Pro Street GTO

[RichCostello]

Has anyone tried to transplant the(awful)Amt 67 GTO onto the AMT 67 Chevelle Pro Street chassis? I have an extra Chevelle kit that I'd like to put a different body on, without a lot of work, and was wondering if this might work.

[Snake45]

I haven't done it or even tried but I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work, or could be made to work with minimal effort. They're the same scale and wheelbase and (more or less) width. You might want to compare the wheelbases and widths of the kit bodies; any BIG problems will show up right there. 

You might have to mix and match pieces of the two interiors to get something that will work for you, but that's all part of the fun. 

Hey, it's GOTTA be easier than what I'm working on at the moment--putting the Monogram flip-front '66 Chevelle body and engine on their '64 GTO frame. What a nightmare it's been! 

Edited December 29, 2019 by Snake45

[Force]

As far as I know both real cars share the basic frame so it would work.

[TarheelRick]

Haven't tried this combination.  However, I did try try the Riviera Lowrider body and the wheelbases did not match, the Chevelle was much shorter.  That being said, drag out the Xacto knives and saws and give it a shot.

[ZTony8]

I've done this conversion. Hints:

1) Cut off the rear section of the GTO chassis right behind the rear cross member and glue it to the Chevelle chassis. You can play with the shape of the back edge of this piece or leave it alone. If you leave it alone( like I did-I'm lazy) you'll have to glue the rear bumper on after you mate the body and chassis.

2) If you use the GTO engine/ trans you need to move the Chevelle chassis trans crossmember back 3/16 of an inch. You may have to play with the driveshaft length. Mine ended up too short( I cut just a bit too much off the end).

3) I used the Chevelle interior panels and floor panel because they work with the Chevelle chassis. Sand off or cover the bowtie on the rear interior wall. The Chevelle chassis firewall sits about 3/16 of an inch forward of the body's cowl. For appearance's sake fill the slight gap between the firewall/ cowl( I didn't, but, again, I'm lazy). The hood "hinges" on the GTO hood will slide in to gap if you don't fill it. If you do fill the gap, cut off the "hinges" and make some hood pins. You might want to grind down the top of the firewall to get the hood to sit a bit more level.

4) The biggest issue is the instrument panel. The Chevelle piece fits between the interior side panels better but doesn't match up to the shape of the GTO body at the bottom of the windshield. The GTO dash fits the shape of body but is a bit narrow to go between the Chevelle interior panels. I used an unaltered GTO dash( yup- still lazy).

5) I used the supercharged GTO engine. The stock GTO hood needs to be cut out for the blower but if you use the custom hood from the later version( the Vin Diesel movie version) no cutting is needed.

It's not a very difficult kit bash. Enjoy!

[RichCostello]

2 hours ago, ZTony8 said:

I've done this conversion. Hints:

1) Cut off the rear section of the GTO chassis right behind the rear cross member and glue it to the Chevelle chassis. You can play with the shape of the back edge of this piece or leave it alone. If you leave it alone( like I did-I'm lazy) you'll have to glue the rear bumper on after you mate the body and chassis.

2) If you use the GTO engine/ trans you need to move the Chevelle chassis trans crossmember back 3/16 of an inch. You may have to play with the driveshaft length. Mine ended up too short( I cut just a bit too much off the end).

3) I used the Chevelle interior panels and floor panel because they work with the Chevelle chassis. Sand off or cover the bowtie on the rear interior wall. The Chevelle chassis firewall sits about 3/16 of an inch forward of the body's cowl. For appearance's sake fill the slight gap between the firewall/ cowl( I didn't, but, again, I'm lazy). The hood "hinges" on the GTO hood will slide in to gap if you don't fill it. If you do fill the gap, cut off the "hinges" and make some hood pins. You might want to grind down the top of the firewall to get the hood to sit a bit more level.

4) The biggest issue is the instrument panel. The Chevelle piece fits between the interior side panels better but doesn't match up to the shape of the GTO body at the bottom of the windshield. The GTO dash fits the shape of body but is a bit narrow to go between the Chevelle interior panels. I used an unaltered GTO dash( yup- still lazy).

