'55 Vette Speedster: Complete (#5 for 2019)

Well, I've done better. Realistically I should have stripped the paint off and started over, but I decided to cut my losses and finish it up. The kit has its challenges, and building it OOB would be a challenge, so while it is not up to my recent standards of finish, it is better than the kit.



The full rack of Webers is pleasing and well suited to the 283; Weber never made carbs for really big engines which is why Ford went to Le Mans with Holleys on the 427, but they did make carbs for Ford's 289.



The sidepipes are almost too subtle, after the struggles I had getting the headers in between the block and chassis. Another 1/8th of an inch in length would probably have been smart.



I do like the simplicity of the shape, when side trim and bumperettes have been deleted. There is a bit of the Buck Rogers design ethos here.



The front and rear views are particularly simple. Kudos to Chevrolet for the glass headlight covers, which the NHTSA outlawed some time later, about the time that the E-type Series II was coming to the US.





The little cut-down screen, slightly higher in front of the driver, mirrors a generation of Italian barchettas and English roadsters, not least the D Type. And the continuation of the rear deck into the cockpit, along with the stripes continuing from the hood onto the dash top, emphasise the fact that this car is not meant to have a top, of any sort, at any time. If there was any doubt, the absence of windshield wipers will settle the matter: When it rains, you should just go faster, so the drops go over your head. Vroom!

 

What's next, you say? Hard to tell, stay tuned!