Accurate Miniatures Corvette Grand Sport

[SfanGoch]

A few things I have noted concerning problems you've encountered while constructing this kit:

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Next step was to mock up the rear suspension chassis and mate the chassis to the floorpan. Yep, it rides too high. The gap of the chassis bracket to floorpan give me an indication there may be interference (first pic). I located and removed (fancy word for...sanding) interferences between the roll bar support and rear wheel well cutouts and between the chassis crossbar and floorpan where it transitions to the vertical wall behind the seats. I now have a nice snug chassis to floorpan fit and the ride height is much lower (pics 2-3)

Granted, this kit requires extra care in assembling; however, the "fiddliness" is grossly overstated. Some tips for a future build of this kit:

This is the simplest remedy to fix the chassis to floorpan problem:

The rollbar supports need to be attached to the chassis so that the thick portion mounted on the lower rear crossmember is absolutely perpendicular when viewed from the rear of the chassis. If properly installed, the outer edges will be even with the outside edge of the door panels and there will be a 2mm gap between the topmost portion of the supports and the back edge of the door panel. Also, there will be a 1mm gap between the top of the support and the bottom of the shelf on the floorpan. You can make a small triangular bracket which is found on the actual support from 1mm styrene sheet. Also, there is very little clearance between the rollbar supports and the tire on the actual car.

 

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The last delicate part of chassis fabrication is the integration of the exhaust system

I should have invested in HRM exhaust manifolds which must have been designed to clear the chassis tubes...but did not so I will have to manage with the kit parts.

Instructions call for headers to be attached to the engine after the engine is installed to the chassis. Makes sense because of the width of the engine/header combo would not clear the rails. Plus it's  very tight to the steering box and there is slight contact to upper A-arms and a significant interference to the chassis rails.

First I removed the little pegs supposedly fitting into the heads and made flanges, choosing not to use the kit's PE flanges.

 

This kit was designed with very close tolerances, just as the real Grand Sports were. The reason you had to add that styrene to the lower portion of the headers to adjust the spacing is because you removed those "pegs" They are part of the headers and should not have been removed. The spacer you added between the headers and exhaust is equal to the length of those pegs. The HRM headers are exact copies of the kit parts with the addition of molded-on flanges. You should have used the PE flanges.

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The problem to me is that the model by design sits too high. Add to this the oversized tires and it looks like a 4x4 toy.

Believe it or not, the tires are not oversized. I have the book "Corvette Grand Sport" by Dave Friedman. I have examined the photos, and every available one online. The sidewall height of the front and rear kit tires is spot on when compared to the period photos.
 

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Today I tackled on finishing the chassis ride height. This is a major issue with this kit and a must fix for me to proceed with the rest of the build.

I first took action on Bill's observation that the body's fender lips need thinning. I want to address this first before finessing the wheel positioning.

 

The fender flare lips are accurately modeled. They do not require thinning. Period photos of Chassis 002, after which this kit (No. 5000) was designed, clearly show that the flare height is correct.  Incidentally, Kit No. 5000 was the only GS kit which included the fuel line block (Part 3); although, its installation was not mentioned nor shown anywhere in the instruction sheet.
 

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A bit of a setback as I added the fuel tank and spare tire. The tail of the car sits up like a dragster...again.

The spare was easy. I added 0.5 mm spacers to the upper attachments, thus tilting the tire down by about 2 mm.

The fuel tank was a harder task. First the visual instructions ask to mate the 2 halves opposite of the way the molded pegs guide the 2 parts together, so which is right. After ungluing and trying both ways...

The way the 2 halves naturally mate is the right way but the diff still crashes to the underside of the tank. After efforts to grind some local relief I ended up removing 2mm from the top side of the tank.

 

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I then proceeded to adding cement to the preassembled  the rear unit mated to the chassis in the following order. Radius arm to chassis, Differential to chassis, and then radius arms to half shafts and cross links. Check again, adjust and lots of curing time.

