MPC's '75 Vette on the road again!

[Snake45]

now THAT type of Vette f/c body will make a very interesting build for sure.....only thing I wonder,,,there were various late 60s and early 70s ' Corvette body's used by some of the the funny car crowd exactly as you show in your photos....but I can't remember any of the later 74 and up body used, similar to the pic's.....maybe more inclined , Bill, to use an AMT/ERTL 70 1/2  body as your starting point... that way you have bumper's and tail light's to rework same as pictured above...those kit's are common as heck and usually cheap too....just a thought....the Ace....

If I'm not mistaken, NHRA outlawed the roadster funny cars in 1968, which is why you don't see any of them after that date. Those Fiberglass Trends Corvette bodies were, I believe, the very last of the breed.

[AC Norton]

If I'm not mistaken, NHRA outlawed the roadster funny cars in 1968, which is why you don't see any of them after that date. Those Fiberglass Trends Corvette bodies were, I believe, the very last of the breed.

you may be right....I never followed funny car's that closely......the Ace....

[Ace-Garageguy]

If I'm not mistaken, NHRA outlawed the roadster funny cars in 1968, which is why you don't see any of them after that date. Those Fiberglass Trends Corvette bodies were, I believe, the very last of the breed.

I need to look into that. Not too hard to scratch an early-style front bumper to backdate the '75 (I just looked at both bodies), and whacking off the tapered tail to backdate the other end seems pretty easily do-able too.  

This is one of those times I don't want to buy more kits (to get a correct year body) but to use up stuff I already have but really have no other use for. Since it will represent a clone race-car body anyway, body accuracy isn't particularly important...kinda like my M/SP mashup elsewhere.

[doggie427]

MPC used the '75 roadster body ( w/tonneau cover) on the Willie Borsch/Bantam Blast chassis. It was called the 'Vette Gasser'. Of course the car it represents is an altered. It used a stock wheelbase body.

Edited January 1, 2017 by doggie427

[Snake45]

MPC used the '75 roadster body ( w/tonneau cover) on the Willie Borsch/Bantam Blast chassis. It was called the 'Vette Gasser'. Of course the car it represents is an altered. It used a stock wheelbase body.

Yeah, there's no reason it couldn't have run as an Altered (assuming they were still running Altered in 1974).

Doggie, I'd never seen or heard of that kit before. Thanks for sharing!

[doggie427]

No problem Snake. In '68-'69 Lions used to run 8 car "Gasser" fields weekly. What they allowed to run was 5lbs./cu.in.,pump gas and fenders with the driver sitting in a normal position (to the side).. So you had this ( notice the cage offset on Mike Mitchell's roadster).

 

Edited January 1, 2017 by doggie427

[robertw]

Adam,  You might want to pick up a second of this kit since with a little extra work it can be converted into a '74 which minus the black bumper caps is a more attractive car. Other work will involve scribing a line down the rear tail, sanding off the gas door emblem and the bumperettes.  I replaced the wheels with rally style from an earlier Vette and sourced better looking tires from my spares box,  I also replaced the steering wheel (kit used the one year only style)  and the seats.The engine is also more accurate for a '74 then a '75, There may have been a few other changes that I don't recall making but the conversion is relaively easy especially considering that '74 Vette kits are hard to find.

Enjoy your build its a fun and basically good kit.

[Snake45]

I picked one of these up today with the ol' 40%-off coupon, and for that money, I think it's a pretty good kit. 

I rarely buy anything to build stock or anywhere near out-of-the-box, and for me, this model is simply a parts-source.

I needed a non-blobular chassis for something I've been working on based on the AMT '70 snapper coupe, and this chassis will serve admirably.

The headers are going on the '62 Corvette AM/SP I have on another thread, and one set of optional wheels will become the basis for the very unusual Halibrands on the front of the old Tony Nancy '29 Ford roadster.

The optional FI intake manifold will form the basis for a Ford FE unit, and the really great METAL injection stacks will go that way too.

There's other good stuff in the box (even though it's a relatively low-parts-count kit) that I'll undoubtedly find good use for...all of which leaves me with a pretty good body shell.

I've been wanting to build something very much like this, and I have just about everything else already, so that's what she'll become...

                                                  

 

If I'm keeping score correctly, you'll have left over a '70 snapper chassis and all the body parts from the '75. So glue the hood solid and pimp-slap together a '75 promo-type.

Or you could even install the hardtop, make side windows, paint all the glass black, and do it slammer-style.

(I only mention it because I'm always on the lookout for simple slump-buster projects of this sort from my own leftover flotsam and jetsam.)

[charlie8575]

. Apparently very few were paying attention to such things back in the day, from kit engineers to builders...but tell me, if the steering wheel is actually touching the seat, how are you gonna get IN the thing?

Hmm...small "V" cut in the column, add a stalk, instant tilt column?

Charlie Larkin

[Snake45]

Hmm...small "V" cut in the column, add a stalk, instant tilt column?

Charlie Larkin

Now there's an idea.

[oldcarfan]

This is one of the kits that I keep picking up to buy then put back. I received one of these from my grandma when I was little, so I want one to build just for nostalgia's sake. At the same time, I have so many kits that I haven't built..... First world problems and all that.

[oldcarfan]

This is one of the kits that I keep picking up to buy then put back. I received one of these from my grandma when I was little, so I want one to build just for nostalgia's sake. At the same time, I have so many kits that I haven't built..... First world problems and all that.

[AC Norton]

This is one of the kits that I keep picking up to buy then put back. I received one of these from my grandma when I was little, so I want one to build just for nostalgia's sake. At the same time, I have so many kits that I haven't built..... First world problems and all that.

......look at it this way, Gary....it would be nice to have for nostalgia reasons for certain, but  if you like Vette's it is a pretty nice kit. the metal injector stacks and decal sheet are worth the money, IMO, and you guy's in the states have store's that discount kit's a lot of the time, so wait until then and grab one. I got mine when first released, and even though I paid full tilt for it, and up here that's over 40 bucks, I'm glad I have one....just a thought......the Ace....

[Snake45]

 the metal injector stacks and decal sheet are worth the money, IMO, and you guy's in the states have store's that discount kit's a lot of the time, so wait until then and grab one.

You're about to talk me into buying a second one, even though I literally haven't even opened the first one.

I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday with my coupon and couldn't find a kit to buy that I didn't already have, so I came home empty handed. Good thing you only posted this now. (If I'm in the same boat next week, I might have to own another set of those injector stacks....)

[AC Norton]

You're about to talk me into buying a second one, even though I literally haven't even opened the first one.

I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday with my coupon and couldn't find a kit to buy that I didn't already have, so I came home empty handed. Good thing you only posted this now. (If I'm in the same boat next week, I might have to own another set of those injector stacks....)

......open the one you have, you will be pleasantly surprised.....even if someone need's MPC  Vette engine or chassis part's and such to complete a restoration build, this kit is your ticket. I'll tell ya', if kit's weren't so pricey up here, I'd grab a couple more myself.  if any of my local hobby store's put them on sale, I will get more..........the Ace...