Monogram 1965 Corvette with LT5

[Spottedlaurel]

My entry in the latest round of Snake's BOYD, WIP thread here:

Finished it up today and managed to grab some outdoor shots

Quick summary:

Mid-late '80s issue of the 1965 Corvette "Street Machine" kit complete with smoked glass and other clear parts, started by a friend in the early '90s but not completed. I stripped the red Humbrol brush paint finish a few years ago and redid it this summer in Tamiya TS-11 Maroon (no clearcoat).

The engine had gone, so I took the LT5 from the Monogram '92 ZR-1.

Wide and nicely detailed Cragar S/S wheels from an Aoshima Nissan Cedric kit but with different tyres and slightly narrowed at the rear to keep them within the stock arches.

Highback seats from the Monogram Datsun 280Z.

Suspension stock front and rear, as built by my friend. No lowering, but the lower profile tyres gave it a more aggressive stance.

The kit builds up pretty well, I don't recall any fitment issues and if it's not an accurate representation of a '65 Corvette I wouldn't have a clue! Looks decent enough to me. Beyond the extra clean-up I had to do on previously painted components, the challenge of dealing with missing pieces and fitting a different engine, the biggest issue I had was polishing that complex bodywork with all its high points. Twice I polished through the front wing tops necessitating a partial repaint, and even now I can see I'm very close to doing it again in a few places.

A 1:1 LT5 conversion would probably be rather better-engineered than my conversion, hopefully with some suspension and brake upgrades! I'm happy with how it looks under the bonnet and the subtle finished appearance, and doing this taught me some useful skills which I can use on a future project.

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

LT5 engine from the ZR-1. I didn't detail it, but I tried to keep the installation vaguely plausible. Shortened the stock air cleaner snorkel, fitted the '92's radiator and electric fan set-up. There was plenty of room in the engine bay but I did have to sit it very low to ensure the bonnet closed.

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Don't give the exhaust system more than a passing glance! At least I made an attempt this time, unlike Maserati I recently finished. The gearbox crossmember had to be fabricated from what I had left of the original item, for some reason it'd snapped and not all of it was there. Sump pan had to be notched.

1:24 Monogram 1965 Corvette kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Interior largely as done by my friend back in the early '90s, I just added the Datsun 280Z highback seats.

Thanks for looking.

[stinkybritches]

That looks so nice. The color, wheels, and stance are perfect. 

[fordf-100]

Very nice looking! Great job!

[robertw]

Very nice looking especially the paint job. You are duplicating in scale what a lot have done in 1to1 scale. Good idea.

[Tommy124]

6 hours ago, stinkybritches said:

That looks so nice. The color, wheels, and stance are perfect. 

My opinion exactly, great build!

[ChrisR]

Great colour and build!

[Spottedlaurel]

Thanks everyone, I enjoyed building it with a bit more of a challenge due to the engine conversion and the bodywork polishing.

[PappyD340]

Extremely nice, well done!

[Snake45]

That came out great! Nice color, nice finish, great wheels/tires and overall sit. Well done and model on! 

[Modlbldr]

Nigel,

That looks very nice and clean. The paint and engine swap are perfect for this build. Great job!

Later-

[BeakDoc]

Very sleek! Nicely built. Great work with the mill swap.

[TarheelRick]

That is one beautiful Corvette.  As the others have mentioned the color really fits it well; the overall build is really clean.

[doorsovdoon]

Looking good. I do like that colour, very nice.

[espo]

Great looking build and the paint reminds me of the Maroon color that they offered at that time. The Cragar wheels look good on this also. 

[ewetwo]

That looks great!

 

[TransAmMike]

Super nice build and I especially like the outdoors pictures.??

[Deuces ll]

Sharp..... ??

[Spottedlaurel]

Thanks everyone for the very kind words! I love the process of choosing wheels, colour and the overall look of a project, it's very satisfying when it works out.

[gman]

That turned out great- the colour suits it. A "sleeper" look, as the exterior doesn't hint at the modern powerplant under the hood.

[Draggon]

Beautiful, one of my favorite 'Vettes here on the forum!

 

[Spottedlaurel]

On 8/9/2020 at 9:56 PM, gman said:

That turned out great- the colour suits it. A "sleeper" look, as the exterior doesn't hint at the modern powerplant under the hood.

Just the way I'd like it in real life. Admittedly any Corvette is making a bit of a statement, but I like the hidden potential of this one, hopefully those wide tyres would get it around the corners too.

4 hours ago, Draggon said:

Beautiful, one of my favorite 'Vettes here on the forum!

Thanks Glenn ?

[slusher]

Great looking Corvette!

[AJM]

Great job, love the color and the wheels!

[RAMBENNA]

one sweet Vette, great color and great build well done

[ewetwo]

Really nice build.