AMT 1963 Corvette

[fyreline]

I remember building the AMT 1963 Corvette convertible as a kid back in 1963, and I could swear that it had rotating headlamps. None of the current kits of the car seem to have this feature - they are molded closed. Am I imagining this? And was it only the convertible that had this feature?

[Chris V]

Only the 1963 Corvette Convertible annual kit and "The CAT" custom Corvette kit had swiveling headlights.

In an effort to save money, the tooling for the annual kits was usually updated to reflect the changes of the 1:1 cars.

The bodyshell for the current AMT 1963 Corvette Convertible kit was tooled up in the late eighties if I remember correctly.

[Mark]

Yes, the current convertible kit's body is relatively new tooling compared with the coupe.  Convertible-related parts (like stock and custom tops) do not interchange exactly between "old" and "new" convertibles.

Both now use the coupe interior, chassis, and other parts whereas the annual coupe and convertible kits each used their own tooling.  (What remains of the original '63-'67 convertible is now part of the custom '68 kit that was reissued a couple of years ago.)