MPC Beretta GT

[Plowboy]

The following is taken from the instructions: 

With it's front drive platform, the Beretta engine sits over the driving wheels, providing excellent traction and exceptional handling. With the hefty 2.8 litre V-6 with multiport fuel injection, this car needs all the traction it can get!

A personal statement of style and spirit, the Beretta GT is a car with the look and feel of substance. The spacious interior gives the occupants the open and airy feeling once reserved for the more compact sports cars.

A new species of automobile. 

Decidedly sporty.

Totally modern. 

Yeah...right.

Remember when the Beretta came out, it was rumored to be the replacement of the Camaro? Just like the Probe was to be the replacement of the Mustang? Luckily Chevy and Ford came to their senses! 

But, what if they didn't? What if the Camaro was never to be produced again? What would a "died in the wool" pony car lover do with a Beretta? How can one make a car as lame as a Beretta look cool? How can one make it look like a car that you better not mess with at the stoplight?

I know. Bad idea. But, sometimes even a bad idea takes hold and can't be ignored. I'll either prove that it can or can't be accomplished.

I actually got this idea from an old full scale car back in the late '80s. I think it was Scott Sullivan who took a Grand Am and tubbed it. But, he kept the original drivetrain up front. It looked like a pro street. But, it wasn't even close to being a pavement pounder. 

This model is loosely based on that car. But, different. It's going to just be a simple, fun build. No details. Just paint and glue with the modifications shown which is just lowering front and rear. No idea on colors yet. I am planning on using the hockey stripe and hounds tooth decals from the Revell '69 Camaro. Open to suggestions or other ideas. 

 

[Snake45]

Very cool idea! I'll be watching. 

For several years I drove a Beretta, the 4-door version of this car. It was an okay little car for what it was, but nowhere NEAR as "peppy" as the Ford Taurus V6 it replaced (I just flat wore that one out. It was in an accident with enough front end sheetmetal damage that the insurance company "totaled" it but for a settlement of about $50 less, they let me keep it and since it still ran and drove fine, I drove it every day for another three years or so. Can't beat a deal like that.) 

[Rbray47]

Call me weird, but I loved those cars. Heck, I even liked the Luminas. 

[Spottedlaurel]

Great to see stuff like this being built, everything has potential!

I have a couple of Citations to do someday.....

[Can-Con]

Sounds cool.

I have a GTZ I plan to do some day it has a nice Quad4 engine.

[bisc63]

13 hours ago, Snake45 said:

For several years I drove a Beretta, the 4-door version of this car.

I think you mean "Corsica", I drove one for a while as well. My least favorite car ever; horrible ergonomics, impossible to get comfortable in.

Plowboy, how about a few styling cues from a mid 80s IROC; block off the grill with a solid panel, gently peaked, peak continuing up the center of hood, flanked by NACA ducts, real or faux?!

[Dominik]

11 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Great to see stuff like this being built, everything has potential!

I have a couple of Citations to do someday.....

agreed. i like those Kind of models to be built. specially, different, far from the Mainstream.

I'm watching! Those wheels Looking awesome on it!

[Snake45]

7 hours ago, bisc63 said:

I think you mean "Corsica",

You are of course completely correct. Mea culpa! 

[slusher]

My mother bought a white 96 with a sky blue interior and a 3.6 or 3.8. I am not sure it has 66.000. Good looking but uncomfortable In a long distance ride and a 2 door...very good looking car...

[espo]

There were many Drag Cars and a few Street Rods built of of these cars even when new. This was a Unabody car and they would build a Tube Chassis and put a V-8 in the front as nature intended. Either way I like to see someone give this model some love. Slusher mentioned the engine size. The V-6 started as a 2.8 and was later expanded to 3.1 liter. They were both very good little motors. 

[Can-Con]

14 hours ago, bisc63 said:

I think you mean "Corsica", I drove one for a while as well. My least favorite car ever; horrible ergonomics, impossible to get comfortable in.

Plowboy, how about a few styling cues from a mid 80s IROC; block off the grill with a solid panel, gently peaked, peak continuing up the center of hood, flanked by NACA ducts, real or faux?!

The kit I have has a hood with '85-'90 Z-28 style louvers on it as an option.

[Plowboy]

1 hour ago, Can-Con said:

The kit I have has a hood with '85-'90 Z-28 style louvers on it as an option.

So does this kit. It's actually on it in the mockup. It also has a different front bumper, headlight covers, grille blank, ground effects, side and rear window louvers and a turbo option for the 2.8 V-6. You mentioned you had a GTZ with the quad four. Would you mind posting a photo of the box. I can't recall ever seeing that kit. I'd like to see it.

I'm thinking on this build that it needs to have the same diameter wheels front and rear to put it in the time frame I'm kinda shooting for. The large diameter rears are a little too modern. Somewhere in the stash, I have a set of matching 7 and 8 inch Ralley wheels. I have a set that I painted for another build. But, I didn't use them on it. So, I know there's another set. Just gotta find them. This is going to be a slow starter as I'm getting another project finished. So, keep the ideas coming!  

[slusher]

56 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

So does this kit. It's actually on it in the mockup. It also has a different front bumper, headlight covers, grille blank, ground effects, side and rear window louvers and a turbo option for the 2.8 V-6. You mentioned you had a GTZ with the quad four. Would you mind posting a photo of the box. I can't recall ever seeing that kit. I'd like to see it.

