Revell 68 Chevelle

[Kmb0319]

I was finally to get to the hobby shop and get the new Revell 68 Chevelle on Friday.  Now that I have it, I'm debating what to do with it.  It will be stock, as everything I build is, but will get some small enhancements in the way of upgraded tires and wheels.  I will still use stock wheels, but most likely either the better set of Chevy Rallys from one of the 69 Camaro kits or some bare rally wheels off of ebay.  (leaning towards bare, but still debating) The skinny kit tires will be replaced as well.   I also don't think at this point that I'll use the SS Stripes.  Of the color options I'm considering, one of them will use the stripes, but I found in my research that overall, there's something about the stripes going across the front that make the headlights look slightly droopy vs when they aren't there.  Maybe that's just me. 

I will take my time and add details as I go... this won't be a fast thread.  But, while I have a strong inclination, I've been having a really tough time making an absolute final decision on colors.  I THINK I made a decision this morning, but since it was so hard to come to a decision, I thought I might put the options out to the forum and see what input I get.  I wanted to do something slightly different, and in researching found a few SS vehicles that had silver lower body paint (below the trim) rather than black.  I've also thought about sanding the trim down and keeping the whole body one color... but these 4 are my top thoughts.  Like I said, I finally made a decision this morning...  I won't tell you which one of the four I've chosen... but will see if any input changes my mind.

1  Grotto Blue/white stripe/black interior

2.  Silver (could be with or without the black lower body paint) with a red interior

3.  Black, silver lower body, red interior  (can't see in this pic, but this has that exact combo)

4.  Cordovan Maroon, silver lower body, red or black interior (I realize this is a 69, but the pic is for the color combo)

These stuck out to me... any preferences?  Thanks!

 

[Rodent]

Fathom Blue or Tripoli Turquoise would be my choice. Parchment /black interior with the blue, all black with the turquoise. I don't like the 68 D96 stripes either. Too much going on with the lower two tone for my tastes. Maybe add a black vinyl top?

[MrObsessive]

That shade of blue in the first pic is a VERY nice color. That would be among one of my choices if I were building this. Chalk me up as another that doesn't car for the stripes. I think the 'forward thrust' of the fenders is what throws the stripes off for me.

Of course, this is subjective........some like 'em, some don't.

If/when I get to building mine, I GOTTA do mine with the optional mag hubcaps! To me, those just suit that car and IIRC it was the last year you could get those on any Chevy. Of course it's GOT to have redline tires! Rally wheels are nice, but soooooo many Chevy's I see have 'em that IMO they've become too commonplace.

Once again, this is subjective.

[Rodent]

http://chevellestuff.net/1968/68ss.htm

I have found this to be a great site for Chevelle information. As far as I have seen so far, the SS396 lower body paint only came in black. I saw one thing that said that black cars had the body color below the molding.

Bill, the rallye wheels may have been a mandatory option when disc brakes were ordered. That seemed to be the case for 67 and on some Camaros.

[Rob Hall]

Lots of color and wheel choices, lot of possible stock variations w/ this kit....fun..

Edited February 2, 2019 by Rob Hall

[MrObsessive]

3 minutes ago, Rodent said:

Bill, the rallye wheels may have been a mandatory option when disc brakes were ordered. That seemed to be the case for 67 and on some Camaros.

Yeah, I can see that. Back in those days however one could order a car almost any way they wanted. My 1:1 '69 AMX for example, even though it was a 390 car believe it or not it had drum brakes on all fours!

Needless to say, when I was running it hard, I had to be careful to give it PLENTY of room to stop!

[Rodent]

4 minutes ago, MrObsessive said:

Yeah, I can see that. Back in those days however one could order a car almost any way they wanted. My 1:1 '69 AMX for example, even though it was a 390 car believe it or not it had drum brakes on all fours!

Needless to say, when I was running it hard, I had to be careful to give it PLENTY of room to stop!

Right, I guess I meant to say that the kit has a disc brake master cylinder. A drum cylinder could be swapped in if you want to use the mag wheel covers. It would be correct. 68 was the last SS396 to have standard manual drums with optional power assist. 

