GS Corvette #003

[afx]

Yea the tires are the worst part of the kit.

[Rider]

Outstanding! 

[Deathgoblin]

I've got one of these kits and the tires are like yours.  The tread is concave.  I ordered a replacement set of tires from Carrera Slots to replace them.  Very nice work so far! 

[James2]

Couldn't resist a little mock up. After seeing several of these built up, I was concerned about the ride height. But I think it's all good.

Still undecided about the colors for the interior and body, but there is no rush at this point. 

[Gramps46]

Looking good!

[Dann Tier]

BEAUTIFULL!!!!!!!!!!….my tyres went straight into the bin!!

[James2]

So I bumped into a little problem. The plug wires hit the hood but I think i can fix that by lowering the distributor. But the carbs interfere with the hood and the radiator is to wide to fit between the wheel wells. While the radiator is no big problem, I'm a little lost with the engine/hood problem. I did check and the engine is installed properly. I wonder if installing the glass will make a difference? Anyone else encountered this...

[Dann Tier]

1 hour ago, James2 said:

So I bumped into a little problem. The plug wires hit the hood but I think i can fix that by lowering the distributor. But the carbs interfere with the hood and the radiator is to wide to fit between the wheel wells. While the radiator is no big problem, I'm a little lost with the engine/hood problem. I did check and the engine is installed properly. I wonder if installing the glass will make a difference? Anyone else encountered this...

That is strange, wish I could help, but I haven't started mine yet. I always thought that apart from the stupid slots in the frame that needs to be filled, this was a pretty decent fitting kit....

[Belugawrx]

It looks like you could shave the motor mounts out so the engine lowers into the frame a bit more...

Need to check clearance of the oil pan tho...

[James2]

I'll have to take a closer look at this. I did make sure everything was installed per instruction but you never know...

[ismaelg]

The engine in the real Grand Sport is ever so slightly offset to the right.  I haven't started on mine yet so I don't know if the kit takes that into account. 

[Italianhorses]

Looks great!

[Justin Porter]

I wonder a little bit if the body is sitting a bit low on the chassis in the front. The Grand Sports, to me, in period pictures always had a kind of squat over the rear tires, nose in the air stance as opposed to sitting square on all fours. An extra 1/16th of an inch of front wheel well might just make the difference. 

[James2]

Not sure about the offset, I installed it per plan. I think after a closer look it may be as Justin suggests.

I do know that under acceleration. AJ said the front wheels would almost leave the ground!

[Belugawrx]

https://goo.gl/images/8s2si7

[SfanGoch]

I was wondering how long it would be before you encountered this.....uh......issue.

Here is a solution. Up to you if you take the advice.

The first thing to do is trim the motor mount tips just enough to allow the upper parts of the mounting points on the block to rest completely on top of them.

Next, remove the oblong bump located on the front transmission mount, just ahead of the "D"-shaped locating hole.

Using a grinding bit, remove 4mm of plastic, measured from the front of the crossmember that the tranny mount is attached and also remove plastic the width of the mount itself.  The new channel should be flush with the top of the tranny mount.

Cut off the stupid locating pin on the transmission. It's useless since it is impossible to get positive alignment of the engine when it is placed on the engine mounts.

If you've followed the above steps, the engine will sit at the proper, slightly rearward angle, with the tops of the front carb trumpets barely visible above the  top of the hood opening/fender, as was the case with the actual car. The hood will now have the proper clearance above the engine and won't sit directly on the manifold and carbs.

 

Edited September 11, 2018 by SfanGoch

[ismaelg]

Thanks for that Joe!  I'll keep it in mind when I start mine soon.

James, how thick is the hood?   Will it help if sanded down a bit thinner?

Also, I see your plug wires are coming up. In the real car they go sideways with L shaped boots. 

These are all baby steps that may help.

[SfanGoch]

The hood itself is 1 mm thick. The hood bulge is super thin, only 0.5 mm thick. You couldn't remove enough material to thin it down without damaging it in the process. The steps I provided are, in my experience, the only practical solutions to correct the floating hood. I found out by a lot of trial and error over the past 20+ years since this kit was released. I could write a book about the issues which I ran into with this particular kit. Incorrect inner fender shape and too shallow channels on the floorpan which contributes to body-to chassis attachment difficulties, the package tray is a bit too narrow causing a noticeable gap between the fuel filler tube  and B pillar, the floating chassis-to-floorpan mounts and other minor, annoying but easily correctable issues are, to me, the biggest nits to pick. Once one takes care of these details, this builds up to an outstanding model. Getting the MCG multi-media detail set helps too.

[James2]

Thanks for the help, even if it was a little late (LoL). After some tense grinding and trimming, and a couple test fits with the frame and engine attachments. I smoothed these areas up and painted them black. 

The engine still sits on the engine mounts but just barely. I trimmed a bit off the trans tail shaft and got things low enough to clear the hood.

This pic shows the hood in place but still needed a little tweaking. Without trimming the drive shaft I was able to get things to work together just fine!

Hopefully these tips will prevent this problem for others in the future...

Thanks Again for your comments and advice.

Edited September 12, 2018 by James2

[cruz]

I love the engine in this kit. I am using it on something different and hope it works out well.....

[SfanGoch]

Works for me, Marcos.  

[James2]

I was checking on paint and decals yesterday and three things happened.

1. Model Car World, Automotive Finishes has the Blue need for this build. I called Mike and placed my order, I'll be picking it up Saturday along with some other supplies at Wings Wheels and Waves in Massillon.

2. Somehow when I started this project I ordered the wrong decal sheet from V-R-M. So I ordered the proper sheet for this build. 

3. Since I now have more than enough decals to build several GS's I decided to begin working on another chassis. Not sure which one this will be yet but I'll let you know...

Edited September 14, 2018 by James2

[Rider]

Good luck with the mods, this is really looking good. 

[James2]

There several ways to go about filling these channels in. I believe they were designed to eliminate shrinkage and waste.

This is how I went about fixing mine. Using styrene rod and liquid cement, and then filling with two part body filler. 

[SfanGoch]

I use Magic-Sculpt two-part epoxy putty to fill in the channels. Any other similar type (Apoxie, etc.) will work as well. There's no shrinkage and no possibility of any warpage resulting from solvent-type adhesives used to cement styrene in them. Plus, the epoxy can be smoothed with water to match the contours of the chassis tubes, eliminating any filing. A light sanding will be all that is required and there will be no visible seam  on those areas.