The problem you encountered with the top of the differential is the way you assembled the rear chassis components. This is one kit which requires the builder to follow the assembly instructions to the letter. The radius arms should be slid, not glued, onto the halfshafts. Position and glue the rear suspension onto the rear crossmember and press, but do not glue, the radius arms into their respective locations on the lower crossmember. The reason for not gluing the radius arms to the halfshafts is that it will allow you to make horizontal adjustments to the ride height. The bottom of the differential should barely rest on the differential support located on the lower rear crossmember. If you properly install the suspension according to the instructions, only the front tip of the flange on the top of the differential makes contact with the gas tank and you wouldn't have to deal with all of that grinding.

 

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There is no location defined for the oil filler and the coolant outlet is missing. Instructions just say to glue the rad hose to engine block.

Location of the oil filter (Part 47) is described and indicated in Step 6 Body of the instructions. It's glued to the left front wheel well (Part 48). Location and attachment of the upper (Part 11) and lower (Part 12) coolant hoses is shown and described in Step 4 Engine installation.

A couple of side notes. The Weber 58 DCO carbs look great; BUT, they're modeled incorrectly. The flange tips where the trumpets are mounted to the carb should be facing outward, not toward the center of the carb body.

If you hollow out the mount locations on the engine block, the engine mounts will sit higher up, giving you enough clearance so the hood fits properly and not float.

You've done a great job so far. I'm only offering my observations and tips for easier construction which I gained from building this kit myself.

Edited June 10, 2022 by SfanGoch

[MarkJ]

Pierre, check your private messages.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'm really looking forward to getting one of these back on the bench now, and working through all the interrelated interference issues.

I'm surprised I completely failed to notice the kit's incorrect orientation of the carb velocity stack mounting flanges, but Joe is absolutely right.

Wow.   

[DustyMojave]

On 5/31/2022 at 5:09 PM, SfanGoch said:

I have 8 GS kits and I've never seen one chassis without the slots either. All of the AM versions, including the Revell rebox, were produced from the same tool.

 

Just went and looked at it. Sure enough. I WAS WRONG. Sorry to get all your hopes up.

[jaymcminn]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I'm really looking forward to getting one of these back on the bench now, and working through all the interrelated interference issues.

I'm surprised I completely failed to notice the kit's incorrect orientation of the carb velocity stack mounting flanges, but Joe is absolutely right.

Wow.   

I've been fighting a (mostly) successful battle with a Tamiya 1/12 scale Porsche 934 for about 3 months now and I'm in the home stretch. Perversely, I'm thinking about taking this kit on as my next challenge. Oy. 

[Pierre Rivard]

I love the MCM forums. It is a place for scale modelers to support and help each other. The highly skilled builders show their work product and methods and always provide information and advice to their peers. The "less than expert" builders expose their work knowing they will be helped, not judged.

This is the way it works out 99% of the time, but on occasion there is that MMQ waiting on the sideline for the right moment for a dressing down of a peer's efforts. This fellow will claim he's there to help but really only wants to tell  he knows it all. The funny thing is that fellow never puts himself at risk by displaying his work product. Yes Joe Zrodlowski, I'm talking about you!

I still plan to remain active on this forum because I love supporting the efforts of fellow modelers.

I will complete building my GS and eventually display it but will pause on sharing updates of my build process.

Perhaps Joe might want to take over this GS w.i.p. thread?  Put yourself out there Joe, show your work product!

[SfanGoch]

It seems that you only expect figurative pats on the back from members commenting on your WIP. I gave you that three pages ago. You're awfully thin-skinned if you equate building tips as ripping your work.

I don't know how or why you arrived at the conclusion that I was criticizing your efforts. Can you point out anything I wrote disparaging your work? You can't because I didn't. I didn't post anything critical about your build. I stated from the outset that I was offering tips for a future build, if that would be in the books for you. I wouldn't be able to give detailed suggestions unless I actually did the work described. How would I know that deepening the floorpan notches would remedy the chassis fit problem, hollowing out the engine block mounting points to lower the engine so the hood would fit correctly or the correct construction of the rear suspension to avoid fitment conflicts with the gas tank, differential and rollbar supports if I didn't do it myself? One can't make up those kinds of fixes unless one did them in the first place. You didn't consider them. I'm not a know-it-all. I just happen to know what I'm talking about through practical experience. I built the AM GS kit # 5000 when it was initially released in 1995 and it was a mess because I didn't take the time to fully analyze the various issues which frustrate many who have tackled this particular kit and make it somewhat of an ordeal to build. I have built others since then and learned from previous construction mistakes; therefore, I have a 27 year head start in remedying the annoying quirks I found with this kit before you decided to build it; and, as I previously said, I offered you suggestions and tips to allow you to build it relatively problem-free by avoiding the same mistakes which I, and others, have made.

