amt 1202 1/25 AMT 1963 Chevy II Nova Station Wagon - Craftsman Plus

[Vince Nemanic]

Tim, could you test fit the grille and post a photo? If you look at my comment on the previous page, I think the grille doesn't fit. Thanks.

[tim boyd]

53 minutes ago, Vince Nemanic said:

Tim, could you test fit the grille and post a photo? If you look at my comment on the previous page, I think the grille doesn't fit. Thanks.

Vince.....just did a mockup and I don't see any evident fit issues.  The angle of the photo of that beautiful buildup on page 11 combined with the reflections off the plated parts imply a fit question that does not appear in my example.... Thx for asking    I'll try to get some more photos posted tomorrow.  TIM 

Edited December 10, 2020 by tim boyd

[Vince Nemanic]

Thanks, Tim!

[RDean58]

For the next version, I want the 153!

[Classicgas]

1 hour ago, RDean58 said:

For the next version, I want the 153!

Easily made from the Trumpeter 6. I did it a few years ago for a 69 Nova I did.

[Mark]

The 153...the engine that should have been used in the Vega!  

[unclescott58]

On 12/7/2020 at 2:34 PM, Casey said:

Is this the one, Mike? ?

 Beautiful. I’m looking forward to getting mine. 

[unclescott58]

On 12/8/2020 at 10:57 PM, the other Mike S. said:

Maybe they went back and tooled up a new '71-'72 style front bumper for it?  Yeah, I wish.... 

Go read the reviews on the Bond Mustang kit. They redid the whole front end to be more correct. 

Edited December 10, 2020 by unclescott58

[tim boyd]

15 hours ago, Vince Nemanic said:

Tim, could you test fit the grille and post a photo? If you look at my comment on the previous page, I think the grille doesn't fit. Thanks.

Vince....as promised, here's an image showing a test fit of the grille to the body fenders and hood...

Five new additional views of the test fit, from various angles, are now added at the end of my now 44 image kit preview at this link.  Thanks for looking!  TIM 

[sfhess]

7 hours ago, Mark said:

The 153...the engine that should have been used in the Vega!  

Eventually it was.  It became the "Iron Duke", used in Monzas and other Vega-derived cars in the late 70s, S-10s, Citation family and Celebrity/Ciera/Century/6000.

[the other Mike S.]

43 minutes ago, sfhess said:

Eventually it was.  It became the "Iron Duke", used in Monzas and other Vega-derived cars in the late 70s, S-10s, Citation family and Celebrity/Ciera/Century/6000.

Don't forget the '68-'70 Nova.  Also, it was the base engine for '82-'85 Camaro/Firebird and of course the Fiero.

[Dave Ambrose]

I like this kit. I know some other people don't like it, but I think it's healthy to have some nice curbside kits of US cars in our hobby shops. They let novice builders further explore the joys and exasperation of paint drama, while relieving them of the perceived complexity of assembling and painting a full chassis. I know you can just build the kit without the engine, but this isn't the way a newcomer thinks. 

With the separate hood, we can put an engine in there if we want. I might well get one of these kits. Rusting it out, and putting a couple of surfboards in it should make for an interesting build. 

[ranma]

15 hours ago, sfhess said:

Eventually it was.  It became the "Iron Duke",

This is a FALSE statement. the Iron duke actually was very different from the Chevy II Nova's four banger. According to  Hemmings   Sept 20,2019 Article : For the last time the Iron Duke was not the same engine as the Chevy II four cylinder! By Daniel Strohl

[Bob Ellis]

On 12/10/2020 at 1:07 PM, tim boyd said:

Vince....as promised, here's an image showing a test fit of the grille to the body fenders and hood...

Five new additional views of the test fit, from various angles, are now added at the end of my now 44 image kit preview at this link.  Thanks for looking!  TIM 

Thank Tim, for the great photos. Looks like a winner plus I imagine an engine in a future kit issue

[casassa]

The Chevy 153 CID 4 also enjoyed some success in midget racers, though not as much as the later Iron Duke. 

[carnut]

This looks so cool, as soon as I get one I’m going to see if the chassis-frame from the 66 Chevy II Nova will fit. It should, I can’t wait.

