Chevrolet Corvette C4 Lots and Lots of these! Part 1 1968 to 1974

[RDean58]

68

Starting off with the AMT 68 kit which I don't have, basically it is a one-piece frame kit in line with all of their C3 Corvette kits. I have MPC and Revell versions of the 68. I do not have the roadster MPC 68 kit.

I much prefer the MPC version over the Revell/Monogram kits. MPC really went overboard for the C4 vettes, putting in metal front springs, poseable front wheels, and a detailed rear suspension. MPC also included open faced non plated rally wheels in this kit. They are great to use on Camaros, Novas, and Chevelles of the late sixties. I find the MPC big block engine acceptable as far as accuracy is concerned, although it could be improved. Revell makes the (IMHO) most accurate looking big block Chevies in their 65 & 66 Impala kits.

69

Revell a coupe and MPC did coupes and roadsters. I don't have a 69 roadster yet.

Both of these kits are pretty much a repeat of their 68 issues. The MPC 68 roadster is the same as the hardtop except for the body.

70, 70 1/2

AMT has an excellent LT-1 (350 small block) hardtop while MPC did their tried-and-true big block powered hardtops and roadsters. No roadsters for 70, but I did get both hard tops.  

71, 72

AMT decided to do their 71 and 72 LT-1 kits as roadsters with both a hardtop and soft top included. MPC did a coupe and roadster big block powered cars.

73, 74

I believe MPC is the only game in town for these years of Corvettes. Same as the previous year except for the updates on the body. In 1974 the biggest engine available in the Corvette was a 350. Unfortunately, MPC did not update the frame and engine in their Corvette kits until 1978, so the kits for 74, 75, 76, and 77 are incorrect as far as the engine choice goes. An interesting addition was a 4 rotor Wankel engine included in the 72, 73, and 74 kits. All of these still had the spring-loaded front suspension.

End of part one, all comments and additions welcomed.

[TransAmMike]

Very interesting post Robert. I need that '73 Coupe kit (if anyone has one available please let me know) since I had a 1:1 and also a '71 Roadster at one time. I actually had them both at the same time.

Before I re-started modelling a few years ago I gave away the miss-printed 429 kit. Regretted that.

 

 

[Robberbaron]

37 minutes ago, RDean58 said:

In 1974 the biggest engine available in the Corvette was a 350. Unfortunately, MPC did not update the frame and engine in their Corvette kits until 1978, so the kits for 74, 75, 76, and 77 are incorrect as far as the engine choice goes.

End of part one, all comments and additions welcomed.

The 454 was still available in 1974, my cousin owned one.

However, as you noted, 75-77 MPCs incorrectly still have the big block.

[RDean58]

4 minutes ago, Robberbaron said:

The 454 was still available in 1974, my cousin owned one.

However, as you noted, 75-77 MPCs incorrectly still have the big block.

Aha! My first quote from the internet was wrong as it only listed 350s. You are exactly right, a 454 was available in 74. Thanks for the correction.

[Can-Con]

Actually, Rob, AMT did do '73 and '74 Vettes and the 454 was available in '74 but that was the last year for it.

[RDean58]

Yes, they did. I have the AMT 74 roadster kit and it is not as good as the MPC version. The front and rear panels didn't fit very well on the body, and I had to do a lot of sanding and filling to get an acceptable fit.

MPC 74

AMT 74

MPC 1974

 

[kelson]

Amt also did a 73'vette convertible,(ignore the Zr1 it's a pic from my fotki.)

[Motor City]

As I recall, neither the kits nor promos had the correct split rear bumper on the '74.

[Snake45]

Again, these are C3s, not C4s. 

[keyser]

[Motor City]

That whole C1, C2, C3, etc. thing is kind of goofy to me.  Unless you own one, it's probably much easier to mention the range of years than trying to figure it out once you get past C3.  Is this done with other cars?  If the car is still made in let's say 2053, I can't picture someone at an antique car show saying, "a C13, Grandpa had one of those Corvette Centennial Editions." 

[Smoke Wagon]

32 minutes ago, Motor City said:

Is this done with other cars?

Jeep CJs, Jeep Wrangler (YJ, TJ, JK, JL), Mazda Miata (NA, NB, NC, ND), Toyota Supra (A40, A50, A60, A70, A80), Ford Escort (Mk1-Mk6), Lincoln Continental Mark II-Mark VIII, etc.

[Can-Con]

7 hours ago, Motor City said:

That whole C1, C2, C3, etc. thing is kind of goofy to me.  Unless you own one, it's probably much easier to mention the range of years than trying to figure it out once you get past C3.  Is this done with other cars?  If the car is still made in let's say 2053, I can't picture someone at an antique car show saying, "a C13, Grandpa had one of those Corvette Centennial Editions." 

GM F-bodies, Firebirds and Camaros. 1st gen- '67-'69 , , 2nd gen- '70-81, ,  3rd gen-'82-'92, ,  4th gen-'93-'02 and a couple more for the Camaro.

VW Rabbit/Golf Mk1, Mk2, etc.

[Bills72sj]

A little trivia for you on '74 and '75 Vettes. 1975 had the lowest HP ever with a 350 cid at 185HP. I was also the 1st year of the catalytic converter. On the 1:1, a dual exhaust kit from a small block '74 is a bolt in for a '75.

[Motor City]

23 hours ago, Smoke Wagon said:

Jeep CJs, Jeep Wrangler (YJ, TJ, JK, JL), Mazda Miata (NA, NB, NC, ND), Toyota Supra (A40, A50, A60, A70, A80), Ford Escort (Mk1-Mk6), Lincoln Continental Mark II-Mark VIII, etc.

The Lincoln Mark series cars were actually called Mark II, Mark III, etc., whereas the Corvettes weren't named C1, C2, etc.  At least it makes more sense than people who refer to the '49-'51 Ford and '55-'57 Chevy as "shoebox".

[Smoke Wagon]

9 minutes ago, Motor City said:

At least it makes more sense than people who refer to the '49-'51 Ford and '55-'57 Chevy as "shoebox".

I’ve never heard of anybody referring to ‘55-‘57 Chevys as shoeboxes, Tri-Chevy yes. Shoebox is a nickname given to those Fords due to their overall shape. 

[Motor City]

I know why they are called that due to the slab sides and somewhat squared off front and rear shapes.  

Look on the AACA forum where some call the Tri-Five Chevies shoebox. 

[Len Woodruff]

Just a note. These are all C3 generation Vettes. C4 Started in 1984 through 1996.

[mrm]

8 hours ago, Len Woodruff said:

Just a note. These are all C3 generation Vettes. C4 Started in 1984 through 1996.

I was just going to say the same. C3 corvettes, which are the ones discussed here are beautiful. The C4s are ....meehhh.

[Monty]

On 6/20/2022 at 11:22 PM, Bills72sj said:

A little trivia for you on '74 and '75 Vettes. 1975 had the lowest HP ever with a 350 cid at 185HP. I was also the 1st year of the catalytic converter. On the 1:1, a dual exhaust kit from a small block '74 is a bolt in for a '75.

It was worse than you think.  The base L48 only had 165 hp, although there was an optional L82 with 205 hp, which at the time was...decent.  Ford's Mustang IIs were stuck with anemic 134 hp 302s.  

Catalytic converters really killed Corvette power in the '75 - '82s. Chevrolet utilized a dual exhaust system that met halfway at the converter and reverted to "duals" past there.  As you can imagine, all that did was choke off flow and impede performance.  If you lived in a state where emissions regs weren't onerous, switching back to true dual exhaust was your first move.