[MrObsessive]

4 minutes ago, Rodent said:

.68 was the last SS396 to have standard manual drums with optional power assist. 

Ha! My AMX didn't even have THAT luxury! Imagine trying to do a panic stop on MANUAL drum brakes!

Thanks for the heads up about the master cylinder. I would have later been building it and never paid that any attention.

[Mike Chernecki]

I started mine this week. Going with Cordovan Maroon, redlines and dog dish hubcaps. I would like to do the vi yl roof, but very tricky to get it to look right with this car. I have a bottle of Grecian Green, but think will save that for the El Camino.

['70 Grande]

I just got my own '68 Chevelle kit this morning, and thought I had my build's color scheme all figured out.  Then, I saw this thread and I'm rethinking that original color scheme plan!  One thing that I have noticed about this kit that I really don't care for is the 2 gaping holes in the firewall piece for those hood hinges to "fit" into.  I'll be building mine minus those hood hinge pieces and filling-in those two large firewall openings.

The Silver one, sans stripes would be my pick of these color options.

[majel]

Always liked the maroon with a black interior.

[Snake45]

3 hours ago, Rodent said:

http://chevellestuff.net/1968/68ss.htm

I have found this to be a great site for Chevelle information. As far as I have seen so far, the SS396 lower body paint only came in black. I saw one thing that said that black cars had the body color below the molding.

Bill, the rallye wheels may have been a mandatory option when disc brakes were ordered. That seemed to be the case for 67 and on some Camaros.

Yes. So if you're doing it stock, your lower body will be black. Any other color and it's "Day Two." 

[jaxenro]

Number 4 is really sharp looking

[Jason B.]

All are nice colors,I like #1.

[espo]

See Round 2's after market tires for Red Lines of Good Year Polyglass tires. They offer both F & L 60 tire sizes. The simulated Mag Wheel Hub Caps can be found in the Lindberg '66 Chevelle kit as well as some red lines. In that era if you ordered Disc Brakes then either the Rally or Magnum 500 wheels were required. I don't recall ever seeing a Chevelle SS 396 with out Disc Brakes so they might have been standard. I do know that models other than the SS could be ordered either with or without Disc Brakes. Color will have to be your call. I would study the color chart for the Chevelle and see what they offered, and remember this was a time for an extra $100 or so you could even get them to paint it something from the Cadillac color wheel. 

[Rodent]

3 hours ago, espo said:

See Round 2's after market tires for Red Lines of Good Year Polyglass tires. They offer both F & L 60 tire sizes. The simulated Mag Wheel Hub Caps can be found in the Lindberg '66 Chevelle kit as well as some red lines. In that era if you ordered Disc Brakes then either the Rally or Magnum 500 wheels were required. I don't recall ever seeing a Chevelle SS 396 with out Disc Brakes so they might have been standard. I do know that models other than the SS could be ordered either with or without Disc Brakes. Color will have to be your call. I would study the color chart for the Chevelle and see what they offered, and remember this was a time for an extra $100 or so you could even get them to paint it something from the Cadillac color wheel. 

Disc brakes became standard in 1969 for the SS396. There are lots of copies of the 68 brochure online. I always like to look at them when I am doing a near stock build.

I always heard the same thing about special paint on GMs back then, except that the selling district office set the price. I also heard that Cadillac Firemist colors weren't available because the larger flake wouldn't work with the paint equipment in the other assembly plants. Could be true, could be internet BS. I did look a "Resale Red" 69 SS396 convertible that had a blank paint code. The seller said it was blue under the carpet, etc. I have always wondered what it looked like new and why the original buyer couldn't find a factory blue they liked.

[Kmb0319]

Well, I didn’t think I would change my mind, but this thread did it.  I was convinced I was going to do it in Cordovan Maroon, but you all convinced me to go back to my original idea, which was Grotto Blue.  Still debating whether I will use the black body sills or not and potentially sand down some of the trim.  Also picking between bare rallys and some nice resin deep dish short cap rallys.  

Thanks for the input everyone!!

