Revell's 65' Chevelle

[Gizzy]

I've been working on Revell's 1965 Chevelle.I don't know if it's me or the kit but it's kind of a boring build.Only one kit version.Been hitting the parts box to spice it up a bit but not many wheels/tires seem to work well.I don't know I may put it on the shelf & move onto something else & come back later.Has anyone else had builders block with this one?

[Deuces]

You can spice up the motor with a tri power setup from a Vette kit or blower setup from the Revell '68 Vette... As for wheels and tires, the Cragars from the AMT Baldwin Camaro might do the trick....

[SfanGoch]

I build factory stock; so, I don't worry about adding extraneous stuff.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Gizzy said:

I've been working on Revell's 1965 Chevelle.I don't know if it's me or the kit but it's kind of a boring build.Only one kit version.Been hitting the parts box to spice it up a bit but not many wheels/tires seem to work well.I don't know I may put it on the shelf & move onto something else & come back later.Has anyone else had builders block with this one?

I suggest google-imaging '65 Chevelles and looking at the dozens (or hundreds) of pictures until you find one that floats your boat for some inspiration. 

[Gizzy]

 I'll try wheels & tires from the Camaro...maybe that will do the trick??

[Deuces]

There ya go..... 

[jaxenro]

I used to have a 65 Chevelle six cylinder bench seat someone had tricked it out with mag wheels and painted "Big Six" on it

I put a 396 in it muncie 4 speed hurst super shifter 12 bolt posi 4:88 gears holley 800 double pumper edelbrock manifold

the shifter barely cleared the bench, you could cover it with a jacket, and a quick glance inside showed the column mounted shifted that wasn't connected to anything

had these neat Y pipes mounted in controlled by choke cables under the dash, pulled them back and the flames bypassed the mufflers and came out just past the headers and right under the front of the doors

yup is was fun to drive and looked nothing like what it was it was a true sleeper

Edited July 26, 2018 by jaxenro

[Mark]

It's a great kit, the only issue with it is that Revell chose to do the Z-16.  Only 201 of those were built, most of them were red as pictured on the first-issue box.  If they'd done a regular Malibu, it would have had more possibilities for alternate issues like a convertible.

[espo]

You may be amazed at what just changing the wheels and tires can do for a model car or a real one for that matter. I personally like this kit, but it is based upon a model that was an extremely limited in number. Depending on who you talk to the 500 number seems to be the excepted production number. I'm not trying to tell you what you should do since that's for you to determine. Chevrolet sold many Malibu SS's and Malibu hardtops, and except for a few 6 cylinders most were 283 or 327 V-8's. You could easily convert the SS 396 model to something a little more main stream easily. First remove the 396 Flags from the side of the body, then add an upper molding to the trunk lid. This would give you a Malibu SS. Remove any SS markings and install a bench seat and you would have a Malibu, buckets were optional I believe. You may or may not want to change the engine to a small block. Just a thought if you find this kit boring you can change it with the minimal fuss.       

[Snake45]

7 hours ago, espo said:

 Depending on who you talk to the 500 number seems to be the excepted production number.      

I believe Z16 production was 200, or within a couple either way of that. They were all either red, yellow, or black, and some had vinyl tops. 

There's quite a bit of tricky bodywork to do to bring the Revell kit back to a standard SS. And then there's the whole matter of the wonky top....

[MrObsessive]

55 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

I believe Z16 production was 200, or within a couple either way of that. They were all either red, yellow, or black, and some had vinyl tops. 

There's quite a bit of tricky bodywork to do to bring the Revell kit back to a standard SS. And then there's the whole matter of the wonky top....

I've had this kit ever since it came out (I think I have two) and for whatever reason, I've never built it. It's not that it's necessarily boring, it's just something that hasn't struck my "gotta build it" chord...........yet.

About that top............I always thought that the shape of the rear quarter windows were not quite right----particularly in the upper portion of the drip rail. Too straight across where there should be a slight arc. Monogram's '64 GTO suffers from this same malady too making the DLO too "blocky". It also appears that the back window might be a bit short, but that may be due to the rear upper window line not having that correct arc.

If I ever get to building a Z-16, it's gotta have some decent goldlines like the box art car. I don't know who makes a decent set these days though. To me along with those mags really "makes" the car!

Edited July 26, 2018 by MrObsessive

[jaxenro]

But swapping engines in the 1:1 cars was almost as easy as it is in the models. You can run practically any combination of anything and it works

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, MrObsessive said:

I've had this kit ever since it came out (I think I have two) and for whatever reason, I've never built it. It's not that it's necessarily boring, it's just something that hasn't struck my "gotta build it" chord...........yet.

About that top............I always thought that the shape of the rear quarter windows were not quite right----particularly in the upper portion of the drip rail. Too straight across where there should be a slight arc. Monogram's '64 GTO suffers from this same malady too making the DLO too "blocky". It also appears that the back window might be a bit short, but that may be due to the rear upper window line not having that correct arc.

Absolutely correct. The upper line of the drip rail is perfectly straight, or too straight--the whole surface of the top might also be too straight/flat--and it just doesn't look right. I think it was Ron Hamilton who first pointed this out to me, and he was right. 

I've never done the Monogram '64 GTO so I haven't noticed it there, but I have noticed that Polar Lights got the roof wrong on their '64, too, as did Welly on their diecast '65 GTO. Interestingly, AMT got this roof right 50 years ago with the '64 Cutlass, '64-'65 GTO, and '64-'65 Chevelles. 