Edited December 12, 2020 by carnut

[sfhess]

8 hours ago, carnut said:

This looks so cool, as soon as I get one I’m going to see if the chassis-frame from the 66 Chevy II Nova will fit. It should, I can’t wait.

The 66 Chassis mates up with the original 63 wagon body pretty well, but doesn't play nice with the interior.

 

[MrObsessive]

5 hours ago, sfhess said:

The 66 Chassis mates up with the original 63 wagon body pretty well, but doesn't play nice with the interior.

 

I wondered about that. I have an original built-up (not painted) and I thought about restoring that using the '66 chassis. Probably what I'd end up doing (with the newer kit) is building the interior on the flip side of the chassis, but some slicing and dicing will be needed to get rid of the interior floor thickness in the kit.

It would require probably doing something with the rear wheel wells as they're a bit different from hardtop to wagon.

Some work involved, but it's sure nice to see this kit back again! Watch the eBay prices on those fall like a stone.  

[Classicgas]

As much as I like full detail chassis, my hands and fingers are getting to the point it's difficult to handle small parts. I'm not even sure how much longer I'll be able to do things like foiling, etc. Having a molded in chassis detail is fine, I'm very happy that they have the engine compartment to add a engine to. Kudos Round2.

[MrObsessive]

I hear ya Lee! It's one of the reasons I've been zeroing in on the larger scales as of late. My eyes just aren't like they used to be despite an ever stronger prescription for glasses.

I'm at a point where when I get back to doing "smaller scales", I'll just have to really take my time as the eyes tire quicker than they used to.

Edited December 13, 2020 by MrObsessive

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 12/10/2020 at 8:00 AM, Mark said:

The 153...the engine that should have been used in the Vega!  

Ain't that the truth.

But nah...contrary to what everyone else in the known universe already knew worked just great, Chebby elected to re-invent the wheel with an iron head, a silicon-impregnated alloy block, and ferrous-coated pistons...with disastrous results.

Sadly, there's still a whole jell of a lot of that kind of "thinking" out there in engineeringland.

[Mark]

I read somewhere (and it sounds plausible) that GM went with the aluminum engine for the Vega to use foundry capacity left idle with the demise of the Corvair.  GM didn't use a whole lot of cast aluminum prior to the Corvair, they made a big investment in facilities for it, as did Reynolds Aluminum.  The silicon impregnated block was something GM was toying with for a while.  GM's habit of using its customers as guinea pigs (particularly on the cheaper cars) and treating buyers of cheaper cars as second-class citizens cost them big time over the long haul.

[espo]

2 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Ain't that the truth.

But nah...contrary to what everyone else in the known universe already knew worked just great, Chebby elected to re-invent the wheel with an iron head, a silicon-impregnated alloy block, and ferrous-coated pistons...with disastrous results.

Sadly, there's still a whole jell of a lot of that kind of "thinking" out there in engineeringland.

When I first got in the retail end of the car business at a Chevrolet dealership in 1974. The GM of the dealership was giving me a tour of the dealership and the service department. In one building there was a stack of engines in the crate from Chevrolet. The engines were stacked four high and went along the back wall for almost three stalls. I asked if they were selling that many small four cylinder engines when he reminded me they were for Vegas and were Warranty Engines.  

[sfhess]

7 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

I wondered about that. I have an original built-up (not painted) and I thought about restoring that using the '66 chassis. Probably what I'd end up doing (with the newer kit) is building the interior on the flip side of the chassis, but some slicing and dicing will be needed to get rid of the interior floor thickness in the kit.

It would require probably doing something with the rear wheel wells as they're a bit different from hardtop to wagon.

Some work involved, but it's sure nice to see this kit back again! Watch the eBay prices on those fall like a stone.  

I am using the door panels, seats etc from the 66 Nova and a cargo area from a 65 Chevelle wagon.  Not perfect or prototypical but it works for me.

The new kit will be out before I finish lol.

[unclescott58]

On 12/11/2020 at 5:31 AM, ranma said:

This is a FALSE statement. the Iron duke actually was very different from the Chevy II Nova's four banger. According to  Hemmings   Sept 20,2019 Article : For the last time the Iron Duke was not the same engine as the Chevy II four cylinder! By Daniel Strohl

You are right Rick. I wonder where and how that rumor start? It's amazing how many have ran with that and a other similar stories over the years.