MPC Grumpy's Vega

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Went in with tempered expectations and I gotta say, for what it is I reeeaaaalllly like this kit so far.

More later... ?

[xsthomas]

On 9/17/2020 at 11:15 AM, Mark said:

The Nova has mono-leaf rear suspension, nothing near the three-link setup Jenkins used.  Front suspension is way off too.

Jenkins' first Vega started out with stock front suspension, except for Pinto R&P steering (left more open space for header routing).  You can get that from an AMT (not MPC) Chevy Monza kit.  You'll probably have to scratch the rear suspension setup.

Might take a little more cutting and fabbing up if you want to build close to the original.

"Then, in 1972, when the NHRA changed its Pro Stock rules to allow a small-block wedge engine in a lighter car, Jenkins built a Chevrolet Vega with the first purpose-built tube chassis and powered it with a small-block 331-cubic-inch engine."

[Mark]

The first Vega did not have a full tubing chassis, at least not when first built.  Forward of the firewall was stock.  The rear suspension attached to a tubular structure that included the roll cage.  All of that was tied in to the rocker panels.  The chassis forward of the firewall would have been changed to tubing (making it a full chassis car) when the front suspension was changed to a strut setup.  In any event, there is nothing from the Nova chassis that would be usable.

[1972coronet]

14 minutes ago, Mark said:

The first Vega did not have a full tubing chassis, at least not when first built.

From what I've read , the full tube chassis premiered with the 1974 Vega ( Toy XI ? )  ; definitely by 1975 when Grump switched to the H-Special Monza .

[Daddyfink]

1 hour ago, 1972coronet said:

From what I've read , the full tube chassis premiered with the 1974 Vega ( Toy XI ? )  ; definitely by 1975 when Grump switched to the H-Special Monza .

 

Yup

And the Restoration 

 

 

[gtx6970]

Ive always been under the assumption the 1st Grumpys Vega built was stock floor pan and front suspension from the back of the doors forward. basically only the rear suspension was heavily modified / scratchbuilt

[Mark]

That "restoration" doesn't look much like the "under construction" shot, especially ahead of the firewall.  If that car is Toy X, not much of it is left from the early days.  XI was restored recently too, but that car hadn't been altered over the years.  X was used a lot, by Jenkins as well as subsequent owners.

[1972coronet]

1 hour ago, gtx6970 said:

from the back of the doors forward. basically only the rear suspension was heavily modified / scratchbuilt

And the rear wheel openings were stretched ( not present on the original MPC version ; the newly-tooled-body does reflect the stretched wheel arches ) . 

50 minutes ago, Mark said:

That "restoration" doesn't look much like the "under construction" shot, especially ahead of the firewall.

Obvious differences , even to the casual observer . The most glaring difference is the tubes' height and angles ahead of the firewall .

The original's body was chemically-milled ( a/k/a , "acid dipped" ) , which typically severely compromises the structural integrity of the body --- be it through rusting or through early fatigue ( like the c.1965 Dodge Coronet & Plymouth Belvedere Super Stock-come-Factory Experimental ; those dipped cars folded-up in short order ) .

[1972coronet]

From the built-up examples I've seen of this new , revised release , out-of-the-box , it's a convincing replica of Jenkins' Toy IX / Toy X as-is . 

While I'm planning just such a build ( OOB ) , I'm also tempted to add Moroso rocker covers ( I forget which resin outfit makes them ) , and modify the engine compartment ( the original 'real' car has some wild looking fenderwell-exit headers which reach-high in the boiler room , then swoop-down just-ahead of the firewall ) , but then that defeats the whole OOB aspect that I'm aiming for ... automatic transmission not-with-standing . 

Edited September 26, 2020 by 1972coronet

[Mark]

The fenderwell headers were never used in competition, as the exit holes in the lower front fenders were illegal.  After getting bounced from tech inspection after the first inspection, the next stop was the Hooker Headers shop, where the headers were replaced and the holes in the fenders were patched.  Early pictures show Toy IX with two Hooker stickers on each front fender; the lower ones covered the fender patches.

Earlier, I got the timeline messed up.  Toy IX (first Vega) never had a strut front end.   As I understand it, Toy X started out with a stock front end but was later converted to struts.  Though not a full frame car at first, the strut conversion would probably have made it one.  Toy XI (final Vega) was full-frame from day one.

[Mr mopar]

Just picked up these two kits man does Round 2 ever do QC ? I'm thinking not .

[Luc Janssens]

5 hours ago, Mr mopar said:

Just picked up these two kits man does Round 2 ever do QC ? I'm thinking not .

I'm sure from time to time they open a production kit to check, but things like that happen, send a pic to them and I'm sure they will send a replacement body

[1972coronet]

7 hours ago, Mr mopar said:

Just picked up these two kits man does Round 2 ever do QC ?

