1983 "Retro-Z" Z-28

[ReduitRetro]

Okay, okay...I know you all must be getting tired of all the GM F-body 3rd-gen builds I've been posting lately, but c'mon man!...these things were some of the coolest cars on the road in the '80's. But here's a question for you my fellow modelers out there; How many of you still have three decade plus old survivor builds still hanging around? Well, I do, and this is one of a handful that I have. Built in 1988, this Monogram '82 Z-28 was built as an '83 model by simply painting the engine block black, as GM no longer used corporate engine blue. I wanted to test my scratch building ability of making under hood components, and what better subject than a Camaro, especially since my farther owned an '84 Z-28 at the time (which I own today) that could be a captive audience for detailing references in the evenings when he returned home from work. As any of you may know, large models (in this case 1/8 scale by Monogram) were simply blown up 1/25 scale offerings with about the same level of detail...i.e. sparse at best. And the detail omissions in these large scale kits stood out like a swollen thumb. With that task in mind, I set out to fully detail the engine (code LU5) "Cross-Fire" Fuel Injected 305 small block V-8. I began to scratch build everything I could easily see from the under hood of my dad's car, sensors, relays, vacuum switches and lines, fuel lines, the emission system including the A.I.R. pump and manifold tubing, cruise control and wiper motors, electrical harnesses, hood release cable, oil and trans dipsticks, HVAC hoses, power steering hoses, and much more. I can't say honestly everything was done, but real close. The interior was built stock, but with the addition of seat belts (shoestring) front and rear, sun visors, and dome light. The exterior color was originally a bright white, but over the last 35 years its faded to a yellowish color, scratch built and added the rear window wiper (which GM eventually did away with) and of course added the body/door rub strips. This kit is again one of the oldest and dearest in my collection, along with its sister an '85 IROC-Z which I will be posting soon. Thanks again for stopping and taking a look, and of course happy modeling!

[ReduitRetro]

Forgot this interior shot.

[WizPorsche944]

You sir are the king of F bodies. Great job !!

Edited June 4, 2024 by WizPorsche944

[70 Sting]

Superb work!  Very realistic. ?

[DJMar]

Great build of a really cool kit. I wonder if they'll ever reissue these 1:8 monsters.

[Dragonhawk1066]

Outstanding!

[Jim B]

Fantastic looking Camaro. Very well done. 

[kelson]

Simply amazing!!?

[TransAmMike]

Wow, great job on the '83 James.  I owned (well my wife claimed it as her's?) an '84 Z-28, black/silver trim with the HO engine. 

Any super nice work!!?

[michelle]

looks great 

[shoopdog]

Very nice detailing on this! One of my favorite Camaro body styles.

[beeRS]

Fantastic detail. Great to see it in such good shape after 35 years.

[Dann Tier]

Fantastic!!

[Roger U]

That's a very cleanly built model. The detail, interior, and overall finish are beautiful.

[ncbuckeye67]

Wow, that looks like you could crank it up and listen to it idle! I've never seen that level of underhood detail ever!

[XYHARRY]

Under hood detail is amazing and the way you researched it is fantastic. Well done James on keeping these older builds in such good condition. 

Cheers, 

David. ??

[happy grumpy]

Awesome job on bringing this kit to a much higher standard. The engine bay is absolutely amazing. Thanks for sharing this beauty from the past.

[SpikeSchumacher]

Wow, excellent job!

[Yeah Nah]

Stunning job James.

Don't know if these will be any good to you, but here's some license plates mate. This is a jpeg, but I can send via email actual size pdf repro with any preferred mods. Just PM me to arrange.

BTW, that's a centimetre scale bar at the bottom.

Edited June 5, 2024 by Yeah Nah

[Ulbo]

Great build and cool looking retro?

[Darbo]

Beautiful 

[drodg]

uh I thought it was real.   Great job!

 

[karbuildr]

Beautiful build in every way. That engine compartment is truly superb. Well done.

[PappyD340]

Looks fantastic, well done!

[Kenmojr]

Super detail on this brilliant model. What scale is it? It looks big.. Love this..

Edited June 8, 2024 by Kenmojr