1970 Chevy Monte Carlo Fast and Furious

[75th Ranger]

I'm looking to buy the 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo Fast and Furious model kit, whats the pros and cons, and what do I need to make it look like the movie car?

[Jordan White]

Check out this thread I found.

http://cs.scaleautomag.com/scacs/forums/t/63174.aspx

[larrygre]

I'm looking to buy the 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo Fast and Furious model kit, whats the pros and cons, and what do I need to make it look like the movie car?

Oh boy....I remember reviewing this one for MCM when Tokyo Drift came out, and I had to be somewhat diplomatic about it. The kit does NOT represent the movie car or anything even close to it. Here's my original review from back in 2007:

“TOKYO DRIFT†1970 CHEVY MONTE CARLO – AMT/Ertl #38510

In this box is the 1998 vintage ’70 Monte Carlo Lowrider kit with the addition of two new sprues. The Monte lowrider kit is beautiful to say the least and only is missing stock height suspension and stock wheel/tire setups to be a factory stock Monte SS454. You can build the chromed lowrider suspension in either raised or lowered configurations, and one of the new sprues gives a lowered rear axle, four meaty vented disc brakes, lowered front spindles, and two Sparco-style racing seats. Besides the “normal†lowrider wheels and tires, a new set of chromed 20†five-spoke bling wheels on “rubber band†tires are included. There is no decal sheet. Now, if you want to build the movie car from this kit, be prepared to put in a LOT of work. The real movie car was almost half-NASCAR in its configuration. First off, the car has a Camaro-style cowl induction hood which will need to be kitbashed. The wheels are Cragar 8-hole steelies painted black with Goodyear Eagle slicks and front racing tires. The interior is far from the stock Monte setup in this kit, having a custom fabricated roll bar, Deist seat belts, a custom Auto Meter/Covan gauge cluster, and a set of Beard low-back bucket seats. There’s a NASCAR style fuel cell, and the engine is a seriously tweaked Chevy smallblock. The “beater†yellow and gray primer finish is just the beginning if you really want to model the movie car.

Grab the book “The Fast and the Furious: The Official Car Guideâ€, by Kris Palmer (published by Motorbooks International) as a reference for all the cars from that movie franchise up to and including Tokyo Drift. Its a really good modeler's reference on the subject with lots of good photos.

Hope that helps some!

[Chuck Most]

Yeah, the kit was pretty much a cash-grab from RC2 in their gasping years. Strange, Larry mentions his example had no decals, but the one I bought had a decal sheet, two licence plates, and a couple of retangluar gray pieces which I assumed were meant to replicate the primer spots on the box art model's rockers. Mine also came with the BFGoodrich lowrider rubber, as well as the rubber band-o's for the F&F wheels. Anyway, yeah, you'd be just as well starting off with the stock or lowrider version as this kit, if you want to build the movie car.

Now, anybody remember the F&F 67 Mustang, with the half-hearted Nissan Turbo six? (Fun fact, the 'hero' car in the flick had the Nissan mill, but all the Mustangs actually doing the drifting in the film were running pumped up Rousch Ford V8's! Ha!)

[larrygre]

Strange, Larry mentions his example had no decals, but the one I bought had a decal sheet, two licence plates, and a couple of retangluar gray pieces which I assumed were meant to replicate the primer spots on the box art model's rockers.

Chuck, my kit didn't have a decal sheet at all. Wouldn't be the first time I got a kit with something missing from it.

As for the Tokyo Drift 67 Mustang, the RB26DETT engine might have been a total waste of plastic, and the big bling wheels a figment of someone;s imagination, but the kit DID come with a pretty good stock hood with turn signal indentations (something the normal AMT kit didn't!) That puppy is on my workbench being turned into a 390 GT. Sometimes there is a silver lining in a cloud...!

[W117monte]

I also thought the Monte Carlos all had 509 inch Big Blocks in them.

[RickRollerLT1]

Allright, here we go for a quickie review of what I remember of the tokyo drift 'Stang (built it along time ago, but it later got scavenged for parts)

Like the stock '67 Gt kit, it's pretty nice and goes together well (except for the headlights and final assembly). This kit is a 2-in-1 so the stock parts (even the 289) are included also. I'm going over the F&F parts because most know what the rest of the stock kit is like.

