AMT Original 1970 Corvette "Annual" (not the 90's tool)

[Mr. Metallic]

I've recently developed an affinity for customized 60's and early 70's vettes. That lead me to discover the original 1970 Corvette kit, and looking to get a little history on it. As was the practice back then I'm guessing it was modified into the 71 the next year. Any history on what became of this tooling? I'm really interested in the unique bubble type windshield and other custom parts and if those parts survived into other variations of the kits.

 

[Dave Darby]

To the best of my knowledge, it was updated annually, like the 63-67 that preceded it was. I  always liked those old shark bodied Vettes.

[Mark]

Updated through '77, still with the big block engine, in the same imaginary world where MPC had Hemi Challengers and Barracudas in '74.  The bodies in the MPC kits were better IMO, the margin got bigger as AMT updated their kit further away from their promo year ('70).

I'm pretty sure the chassis, engine, and interior wound up in the Eckler Hatchback kit.  The body in that kit looks like it is different and not an alteration of the '77, but who knows for sure.

[1972coronet]

While I'm not hip to all of the year-to-year cosmetic updates , I wonder if the one in the box top photo is actually a 1968 ? The box proclaims All New Corvette , which by 1970 was a two year old design .

Never-the-less ; that's a sweet find ! No mention --as presented-- of an engine or engines size(s) , which is unusual for that era. Now , if the box art mentions 'LS-7 454' , then it's definitely a '70 . 

[Mark]

No, that's a '70.  AMT marketed that kit, and the convertible version, through '71.  They did likewise with their Camaro kit, no '71 offering.

AMT didn't have the promo contract for '68 (MPC did) so they didn't get solid advance info on the '68 (which was originally to be the '67 but was delayed).  They hacked out a '68 kit (convertible with separate roof) which used the chassis and engine from their '67 convertible kit.  Once they were able to get access to a 1:1 car, they tooled up a much more accurate kit for '69, and offered it as separate coupe and convertible kits. 

[Snake45]

I still have the AMT '69 I built in 1969. It's about due for a good cleaning/restoration--I should put that on my To Do list. I still have the original box and I think all the original optional parts (I built it as a mild custom). 

Come to think of it, it would be fun to do a current day version of that exact build, coming as close as possible, using a common Revell '69 Coupe kit, and display the old and new ones together. 

[keyser]

The original 68-69 ended up as the Greenwood vette. Sad disappointment when I bought that. 
As stated the box shown is ‘70 Coupe. Convertible had an orange cut down racer on it maybe? Cool box art. 

[1972coronet]

1 hour ago, Mark said:

No, that's a '70.  AMT marketed that kit, and the convertible version, through '71.  They did likewise with their Camaro kit, no '71 offering.

AMT didn't have the promo contract for '68 (MPC did) so they didn't get solid advance info on the '68 (which was originally to be the '67 but was delayed).  They hacked out a '68 kit (convertible with separate roof) which used the chassis and engine from their '67 convertible kit.  Once they were able to get access to a 1:1 car, they tooled up a much more accurate kit for '69, and offered it as separate coupe and convertible kits. 

Thanks much for the clarification . I wasn't aware that the '68 redesign was delayed from a 1967 model year introduction . Does that '70 have a 'generic' Mark IV engine , or is it a small block ? 

[Mark]

All AMT Corvette kits '69-'77 have a big block/four speed powertrain.  

[1972coronet]

1 hour ago, Mark said:

All AMT Corvette kits '69-'77 have a big block/four speed powertrain.  

Thanks much . IIRC , the MPC Corvettes and Camaros had a 'generic' Mark IV from c.1968 - c.1981 .

[GarryR]

Both MPC and AMT retooled their Corvette kits for 1977, removing many optional parts, dropping the convertibles, and I am fairly certain, both replacing the BB with a 350. I have examples of the kits, but can't easily put my hands on them at the moment. AMT's Special Feature tout was a CB radio, good buddy.

[Mark]

The AMT '77 was not new, it was a revision of the '69-'76 kit.  Still had the big block.  All they did was take out all of the optional parts, as they did with all of their other annual kits.  '77 was the end of the line for annuals at AMT until '89 when Ertl eliminated the MPC brand and put the AMT label on everything.

MPC retooled for '78, the Anniversary kit was the first one with the small-block engine.  Their '77 was the last update of their '68-up kit, again still with the big block engine.

[Oldcarfan27]

9 hours ago, Mark said:

MPC retooled for '78, the Anniversary kit was the first one with the small-block engine.  Their '77 was the last update of their '68-up kit, again still with the big block engine.

If that's true, how come they never reissued the Stingray era Vette with the flying buttress back window? I sure would like to see it back!

I have a feeling many of the parts from the 77 were updated to the 78, except the small block, seats, glass and whatever was different from 77. But I can't be sure as I don't have any 77 MPC annual Corvettes.

The 75 roadster has been reissued a few times. Did that one come from the same tool?

[Mark]

MPC: one tool '68-'77, another '78-'82.  The '75 convertible keeps getting reissued because at some point MPC decided that the '68-'77 tool should be the convertible and not the coupe.  So they pieced it together as the convertible, and possibly threw away everything else thinking they wouldn't bother with the coupe again.  The '78-'82 was never a convertible, so no choice there.  

The prevailing thought was probably that they had one coupe and one convertible, never mind that they only had the later coupe.  If you look at MPC catalogs from back then, they usually had a good selection of Corvette kits but there were obvious gaps.  Apparently they didn't think that not having a C3 with the early roof style was a handicap for them.

[Mr. Metallic]

Thanks for the info.

Back to my original post, did any of the 70 issue custom and drag stuff continue into further versions? Just trying to figure out how to get my hands on those parts, especially the bubble windscreen

[Mark]

Those parts stayed in through '75, possibly '76.  The '77 AMT annual kits had no optional parts other than the CB radio and a couple of antennae that were the scale thickness of a broom handle.

[JS23U]

Here are two kits I found pics of that show the bubble glass. So probably all years up to 76 (as Mark wrote) will include the part.

Edited April 12, 2021 by JS23U

[Mr. Metallic]

8 hours ago, JS23U said:

Here are two kits I found pics of that show the bubble glass. So probably all years up to 76 (as Mark wrote) will include the part.

Thank you Mark and Jens for the info. Now i just have to find that bubble.