AMT 1970 Corvette LT-1

[mustang1989]

I'm still waiting on some things that are necessary to proceed with my Kingfisher build and I'm tired of not being able to be at the bench SOOOOO.......

I'm breaking out of the slump with a car that I've wanted to build for a very long time. A late 60's / early 70's Vette. This kit has a few pitfalls that affect the stance and wheel/ tire position but there are corrections that can be made and I'll be pointing those out. I'll be painting this one Brockhampton Blue and we'll be retaining the LT-1 350 small block for the car. The only external changes that'll be made are to the stance and wheel locations and I'll be going with BF-Goodrich T/A radials. 

With that being said.....LET'S GO!!! 

[KWT]

Oh yeah... here we go... I look forward to seeing this come together.

I've never been what you would call a Corvette guy... but... I have always liked 68-82 and 2014-19. I find those two styles superb.

[David G.]

Looks like a fun build!

David G.

[mustang1989]

38 minutes ago, KWT said:

Oh yeah... here we go... I look forward to seeing this come together.

I've never been what you would call a Corvette guy... but... I have always liked 68-82 and 2014-19. I find those two styles superb.

These were the ones that I grew up around and like you, have always liked this body style Jeremy. Glad you on board, both here and abroad buddy. 

[mustang1989]

30 minutes ago, David G. said:

Looks like a fun build!

David G.

Thanks Dave. I've been wanting to build one of these for a while now.

[mustang1989]

Got the long block assembled and all parts cleaned up for black basing and we'll start shooting color on these pieces after that. We'll be going with Bridgehampton Blue from MCW for the color on this one.

[David G.]

Good progress on this one Joe.

Question, do you plan on using blue for the engine, the body or both?

David G.

[mustang1989]

2 hours ago, David G. said:

Good progress on this one Joe.

Question, do you plan on using blue for the engine, the body or both?

David G.

I'll be going with Bridgehampton Blue for the body and Chevrolet engine red/ orange for the engine block Dave.

The one thing I did NOT like about the base engine was two big injector pin marks on the engine timing cover. I've gotta go back and get rid of at least one of those so it wont be seen from the top.

I also don't really care for the air pump that's in the kit or the fact that it doesn't have an A/C compressor but then again I don't know if LT-1 Corvettes even came with A/C.

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by mustang1989

[JJ Deuce]

1 hour ago, mustang1989 said:

I'll be going with Bridgehampton Blue for the body and Chevrolet engine red/ orange for the engine block Dave.

The one thing I did NOT like about the base engine was two big injector pin marks on the engine timing cover. I've gotta go back and get rid of at least one of those so it wont be seen from the top.

I also don't really care for the air pump that's in the kit or the fact that it doesn't have an A/C compressor but then again I don't know if LT-1 Corvettes even came with A/C.

 

A/C was available on the LT-1 in 1972 only, but they swapped the 6500 rpm tach for the 5600 rpm unit.

[Monty]

Let's see...one of your builds and it's a C3 Corvette?  You know I'll be watching.  In your intro you mentioned having to deal with issues affecting the stance.  Seems like one of your previous builds required some creative thinking to solve something similar, so I know you'll nail this.  

Will you be using Fireball Resin's BFG tires?  

[bytownshaker]

Looking forward to see this build come together, always liked the C3  Corvettes especially with front and rear chrome bumpers.

[mrmike]

Looking forward to your C3 Corvette Joe!

[mustang1989]

On 4/5/2023 at 10:23 AM, JJ Deuce said:

A/C was available on the LT-1 in 1972 only, but they swapped the 6500 rpm tach for the 5600 rpm unit.

That tells me what I need to know there. Thanks JJ!

On 4/5/2023 at 7:26 PM, Monty said:

Let's see...one of your builds and it's a C3 Corvette?  You know I'll be watching.  In your intro you mentioned having to deal with issues affecting the stance.  Seems like one of your previous builds required some creative thinking to solve something similar, so I know you'll nail this.  

Will you be using Fireball Resin's BFG tires?  

Thanks for taggin' along Monty! Yessiree I'll be using Fireball's BFG tires

1 hour ago, bytownshaker said:

Looking forward to see this build come together, always liked the C3  Corvettes especially with front and rear chrome bumpers.

Thanks buddy! These were the Vette's that I fell in love with as a kid. Glad to have you along as well!! 

39 minutes ago, mrmike said:

Looking forward to your C3 Corvette Joe!

Thanks Mike!! 

[mustang1989]

I started the engine painting process by black basing everything. For me it's easier to go dark to lighter shades than it is light to darker shades. Plus there's some shadowing effects that can be carried out on the engine block and heads this way and it also makes a good base for the aluminum and steel colored parts to bring out more realism in the metal effects.
 

[KWT]

I've always wanted to try the black base thing, but I always forget til it's already too late. Paying close attention to this...

[1972coronet]

On 4/5/2023 at 6:32 AM, mustang1989 said:

I don't know if LT-1 Corvettes even came with A/C.

I could be - my information may be - incorrect, but I seem to recall none any of G.M.'s high-perf, solid lifter engines were available with A/C ; the 1970-1972 LT-1 were all solid lifter. 
IIRC, it wasn't until the 1973 model year - and the then-new L-82 - that A/C became an option... at least with the Z/28 package. 

A.I.R. pump would be fine, but never have I seen the accompanying plumbing included, with the exception being the MPC 428 with the Therm-Actor setup.

[mustang1989]

The more I think about it the more I want to delete the air pump "option" on this one. To come up with all of the plumbing and get the air pump to look right is gonna be a LOT of work and I can make up for the loss of that pump with some of my own detailing that'll look way better than a half fast job that is OOB on this engine.

[David G.]

I find that using a darker undercoat or primer can add some richness to the color too.

David G.

[mustang1989]

On 4/12/2023 at 7:15 AM, David G. said:

I find that using a darker undercoat or primer can add some richness to the color too.

David G.

That's the way I was looking at it too Dave. 

[Len Woodruff]

Looking forward to this build.

[Dann Tier]

Its gonna be killer!

[mustang1989]

On 4/16/2023 at 7:50 AM, Len Woodruff said:

Looking forward to this build.

 

On 4/16/2023 at 8:27 PM, Dann Tier said:

Its gonna be killer!

Thanks for the interest fellas. It's been a while since I've updated anything in this thread so .....with that.....let's get started up again.

I've got the carburetor painted and the details picked out with a light wash, got the fuel lines added, installed the starter with the postive battery cable connected, modified drive belt without the air pump and painted up and installed the alternator bracket. So far I'm decently pleased with these results:

[Calb56]

That engine itself looks great.

 

[TransAmMike]

Great looking engine (as usual) from you Joe.  Can't wait for the rest of the build!!

[atomicholiday]

On 4/12/2023 at 8:15 AM, David G. said:

I find that using a darker undercoat or primer can add some richness to the color too.

David G.

Interesting.   I'll have to give it a shot sometime. 

 

That engine looks terrific.   Great work!