# Phantom 1967 Corvair Yenko Stinger convertible



## CorvairJim (Dec 16, 2011)

Here we go again - yet ANOTHER Glue Bomb restoration/modificetion (Getting tired of them yet???  ) This one came to me as a rough 1967 AMT Corvair Monza coupe annual. I don't know what kind of paint was used on it, but a good bit of it resisted a week sitting in brake fluid so it was pretty tough! I wound up sanding much of the remainder off very carefully and using a good spray can sealer over the remaining paint prior to my own colors. The body had a chunk missing from the base of the rear window area, coming so close to the engine air inlet grillework that I was afraid that I'd ruin the detail in trying to repair the damage. Then I was struck with the idea to see if the convertible top boot from the mid-2000's reissue of the AMT 1969 Corvair kit would cover the area... It looked like it would, so off came the roof! At this point, I decided that if I was going to modify an annual, I'd shoot the works with it. Don Yenko didn't build any convertibles among the 10 Stingers he produced in '67, although there were a few in 1966 after the initial run of 100 coupes required for SCCA homologation. I decided to build the car he didn't. I painted mine in the same blue that most of the '67 Stingers were painted. I modified the interior bucket to remove the back seat and fabricated a roll bar for it. I added a few gauges, a turn signal stalk, a dimmer switch on the flocked floor, and replaced the broken, out-of-scale shifter with one made from a ball-headed straight pin. I also added the sun visors and radio antenna. The wheels are Minilite-style items that I'd had for years just waiting for the right model to put them on. I scavenged a couple of parts like the Stinger-style engine lid and the bumpers from a reissue donor kit, but I was able to salvage nearly everything from the original model for this one.


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## 71 Charger 500 (Jan 27, 2011)

That is one cool looking Corvair!


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## Harold Sage (Apr 6, 2008)

*awesome work*

Awesome work again corvair. man do you ever sleep.


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## CorvairJim (Dec 16, 2011)

Well Harold, I sure don't get enough sleep, but some of these are older builds. Since I'm pretty new to "Hobby Talk", I'm just posting some of my builds from the past few years. A couple of guys seemed to like the first ones I posted, so I told them that I'd try to get a few more up here for them. Don't worry, I'm not just "All Corvair, All The Time". I do have other models on my shelf too. I plan on posting them too - especially the rebuilt glue bombs. 

(For instance, when was the last time you saw an AMT '70 Camaro SS396 annual? As far as I'm aware, that was the only 2nd-Gen camaro to ever be kitted with a non-Rally Sport front end and to have a molded-in vinyl top. I rebuilt one of those a couple of years ago...)


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## Schwinnster (Sep 5, 2011)

> Here we go again - yet ANOTHER Glue Bomb restoration/modificetion (Getting tired of them yet???  )


*NOPE! * Bring 'em on Jim!



> ...added a few gauges, a turn signal stalk, a dimmer switch on the flocked floor...


 Any chance we can see pics of that dimmer switch?  Boy, does _that_ bring back memories! 

Great build Jim, _all around_-- thanks for sharing it:thumbsup:


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## CorvairJim (Dec 16, 2011)

Not to fear, there WILL be more happy snaps coming up. Now that the Christmas rush is over at work (I run a cancellation machine for the good ol' U.S.P.S., so I was getting loads of much-needed overtime over the past couple of weeks), I'll have more time to go through my photos and get some more of them into my Photobucket account. I even hope to be able to take more time at my work table... Imagine that!

As for the dimmer switch, it's one of the easiest details to add. First, figure out the right location on the floor for it and drill a hole for a small piece of plastic rod or stretched sprue (with a neatly cut end). By guess and by gosh is generally good enough for that. Apply a dab of steel paint to the end of the rod. After flocking the carpet, run your drill bit through the hole again to clean it out Poke the painted end of the rod through the hole to about 1/16" above the level of the carpet and hit the back side of it with a little glue. Snip it off from behind and you've got a dimmer switch! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it offhand - I'll take a look through my interior build shots from other models to see if I have one somewhere that shows one. The detail is almost always invisible in a completed model, but as the builder you'll know it's there!:tongue:


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## 1970AMX (Feb 3, 2011)

Sweet car. Looking forward to seeing others builds.


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## CorvairJim (Dec 16, 2011)

Thanks, AMX! I might be doing some horse trading with you sometime in the future - I'd like to find a '76 Pacer kit...


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## Schwinnster (Sep 5, 2011)

*LOL!* I was _kidding_ about pics of the dimmer switch Jim, but thanks for telling about it. Yep, so cool putting little details in that only we, the builder, know are there. I'll bet a lot of younger people wouldn't have _any_ idea what we're talking about-- *a dimmer switch- on the floor?* 

I don't always do it, but I do try at times on some builds, is to put *valve stems* in the rims. Nice to hear that some kit makers are doing that. Just funny at times to see a (_otherwise_) super detailed model that obviously is a replica of a car that has *solid tires*....... LOL!


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## CorvairJim (Dec 16, 2011)

You're right about those valve stems. I do it myself, but not every time. It's a quick and easy detail to add, so I really have no excuse besides pure laziness or forgetfulness for not doing it every time.

Did you hear that there was a motion before Congress in the late 1970's, shortly after the column-mounted dimmer switches became the industry norm, to outlaw them? That's right! It seems that there were too many accidents being caused by blondes who were getting their feet caught in the steering wheel while dimming their lights!


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## 71 Charger 500 (Jan 27, 2011)

CorvairJim said:


> Did you hear that there was a motion before Congress in the late 1970's, shortly after the column-mounted dimmer switches became the industry norm, to outlaw them? That's right! It seems that there were too many accidents being caused by blondes who were getting their feet caught in the steering wheel while dimming their lights!


:lol:


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## 71 Charger 500 (Jan 27, 2011)

Schwinnster said:


> *LOL!* I was _kidding_ about pics of the dimmer switch Jim, but thanks for telling about it. Yep, so cool putting little details in that only we, the builder, know are there. I'll bet a lot of younger people wouldn't have _any_ idea what we're talking about-- *a dimmer switch- on the floor?*


How about windshield washer pumps or starter buttons on the floor? How about hand operated windshield wipers? They would flip out!


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

That is awesome, I like the history about it as well (I don't know much about chevy's).


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