1978 Corvette Indy Pace Car, Not!

[Peter Lombardo]

This build started life as the Indy Pace Car, but then it went off the rails. Wheel well openings were enlarged with the front openings molded into the front air dam.  Road lights were added to the front grill.  Lower side flairs were installed and connected to the wheel arch openings.  The rear spoiler was molded into the body.  An air intake opening was added to the hood.  Integrated rearview mirrors were installed to replace the stock units.  Roof panels and rear window were tinted dark.  The doors were opened and hinged as the rear window hatch was also hinged.  The car was lowered and parts box wheels which I have had for about 20 years were installed with stenciled Goodyear logo’s sprayed on.

The kit is very simplified under the hood so I added some detail.  I did not go crazy with it.  I added the A/C compressor and radiator and then the power steering pump and the associated hoses.  I added a few vacuum hoses, wiper fluid bottle and terminal boxes just to add to the previously vacant space. 

The car was painted Tamiya Silver Leaf, then a custom mix of Tamiya Gunmetal and Silver was masked off and a stripe was painted down the center of the car spreading out on the front to mimic the stripe on one of the Corvette Grand Sport race cars from the early sixties.  Then I sprayed on a mix of 70% Tamiya Clear Orange and 30% Tamiya Clear Red with a small amount of Micro Gold Powder to add a little highlight to the paint in the sun.  Then it was rubbed out with wax.

My only complaint is that the hood would not fit properly in the final build because of the windshields placement interferes with the rear end of the hood.  In the mock-ups I did, I did not have the windshield in place so I was unaware of the fitment issue until it was too late to correct it in the final build-up.  My bad for trusting Revell and not testing the fit of the hood with the windshield taped in place.  I had planned to add wipers, since the kit does not have them, but there is no space for them.

That’s it, this was a fairly quick and enjoyable build and overall, I like the look and color choice although I had originally planned on a Blue car, not Red.

[cobraman]

Well done, looks great !

[happy grumpy]

Cool looking vette. Great work on the paint.

[espo]

Beautifully done body and paint work. The interior is a nice contrast. 

[slusher]

Very sharp custom!

[KWT]

Very nicely done

[Koellefornia Kid]

Beautiful and very nicely painted custom Vette!

[TransAmMike]

Really cool '78 Peter.    Looking at the "moulded" in pace car spoiler brought back memories of a '79 Vette I bought cheap many years ago. The original owner actually bondo'ed the spoiler to the fiberglass body. What a mess. I had to chisel off the spoiler to remove the abhorration.

Good job on the build?