pair of 1990 Pontiacs - Grand Prix SE and Grand Prix ASC McLaren Turbo

[polybius]

The Revell 1/25 Grand Prix kits from '88 to '92 are some of my favorite.  I was a teenager and nearing driving age when this GM-10 platform was introduced, and when the first version of the kit was released the Grand Prix had just been named Motor Trend Car of the Year.  Over the years I'd tried to build one here and there, and besides the '88 SE and '90 SE kits that Revell released, Pontiac introduced the ASC McLaren Turbo in mid-'89 and Revell was quick to update the tooling for this hi-po variant.  The tooling later became the '91 GTP and '92 GTP versions with a very nice tooling of the 3.4L DOHC V6. 

By '94 I'd been driving for two years and was already on my second car.  Needing something more reliable and comfortable, I'd traded my '88 Mazda MX6 in for a four year old '90 Grand Prix SE with only 24,000 miles. It'd been sitting on a Pontiac dealer's used lot, and looked like it'd been taken care of pretty well.  I drove it home, and the next day a grumpy old guy in a VW Dasher ran a stop sign and smacked into it.  With its 3.1L V6 and 4-speed automatic, it wasn't terribly fast but it was a smooth and comfortable ride.  My lead-footed needs led me to sell it not long after it was repaired from the crash.  The McLaren Turbo versions were expensive and hard to find, so the best I could ever do was try to build one in scale.  

For this project I'm tackling both builds at the same time, because conveniently my '90 SE was the same metallic black as the McLaren Turbo was offered in.  The bodies have been prepped, painted, detailed, and cleared.  They'll just need some polishing out and final details at this point.  The interiors are similar for both trim levels, and differ mainly in colors as my SE was grey and the McLarens were only offered in a camel tan color.  One of the faults of Revell's corner cutting involved the engines in the SE kits.  The original '88 correctly had the 2.8L V6 that was replicated in the kit.  But the later '90 SE should have been tooled with an updated 3.1L intake plenum and airbox.  It's an easy enough proposition to correct the airbox by scratchbuilding it, but the molded-in script on the intake plenum is another story.  The nice thing, however, is the McLaren Turbo version has an updated 3.1L plenum just with the different turbo-specific airbox and ductwork.  Some kit bashing and part-swapping might be the best solution in the end.  We'll see..

[Mattilacken]

Nice builds!

[dino246gt]

Wow, what you've done already looks very cool! Do those kits come with the rear bucket seats like in your pictures?

Your engines and interiors are well done!

 

[polybius]

Thank you!  Yes, the four-place buckets were standard fare for the SE and McLaren trim levels, and the Revell toolings accurately represent them.  The digital dash cluster is accurate for '88 SE but not for '90 SE and the McLaren, though.  It's also missing the driver information center screen that bridges the underside of the radio and the front edge of the center console.  The later '91 and '92 GTP updated toolings had corrected upholstery patterns and included the heads-up display unit that should have also been included with the McLaren version.  I might get ambitious and scratchbuild some of these missing items as the builds unfold.  Aside from my memory of having touched every one of the gazillion buttons in that interior, there are some great reference photos online of the 1:1 interior and other details.  

[av405]

Not usually my cup of tea, but these are turning out beautiful!

[polybius]

Thanks!  Over the weekend there was some progress.  After tinkering with some more color variations, both interiors were stripped down and redone.  The grey one for the SE is just about wrapped up, and next steps will be honing down the color variations for the tan/camel version for the McLaren.  Engine assembly and fitment is mostly done as well, with just a few details left like the corrected 3.1L intake plenum for the normally aspirated SE.  The plumbing for the turbo and intercooler on the McLaren was straight-forward.  

[kelson]

These are both great builds!!! i built the GP Turbo last month and noticed many inaccuracies and i also painted mine in Medium Garnet red which isn't a correct color for the GP Turbo.

[larman]

Great job on these! Your engines and interiors are outstanding. The GMs of that time were nice looking and are overlooked. I had a '91 Lumina Z34, which was similar, but the Pontiacs were a little nicer I think.