I'm thinking on this build that it needs to have the same diameter wheels front and rear to put it in the time frame I'm kinda shooting for. The large diameter rears are a little too modern. Somewhere in the stash, I have a set of matching 7 and 8 inch Ralley wheels. I have a set that I painted for another build. But, I didn't use them on it. So, I know there's another set. Just gotta find them. This is going to be a slow starter as I'm getting another project finished. So, keep the ideas coming!  

Looking forward to another build Roger,  the Beretta is a good looking car.

[Can-Con]

1 hour ago, Plowboy said:

So does this kit. It's actually on it in the mockup. It also has a different front bumper, headlight covers, grille blank, ground effects, side and rear window louvers and a turbo option for the 2.8 V-6. You mentioned you had a GTZ with the quad four. Would you mind posting a photo of the box. I can't recall ever seeing that kit. I'd like to see it.

I'm thinking on this build that it needs to have the same diameter wheels front and rear to put it in the time frame I'm kinda shooting for. The large diameter rears are a little too modern. Somewhere in the stash, I have a set of matching 7 and 8 inch Ralley wheels. I have a set that I painted for another build. But, I didn't use them on it. So, I know there's another set. Just gotta find them. This is going to be a slow starter as I'm getting another project finished. So, keep the ideas coming!  

Let me know if this doesn't work and I'll take a pic of the actual one I have.

[Plowboy]

4 hours ago, Can-Con said:

Let me know if this doesn't work and I'll take a pic of the actual one I have.

Thanx for the photo Steve! Had never seen that kit! Who would've thought that AMT, MPC and Revell would produce the Beretta!? Someday, I want to build the Revell pro street version just for old time kicks. I wonder if the AMT and MPC are just shared tooling? 

[slusher]

5 hours ago, Can-Con said:

Let me know if this doesn't work and I'll take a pic of the actual one I have.

Steve, like Roger, never seen that kit before!

[Can-Con]

1 hour ago, Plowboy said:

Thanx for the photo Steve! Had never seen that kit! Who would've thought that AMT, MPC and Revell would produce the Beretta!? Someday, I want to build the Revell pro street version just for old time kicks. I wonder if the AMT and MPC are just shared tooling? 

Yes, same tooling with expected annual updates. There's one with a red car on the box too. IIRC, one's a '90 and one's a '91.

This was from when Ertl bought out AMT and MPC 

[JJ Deuce]

I like to see this one.  I spent a summer in San Diego with my aunt and uncle when I was 17.  She had a red Beretta GT and I got to drive it a few times.  It was a fun little car.

[Tom Geiger]

Back when these were new, my much younger cousin Teresa wanted to buy one. My father and I were recruited to assist. She had picked one out on the Potamkin Chevrolet lot. Seemed easy enough!  

What we didn’t know was that we had just walked into the worse buying experience of either of our lives! This was the worst dealer we had ever experience! Played every game. Even tried to ADD the rebate to the amount instead of subtracting it. 

Then came bad cop / good cop. As the tone turned to yelling and we got up to leave, a supposed sales manager appeared to calmly talk us down. We weren’t that emotionally invested but playing along and kicking each other under the desk. Finally we got to the price and terms we wanted.

The car was being bought for cash so there was no financing to deal with. It was to be delivered the next evening. I wasn’t available so my dad went with her for what should’ve been a non-event.  Nope! They said they rewrote the sales order because it was all messy with the negotiations all over it, but changed the numbers. My father wound up negotiating the deal all over again!  Awful experience!

A few months later I’m watching TV and John Stossel is doing an investigate report on car dealers with hidden camera. He says, “This dealer was dishonest and the salesman was deceptive the entire time.” I realize they are at our dealer and talking to our salesman!  I immediately call my dad and he answers the phone laughing. He was watching the same show!

Edited September 27, 2020 by Tom Geiger

[gotnitro?]

Always drempt of owning a Gt when they came out , but ended up w a T Type Somerset instead..

Definitely watching this 

Edited September 29, 2020 by gotnitro?

[Plowboy]

Back on this one now that my other project is done. So far, I've been working on the body getting it ready for primer. I first glued the bumpers on and filled the seams. That was a pain! Then I scribed in new panel lines where they should be. I scribed in lines around the side window trim and the top of the doors. The remaining panel lines were scribed deeper. I decided to change hoods and turn the stock hood into a cowl hood. I simply cut along the reveals in the hood, stabbed in a couple pieces of styrene, glued, puttied and sanded. It's ready for final sanding and primer now. I need to decide on a color. Kinda thinking Chrome Yellow and black interior/stripes. 

 

[kelson]

Looking good so far!!.

[Snake45]

8 hours ago, Plowboy said:

I need to decide on a color. Kinda thinking Chrome Yellow and black interior/stripes. 

Looking good! As far as color, I built one of these back in the early '90s JUST because I wanted a model in that pretty turquoise that Chevies came in then. I got the paint from the then-new MCW and it came out great! I was going to do a Corvette in the same color but I never got around to it and the rest of the paint eventually dried up. I'll have to dig that thing out and take pictures of it sometime. 

This color: 

Edited October 3, 2020 by Snake45

[slusher]

Chrome yellow sounds good. I have seen a bunch in white and red"..

[Plowboy]

First squirt of paint! I figured that Chrome Yellow would be brighter than this. But, it is what it is. As soon as this dries, I'll tape the hood on and shoot a couple of coats on the rest. Maybe then, I'll have a better idea of what it will actually look like.