no Muncie (Hurst ?) . 

I'll either parts box a shifter , and make a 325hp 396 / 4-speed ( a legit option for the 4 door according to the brochure)  *or* use the 396 / TH-400 from the El Camino .

So a 4 speed really WAS an option on a 4 door Impala. I was wondering about that. I might just add a floor shifter to mine. Sounds easier than changing the trans.

[Jordan White]

The TV car is an automatic, and so they may have decided to just keep the manual transmission and add the automatic shifter rather than molding a new transmission. They probably could have left in the manual shifter as well. And yes, the 4-speed manual was available on all full size cars with the V8, including the 4-doors.

[RichCostello]

Yeah, I don't care about the TV car(never saw the show), I just like the look of a bench seat and 4 speed. I'll find a shifter.

[RichCostello]

Does the front end look a little too high on this build? I really like the color though, nice build.

[Tom Geiger]

Hmmm... weighing in on Chevys..  As a kid I liked the 57. There was a two door wagon in my neighborhood that  wanted.  I owned a 56, I liked it because the 55 and 57 get more attention, almost like owning the forgotten year.

You always equate cars to your experience with them. That’s the first thing that comes to mind when you see one. In this case, my aunt was killed in an accident in a 67. This was my father’s sister who left behind 3 small kids. Some underage teen stole his father’s car and t-boned the Chevy at high speed in a housing development. Tragic for my family. 

In 1969 I lived near a Chevy dealer, and I’ve always liked the wrap around bumper 69 Chevy design.  I felt the 1970 design was a letdown back then. Little did I know I’d own one someday!  I got used to it!  My father had a 71 and I thought that was a very pleasing front end design.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Tom Geiger

[espo]

1 hour ago, RichCostello said:

So a 4 speed really WAS an option on a 4 door Impala. I was wondering about that. I might just add a floor shifter to mine. Sounds easier than changing the trans.

I had a customer who ordered a '66 Impala four door hardtop with the 396/325 engine and a close ratio , RPO M21, 4 speed. This was his family car and his wife drove it usually. Mine was an Impala SS with the same setup. I remember seeing a couple of wagons with a four speed but they were few and far between.  As far back as the '59 model year Chevrolet built at least one 348 tri-power hydraulic cam and 4 speed. I'm pretty sure it was all OEM based on talking to the second owner who had just bought it around 1963. The car had the correct spaghetti shifter and the steering column had no sign of a previous shifter being present.  The correct OEM shifter for the '67 Supernatural can be found in the Revell '66 Chevelle Wagon kit. This has the reverse lockout trigger and the correct curve of the shift lever that cleared the bench seat. Most 4 speeds were in bucket seat cars and the shifters were almost straight in design. In '68 Chevrolet went cheep on the shifter that looked like a Hurst unit but was mounted to the frame cross member instead of the transmission tail shaft so if you're hurrying thru the gears the engine torqued over and the linkage would bind making fast shifting a touchy thing to do.    

[1972coronet]

Those Muncie shifters were notorious for being , let's say , not racer friendly . IIRC , the Muncie stick even *looked* like a Hurst , right down to the font and lettering .

 The correct OEM shifter for the '67 Supernatural can be found in the Revell '66 Chevelle Wagon kit. 

That's good to know , as I was planning to convert that kit to a small block / P-Glide .

 

[MrObsessive]

8 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

You always equate cars to your experience with them. That’s the first thing that comes to mind when you see one. In this case, my aunt was killed in an accident in a 67. This was my father’s sister who left behind 3 small kids. Some underage teen stole his father’s car and t-boned the Chevy at high speed in a housing development. Tragic for my family.

Tom, I feel the same way about 1960 Valiants. It was a car owned by my Dad and then in the late '60's he gave the car to his sister and brother in law. About a year or so after they got the car (Christmastime 1970), she was killed in it by a drunk driver. Dad was a car guy, but he avoided talking about that one for that very reason.

It might be why I never got a model of one as I did like those. Reminds me of the accident too much.

As far as that '67 Chevy......yes! I can distinctly remember being taken to my speech therapy session (I was deaf as a kid), by my school Principal as she had one when it was new. I can even remember her asking me what year of car it was as she knew I was a car kid. I told her it was a '67 and she said "How do you know" with a smile..........I told her it "looks" different.

Norma Gotwalt was her name.........I never forgot her or the car.

[Rob Hall]

I can still remember my childhood neighborhood in the mid 70s.  Down the street, there was a neighbor with a black ‘68 Impala Custom Coupe and a gold ‘69 Impala Custom Coupe. I remember at an early age noticing the model year differences and how long the rear deck was on the ‘68.  I recall when they got a new ‘77 Caprice 2dr.   

[Rbray47]

12 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I can still remember my childhood neighborhood in the mid 70s.  Down the street, there was a neighbor with a black ‘68 Impala Custom Coupe and a gold ‘69 Impala Custom Coupe. I remember at an early age noticing the model year differences and how long the rear deck was on the ‘68.  I recall when they got a new ‘77 Caprice 2dr.   

I had a 77 Caprice and Impala 2 dr. They were tied for the 2nd most comfortable cars I've owned (first was a 77 LTD 2 dr)

[Robberbaron]

4 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

I can even remember her asking me what year of car it was as she knew I was a car kid. I told her it was a '67 and she said "How do you know" with a smile..........I told her it "looks" different.

 

4 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

I can still remember my childhood neighborhood in the mid 70s.  Down the street, there was a neighbor with a black ‘68 Impala Custom Coupe and a gold ‘69 Impala Custom Coupe. I remember at an early age noticing the model year differences and how long the rear deck was on the ‘68.  I recall when they got a new ‘77 Caprice 2dr.

