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The Corvette Grand Sports were raced with several different engines, but the most serious factory engine actually used was a 377 cubic inch displacement, all-aluminum, small block with four Weber side-draft carburetors and a cross-ram intake, rated 550 hp (410 kW) at 6400 rpm. Body panels were made of thinner fiberglass to reduce weight and the inner body structure 'birdcage' was aluminum rather than steel. The ladder-type frame utilized large seamless steel tubular side members connected front and rear with crossmembers of about the same diameter tubes. Another crossmember was just aft of the transmission and a fourth one at the rear kick-up anchored the integral roll cage. The frame was slightly stiffer than the 1963 Corvette production frame and was 94 pounds lighter. A number of other lightweight components were utilized to reduce overall weight to about 800 pounds less that the production coupe.

This is Accurate Miniatures 1/25 scale version of what looks to be either chassis #3, or chassis #5. I had the decals to build the car as it was driven by Bob Bondurant, which would have been chassis #3, I think.

For the body, I used Tamiya Racing Blue Metallic on a base of medium gray, and polished it up with Novus #2 and #1, with a final coat of Tamiya clear. The interior was painted with Model Master auto lacquer Nassau Blue Metallic (no clear top coat). Some of the decal stripes were missing from my eBay purchase, so they were made from sign shop vinyl film, the windshield surround was painted w/ Testors Rubber enamel, the wheels were painted with an equal mix of silver and gold. Bare Metal Foil was used for the oiler cover hinge and hood pins. In the engine bay, those sweet Weber carbs were painted Testors Pure Gold, the engine block is Silver Leaf, and the trumpets are Krylon Satin Nickel finished. Plug wires were made from .01 bead wire and plug boots are from Detail Master, Oil and water lines are made from parts box hollow rubber tubing. The hood was fairly complex, since it involved some construction of a series of P/E brass vent fins to be assembled on a rickety frame -- I messed with 'em and cussed right much - but they came out fine.

This is a beauty of a kit, and the instructions are very detailed and even include pictures of the real engine. I wish Accurate Miniatures was still around - I'd thank them myself for the love they put into their model kits!

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Edited by 62Parts
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Yeah Dave - I think it was "friendly" the way they wrote their instruction sheets - with a little humor, together with plenty of detailed diagrams, and real photos of how our sub-assembly should finish out! Something else I thought was friendly was the fact that they gave us extra parts for those that they thought we might fumble on.....they surely didn't have to do that, but they wanted to.

All of that tells me the fellas at Accurate Miniatures had a real passion for what they were offering - it wasn't just "business" to them.

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That looks GREAT Bob! I'm with you on A.M. They made these kits well.

Anything made by Accurate Miniatures seems to be made well from what I've seen in the past.

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AMT is also trying very hard - they've started including really nice pad-printed tires in many of their re-releases, as well as other goodies like including all original parts for the first time in decades. They also throw in a bonus or two, like small versions of the box your kit was packaged in, and occasionally a very nice photo booklet like I spoke about in the Malco Gasser post.

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I've seen that. When I bought the newest release of the AMT 37 Chevy it had some pretty snazzy looking printed rear tires for it and a new style tinted window assy.

 

What I don't like are Revell's re-boxing of 50 year old kits with new decals. That '54 Chevy I'm building is a prime example right along with their 1/48 scale Dauntless Dive Bomber and the like. I wished they'd stop trying to make money off of the same ol' same ol' and come up with a new tooling for these subjects. Aside from some of their new 1/32nd scale aircraft the only different things I'm seeing is their Pro Modeler line up of aircraft that are actually Hasegawa kits such as their Pro-Modeler Stuka Dive Bomber.

Edited by mustang1989
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Yeah - that's what I mean - AMT is making a real effort for another generation of builders, and they've got my attention again too!

 

I look forward to seeing your take on that 37 Chevy!

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I believe you already have. It's this thread.....

 

http://forum.ipmsusa3.org/index.php?/topic/16177-30-year-old-37-chevy-gasser-the-restoration/

 

I used the goodies in it for my resto. :D

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Very nice build! I rarely see these actually get built.

 

I've bought a couple of these kits at shows recently for very reasonable prices. At one show a friend of mine wanted to see how far he could haggle the price; when he was done he had had his fun and gave me the kit! By the way, Revell offered a Grand Sport kit that looked just like the Accurate Miniatures kit about a year ago - rumor has it those were left over AM kits - Revell doesn't have the molds and won't be able to reissue it.

 

I have dreams to build car #4 as it was raced by the Grady Davis/Gulf Oil team when it was first built - before all the flares and scoops and vents were added. So many plans, so little time...

 

Don

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Thank you Don - Yeah, Revell did offer this kit a few years back, and the p/e hood vent louvers was the same exact assembly, so I'm sure you're right about the deal with Accurate Miniatures.

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