mrmike

Thanks JJ! The additional info really helps!

This is looking really good, Joe!

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...

Thanks David and John! The enamel paint just didn't cover like it should and if I remember correctly, it may have been at least 10 years old. I did my usual method of body prep including sanding my primer and this was the result. At any rate, the body, hood and roof are in a bath of Easy-Off Oven Cleaner to remove the paint. I used that paint on my Spenser For Hire '66 Mustang and it came out perfectly. But, that was a long time ago. I bought some Tamiya Gold and Tamiya British Green and will try it out on a plastic spoon with a coating of Clear Green to see what I get for the combination.

Thanks Matt and Carl! I like the suggestion Matt and I will consider it when I get to painting this Mercedes. Carl, since this is new territory for me, I will go with what I know to try and make the job a little easier.

Believe it or not, I did primer the body! I think it might be the age of this enamel paint and the fact that it was enamel and not lacquer. The body, hood and roof are sitting in a tub of Easy-off Oven Cleaner to remove this awful paint job!

Earlier this week I took a chance and painted the hardtop roof and it didn't come out too badly. I painted the body this afternoon and I am not too happy as the body door lines and vent lines showed through the paint. Maybe another coat or two after this coat has had a chance to dry. I painted the underside of the hood and when this has had chance to dry, I'll paint the top of the hood. More Corvette to come...

Well, I must admit that I am a little frightened of this paint. Gravity Colors Solarbeam Yellow. Three stages of paint! Base coat, mid coat and clear. I haven't painted this Mercedes yet, but I will soon.

I have never liked the alternator/generator hanging in the air and I tried to make a bracket for that. It's not bad and probably a bit larger than it should be, but I did make a bracket for the alternator. Now to clean it up, finalize the shape and paint it! More Corvette to come...

Thanks Ian! Yes, this is a separate item for sure. I am questioning why it is attached to the air cleaner. in the kit.

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.

The 427 CI engine is wired and assembled. I ran some wires through the ignition shield and then ran them to the cylinder heads. All that work done on the distributor and I didn't use it, but I did add a piece of 1/16 inch styrene rod to under the distributor shield to the back of the intake manifold. That sparked the question, is the shield a part of the 1:1 air cleaner or is it a separate item? The air cleaner I found was on the part sprue, but not listed in the instructions. This air cleaner is for a "lesser" 427 engine which I have created. More Corvette to come...

I left the engine covered in Easy-Off Oven Cleaner for a couple of days since I had to do other things. In other words, life got in the way. I washed the engine this morning and I got 99% of the paint off and I have been scraping any other loose particules off. Now to repaint the engine after I drill for plug wires. More Corvette to come...

I found this on Google while I was researching this Corvette. What is a Chevy L89 engine? The L89 aluminum head big-block V-8 was one of the many powertrain option choices for the 1969 Camaro, but it was by far the rarest application. The L89 is endowed with 11.0:1 compression, as well as forged internals, a solid lifter cam, and an aluminum intake topped with a Holley 4-barrel.

An L89 is a 427 big block engine with aluminum heads and produces about 440 horsepower. Check this out...https://fastestlaps.com/models/chevrolet-corvette-stingray-l89 Also check into this...https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-general/2069236-what-s-the-diff-between-l88-and-l89.html

Thanks Carl, Peter and Craig! I assembled the basic engine and went to paint it. The Model Master Acrylic Enamel paint I had picked up was old and needed to be thinned. I thinned the paint with Acryl Thinner and now I will strip the paint from the engine and repaint it. When I wire an engine, I usually drill out the distributor and add my wires. This distributor has a mounting pin just under the distributor capand I drilled it out, added a short piece of 1/8th inch styrene tube and then I glued in the pin. Now I can add my wires. More Corvette to come...

Thanks Mike! Yes, this Vette will have 427 power! A friend of mine once had a brand new '74 Corvette. He drove it for a couple of years until he had some hard times and traded it for a Toyota Corolla. I lost touch with him many years ago.

Thank you Jeremy, Carl, David and Mike! This model just needed something special!

Since I am on a sports car fling, my new project is one that I had started on about 3-4 years ago. The '68 Corvette ragtop roadster! I don't remember how I ended up with the kit, but I really wasn't a fan of the large hood bulge. Years ago, I was talking to the late Barry Fadden about this kit and how I didn't like the hood and he offered me a regular performance hood from an AMT '71 454 Corvette and I tried it on the body when I got home and it did fit, but it was a little short. I have been working on this hood for a while and I may have it were I want it to be. I was originally going to paint this '68 Vette with Model Master Nassau Blue Metallic Lacquer, but I kept imagining a dark green and I settled on Model Master British Racing Green Enamel. Now, my luck with old Testors/Model Master enamel spray paint is not very good, so I will try my best with what I have and if this doesn't work, I will have to find an alternative. This Vette will be built kind of stock. The tires I might use are from the Monogram '55 Chevy Street Machine or the AMT Pad Printed Goodyear tires. More Corvette to come...

Other than a coat of clear over the air cleaner, the Roadrunner 440+6 is now complete! And, the hood even closes completely, too!

Some progress on the 71 Roadrunner. I messed up the air cleaner paint and so I repainted it. The decal I will be using and a closeup of the engine compartment. More Roadrunner to come...

I have been thinking about my Roadrunner lately and I have decided on making a change. I am changing the induction system from a single 4 barrel carb and manifold to a 6 barrel induction system. With a careful removal of the 4 barrel intake, carb and air cleaner, I smoothed out the engine top, and painted the 6 barrel carbs, intake manifold and air cleaner. Now for some assembly. More Roadrunner to come...

Thanks Anton! A fairly easy kit to assemble. Now to paint it. Pictures are coming soon!

Thanks Curtis! Now to paint the body of my AMG GT. A basecat, a midcoat and the clear. This will take a while!

The chassis is up on 4 wheels! More AMG GT to come...