Amt 63 Corvette donor chassis

[jjsipes]

What would be the best source for a donor chassis with more detail for Amt's 63 Corvette kit? Rebellious 65-67 Corvette? Revell 62 corvette? Amt 62 corvette? I'm looking for something that is not a molded lump and has more detail? Will also like a more detailed 327 fuelie for it. Any ideas?

[Longbox55]

The Revell '67 would be the best bet for a chassis, '63-'67 are essentially the same.

[Craig Irwin]

The Revell '67 would be the best bet for a chassis, '63-'67 are essentially the same.

X2, other than the big block and disc brakes it's perfect. The 62 and earlier cars are altogether different.

[Art Anderson]

The Revell '67 would be the best bet for a chassis, '63-'67 are essentially the same.

Of course, is not the Revell '67 in reality the old Monogram 1/24 scale model kit? If so, that could make fitting that chassis under an AMT '63 just a bit of a job?

Art

[Longbox55]

You're going to make get it out and check, aren't you?

[Speedfreak]

What's the verdict?

[Longbox55]

The Revell kit (formerly Monogram) is 1/25 scale. The AMT body fits right on it, the side rails are an exact fit. The only issue I see is that the Revell frame is a bit shorter at the rear, and may leave a gap. I did not fit it with an interior in place, I'll re try it with an interior and try to get some pix up, too.

[Dave Darby]

The Revell kit (formerly Monogram) is 1/25 scale. The AMT body fits right on it, the side rails are an exact fit. The only issue I see is that the Revell frame is a bit shorter at the rear, and may leave a gap. I did not fit it with an interior in place, I'll re try it with an interior and try to get some pix up, too.

The 1967 Revell kit is not former Monogram, It was an all new tool by Revell. The 1965 kit is former Monogram. That one is 1/24th scale. The only hitch with using a 1967 chassis under a 1963 is that in 1965, they redesigned the front cross member to accommodate the big block engine. Most people probably wouldn't notice this, but...

Another donor would be the old MPC 64-67 Corvette chassis. The 65-67 annuals have working coil spring front suspension, all have steerable wheels and separate rear suspension, The re-issues of the 1967 (Streaker Vette, StingRay, and Night Stalker) returned to the 1964 chassis front clip, which only has the posable steering. The exhaust has also been removed. And for some reason, (maybe they modified the 1967 interior for the Cosma Ray?) these re-issued kits have the 1964 style interior, which is probably pretty close to the 1963. This gives you separate bucket seats as well. This kit also has a very nice 327 and 4 speed that is definitely nicer than the one in the AMT kit. The Revell kit has the big block 427.  I realize this is long after the fact, but still good information for those wanting to add detail to an AMT 1963-67 Corvette.

MPC 1984 Corvette chassis. Re-issued 1967s are similar, minus the molded in exhaust system.

[Longbox55]

The 1967 Revell kit is not former Monogram, It was an all new tool by Revell. The 1965 kit is former Monogram. That one is 1/24th scale. The only hitch with using a 1967 chassis under a 1963 is that in 1965, they redesigned the front cross member to accommodate the big block engine. Most people probably wouldn't notice this, but.

 

That is incorrect. I have a first issue of that kit, and it is clearly marked Monogram, with only mention of Revell in the copyright information on the box. It is 1/25 scale, and was tolled around the same time as the Monogram '59 Cadillac and '55 Chevrolet Convertible.

[Longbox55]

http://media.fotki.com/1_p,wswrswgqrgttdkdxskfdgffqssfg,vi/rwbgssqgkxkrrqbtfrr/5/504634/5306104/photofile-vi.jpg

Not my pic, but my box is identical.

[Force]

Revell...Monogram...it's pretty much the same thing, Revell and Monogram merged into one company in 1986 but the two brands were kept separate until the mid 90's when the kits were labeled Revell/Monogram, after that Monogram pretty much dissappeared and all kits were labeled Revell, but lately they have reinstated the Monogram lable and a Revell developed kit can be labeled Mongram and a Monogram developed kit can be labeled Revell regardless of origin...I don't like it as it gets confusing if you don't know your kit history well.
But all Monogram developed kits are 1:24th scale and Revell has allways been 1:25th scale so the Monogram labeled kits in 1:25th scale were done after the merge 1986 and no new tooling kits from the Revell/Monogram Company after that are 1:24th scale.
There are a couple of exceptions, the NASCAR kits, the 80's and 90's Pro Stock and Funny Car kits from Monogram and Revell were 1:24th scale but the tooling for them were originally developed before the merge.

Edited November 28, 2015 by Force

[Dave Darby]

That is incorrect. I have a first issue of that kit, and it is clearly marked Monogram, with only mention of Revell in the copyright information on the box. It is 1/25 scale, and was tolled around the same time as the Monogram '59 Cadillac and '55 Chevrolet Convertible.

You are probably right. The main thing I meant to say was that the 67 kit isn't based off of the Monogram 1965 kit, and is 1/25th, not 1/24th scale.

[Force]

You are right there Dave, they are completely different kits.

[Monty]

As far as chassis upgrades go, I'd think most of the stock late '60 - early '70s MPC units would work, as there weren't a ton of visible changes to the 1:1 chassis over the years.  These chassis feature poseable steering, dual exhaust, separate IRS and half shafts, and some decent molded-in hard lines that aren't all that hard to detail. As has been mentioned, you'll need to backdate the disc brakes to drums and I'll let these guys tell you where to find the best 327 since most of these MPC kits had big blocks.

 

[jeffbrad]

Use the engine from the Revell 62, it's killer

 

[Force]

Well for a 327 you can use whatever Chevy Small Block engine you prefer as they are all basically built from the same design, but for a 1963 Corvette you will need Corvette script cast aluminum valve covers if you want to do it right as most ,if not all, Corvettes had them back then.
If you go the "carburator way" you will need the 1963 dual snorkel air cleaner, and if you want to go the "fuelie way" you need a 1963-65 Rochester FI system, they made 3 different styles for Chevrolet, the first generation was used between 1957 and 59, the second generation was used between 1960 and 62 and the final generation was used between 1963 and 65 and they all look different so you must use the correct one if you want to do it right.