How did I miss this ? I thought AMT was the only game in town. Revell '58 Chevy

[jbwelda]

compared to the 283/327 they were low output per pound. and of course the 396/427 was a quantum improvement over them. I always thought the 409 had a really great look but as far as power generation I think they were way behind their time even at the time. doesn't really matter with a model but in a real car you just didn't see that many that were truly competitive...in my experience back then anyhow.

jb

[Force]

The 348 came for the 1958 model year and the 409 came for the 1961 model year so for a 58 Impala it should be 348.

The visual outside difference between them is the placement of the oil dip stick, drivers side for the 348 and passenger side for the 409, the 348 was available with tri-power but not the 409 as it had 2 X 4 barrel instead and the most powerful 409 was rated 425 hp in 1963, otherwise they look pretty much the same.
The 409 was enlarged to 427 late 1962 for 1963 and they were called Z11 (under)rated 430hp, 50 cars were built and were developed for drag racing.

The Revell 58 Impala is a nice kit and I have a couple in my stash.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Force

[Greg Myers]

Yep, load 'em up.

[espo]

In the early '60's the 409 Chevrolet was very dominant in the stock class's of the NHRA. One of the reasons was the great torque at a relatively low RPM. This is why it was first used as a commercial engine. Chevrolet needed something bigger than the 283 used at the time and the engineers were able to get that at the time with great performance from little more than a cam and modified heads. Look at the NHRA record books from 1961 thru 1964 and you might be amazed by their record. At the time the engine development was moving very fast from all manufactures. General Motors realized early on that the 348-409 would have a limited life span as a performance engine. It was limited by head design and combustion chamber design. I don't recall when, but early on GM started design of the 396-427 hi-performance engine. It first broke cover in '63 in Junior Johnsons NASCAR Chevrolet at Daytona. As they say the rest is history. At that time it was about as good as it gets. As to your question on the AMT Impala, it is a very well proportioned body with somewhat fiddly opened doors. There is several engine and styling options. It was a true 3in1 kit of the time. The 348 could be built as a stock 4bbl or optional 3x2 setup. Some editions even had a GMC blower with optional headers, traction bars, and slicks. They also had custom tail lights, grills and bumpers. While an old tool for sure it can still be built into a very nice model with very little effort.

Edited July 15, 2015 by espo

[Force]

Of course you can, here is my version of the old AMT kit built about 16 years ago.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Force

[magicmustang]

How about an American Graffiti version of the AMT kit.

Edited July 16, 2015 by magicmustang