Can-Con

Very nice build, way beyond what I can do. and under the hood looks better than my real '85 F-body. The center bolt valve covers and heads didn't come along until '87 though.

The engine's almost done ,, just needs a little cleanup and a bracket for the alternator.

Also the Duster, Challenger, Chevelle and Jeepster ,, did we miss any? The Cuda had some funky tall stacks stick'n through the shaker scoop opening but it wasn't nearly as wild as the others. I understand some of those kits still had the parts into '72 but not mentioned on the box.

It's an old build of mine. Here's a link to by build album,, https://public.fotki.com/SteveMilberry/projects/69_beaumont_cvt/ And some more pics of the finished car here,, https://public.fotki.com/SteveMilberry/gm_models/street/page8.html

They were able to because they had paid for the licencing for a few years. It seems to go back and forth between the companys a lot in those days. Even GM had contemplated changing "Trans Am" to just "T/A" for the 3rd generation cars so they wouldn't have to deal with the SCCA, who have always owned the rights to the name, not GM.

Both look great. If you need any reference pics of the '85, I have one I could take pics of for you. I also have a couple custom made '85 decals sets left I could trade, if you need one .

The new kit is correct. I had a '69 Riviera. They have an electric fuel pump in the tank. I had to pull the pump and clean the crud out of it a couple times. The tank is definitely on the passenger side.

No, that's just how they came, Roger.

Looks cool ,, I like it !!

Thanks Bill ?

Let it go Joe.

This is those wheels. In 1/25, they'd scale out to about 16 or 17 inch. Same size as the '69 GTO wheels ,, in fact, the kits use the same tires.

In large diameter, no. But I made a similar set by putting a Monogram '69 GTO set in the backs of the wheels from a Monogram '91 Vette ZR-1

" looserness of late '70s and '80s cars" ?? Well then, I'm a looser baby, so why don't you kill me? I'd love to have a clean '77-'79 Parisienne Brougham or Bonneville 2dr. Maybe even consider trading my Trans Am for one. Around the time I got my licence ['82 ish ] one of my neighbors had one all in red primer, most of the excess trim shaved off. red velour ,bucket seat interior sitting low on a set of Cragar SS wheels. I thought that car was just about as cool as could be. A few coats of real candy apple red and it would have been perfect. I've wanted one ever since. I think how old you are plays a lot into what you like or don't like. There were a couple "muscle cars" in town when I was that age. I remember a black cherry '70 Coronet and a dark blue '66 or '67 Fairlane ,,, that was about all I can remember. No '50s or early '60s cars to speak of. I don't have any "fond memories" of them because there just weren't any left to remember. The only tri-five Chevy in our town was a '55 2dr hardtop owned by the son of one of the local used car dealers. He was the south end of a north bound jack. Remember this was the early '80s. My T/A is older now than that '55 was back than. My cousins and I would have to walk by his father's place to get to out grandparents. If the car was in the year, which meant along the side of the road, we wouldn't even dare look in the windows from the street or he'd be out hollering at us to get away from the car. Maybe that soured me on older cars in general. I'd much rather have a big '70s or early '80s car instead. Anyway, enough of this Gen-Xer's ramblings. I gotta go make myself a stiff drink . People are gonna like what they like and there's no point in trying to figure out why they like it or change it. It just "IS".

Just perfect !!

Very nice phantom. Very smooth work there.

Cutting the roof off will make a convertible, but not a "nice one" For that you'll need to rework the rear deck and tulip panel between the deck lid and roof opening and the top of the 1/4 panels too.

AMT '32 Ford Vicky and Phaeton kits had nice sets of the aluminum style ones. AMT '65 Riviera and the Silhouette showcar both have a set of Astro Customs that are very similar to the stamped steel ones. Also, Pegasus has supposedly just released a couple new style of wheels with the Ansen Sprints being one of the new styles, There have been many many kits with slotted dish wheels on the late '60s and '70s. A very common style. Just a matter pf tracking some down. I even have a couple sets in my parts box myself.

Here's a couple shots of the real car for those not familiar with it. It's a GM prototype and It was based on a Chevy Corvair with a prototype overhead cam flat 6 engine. As you can see, it was a very small car. Also you can see how the second pic's wheels are very similar to the originals with a smooth dish and 8 bolts around the rim. I think I will go with those .

Thanks Snake, I do have a couple sets of those though. Not really a fan, but I have used a set on a model. I want to keep the '60s retro-future vibe with this one.

I want to keep the original look Snake. The second ones would do that , but , the first ones look "correct" on it too. I'm torn. ?

Picked this Astro 1 up a couple years ago. Missing the engine and a couple other parts but I have enough to either build it curbside or sub in a different engine. Anyway, the stock wheels were one of the things missing, giving me a reason to swap out something more interesting than the original moon disks with bolt detail around the rim. My first choice was the mags from the amt '64 Cutlass. Pretty hard to come by, the re-release was announced a day or two after I got these ones from Steve G. My second choice was the mags from the AMT '65 Olds 88. Equally as hard to come by, My friend Steve Curbishly happened to have a set and cast me a few resin copies. Here they are with a quick finish with a molotow chrome pen. I wanted something "different" for wheels. I think my first choice is still the slotted wheels but by the time I finish this car, they may be pretty common. The smooth wheels are pretty cool and reflect the styling of the original wheels. So, what would you do?

Here's a couple shots of the finished interior. I was going to mount the mirror on top of the dash but it would interfere with the windshield. I put a touch of clear blue on the switches and shift lever to simulate clear plastic pieces. Looking at the pics now makes me want to go back and tweek the fit of the pleated panels in the doors.

Probably would have come back in 1/32 scale. ??

Finally got the seats smooth enough to paint. Here you can see how much depth I added to the floor. Not %100 happy with the shade of blue but it should look OK with the rest of the detailing done and installed in the body. The silver on the door panels and console is supposed to represent brushed aluminum. You can just barely make out the PE power window switches on the arm rest areas.