Mystery Vette and Car Craft Dream Rod

[Snake45]

Bought this cool custom Vette roadster as part of an incredibly cheap “two-fer” deal on eBay, but I can't figger out what it is. Chassis is a typical AMT one-piece. The fender vents are puttlied up and all emblems and gas cap are gone, so no hint as to what year it might be. It does carry a chrome “1967” rear license plate frame, but I've never seen any of the custom parts in an AMT '67 Vette kit, or any other year Vette kit. Most interesting/unusual/noteworthy is the cut-back rear fenders. The shape is vaguely familiar but I can't nail it down. Then there's the winshield, which I first thought was something else laid down but fits so well I now think it might have been made for this kit. Haven't seen that “roll bar” before, either—very different from the one in the '66. And then there's the extra instrument panel on the passenger side of the dashboard. The final mystery is the hood. It's sorta like a '65-'66 big block hood, with some cut-down '67 Camaro vents on top (they seem to be molded in, not added on). Engine has an odd blower (?) on it, too, and the headers don't seem to be for a SBC. Maybe some questions will be answered after I strip the paint. Meanwhile, anyone have any idea where any of the odd stuff came from? Mark? Tim? Buehler? Anyone?

 

The other half of the two-fer deal is this built survivor Car Craft Dream Rod, which seems to be missing only its bizzare double headlight pod (not a great loss IMHO). If I were a huge fan of the original, I'd strip it down to parts and rebuild it as the original, but the truth is I'm not. I can see some custom potential in the shape but to build it “my way” I'd be better off starting with a new, common reissue Tiger Shark kit. I guess I'll clean up what's here, see if I can get the wheels back on straight, maybe try to polish the paint (although there's a nasty tire mark on the hood), and display it as the proud old survivor that it is. Any other ideas? 

[Can-Con]

The extra gauges in the Vette are from the AMT "THE Cat" Vette kit. Can't say about the rest. I kinda like that custom hood though. 

https://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/mkiba-build-under-c/amt-instructions/tv--movie/amt-the-cat-corvett/zimg202.html#media

The rear treatment looks a lot like what I did to this '62 back in the '80s. They must have seen the same pics I did. 

[Mark]

I don't have the kit in front of me, but I'm 99% certain that hood is from an MPC '67 'Vette annual kit.  The rest appears to be AMT, with lots of individual initiative added in.

Every Dream Rod or Mako Shark builtup that crosses my path has always, ALWAYS, been missing a small part or two.  Exhaust pipe, headlight pod, headrest, knockoff, you name it.  I've got one complete Dream Rod, between three or four builtups and maybe a partial kit.

[Mark]

That custom '62 is neat too.  Could be a good use for some leftover parts, after I swipe the windshield frame from one to fix a '61 body...

[alan barton]

Snake, that blower setup looks identical to the ones in the AMT 25 T pickup/roadster/coupe kits.  That's all I've got, you're on your own for the rest!

Cheers

Alan

 

[Mark]

If the 'Vette body is from the T.H.E. Cat issue, it would be a '67 but would have had the separate/rotating headlamp doors like the '63 convertible annual.  

[Snake45]

14 hours ago, Can-Con said:

The extra gauges in the Vette are from the AMT "THE Cat" Vette kit. Can't say about the rest.

Thanks! One mystery solved. 

 

4 hours ago, Mark said:

I don't have the kit in front of me, but I'm 99% certain that hood is from an MPC '67 'Vette annual kit. 

I can't find an instruction sheet to confirm it, but I suspect you're right. They could have altered it from the nice big block hood in the '66. 

 

48 minutes ago, alan barton said:

Snake, that blower setup looks identical to the ones in the AMT 25 T pickup/roadster/coupe kits. 

I THOUGHT it looked familiar! Thanks ! 

 

18 minutes ago, Mark said:

If the 'Vette body is from the T.H.E. Cat issue, it would be a '67 but would have had the separate/rotating headlamp doors like the '63 convertible annual.  

It's possible that's under all the putty and paint. Won't know until I disassemble and strip it. 

Now, where did the windshield and "roll bar" come from? 

[Mark]

Windshield is likely a rear window from something ('53 Studebaker chopped top, maybe?).  The roll bar might be just a section cut from another 'Vette body, from the B-pillar area.  Maybe the MPC '67 that gave up the hood?

