Revell/Monogram Pro Street Firebird kit

[Old Coyote]

I have been attempting to build this kit for over a week now, and it has just been one problem after another. I wanted to use this third generation Firebird kit as a basis to build Butch Leal's Castrol GTX Pro Stocker. I realize the wheelbase on the kit is not proper to build an accurate Pro/S, but it is the only full kit available.

I remember building this kit 20-25 years ago as the Pro Street version (white Firebird, Gold Chrome tree, blue decals) and it went together fine. However, this kit which I got off ebay about 2-1/2 years ago has been nothing but problem after problem. It's not the fault of the ebay seller, as this was a sealed kit and the box didn't seemed to be damaged at all. But, nothing fits properly. I remember reading somewhere that Revell/Monogram's re-issue of the Reher-Morrison Camaro had some fit issues and I was just wondering if any of you know about problems with the later pops of this kit.

Here are some of the things I have encountered:

1. The roll cage will not fit properly into the attachment holes and also fit through the dash at the same time. I had to narrow the dash and clip the front of the side cage units to be able to build the cage so it would attach to the chassis unit.

2. The rack and pinion steering unit was almost 1/16th" too wide to fit the attachment points on the front of the chassis. I had to shorten the unit by cutting a section out of the center.

3. The engine compartment "fender wells" which also contain the mounts for the front springs and spindles would not fit the attachment points on the chassis.

4. The rear suspension/rear end/wheelie bar assembly did not match up to the mounting slots in the rear of the chassis unit. Finally was able to get it mounted with a generous amount of super glue.

5. When the chassis was finally completed, dried, and the tires and wheels mounted, the right front tire was way off the ground. I had to cut the spindle off the suspension unit and re-attach it almost 3/32" lower. We now have all four tires firmly on the ground.

6. According the the instructions, the rear window is supposed have two small holes which will attach over two small pins molded to the underside of the roof. However, this kit has pins on both the roof unit and on the back glass. "Male" and "Male" attachment won't work, so I will carefully have to shave off the pins on the glass and drill corresponding holes to get it attached properly.

7. The aluminum shroud which attaches to the body and lines up in front of the radiator was almost 1/8" too wide. It had to be narrowed and shortened to fit into the body unit  and allow the hood to be installed properly.

8. The tail light unit was slightly too wide to fit into the recess in the rear of the body. It had to be trimmed on both ends to keep the center section which holds the drag chute to line up properly in the center of the car.

I still have to install all the glass, install the drag chute, and secure the body over the chassis. I have no clue as to what other issues I may run  into just accomplishing those few items.

If any of you have built this kit recently, or know of any of these problems, I would surely appreciate you letting me know. I don't know whether or not I'll be able to complete this monster, But I'm going to try anyway. I really don't want to throw away the ten days I've spent on this build.

I am including some pictures of what I have done so far,

Thanks for any help or response.

John

[GMCMAN52]

looking good to me. nice to see another Pontiac build

[Old Coyote]

I hate to admit defeat, but I give up on this kit. 

In addition to the issues I have already mentioned, when I went to finish the build this morning I ran into these further issues:

1. The arc (or lack thereof) on the bottom of the rear wing did not come close to matching the curvature of the trunk lid.

2. The drag chute (which came with the kit) did not come close to fitting in the recess between the taillights, it had to rest on the rear bumper. It probably was included for the Camaro version of the kit.

3. The only piece of glass that fit the body was the rear window, the windshield was too long and also too wide, and the side windows did not fit the contour of the body.

4. And finally, the hood would not fit correctly when the body was attached over the chassis. However it fit fine before the body was installed over the chassis.

Had the body finished out properly, I was contemplating trying to fit the body over the chassis of one of the '99-'00 Firebird Pro Stock kits. But this body isn't worth making that type of attempt. The whole thing will just be relegated to spare parts.

The only thing I can come up with as a reason for all these strange problems is that somewhere along this kit's life it was subjected to some excessively high temperatures and many of the pieces wound up getting slightly warped. The failure of the glass pieces to fit and the rear wing having no arc while the trunk was slightly arched leads me to believe that may have been the case.

On to the next project.

John