HPI Guy AMT 1965 Craftsman style GTO

[Daddyfink]

 

[Snake45]

Looks like they fixed the shape of the rear fender tips. The headlights look better than the last three or four reissues, but they're still not right. I guess this is as close as we're gonna get. Put me down for one. 

[Can-Con]

In all honesty, I think I would have actually preferred the tail lights molded in with the rest of the trim strip. 

I think I could get the look much easier if they were all one piece and plated instead of clear red. Almost impossible to get the tiny chrome strips to look right on that .

But, I think I can at least get them on the correct sides and not upside down. ?

Edited April 27, 2023 by Can-Con

[stavanzer]

I am really happy to see those Steelies and Dog Dish Caps!

I'll be buying at least one kits just to get those.

[Exotics_Builder]

21 hours ago, Snake45 said:

Looks like they fixed the shape of the rear fender tips. The headlights look better than the last three or four reissues, but they're still not right. I guess this is as close as we're gonna get. Put me down for one. 

 

2 hours ago, Can-Con said:

In all honesty, I think I would have actually preferred the tail lights molded in with the rest of the trim strip. 

I think I could get the look much easier if they were all one piece and plated instead of clear red. Almost impossible to get the tiny chrome strips to look right on that .

But, I think I can at least get them on the correct sides and not upside down. ?

I could not quite tell from the video, but it looks like the taillights are finally ribbed, If so, I can deal with the trim. It also appears that the interior still doesn't carry the Pontiac "spear" on the seats and carries the convertible "buttresses".  So, those will need working as well.

 

[Bills72sj]

I have two of these from the 1992 reissue in the AMT/ERTL 3 kit "Muscle Cars" set.

I have heard they have accuracy issues.

This new release can let me combine the best of both versions.

[Luc Janssens]

Was hoping to buy one while in the US, but sadly was unable too. yet got some other neat kits and stuff I wanted, so still happy with what I was able to put on top of the rest of the pile when coming home

Cheers

 

[Snake45]

I'm not a HUGE fan of the '65 GTO, but it IS an absolutely iconic musclecar so I have to have one on my shelf. Luckily I bought a Modelhaus front bumper/headlight unit (mastered off the original '65 promo), so if I don't like the headlights on the new kit, I'll put the resin piece on it and drive on. 

Here's an AMT GTO glue bomb I rehabbed/Snake-Fu'ed a couple years ago. (I don't know which reissue it is.) You can see how bad the headlights are. 

Aside from being slightly undersized, the cheap Welly diecast is about as good as it gets, after you fix the roof, which is a bit of extra work but CAN be done. It's the green one in the pic. 

[magicmustang]

Went through the parts box and found a 3x2 bbl GTO engine, '67 GTO firewall, a radiator wall, a set of Hurst wheels, some GTO mufflers and tail pipes, even found the '67 GTO chassis that does not have the exhaust system or rear axle molded in. Guess I'll have to get one of these kits to try and convert it from curbside Promo to a full display piece.

Edited May 2, 2023 by magicmustang

[Bills72sj]

9 hours ago, magicmustang said:

Went through the parts box and found a 3x2 bbl GTO engine, '67 GTO firewall, a radiator wall, a set of Hurst wheels, some GTO mufflers and tail pipes, even found the '67 GTO chassis that does not have the exhaust system or rear axle molded in. Guess I'll have to get one of these kits to try and convert it from curbside Promo to a full display piece.

That sounds like a good plan.

[bigryan18]

Is there a better chassis available that will work for the 65 GTO??

[SfanGoch]

It's a GM A-body platform. Chassis from '65-'67 AMT/Revell Chevelles and the AMT/Lindberg '66-'67 Olds 442 kits would work.

[bisc63]

In addition to the headlights being recessed once again (finally!!), it appears the various GTO emblems and letters have been corrected in their scale and location. I'll have to pick up one of these!

[deuces wild]

Will the Revell '66 GTO chassis fit the amt body?..

[bisc63]

3 hours ago, deuces wild said:

Will the Revell '66 GTO chassis fit the amt body?..

Should, may have to trim the pan a bit to get the best fit. I have been working off and on with a '65 from the 90s with all its goofs, and the chassis I'm going with is from the AMT '66 Olds 442, as they were once plentiful and cheap. Lots of interchangeability prospects, consider '66 Olds, Lindberg 67 Olds, AMT and Revell 65 and 67 Chevelles (both stock and pro street available), Lindberg (now AMT) 66 Chevelle, aforementioned 66 GTO, and so on. Chevy pans will need to swap out trans cross member for the correct B-O-P style.

[bisc63]

21 hours ago, deuces wild said:

Will the Revell '66 GTO chassis fit the amt body?..

Just to be sure....it does as I suspected. Needs trimming at the wheel wells due to different body side contours. Simple fix!

[deuces wild]

Sweeeeet!....??

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by deuces wild

[Lone Wolf]

On 5/9/2023 at 5:42 PM, SfanGoch said:

It's a GM A-body platform. Chassis from '65-'67 AMT/Revell Chevelles and the AMT/Lindberg '66-'67 Olds 442 kits would work.