Were both copies "short-shots" , or just one of them ?  From whom did you purchase your copies ? Hopefully they'll send a new one to you --- a new kit . I've not had to use Round2's parts replacement services , so I can't speak to how they'd handle this .

[Mr mopar]

All good boy's Round 2 is sending me a new body !

[Bob Ellis]

On 10/1/2020 at 8:02 AM, Mr mopar said:

Just picked up these two kits man does Round 2 ever do QC ? I'm thinking not .

Chinese QC. Nobody can watch those guys.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Bob Ellis said:

Chinese QC. Nobody can watch those guys.

Really? I remember some horrendous QC issues in the early '90s with AMT, MPC, Monogram, and Revell, and I don't think any of them had moved to China yet at that time. In fact, I think AMT/MPC was manufacturing in Mexico "to cut costs," not that we ever saw a price cut at the cash register. 

[niteowl7710]

1 hour ago, Bob Ellis said:

Chinese QC. Nobody can watch those guys.

Riiiiiiight because no one ever got a short shot kit produced in America...ever.?

[Snake45]

39 minutes ago, niteowl7710 said:

Riiiiiiight because no one ever got a short shot kit produced in America...ever.?

I once bought a Monogram 1/72 B-52--a very large and very expensive kit--with two left fuselage halves and no right fuselage half at all! Sadly, I didn't open the kit and discover this until many months later. 

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Ssshhhhh...

Why, I once got a short shot from -

SHRIIIIIEEEEK -

Tamiya!

Not just any 1/24 kit either, but on the transmission case of the 1/12 Caterham 7!  Maybe it was to check where the QC went wrong, but their demand for me to send in the defective part seemed a little arrogant.  All was resolved, though. ?

The Vega I'm working on doesn't strictly have a short shot, but you know those swirls you sometimes see where the flowing plastic meets itself from opposite directions as it fills the mold? There's a little divot from that in the lower front fascia.  Red paint and location minimize it, though, and I have to speed this one along.

[ZTony8]

On 9/26/2020 at 3:23 PM, 1972coronet said:

And the rear wheel openings were stretched ( not present on the original MPC version ; the newly-tooled-body does reflect the stretched wheel arches ) . 

Obvious differences , even to the casual observer . The most glaring difference is the tubes' height and angles ahead of the firewall .

The original's body was chemically-milled ( a/k/a , "acid dipped" ) , which typically severely compromises the structural integrity of the body --- be it through rusting or through early fatigue ( like the c.1965 Dodge Coronet & Plymouth Belvedere Super Stock-come-Factory Experimental ; those dipped cars folded-up in short order ) .

Not to mention the strut versus A-arm front suspension;  Obviously 2 different cars.

[xsthomas]

On 10/2/2020 at 6:58 PM, Bob Ellis said:

Chinese QC. Nobody can watch those guys.

To me. If that is the only problem. The fun of modeling is using some plastic panels and some putty to repair it.

I really want the 1974 Vega Grumpy's model. Did they make one of these? Not sure if they made one. Way back as a young teenager, I had a '74 Vega GT.  Laugh if you want, but I wish I had it now. The things I could do with it with the parts of today.

Edited January 2, 2021 by xsthomas

[thomascoffey1959@gmail.com]

              As bad as the chassis is in this kit, I'll prob pick up another. The 74 is dipicted on the 72 box as the Bruce Larson's  usa 1 vega.  A decal swap ?  For now, kit bash and scratch a chassis and drive line.  The only kit parts I'm using are the rear wheels, the carbs, carb venturi , (?) interior, wheelie bars, and the body.  I used the rear of a 76 nova prostreet chassis, and the front clip of an MPC/AMT 70 Plymouth superstocker frame and susp. parts box bits and pcs. scratched front tube frame So far it looks pretty good,,,,, by my meager standards anyway. Certainly not accurate by any stretch, but  looks convincing enough for me. The engine is the 327 from the AMT 66 prostreet Nova kit, parts box bits and scratched plumbing and ventilation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            A couple of questions though, for the next one. When did the lenco trannys debut?  distributor or magneto ? did the engine utilize a vacuum pump ? the crankcase ventilation set up in the  pics I found, seems a bit elaborate for just a vent system.

[magicmustang]

Lenco trans came in '73, the crankcase tubing is for the dry sump oil system on the '74 vega.

Edited March 30, 2021 by magicmustang

[thomascoffey1959@gmail.com]

thank you

[magicmustang]

18 hours ago, thomascoffey1959@gmail.com said:

thank you

Oh, and it had a tach drive distributor.

Edited March 31, 2021 by magicmustang