[Deuces ll]

Here's an idea for a cool custom Vette roadster... I just swiped this one from the hamb... Not sure about the nose on this one...

[Snake45]

9 minutes ago, Deuces ll said:

Here's an idea for a cool custom Vette roadster... I just swiped this one from the hamb... Not sure about the nose on this one...

I think I have an old Rod & Custom feature article on that one. IIRC it's a Starbird.

I won't be changing much if anything on this one, but I will be stripping and repainting it, staying very close to the OB's original vision. 

[bisc63]

Disguise that tire mark the way the full size customizers handled paint problems back when... do a Watson-esque panel paint in a coordinated or contrasting color, matched on deck lid and top. Could be a simple fade-in, or lace panels are cool again!. Polish the rest.

[Mark]

11 hours ago, Snake45 said:

I think I have an old Rod & Custom feature article on that one. IIRC it's a Starbird.

I won't be changing much if anything on this one, but I will be stripping and repainting it, staying very close to the OB's original vision. 

Have you disassembled it yet?  Stripping the paint will undo the putty.  If any balsa was used in the body alterations, stripping the paint will create a real mess.

Not sure who did that 1:1 custom...might have been Starbird, maybe Dave Puhl or Dave Stuckey.  I remember the R&C article...the bench seat was put in for the three brothers that rode around together in that car.  Wonder if it's still out there somewhere.

[Snake45]

45 minutes ago, Mark said:

Have you disassembled it yet?  Stripping the paint will undo the putty.  If any balsa was used in the body alterations, stripping the paint will create a real mess.

Not sure who did that 1:1 custom...might have been Starbird, maybe Dave Puhl or Dave Stuckey.  I remember the R&C article...the bench seat was put in for the three brothers that rode around together in that car.  Wonder if it's still out there somewhere.

Haven't disassembled or started the strip yet. I don't think there's any balsa in it. Not worried about undoing putty; I can redo anything here that I undo. I'm thinking of maybe trying to tuck the front fenders in behind the wheels a little, the way the rear are. Looks like the OB might have tried this too to some extent. We'll see. 

On that red 1:1, I'm now thinking you might be right about it being Dave Puhl. Kinda looks more like him than Starbird. 

[Deuces ll]

I think a 427 stinger hood would have looked better on that red one.....?

[Ctmodeler]

On 9/14/2020 at 8:21 PM, Snake45 said:

Bought this cool custom Vette roadster as part of an incredibly cheap “two-fer” deal on eBay, but I can't figger out what it is. Chassis is a typical AMT one-piece. The fender vents are puttlied up and all emblems and gas cap are gone, so no hint as to what year it might be. It does carry a chrome “1967” rear license plate frame, but I've never seen any of the custom parts in an AMT '67 Vette kit, or any other year Vette kit. Most interesting/unusual/noteworthy is the cut-back rear fenders. The shape is vaguely familiar but I can't nail it down. Then there's the winshield, which I first thought was something else laid down but fits so well I now think it might have been made for this kit. Haven't seen that “roll bar” before, either—very different from the one in the '66. And then there's the extra instrument panel on the passenger side of the dashboard. The final mystery is the hood. It's sorta like a '65-'66 big block hood, with some cut-down '67 Camaro vents on top (they seem to be molded in, not added on). Engine has an odd blower (?) on it, too, and the headers don't seem to be for a SBC. Maybe some questions will be answered after I strip the paint. Meanwhile, anyone have any idea where any of the odd stuff came from? Mark? Tim? Buehler? Anyone?

 

The other half of the two-fer deal is this built survivor Car Craft Dream Rod, which seems to be missing only its bizzare double headlight pod (not a great loss IMHO). If I were a huge fan of the original, I'd strip it down to parts and rebuild it as the original, but the truth is I'm not. I can see some custom potential in the shape but to build it “my way” I'd be better off starting with a new, common reissue Tiger Shark kit. I guess I'll clean up what's here, see if I can get the wheels back on straight, maybe try to polish the paint (although there's a nasty tire mark on the hood), and display it as the proud old survivor that it is. Any other ideas? 

That dream rod is a nice pickup man !! Rare