AMT '69 Corvair

[Tcoat]

This is another one of my 'Cars I Used to Own' series.

Mine was actually a '66 but since the '69 kit was readily available and cheap I evoked the "Meh close enough" rule.

I bought this car in 1982. It was the 140HP with the four carbs. It also had the optional 4 speed stick so was pretty peppy. I only paid $150 for it in 1980 as the engine leaked oil so bad it would actually leave a trail as you went down the road and the valve seal and guides were so worn that she smoked like an old locomotive. New seals, guides and gaskets all around fixed it right up. Surprisingly it had a fully intact and not horribly rotted out floor which is rare for these things around here. Did some minor body work to rear quarters and rockers and sold it 4 months later for $1800. It was a fun little car while I had it though since the suspension upgrades in 1965 made a massive difference over the first gen cars.

The dull faded paint is done by painting Testers dark gloss red then misting a very light coat coat of Tamiya flat red over it. The slight grunge is from digging out a really worn and dirty sanding stick and rubbing it down to take some of the flatness off and leave some spots behind. It was an experiment that I think worked out well because the resulting finish is exactly what I was after.

The rather rough looking BMF doesn't look like that on the actual model of course. It is the magnifying effect of the camera. You can really see the existing yet subtle dirty sanding stick results on the quarter panel. 

 

The silver rear looks just like the brushed aluminum panel on the actual model.

 

 

If you look really close you will see that the drivers side reverse light is missing the white lens. I never did find a replacement for the real thing back then but no doubt now they are all over Ebay.

 

 

 

 

Well there it is. The real thing wasn't pretty but it was cheap and fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Tcoat

[michelle]

Nice work replicating your old car as close as you could 

[Bainford]

Nicely done. It evokes an 80s beater perfectly. Nice weathering. Love these Corvairs. If I were to ever own a Chevrolet, it would be a 2nd gen Corvair. 

[Classicgas]

Sweet.

[espo]

Always fun to build a model of past cars and trucks and evokes a lot of memories. Like the oxidized red finish and staying true to the car, the missing back-up light. 

[bbowser]

My first car was a '66 Monza, used oil at the rate of quarts-per-mile but was a lot of fun.  Nice job on the primer and faded paint!

[Jim B]

That's awesome.  Really well done replicating your car.  Very impressive.

[doorsovdoon]

Nice amount of weathering. Lovely looking build.

[Calb56]

Really cool. I like the look and detail a lot.

[charger74]

Very nice ????

[ChrisR]

Nice!

[Tcoat]

On 3/11/2023 at 4:02 PM, bbowser said:

My first car was a '66 Monza, used oil at the rate of quarts-per-mile but was a lot of fun.  Nice job on the primer and faded paint!

I am amazed at the number of people across a few forums that said they used to own one of these cars. For a car that history misremembers as a "failure" it sure seems it was popular. Leaky but still popular!

[gbtr6]

Very nice. I did the same thing with the '69. Mine was a '65 and it was a four door. Had to do some surgery. Used a '67 Camaro top. Close enough. Mine I got for $75, only needed a battery. I sold it a few months later for$150 to the neighbors so I could buy a TR4. The right front wheel fell off it after I sold it. Kind of awkward with the neighbors for a while. Now I have to do a TR4.

Perry

[Tcoat]

53 minutes ago, gbtr6 said:

Very nice. I did the same thing with the '69. Mine was a '65 and it was a four door. Had to do some surgery. Used a '67 Camaro top. Close enough. Mine I got for $75, only needed a battery. I sold it a few months later for$150 to the neighbors so I could buy a TR4. The right front wheel fell off it after I sold it. Kind of awkward with the neighbors for a while. Now I have to do a TR4.

Perry

That Camaro roof works PERFECT! If you hadn't said anything I would never have known. I had a couple of chances to pick up sub $100 four doors back in the day but was all like "ewwww 4 door nobody wants that" Now I would take one in a heartbeat!

[gbtr6]

I did like it. It was a Monza, with a 3 speed on the floor. Pretty sporty for a kid in high schrool.

Perry

[Tcoat]

23 minutes ago, gbtr6 said:

I did like it. It was a Monza, with a 3 speed on the floor. Pretty sporty for a kid in high schrool.

Perry

They were a very fun little car. Was very little like them at the time.

[slusher]

Nice Corvair!

[PappyD340]

Nice Corvair!!

[TooOld]

Cool build Tony and a great story !  I had a '65 110hp/4-speed , it also leaked like crazy . . . really fun car to drive !