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1968 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible L89


mrmike

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Thanks Richard!  Just below the thin surface of the distributor cap was the pin and drilling the thin surface of the cap removed that pin.  Adding a pin made from a piece of styrene rod with a larger rod to hold that pin made all the sense to me.  Sometimes someone else will have the idea that we would otherwise not think of that as a solution to a problem.  I am happy that you found my solution helpful!

While the '68 Vette is taking a bath in Easy-Off, I decided on assembling the chassis.  I replaced the kit tires with a set of white letter tires from AMT.  The engine is wired with a triangular air cleaner over the single 4-barrel carburator.  I replaced the kit front springs with a set I had found in my parts box and I paint them blue.  I glue the front wheels on so the model wouldn't roll off the table.

More Corvette to come...

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Edited by mrmike
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On 3/26/2022 at 9:06 PM, mrmike said:

Thanks Mike!  From what I have been told and what I have seen, the shield is a separate piece.  Why is it attached in plastic?  Probably to make assembly a little easier.

it is indeed separate on the real cars. It's right there behind the air cleaner so it's probably just easier to mold it as one.  On the small-block cars, there were additional shrouds from there, down underneath the exhaust, most of the way to the plugs.  It's a real hassle, and most people removed it.  

Here's a pic of the AMT LT-1 small block with the shielding.  I suppose the smaller air cleaner makes it easier to mold them separately, and also facilitates including the shrouds to the sides. the bonus is I didn't have to wire the engine.  😄

Note, on an L-88 car, there was no shielding (no radio).  other big block corvettes (including the L-89) used the shield around the distributor, but the leads were wrapped to provide some protection from the interference.  

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Edited by JJ Deuce
added pics, cleaned up info on big-block cars
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After sitting for a couple of days in Easy-Off Oven Cleaner, I washed the Corvette body, hood and roof and the old paint just came off with some Dawn Dish Detergent and a scrub brush.  Now to pick and sand to remove any unwanted paint and then a new coat of primer.

More Corvette to come...

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I started off this morning with several pieces of sanding film and I removed any remaining primer and paint.  I traced all the door groves and vents with a pick and the backside of my No. 11 X-acto blade.  I applied more Bondo to the hood edge that I had added previously.  More sanding to follow and then primer and paint.
More Corvette to come...

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I don't like the instructions on this model!  Parts are included, but there is no mention of that part being used.  There is a fan shroud on the parts tree, but no where in the instructions is it called for.  I included it on my Corvette!  I have started sanding the primer coat on the 'Vette hood and in some spots, The primer ran so I made sure it was flush before I add another coat, a little more sanding and paint.

More Corvette to come...

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I have finished the interior of my '68 Corvette.  Since this is a L89 car and not an L88, I tried to create a radio in place of the block-off plate that L88s have since they have no radios.

More Corvette to come...

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Thanks Curtis!  I suspected that this was originally used for another kit variation.  Maybe for the kit that they said had a 429 in it! 😄  It shows just how badly they wanted to put a kit out in the market and some of the details were left out.  

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I painted the Corvette this afternoon with Dupli-Color Forest Green Pearl over Dupli-Color Scratch Filler & Primer.  Came out rather well.  Just a little blushing on the roof which will polish out.  A good paint job!  Now to let this dry for a couple of days and then polishing and clearcoat.

More Corvette to come...

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I started looking at the instructions again and then I Googled Corvette engine compartments and then I Googled expansion tanks and windshield washer tanks.  With the help of my Revell '69 Corvette Yenko instructions, I figured the location of the expansion tank and the washer bottle and I installed them on the passenger side inner fender of my '68 Corvette.  The expansion tank is not listed in the '68 Corvette instructions and the windshield washer bottle is not listed on the '69 Corvette Yenko instructions.  This is a case of both maybe correct, but both are wrong for their exclusions. 

More Corvette to come...

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I started polishing the Forest Green Pearl paint this morning.  So far, I have the roof and the hood polished and the body is next.  I burnt through in a couple of places on the hood and I tried to touch up those spots, but they stand out like a sore thumb!  After repeated polishings, they still stand out, so the alternative is to repaint the hood again.

More Corvette to come...

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Gorgeous colour, Mike! Fathom Green (or, approximations thereof) is an awesome shade of green, and looks right at home on your 'vette. 

Silly enquiry: did you clear the paint? I've encountered the same burn-through even with solid colours (most recent, TB3 Basin Street Blue [colloq., "Petty Blue"] on a Monogram Hemi 'Cuda -- actual factory colour, touch-up paint, aerosol). 

Keep up the GREAT work! That roof looks great! 

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Thanks John!  Forest Green Pearl does look great, especially after it has been clearcoated.  Did I clear the paint?  No.  That was just polishing with Scratch Doctor Scratch Remover and Novus 2 which is a finer scratch remover.  

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32 minutes ago, mrmike said:

Thanks John!  Forest Green Pearl does look great, especially after it has been clearcoated.  Did I clear the paint?  No.  That was just polishing with Scratch Doctor Scratch Remover and Novus 2 which is a finer scratch remover.  

Thanks for the clarification re: the clear. I've used Scratch Doctor as a polish, too. It's a nice, smooth polish which works great on plastic (obviously) and painted plastic. 

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