5) I used the supercharged GTO engine. The stock GTO hood needs to be cut out for the blower but if you use the custom hood from the later version( the Vin Diesel movie version) no cutting is needed.

It's not a very difficult kit bash. Enjoy!

I want to use the tubbed chassis from the Chevelle. I think the wheelbase of the two cars should be the same, so I would use the entire Chevelle chassis, engine/trans, wheels/tires, etc. 

I don't know if I'll even try this, as I don't have the GTO kit yet. I'm waiting to see if Hobby Lobby puts it on clearance because I've had it in the past, and I don't think it's worth more than about 7 bucks(if that). I've built the AMT pro street Chevelle, and really like it, and I have an extra one that I just want to find another kit to bash it with, so I don't have two of the same thing. I thought the GTO would be a good candidate, since it's such a lousy kit that I wouldn't mind throwing most of it in the trash, and it's the same size car.

I might just use another similar size car, Olds 442 maybe, to Pro Street. Suggestions are welcome!

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, RichCostello said:

I might just use another similar size car, Olds 442 maybe, to Pro Street. Suggestions are welcome!

The '64-'67 GM A bodies had 115 inch wheelbases. So did the classic '55-'57 Chevies. 

The Revell snapper '57 Chevy HT (which has an excellent body, BTW) is commonly found at Hobby Lobby. 

[RichCostello]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

The '64-'67 GM A bodies had 115 inch wheelbases. So did the classic '55-'57 Chevies. 

The Revell snapper '57 Chevy HT (which has an excellent body, BTW) is commonly found at Hobby Lobby. 

Now, THAT ain't a bad idea! I've got that 57 snapper that I bought just for the wheels for another build, and haven't touched it since. That body is really nice, and would look very cool as a pro street. I will check that out.

Thanks Snake.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, RichCostello said:

Now, THAT ain't a bad idea! I've got that 57 snapper that I bought just for the wheels for another build, and haven't touched it since. That body is really nice, and would look very cool as a pro street. I will check that out.

Thanks Snake.

I'm here to serve. 

[tbill]

I’ve cut up that chevelle kit to do a few ‘big tire’ cars, AMT 41 Plymouth, revellogram 59 caddy and a Lindberg 66 chevelle. Depending on the kit I’m using, I hack the back half off the chassis plate and graft in to the original kits chassis plate .

[RichCostello]

8 hours ago, tbill said:

I’ve cut up that chevelle kit to do a few ‘big tire’ cars, AMT 41 Plymouth, revellogram 59 caddy and a Lindberg 66 chevelle. Depending on the kit I’m using, I hack the back half off the chassis plate and graft in to the original kits chassis plate .

I might do that, but I'm hoping to find a body that I can just drop onto the chassis, so I can use the engine/trans., suspension, etc.

[tbill]

Gotcha, I’m going to follow this so if/when you do find a drop on, I can also steal the plans?

[Plowboy]

What about sticking it under a '70 or '72 Chevelle?

[Bills72sj]

To have the interior correct the wheelbase correct and (I hope) keep a Pontiac engine in it. Just do what the 1:1 shops do. "back half" the car.

[Bills72sj]

30 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

What about sticking it under a '70 or '72 Chevelle?

While not truly Pro Street, These Chevelle will take some tire stock.

[RichCostello]

On 1/2/2020 at 7:37 PM, tbill said:

Gotcha, I’m going to follow this so if/when you do find a drop on, I can also steal the plans?

I've tried several bodies, and so far the Revell 57 Chevy snap kit looks best. The wheelbase is almost dead on. I think I could make a  cool shelf model by just cutting a hole in the hood for the carbs to stick thru, and if you wanted to do a lot more work(I don't)you could make a flip front end.

I'm still going to wait and see if the 67 GTO goes on clearance at HL. I'm not even willing to pay the coupon price for that mess.

[RichCostello]

On 1/2/2020 at 8:44 PM, Plowboy said:

What about sticking it under a '70 or '72 Chevelle?

Those are both good ideas, but I'm hoping to do something other than a Chevelle.