"New" Revell '65 Chevelle Z16 Kit

[Snake45]

Picked one of these up with a 50% off coupon at Michael's today. It's got goofy new donky wheels and tires (which I might be putting up for trade here sometime) and one more useful thing: The "Malibu SS" emblem on the decal sheet. I don't recall this decal on the original issue of this kit (and I can't find my copy of it to check). This emblem was on the rear fender of normal SS '65 Chevelles but molded into front fenders of the Revell Z16 kit, one major impediment to building a common SS or Malibu from this kit.

Now all I have to do is come up with the common, non-Z16 rear end panel. And I think I've figured out a way to do that, too.

[Bob Ellis]

How are you going to do that?

[Snake45]

How are you going to do that?

I've got an AMT '65 Chevelle funny car body, which still had that before they made it into a dirt tracker. I'm going to clone the rear panel off that. I think I've figgered out a cheap and relatively easy way to do that. Will take and post pics, if you think there's any interest.

[ChrisBcritter]

I'm interested - I've been thinking along those lines with my '64 Chevelle to make a set of clear backup light lenses from the ones molded into the panel.

Of course if you have a funny car body, it has a more correctly contoured roof as well... hmm...

[Snake45]

Of course if you have a funny car body, it has a more correctly contoured roof as well... hmm...

I hadn't noticed that, but now that you've mentioned it, I'll take a look.

I'd given some thought to replacing the wheel openings on the funny car body with stock ones from the Revell and driving on from there. Did some good eyeballing of both bodies, and measuring, and it's amazing how close they are. I THINK I could chop both bodies somewhere below the centerline crease and swap the panels and have a no-putty job, that's how close they look. The rear ends are virtually identical in width, too--could also probably swap the whole rear of the car including the Malibu SS emblem on the rear fenders.

Now that you've mentioned the roof, I'll take a good look at it. What specifically looks wrong about it to you on the Revell body?

[ChrisBcritter]

Compare the Revell drip rail (from A to C pillar) to the AMT and notice how much flatter/straighter the Revell one is than the AMT, which is gently curved like the 1/1.

[MrObsessive]

Chris, you're correct about the drip rail contour in Revell's Z-16 kit. That's another one of those "must fix" items for me if I ever decide to build it. Otherwise, it's a very nice kit which lends itself to some pretty nice detail.

[Snake45]

I see it now! You guys are right! Not an obvious ding but now that I've seen it, I can't un-see it.

I can think of a couple different ways to fix this that aren't difficult, just another PITA that shouldn't be necessary in the 21st century.

Thanks for the heads-up!

[Guest]

Actually I think this kit was tooled in the late 90's.

[DaveM]

This kit is fairly old, and IIRC was released before the 66 Wagon and El Camino were. It builds pretty nicely and looks great on the shelf. I wasn't bothered too much by the roofline, but for a contest model, I'd have to fix it. I built it for the box stock at the M.M.M.M. (Mid Michigan Model Makers) contest a few years back and promptly passed a Kidney Stone the Morning of the show. It looked great on my shelf until I gave it to my Girlfriend's Brother. He is a huge Chevelle fan, and loved it. He built a recessed shelf into the wall of his den, and it still resides there with track lighting pointing at it from two directions. (If I had known he was going to like it that much, I would have built it detailed instead of Box Stock.)

I would love to see this kit upgraded to a regular SS.

[Snake45]

Yes I know this kit isn't new. That's why I put "New" in quotes in the thread title, and made distinct reference to the original issue in the post.

It's a new boxing with new parts and new decals (the subject of the original post).

[sak]

Its not difficult to convert to a regular chevelle. I believe the major difference is the taillight trim. Grind away the Ss badge on the front fender. Theres also a box thing under the dashboard. Get rid of that too. Its dials for a special stereo system that those cars had. And don't forget to grind the speakers off the parcel shelf. But you NEED the photoetched kit. It has the proper taillights trim piece.

[Snake45]

But you NEED the photoetched kit. It has the proper taillights trim piece.

Now there's something I didn't know! I'll have to try to find that.