It's your prerogative not to post any more updates on your progress. You'll just miss out on getting helpful suggestions from other members who could offer other construction tips which could reduce, or eliminate, any extra work you might consider.

 

 

[MarkJ]

14 hours ago, Pierre Rivard said:

I love the MCM forums. It is a place for scale modelers to support and help each other. The highly skilled builders show their work product and methods and always provide information and advice to their peers. The "less than expert" builders expose their work knowing they will be helped, not judged.

This is the way it works out 99% of the time, but on occasion there is that MMQ waiting on the sideline for the right moment for a dressing down of a peer's efforts. This fellow will claim he's there to help but really only wants to tell  he knows it all. The funny thing is that fellow never puts himself at risk by displaying his work product. Yes Joe Zrodlowski, I'm talking about you!

I still plan to remain active on this forum because I love supporting the efforts of fellow modelers.

I will complete building my GS and eventually display it but will pause on sharing updates of my build process.

Perhaps Joe might want to take over this GS w.i.p. thread?  Put yourself out there Joe, show your work product!

Sorry to be missing further updates but I totally understand where your coming from. Cannot wait to see the finished product because as always it will be through the roof awesome like all your other builds. Please post a note to us where the Final build can be seen.  It will be the best a.m. Grand Sport ever built. 

 

 

 

[bobthehobbyguy]

Hope you reconsider. Please don't deprive everyone else of what you are doing. I have been enjoying this build.

[Force]

On 6/10/2022 at 11:42 AM, SfanGoch said:

Incidentally, Kit No. 5000 was the only GS kit which included the fuel line block (Part 3); although, its installation was not mentioned nor shown anywhere in the instruction sheet.

I just looked at my kit wich is kit No 5001 and it has the part 3 block with fuel lines, the Revell version doesn't seem to have it as it looks to have been deleted for some reason when the reissues were made...because it's there in the original kits from 1995.

Edited June 12, 2022 by Force

[MarkJ]

On 6/10/2022 at 10:54 PM, SfanGoch said:

It seems that you only expect figurative pats on the back from members commenting on your WIP. I gave you that three pages ago. You're awfully thin-skinned if you equate building tips as ripping your work.

I don't know how or why you arrived at the conclusion that I was criticizing your efforts. Can you point out anything I wrote disparaging your work? You can't because I didn't. I didn't post anything critical about your build. I stated from the outset that I was offering tips for a future build, if that would be in the books for you. I wouldn't be able to give detailed suggestions unless I actually did the work described. How would I know that deepening the floorpan notches would remedy the chassis fit problem, hollowing out the engine block mounting points to lower the engine so the hood would fit correctly or the correct construction of the rear suspension to avoid fitment conflicts with the gas tank, differential and rollbar supports if I didn't do it myself? One can't make up those kinds of fixes unless one did them in the first place. You didn't consider them. I'm not a know-it-all. I just happen to know what I'm talking about through practical experience. I built the AM GS kit # 5000 when it was initially released in 1995 and it was a mess because I didn't take the time to fully analyze the various issues which frustrate many who have tackled this particular kit and make it somewhat of an ordeal to build. I have built others since then and learned from previous construction mistakes; therefore, I have a 27 year head start in remedying the annoying quirks I found with this kit before you decided to build it; and, as I previously said, I offered you suggestions and tips to allow you to build it relatively problem-free by avoiding the same mistakes which I, and others, have made.

It's your prerogative not to post any more updates on your progress. You'll just miss out on getting helpful suggestions from other members who could offer other construction tips which could reduce, or eliminate, any extra work you might consider.