Does anyone in the aftermarket repop the AMT '65 body? I've never found one, though I've seen a couple different '64s, and I even bought a resin repro of the '65 Chevelle AWB funny car body on eBay. I'm gonna turn that one back into stock and build a standard '65 SS. Un-altering the wheel openings will be a lot easier than fixing the Revell body to look right....

[MrObsessive]

I never paid attention to the crown of the roof. I've got plenty of pics of that car in a folder on my hard disc, so I'll take a real close look. As far as turning the Z-16 into a regular Chevelle, didn't Model Car Garage make a PE set that would help in that? I could have swore I bought a set from Bob years ago, but it's buried on one of those kit boxes I think. Other than the taillights and the rear trim panel, I can't see what else would be needed as far as any changes.

[Snake45]

19 minutes ago, MrObsessive said:

I never paid attention to the crown of the roof. I've got plenty of pics of that car in a folder on my hard disc, so I'll take a real close look. As far as turning the Z-16 into a regular Chevelle, didn't Model Car Garage make a PE set that would help in that? I could have swore I bought a set from Bob years ago, but it's buried on one of those kit boxes I think. Other than the taillights and the rear trim panel, I can't see what else would be needed as far as any changes.

You need the Malibu or Malibu SS emblem for the rear fender, but if you have a PE set, that should be on it. I can't afford PE. I do think that emblem is included on the decal sheet of at least some reissues, so that's something. 

[TarheelRick]

I have owned two 65 Chevelles the first was a straight 283, 3 on the tree, bench seat version.  After I got goofy on a wet road and backed it into a dirt bank I traded it for an SS, same color Tahitian Turquoise, 283 4-speed, chrome reversed wheels.  I have three of these kits in my stash, two of the original and one of the later "Street Machine" versions.  I have the PE set and a parts pack small block, so one will be built to represent the one I owned.  I am think another will be built as "What I would have liked to have" and the third is going to either be a B/SS, C/MP. C/G or maybe a short track terror.  These pictures were made when I was home on leave from Thailand and planned on taking it to the strip for a fun Sunday afternoon, unfortunately it rained and the races were canceled.

 

[mrmike]

I have the Revell '65 Chevelle SS396 Z-16 kit in the stash, but I am in no hurry to build it.  I do find the body to be kind of blocky and bland looking.  A change in wheels and tires and the stance would help to spice the car up and I plan on using the Rallye wheels from the Revell '67 Chevelle SS396 kit.  

[Deuces]

Sounds like a plan.....

I'm planning on the L-79 version for mine with those same rally wheels..... The motor I'll be using is the Revell Z/28 engine and a single 4-bbl carb setup....

[espo]

If anyone remembers ever coming across one of the few L-79 327 Chevelles you might question why Chevrolet would even consider the 396 cars. The big difference was in the way you could drive them. The 396 cars relied on the massive torque to get moving. With the 325 H.P. engine you could almost idle away from an intersection and never even go much more than 3000 R.P.M. when accelerating and hardly use the secondary's in the carburetor. The L-79 327 was much like the Z-28 302 engine in that they lacked low RPM Torque and you needed to get them up into the 2500 to 3000 RPM range before they would become very responsive.  The L-79 may have been the best kept secret since not that many were around, but if you ever got a ride in one driven in anger you were in for a thrill.  The 396 was very easy to drive in traffic where the L-79 was kind of nerves in that you had to keep it wound up.    

[Deuces]

I think a 3.73 gear package would've cured that....

[espo]

2 minutes ago, Deuces said:

I think a 3.73 gear package would've cured that....

The few that I knew of in '65 were either equipped with the 373s or 411s. A co-worker had a bench seat Malibu L-79 as a daily driver and as I recall he had the 373s. He often tried to scare me with his. I didn't scare easy but I might have gotten a little frightened ones or twice. Like I said these were a best kept secret.    

[Ron Hamilton]

I have several of those kits, and when I built mine, I did it as a phantom Z16 convertible. I never liked how they did the roof. My first car was a 65 Malibu, which was a mess that never got to what I da n Ted it to be. A lot of years ago, I. built a R & R Resin 65 Chevelle Malibu SS trans kit that was mastered from a 65 Craftsman body with an open hood and underhood detail. At this time, I have a Craftsman built up 65 Malibu SS in my collection to be restored. I plan to correct the roof of the Revell 65 to build an accurate Z16, and maybe a Malibu or 300 Deluxe from my other kits.

As far as your build goes, make it what you want. One day in my travels, I saw a beautiful white 65 Chevelle street machine. It had a nice stance. A set of modern 18" wheels, a trick interior, and a healthy small block or LS Motor. They make nice street machines

 

[Snake45]

I have a diecast '65 Chevelle that came outfitted as a blown Pro Street. I didn't care for the cartoonish injectors and scoop, so replaced them with carbs and scoop from the parts box (I think they're from a Monogram '70 Chevelle) and worked some other typical Snake-Fu on the thing and it doesn't look too bad...certainly not boring. 

[jaxenro]

There are just so many things you can go with this kit. My 1:1 has the six it cane with, the 396, later on we dropped a 302 in it. You could change an engine in an afternoon and drive it that night

[dimaxion]

On 7/25/2018 at 9:30 PM, SfanGoch said:

I build factory stock; so, I don't worry about adding extraneous stuff.

Me too .. Thanx ..