[Ron Hamilton]

Chris, you're correct about the drip rail contour in Revell's Z-16 kit. That's another one of those "must fix" items for me if I ever decide to build it. Otherwise, it's a very nice kit which lends itself to some pretty nice detail.

The roof drip rail contour on the Revell '65 Chevelle was my pet peeve concerning the kit. That's why I did this with the first one I built.

It is a very nice kit otherwise, and I am going to do one as intended, with the corrections to the roof, one of these days.

[Casey]

Does anyone have a side-by-side comparison pic or two of the AMT and Revell rooflines to show what needs correcting? Does the AMT '65 Chevelle hardtop body found on the Modified Stocker kit still retain the stock roofline? Have the drip moldings been removed?

Here's a shot of the Revell '65 Chevelle Z-16's 396 Big Block Chevy engine parts:

[Snake45]

38 minutes ago, Casey said:

Does anyone have a side-by-side comparison pic or two of the AMT and Revell rooflines to show what needs correcting? Does the AMT '65 Chevelle hardtop body found on the Modified Stocker kit still retain the stock roofline? Have the drip moldings been removed?

The MS body roof is intact, including drip rails, but the vent window frames are gone (or at least they are on mine, which I got secondhand). The roof from the AMT '65 GTO would also be a good replacement for the Revell roof (but NOT the Polar Lights '64 without heavy modification). 

The '65 Chevelle MS body has a unique rear end treatment, too--the whole rear panel is some kind of gridwork--that I think would make for a cool period custom. I've given very serious thought over the years to making a full period custom out of that body using the custom body parts from the '65 El Camino or Wagon kits. 

And BTW, the AWB funny car body retains all the stock emblems; the MS body does not. (I only have the body shell so can't comment on what else the full MS kit does or doesn't have). 

[Jack L]

the MS has  a rear bumper with out backup lights and chrome rear trim piece between the tail lights on the 64 Chevelle

[1972coronet]

53 minutes ago, Jack L said:

the MS has  a rear bumper with out backup lights and chrome rear trim piece between the tail lights on the 64 Chevelle

*Sidebar*  --- Back-Up lamps weren't required until 01/01/1965 . That's why some early-production 1965 models (e.g. , "1964 ¹/₂ " Mustang) are sans the lamps .

[socal76]

Snake, you should just fix the Funny Car wheel wells by using the AMT '65 wagon fender pieces. Far cheaper tp find those than the Z-16. Probably find a body at a swap meet for a buck or two. Maybe someone here even has a junker body that has the sides salvageable.

[Snake45]

10 hours ago, socal76 said:

Snake, you should just fix the Funny Car wheel wells by using the AMT '65 wagon fender pieces. Far cheaper tp find those than the Z-16. Probably find a body at a swap meet for a buck or two. Maybe someone here even has a junker body that has the sides salvageable.

Last toy show, I picked up a '65 El Camino body for $1 with just such a thing in mind. 

[Casey]

On 10/12/2014 at 11:10 AM, Guest said:

Actually I think this kit was tooled in the late 90's.

Yes, it was first issued in 1996, then reissued a few more times:

 

Under the Revell-Monogram label:

 

Under the "California Wheels" series, with the blue Revell logo:

 

The most recent "Revell Muscle" reissue:

[Deuces]

Mine's from the 1 piece kit box era..... ?

That thing was a joke.... ?

[socal76]

Snake, that El Camino is a better option than the wagon. Forgot about that kit. Could even cut out the doors and make opening doors on the Z-16 body too!

[Snake45]

51 minutes ago, socal76 said:

Snake, that El Camino is a better option than the wagon. Forgot about that kit. Could even cut out the doors and make opening doors on the Z-16 body too!

I'm actually thinking of cutting off most of its whole sides and grafting them onto the Modified Stocker body and building a period '60s custom. 

[Chuck Kourouklis]

1996, this one's first release.  Think it was also the kit to mark Revell/Monogram's change from colored to white plastic. Caught the flat drip rails, and I'd also take the forward edges of the front wheel arches and pull them just a bit into a more forward slope, just a bit closer to the front bumper, m'self.

Built beautifully, though; very nicely detailed.  Anticipated the raised door locks on the Moebius '65 Plymouth by around 20 years.