The motor was OK (some parts such as the intakes and header needs 'atona work), but the transmission is TOTALY WRONG as it's a 4 speed from the 289 RC2 just slaped on, wereas the 1:1 car had a custom built 5 or 6 speed (don't remember which) for RB26 or whatever it's called. The suspension has lowered spindels for the front ans a droped axle for the rear, but is inacurate for the movie car. The exhaust system uses the stock mustangs dual exhaust, which is HORRIBLY wrong (exhaust pipe going to the intake manifold!?) If you want to replicate the custom built single exhaust "Beer can" unit, yer on your own... and for the wheels: the biggest dissapointment of horse shlock ever made!! (they look more like a donk on the car) I reccomend using some kind of aftermarket wheels that are close to the real car if you want accuratecy. On the box car, the interior has the wrong racing seats and the hood is the GT's twin scoop unit (1:1 car had the flat hood), but thankfully the stock pieces are provided in the kit.

Pros: it has nice racing seats and brakes that you could use on a tuner or pro-touring. The RB26 motor will pop out if done right with alot of work, and it's a good source for a skyline motor if you don't feel like paying for the nicer one found in the tamiya kits and etc. It has the the stock parts and the 289.

Cons: if you want an accurate representation of the car, your on yer own with scratchbuilding, partsbox scavenging, and aftermarket parts. If you want to use the tamyia motor to be really accurate, it may NOT fit because that motor is 1/24th weras the Mustang is 1/25th, unless you can manage the work that needs to be done to get it to fit.

Edited March 3, 2011 by V-spec

[Chuck Most]

AMT seemed to have a kind of 'hit/miss' quality with their decal sheets at the time. I remember buying a 2005 Chrysler 300C kit- it had the two large winged Chrysler badges for the grille and decklid, and a '300C' badge decal, in addition to the typical Rides Magazine stuff. The second one I bought had the two large wing badges, then two smaller wing badges, and no '300C' badge at all. And yeah, that stock hood on the Mustang was a pretty good piece to have handy, too!

Monte- the Monte Carlos did have the 502 big block, I was refering to the Mustangs used in the flick. Even though the Mustang drifter was presented as having the Nissan mill, the Mustangs actually drifting had Rousch small blocks.

[Ace-Garageguy]

So, just to clarify for my poor tiny brain...the lowrider kit (not the F&F version) does NOT include stock suspension ? It only includes the hopper suspension...correct??

[slusher]

l have one l need to open. Bought it back when Walmart was selling kits...

[chevyfever2009]

What color is the monte in the movie

[Jordan White]

Some sort of light tan primer with a primer gray hood and roof.

[Stuntman Mike]

The lowrider parts in the kit are not "posed". There are different springs and seperate control arms to build it in any position you want.

The F&F kit is a joke, but the Monte Carlo itself is a very nice kit. And it makes no difference which of the MC kits you choose to build a model of the movie car. It´s a boatload of work:

• remove all body trim
• remove inner fenders from engine bay
• install racing fuel cell and protection bar
• install roll cage
• complete scratchbuilt interior
• modify kit engine to look like Bill Mitchell´s "Hardcore 632"
• the roof and rocker panels are not primered, it´s bare metal as you caan see in the pic that was posted by Jordan White. Kinda hard to see from that angle.
• replace the grille with some PE inserts
• scratchbuild exhaust
• install correct 8-hole nascar rims and slicks
• never give up, it´s an AMT kit and you should have known what that means.

I´m halfway through with my build of the movie car. Removing the massive trim on the body was a real task. Endless hours of sanding were needed to get a plain and smooth body. I didn´t touch it in over a year. Should get back to it and finish this monster.

[1972coronet]

Certainly I'm not alone in stating the following : Please restore this once-great stock SS-454 kit to its origins , Round2 .

"Retro Deluxe" packaging (via the original AMT Annual of the '70 Monte) would be sweet !

[zenrat]

As it happens i'm kitbashing with the chassis from a lowrider issue '70 (separate chassis makes it great for this purpose but buy the F&F issue as you get more parts) and had a look at what it comes with thisarvo.

In the Lowrider release you get the choice of building the suspension up or down.

To this end you get a set of 4 short springs, a set of 4 long springs, 2 lowered front upper control arms, 2 lifted front upper control arms, 1 lowered combined front lower control arms & crossmember and 1lifted combined front lower control arms & crossmember.

The rear suspension uses the same parts (apart from springs) whether you build it lowered or lifted.

All the springs and all the front suspension parts are chromed. The rear suspension parts are not chromed.

I haven't done a direct side by side comparison but the lowered option on the lowrider looks to be lower than stock (which makes sense).