If it helps (?) the GM A-Body line includes: the Chevy Chevelle/El Camino/1st-gen Monte Carlo, Pontiac GTO/Lemans, Olds Cutlass/442, Buick GS/Skylark?, among those I may have forgotten...? That said, some of the wheel bases and chassis lengths can vary, such as the Monte Carlo's (14" IIRC) longer front frame section, to name one. Referencing real 1:1 car specifications would detail these differences.

[Tom Geiger]

On 4/27/2023 at 4:14 PM, Can-Con said:

In all honesty, I think I would have actually preferred the tail lights molded in with the rest of the trim strip. 

I think I could get the look much easier if they were all one piece and plated instead of clear red. Almost impossible to get the tiny chrome strips to look right on that .

But, I think I can at least get them on the correct sides and not upside down. ?

My fix for this is to BMF the clear red part, then Sharpie or paint the lenses.

[SfanGoch]

25 minutes ago, Lone Wolf said:

If it helps (?) the GM A-Body line includes: the Chevy Chevelle/El Camino/1st-gen Monte Carlo, Pontiac GTO/Lemans, Olds Cutlass/442, Buick GS/Skylark?, among those I may have forgotten...? That said, some of the wheel bases and chassis lengths can vary, such as the Monte Carlo's (14" IIRC) longer front frame section, to name one. Referencing real 1:1 car specifications would detail these differences.

Paralysis by overanalysis. The cars I specifically mentioned were all designed on the same '64-'67 A-Body platform and share identical 115" wheelbases, as do the '64-67 LeMans/Tempest/GTO. 1968 and later A-Body vehicles don't apply because the chassis was shortened. '70='72 Monte Carlos were built on G-Body platforms and had a 116" wheelbase.

[Lone Wolf]

If you had read my whole post, and understood it's point, I did mention how the wheelbase was not the same on all of the various a-body models, however, since they share so much else in common, it's not inconceivable to make some modifications in order to use them in the absence of having a chassis on hand with the correct wheelbase. Contrary to your statement concerning the 1st gen Monte Carlo's, their 116" chassis is in fact an a-body chassis (I had a 70 SS454 Monte). The g-body came about later.

[Bills72sj]

On 6/4/2023 at 7:37 AM, SfanGoch said:

Paralysis by overanalysis. The cars I specifically mentioned were all designed on the same '64-'67 A-Body platform and share identical 115" wheelbases, as do the '64-67 LeMans/Tempest/GTO. 1968 and later A-Body vehicles don't apply because the chassis was shortened. '70='72 Monte Carlos were built on G-Body platforms and had a 116" wheelbase.

 

5 hours ago, Lone Wolf said:

If you had read my whole post, and understood it's point, I did mention how the wheelbase was not the same on all of the various a-body models, however, since they share so much else in common, it's not inconceivable to make some modifications in order to use them in the absence of having a chassis on hand with the correct wheelbase. Contrary to your statement concerning the 1st gen Monte Carlo's, their 116" chassis is in fact an a-body chassis (I had a 70 SS454 Monte). The g-body came about later.

I would like to help clarify what GM did:

1:1 64-67 GM A-Body suspension/chassis are very similar to the 68-72 A-Body chassis. There are minor differences in front lower control arm bushings (some were round, some were oval). The rear 4-link differentials are interchangeable for all years HOWEVER, 68 and newer are 1/2' wider on each side (1" overall).

I learned this when I put 1971 B-O-P 10-bolt axles in a B-O-P 1966 10-bolt housing. The 2" wide rear drums no longer covered all of the brake shoes. This was remedied by using the same vintage FRONT drums on the rear as they are 2-1/2" wide.

Regarding wheelbase, the 68-72 A-body 2-doors were all 112" wheelbase. The 4-doors, station wagons, Monte Carlo and El Camino were all 116" wheelbase.

The 69-72 Grand Prix got exclusive rights to the 118" wheelbase for 4 years. It was referred to as the G-Body because of it. (I have a genuine 1972 factory dealer service manual to prove it) Later on, GM reused the G-body designation for their 78-87 mid-sized platform.

The more formal greenhouse for the 1969 Grand Prix was exclusive for that year only. It got shared with the Monte Carlo in 1970-72.

Only the 70-72 Olds Cutlass Supreme got the formal roofline but it stayed on the shorter 2-door 112" wheelbase.

Be aware, there is minor misinformation (due to insufficient research for their articles) on the internet about these facts. I had all this researched and sorted out long before the internet was invented.

[Robberbaron]

9 hours ago, Bills72sj said:

The 4-doors, station wagons, Monte Carlo and El Camino were all 116" wheelbase.

 

Don't forget: the Olds Vista Cruisers had a stretched wheelbase, which was 5" longer I believe.  '64 to '67 was 120", '68 to '72 was 121".

Same applies for Buick Sport Wagons through 1969.

Edited June 6, 2023 by Robberbaron
Correction for years, per Motor City

[Motor City]

minor correction:

'64-'67 and '68-'72 Vista Cruiser 

[Robberbaron]

1 hour ago, Motor City said:

minor correction:

'64-'67 and '68-'72 Vista Cruiser 

Thanks for catching that - mixed togther the cut-off year for the long wheelbase Sport Wagons.  Serves me right for posting before my coffee kicked in!