I was the same way when I was a kid.  I remember at family gatherings several of my uncles got a kick out of quizzing me on make/model/year of different cars.  I even remember arguing with my Uncle Don that a Ford Galaxy was a 1969, not a 1970 because the taillights were different.  I knew for a fact, because my dad had bought my Grandfather's 1970 Galaxy 500 sedan when he quit driving.  I new all the differences between the different years of full size Ford's and Chevies, and even some of the model differences (like when I noticed that Biscaynes and Bel Airs had fewer taillights than Impalas)

Our other family car was a 1968 Impala 4-door sedan, so I would love to see a '68 conversion too.

We really need new plastic versions of the '68 and '69 Impalas.  Those are the only model years from 1958 thru 1970 that aren't available in a modern kit.

While we're dreaming, my first car was a '77 Caprice coupe, so I would love a kit of that too (or an actual DECENT resin version).  Not gonna hold my breath for that one, though...

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by Robberbaron

[Rob Hall]

Other neighborhood memories..the folks next door had a sharp black '73 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham and a gold w/ black top '72 Olds 98 4dr ht, the house on the other side had a blue '73 Buick Century 4dr.  Across the street there was a worn black '67 Olds Delmont 88 2dr and a new gold '77 Olds Delta 88 4dr.    My folks in '77 had a '76 Lincoln Continental 4dr and a '77 Thunderbird in our narrow 1-car garage driveway (my Dad kept the older cars out at our weekend house/farm--'67 and '68 Cougars, '69 Mustang).   My sister's '76 Pinto sat at the curb, along w/ my older brother's constantly changing cars ('74 Vega GT, '75 Mustang II Mach 1, '59 Thunderbird, '74 Firebird Formula 400, '65 GTO, '65 Mustang coupe all within a 2-3 year period...)   

[MrObsessive]

1 hour ago, Robberbaron said:

While we're dreaming, my first car was a '77 Caprice coupe, so I would love a kit of that too (or an actual DECENT resin version).  Not gonna hold my breath for that one, though...

I was in high school when those '77's first came out and I remember not liking them at all. Probably because they were a DRASTIC change from the previous '76 cars. In fact, I was a little cold towards all of GM's new for '77 full size lineup. Now, I wouldn't mind having any of them as they're never seen any longer and they were very nice riding cars. From the Chevy's all the way to the Cadillacs.

I could have swore that someone did a two door '77 in resin.........Might have been The Modelhaus and I might be getting it confused with a four door I had seen. I always liked how the stylists did the rear window on the coupe. A semi wraparound style with the glass "welded" on the sides. Very cool touch!

[sfhess]

Bill,  the rear glass on those Impalas/Caprices was not welded.  There was a rod cast into the class.  An electric current was passed through the rod, causing it and the glass to heat up.  The glass was then bent and allowed to cool.

 

[Classicgas]

17 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

Is it just me , or is the shifter for the 4-speed missing in this iteration ? I recognise the column-shift for the automatic ( TH-400 ? Powerglide ? ) , but no Muncie (Hurst ?) . 

I'll either parts box a shifter , and make a 325hp 396 / 4-speed ( a legit option for the 4 door according to the brochure)  *or* use the 396 / TH-400 from the El Camino .

TH400 is the correct automatic for a bb. TH350 or powerglide would be correct for a sb.

[Paul Hettick]

Just got mine. nice kit by why the 68 Galaxie front seat?

[Ron Hamilton]

I haven't bought one yet. I have planned my build, and it's NOT going to be the tv show car, as I have never seen the show, nor do I have any interest it It. I am going to build it as a Replica Stock car, and that is all I'm going to say.

[Plowboy]

1 hour ago, Paul Hettick said:

Just got mine. nice kit by why the 68 Galaxie front seat?

This kit is a loose replica of the car in the TV show. It's not meant to represent a stock Impala. I'd be willing to bet that Round2 will issue a stock version in the future.

[Jordan White]

So, anyone who doesn't want the kit wheels is certainly free to send them my way! ?

[Rodent]

1 hour ago, Paul Hettick said:

Just got mine. nice kit by why the 68 Galaxie front seat?

Because the series hero car has a Tijuana tuck and roll front seat. Does look like a Galaxie pattern now that you mention it....

 

[SteveG]

4 hours ago, Paul Hettick said:

Just got mine. nice kit by why the 68 Galaxie front seat?

As mentioned above, that's upholstery pattern used with the on screen cars. The rear seat should match it but Round 2 chose not to update it so the two door rear seat is what you have to work with.   I filled in the rear speaker on mine and called it close enough.  The seat bottom cushion should have the corners rounded too.  

This kit would be a great start for either a '67 or '68 Caprice Four door hardtop in the hands a certain talented modeler,  hint, hint ....    

Steve

[Bob Ellis]

2 hours ago, Rodent said:

Because the series hero car has a Tijuana tuck and roll front seat. Does look like a Galaxie pattern now that you mention it....

 

I wonder if the TV show converted a Caprice into an Impala?

 

[Classicgas]

4 hours ago, Paul Hettick said:

Just got mine. nice kit by why the 68 Galaxie front seat?

It's a impala seat, there is a pic back a few pages. 

[Rbray47]

My kit arrived today. The body has several scratches and gouges on it. The long one across the roof sanded away without much effort. The one on the front passenger door goes a little deeper and goes through the side trim. It will have to have filler.