1962 Corvette street/strip build (replica)

[keviiin86]

The engine is pretty much done, fit the headers within the chassis, had to clearance the frame just a little bit to make sure they fit and painted and glued them on.  Also made up a carb spacer.  Got some moroso valve covers from iceman collections and painted them with revell chrome spray.  Leaving them off for now until the engine is wired and plumbed so I don't mess up the finish or break off the T handle bolts.  Also switched up the rear wheels..got a set of draglites from Iceman that I found were a little better detailed and tires from Texas 3D customs.  Had to narrow the draglites again and accidentally sawed off the lug nuts in the process if cutting the barrels so I added more detailed ones.  Currently trying to mock up the rear end and leaf springs in the chassis.  If anyone's ever built this kit you'll know the instructions really botched the leaf spring and rear end install..whoever did the renderings/drawings has the leaf springs drawn incorrectly and mounted wrong.  It'll be finicky to get the rear end perfectly centered in the wheel well so that will have to wait until the body is mounted on the chassis to get it perfectly aligned.

[Belugawrx]

Nice !!!

That Revell chrome is really nice, must get that..does it stand up to a bit of handling..?

Everything is looking great so far Kevin. (2thumsup)

[keviiin86]

2 minutes ago, Belugawrx said:

Nice !!!

That Revell chrome is really nice, must get that..does it stand up to a bit of handling..?

Everything is looking great so far Kevin. (2thumsup)

Thanks! The revell chrome is relatively durable, I usually let it sit for a few days before handling and it's fine.

[Tony Coomer]

Looking good so far…

[keviiin86]

Wired the engine and glued on the valve covers, carb is just resting on there until I get the fuel line run to it.  Also got some paint on the chassis, still have to do a little bit of weathering to the frame.

[keviiin86]

Used some pastels with a file to lightly dust the frame and brushed it to spread it around..then hit it with a dull coat to seal it in.  Also reshot the floor boards with a little more primer.

[keviiin86]

Made up a fuel line using braided lines and AN fittings..tried to replicate the Russell fuel lines coming off the carb into a regulator and down to the fuel pump..

 

[keviiin86]

Made a little more progress.  Painted and detailed the dash and added the kit gauge decals. Got a 3D printed MSD box and B&M shifter from VCG.  Mounted the MSD box to the inner fender, ground down the stock shifter boot and made up a small trans temp gauge.. which is what my dad has in place of that void since it's an automatic with an aftermarket shifter now.  More to come..

[rv1963]

Great engine details, nice work on that interior, I like the shifter and dash details also.

[keviiin86]

6 hours ago, rv1963 said:

Great engine details, nice work on that interior, I like the shifter and dash details also.

Thanks!

[keviiin86]

Grabbed the steering wheel out of the amt baldwin motion 70 camaro kit and painted it to mimic wood..also set the interior tub on the chassis with the engine in place to see how it all looks.  

 

[BK9300]

A really fine model in progress here - your dashboard/interior looks so detailed and, well, so does your engine!  Terrific results!

[keviiin86]

Next up will be sorting out the rear suspension and figuring out where the rear end has to sit in relation to the leaf springs..since I'm using a 9" from a different kit the mounting points don't match up to the leaf springs so I need to make sure it's centered just right.  To start out I messed with some parts box wheel backs and trimmed them up a bit to get the wheels to sit where I want to give it the right amount of tire poke like on the real car.  Next will be getting the rear ride height where it needs to be..but I'm happy with how the rear wheels sit in relation to the body.

Edited March 21 by keviiin86

[keviiin86]

Got it in paint, went with Tamiya pure white.  Laid down pretty nice, sprayed 3 coats on it to get proper coverage.  Got a couple specks of lint in the paint that ill sand with some fine grit paper then add a couple emblem decals and clear it.  Anyone ever have problems with tamiya clear wrinkling decals?? Hope not cause that's what i plan to use.

Edited March 28 by keviiin86

[W-409]

1 hour ago, keviiin86 said:

  Anyone ever have problems with tamiya clear wrinkling decals?? Hope not cause that's what i plan to use.

Yes.

According to my experience with Tamiya clear, it's a good idea to spray several very, very light coats of clear to areas that have decals. Once the decals have been covered by clear completely, then you can spray a couple of a bit heavier coats to get a proper finish. But if you start very carefully with super thin coats of clear (of course with any clear, you have to start with light coats, but with Tamiya I think it's even more important to start slow), that way I've never had an issue.

 

This is a great looking project and you're doing a good job with it. Keep it up!

[keviiin86]

36 minutes ago, W-409 said:

Yes.

According to my experience with Tamiya clear, it's a good idea to spray several very, very light coats of clear to areas that have decals. Once the decals have been covered by clear completely, then you can spray a couple of a bit heavier coats to get a proper finish. But if you start very carefully with super thin coats of clear (of course with any clear, you have to start with light coats, but with Tamiya I think it's even more important to start slow), that way I've never had an issue.

 

This is a great looking project and you're doing a good job with it. Keep it up!

Good to know, I'll keep the first coat light and wait for it to dry.  And thanks, starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[keviiin86]

Decals are on, waiting for them to dry before clear. Then I can use some BMF for the trim.

[keviiin86]

I worked on it a few more days since the last post and got the body done and ready for foil.  I shot all of the chrome with a thin layer of tamiya smoke as well as the BMF to hopefully match the windshield trim and bumpers.  Glued the leaf springs on and put the body on the chassis to figure out the ride height with the rear end and wheels.  Also modified the traction bars out of the revell 62 corvette gasser kit to make them a bit longer to reach the spring eye, and drilled/hollowed out the ends of the bars for a little more realistic look.

 

[keviiin86]

BMF applied..took probably 3-4 hours working on and off yesterday.

[keviiin86]

This kit being a 2 n 1 comes with two front suspension setups. One stock and one slightly lowered..so I put the body on the chassis again to see which one gives the ride height I want..stock it is.  Everything is just resting in place as far as the front wheels and windshield..just mocked it up to see how it'll look..so far I'm liking it.

[keviiin86]

A few more finishing touches..made up some tow tabs (for flat towing the car to the track).  My dad hasnt flat towed it since the 80s..but never removed the brackets from the bumper..and now it's "retro cool" if you're building a 70s street machine to have em.  Next up, made some exhaust out of solder and got some resin mufflers.  Tried out those AK markers for the exhaust pipe, went with dark aluminum, and molotow chrome for the polished stainless mufflers.  

[Straightliner59]

This is great! A fine replica, sir!

[Belugawrx]

Doing an awesome job on your Dad's vette Kevin...almost there

[keviiin86]

5 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

This is great! A fine replica, sir!

Thanks! Shaping up to be my best model yet.

1 hour ago, Belugawrx said:

Doing an awesome job on your Dad's vette Kevin...almost there

Thank you, should be done tomorrow.

[rv1963]

Great work on your Corvette, it's really coming together.