[espo]

1 hour ago, Kmb0319 said:

Well, I didn’t think I would change my mind, but this thread did it.  I was convinced I was going to do it in Cordovan Maroon, but you all convinced me to go back to my original idea, which was Grotto Blue.  Still debating whether I will use the black body sills or not and potentially sand down some of the trim.  Also picking between bare rallys and some nice resin deep dish short cap rallys.  

Thanks for the input everyone!!

The "short caps" were a '67 only design, so this gives you an idea as to where to start looking for those. There are many '67 Corvette kits that many builders might have used a different wheel on so you might put up what you need on that section of the forum, I'm sure someone will trade for what your needing.  

['70 Grande]

I've pulled a chromed set of the "short cap" wheels outta the Round-2 1970 Chevrolet Corvette LT1/ZR1 kit for my '68 Chevelle build.  They look like what I've seen in 1:1 '68 Chevelle pics like the 1:1 Grotto Blue and Black convertible pics shown above.

[Kmb0319]

Sweet... I’ve seen some resin short caps on eBay, but the only kits I’d seen them in were the AMT 67 Impala and the Revell 67 Chevelle.

I’ve started doing a little work on this kit... today I did the “mass painting” of all the semi-gloss black, flat black and steel parts, and got primer on my body and chassis.  Tonight I went ahead and shot the black on the lower body.

These are my wheels at the moment, but I believe they will be changing.

Finally, I painted my front and rear facias. I shot the front grill/headlight piece and the upper portion of the rear Dacia with the tail lights in some dull coat, as they didn’t look so bright chrome in my research photos.  Then I painted in the grill, first using flat black and then going over the grill mesh with a black sharpie to give it some contrast from the holes.  Then I painted thin black rings inside the headlight bezels.  On the real car, there is a tiny gap between the end of the headlight and the trim, so I want to see if I can create that effect.

Just a start....

[moparfarmer]

I like your wheel choice but RWL tires didn't come out until late 1969 or 1970 on all the big three..Like the full tires though..Don't use those lower profile tires on it..They wouldn't suit it..Nice job so far, keep it going..

 

[Kmb0319]

9 hours ago, moparfarmer said:

I like your wheel choice but RWL tires didn't come out until late 1969 or 1970 on all the big three..Like the full tires though..Don't use those lower profile tires on it..They wouldn't suit it..Nice job so far, keep it going..

 

I’m OK with that inaccuracy.  WL tires are a must for me with muscle cars.  The car is all original except for a tire upgrade, like it’s a restoration rather than a brand new car.  I think these are the size tires, but I’ll look at a couple other options for rears.  Then I will most likely either remove the pad printed lettering and get some tire decals that stand out more or get a newer set of the L Polyglas GTs, as these are pretty faded.

[Rob Hall]

Think of it as a year 2 car with the WL tires....I can imagine plenty of people replaced OEM redlines when RWL tires became available back in the day in the 1:1 world..

Edited February 6, 2019 by Rob Hall

[Daddy Mack]

The first US passenger car tires with RWL were the Firestone Nylon 500,  Super Sports 500 and Super Sports Wide Oval introduced in 1965, 1966 and 1967 respectively, as i recall.

The 1968 Shelby Mustang was available with RWL tires from the factory.

The other manufacturers got on board with RWL tires for the 1969 model year.

But ya, a 1968 Chevelle SS396 with RWL tires looks right.

Edited February 6, 2019 by Daddy Mack

[Snake45]

10 hours ago, Kmb0319 said:

Sweet... I’ve seen some resin short caps on eBay, but the only kits I’d seen them in were the AMT 67 Impala and the Revell 67 Chevelle.

'67 Rally Wheel caps are unique to '67, which is why they're in those kits. They're also in the AMT '67 Camaro, one of the Revell '67 Corvettes (the Coupe, I think, but don't hold me to it), and they were in the original annual AMT '67 Corvette coupe and its reissues. 

This type of cap was also used (with Chevy Rally Wheels) on the '67 Buick Skylark GS340, probably with Buick emblem inserts. Not sure if they were used on the GS400 or any other Buicks. 

'67 Rally caps on a '68 Chevelle certainly isn't an impossibility, but would have to be considered a "Day Two" mod.