1967 Astro 1 Show car: Very Long term restoration project

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  A little history:

Show and dream cars were the rage for most of the 20th century.  The general public and car community could not get enough and always wanted more. Car designers were let loose and the results were all over from mild innovation to wild and crazy.  
In 1967 Chevrolet unveiled the Astro 1 show car. While not officially called a Corvette, it obviously shares the DNA. Larry Shinoda under Bill Mitchel. Say no more! This car was powered by a souped up rear mounted Corvair 6 cyl engine.  The car was so extremely low (35.5 inches) that instead of doors, ingress and egress was by lifting the roof which lifted the seats. A periscope replaced the rear view mirror as there is no rear window.  The back seems to have been inspired by race cars of the era. The car still survives today and is part of GMs collection.

The same year AMT released the model of it.  From what I understand, there was only one run made.  The molds were apparently modified for something else so they no longer exist.  Mint kits are hard to find and fetching over $300. 

My good friend, modeler and collector Robertw is building this kit (beautifully by the way). Talking to him about the history of the car and the model itself got me interested.  Current mint kits are at big collector's prices. But I found this glue bomb on eBay.  This is very close to be declared "unrecoverable".  The kind of project I like to dive in.  Yeah, I know. I need help.
More glue than plastic, and it seems it was painted with a roller and roof sealer 
If my current project was started almost 10 years ago, I can't imagine how long this is going to take...















Thanks,
Ismael

[arcticwolf]

Yup, roof sealer. Or the goop they waterproof foundations with. Maybe you could turn it upside down and call it a boat.

Good luck amigo.

[kyledehart5]

They used flex seal so it would float. Holy cow, that think is rough! Best of luck indeed.

[arcticwolf]

Does that stuff even come off?

[ajax5269]

The Astro 1 tooling was modified to become the Scorpion mid-engine drag coupe.  You can Google it (I don't know how to attach an image).
Andy K

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  Yes, the Scorpion mid engine drag coupe.  Pictures from Scalemates.



Thanks,
Ismael

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

   Once again the freezer trick was very helpful.  The model was submerged in water for a minute or two. Took it out, drained the excess and put it in a ziplock bag in the freezer for a few days.  That helped in the disassembly process.




The interior tub and the bottom "chassis" won't come apart. Apparently glue was cheap and a whole tube was used in each of these. Fortunately, it is in the right place so I'll have to work around it.  What you see here is after I scraped away about half of it.



Happy to report that other than the steering wheel, the only breakage is this, which should not be that hard to fix.





Now the next battle: Taking a swim in brake fluid to hopefully strip that black gunk.  Stay tuned!


Thanks,
Ismael

[Chris K. Hale]

What a battle! That is a Super Hard to Find Kit, Built or Not! I'm pulling for you on this! I picked up a Original MPC Mako Shark with trailer, when I looked the trailer is there but lightly built, easy to take apart and restore. I put it away for a few years and looking at it a week ago I found the 427 engine is missing...what a let down because it wasnt cheap, but I will pull a 427 out of a Corvette kit to complete it, if I dont decide to sell it. Its wonderful to open and see all the mint white plastic on the body and frame not to mention fresh beautiful Chrome parts... they dont make em like that anymore and consider the original price of $2.00!!! Chris

[scooterer]

Feb 4, 2023 10:42:24 GMT -8 tatocorvette said:

Hello,

   Once again the freezer trick was very helpful.  The model was submerged in water for a minute or two. Took it out, drained the excess and put it in a ziplock bag in the freezer for a few days.  That helped in the disassembly process.

... What you see here is after I scraped away about half of it. ...



 Oh, Good. I was afraid you'd take too much off and weaken the joint   

p.s. This may take time but with your skill I know it will be a show stopper when ever it's done

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  Very busy at work so not much bench time recently.  
After a few weeks swimming in brake fluid, this is where we are. Don't panic. I know it doesn't look good but trust me. It is progressing.






There were molded seatbelts under that black paint!


Just testing the waters. You can see how it was in the first post.



Thanks,
Ismael

[sam]

That sure looks like it would be unsalvageable...but I am sure I will be proven wrong.

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  These dimples are not mold defects. These were caused by excessive glue on the other side melting the plastic.






Some putty should take care of these.



Thanks,
Ismael

[sam]

Looks like you have a full bench at the moment. 😃

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  Still a long way to go, but I like where this is going...  Check the "before" at the beginning of this thread.









Thanks,
Ismael

[Joel_W]

Ismael,
This has to be your toughest restore yet.

What a huge difference from the opening pictures to the above picture of the primered chassis.

joel