 

 

I don't think he needs any helpful suggestions. If he did, he would ask for them. You just don't get it that you just killed off an entertaining wip that a lot of us were enjoying. Instead of apologizing you stay on the attack. Nice form , Joe. Nobody cares about your so called expertise. I mean face it, you're no Clay Kemp. 

[afx]

SfanGoch - you would do the MCM forum a great service if you would create a thread of your own to share tips and tricks of what you have learned in building the AM GS Corvette kits.

Pierre - I hope you change your mind about sharing your progress with us.  I had a similar experience on a Cobra build a few years back and I too became frustrated.  I asked the gentleman to please share his knowledge and information in a thread of his own creation to benefit us all (myself included as he was found of offering suggestions only after I posted photos of a completed assembly) and continued my project.

[bobthehobbyguy]

I have to agree that telling people about problems after they have run into them isn't very useful. I had never heard about the engine height issue. It would have been more useful info if the op was warned earlier. Some of the other issues had already been discovered.

The point of sharing info is to help others deal with it.

[MarkJ]

On 6/12/2022 at 8:31 PM, afx said:

SfanGoch - you would do the MCM forum a great service if you would create a thread of your own to share tips and tricks of what you have learned in building the AM GS Corvette kits.

Pierre - I hope you change your mind about sharing your progress with us.  I had a similar experience on a Cobra build a few years back and I too became frustrated.  I asked the gentleman to please share his knowledge and information in a thread of his own creation to benefit us all (myself included as he was found of offering suggestions only after I posted photos of a completed assembly) and continued my project.

Yes, Pierre. I wish you would change your mind too. I'm missing this wip just when it was getting good. Was really looking forward to the paint part.

[Pierre Rivard]

Chassis is done and painted. Only have to loop oil lines to filter and cooler after chassis & body marriage.

Only recent mod was the side pipes to reflect the configuration of the specific car I am modeling and making the exhaust outlet look more "muscular"

Final adjustments body to chassis with 0.5 mm shim at the front.

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Pierre Rivard

[Rich Chernosky]

Very Nice work Pierre....you will have a masterpiece in no time. I have  very much enjoyed this thread as it will help  me greatly when I do my  my spyder conversion.

[Pierre Rivard]

55 minutes ago, Rich Chernosky said:

Very Nice work Pierre....you will have a masterpiece in no time. I have  very much enjoyed this thread as it will help  me greatly when I do my  my spyder conversion.

Thank you Rich. I have another GS kit in my stash and want to acquire a roadster resin transit for it so I'll definitely follow your lead on that one.

[MarkJ]

Chassis looks Awesome Pierre. Engine looks very authentic too. Love the aluminum you used and how you plumbed it. Even has the Traco decal on the valve cover. Perfect job decaling the tires. Those stripes are hard to get on there in a perfect circle. Now comes the best part. Body painting. Can't wait.

[jaymcminn]

That stance. Oh yeah.

[absmiami]

Yup

[David G.]

The chassis looks great!

According to the mockup, it looks like everything is coming together nicely.

David G.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Sits like a road-racer instead of the typical mud-bogger stance. Big improvement.

[Pierre Rivard]

Starting work on the body. I plan minimal changes other than the usual prep. I will fab a front grille to better represent the specific car I am modeling and a minor change to the rear wheel opening.

As I work on these small changes I am doing my color development. My understanding is that chassis 004 at 1964 Sebring was still painted Mecom blue. I also read somewhere that Mecom blue was basically Cadillac Pelham blue. The 2 ref pics below are of the restored GS 004 and the Cadillac Pelham blue. I will aim for a blue in that range but would appreciate input from anyone who would have a more definite knowledge of the original color of this car.

 

[MarkJ]

Sometimes it's not good to go by a reproduction version of the real car but it's very hard to find good color pictures from back in 1964. But I'm sure whatever you come up with, it will look awesome. 

[MarkJ]

Here are some pictures taken back in 1964 at Nassau which was before Sebring but the cars should have been the same color. The second one is from the dock where they were unloaded and still didn't have any numbers or any graphics at all on them yet but its kind ok a dark picture taken in the shade.