AMT/Ertl ’57 Corvette Street Machine 1:25 Scale AMT 8213 Kit Review

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AMT/Ertl ’57 Corvette Street Machine 1:25 Scale AMT 8213 Kit Review
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Review and Photos by Josh Lacey

The 1957 Corvette came with a 283 cid v8 engine, putting out a whopping 185 horse power. There were other options such as a double 4 barrel carb set up and a “Ramjet” fuel injection system. With fuel injection system option the ‘57 ‘Vette would put out 250-283 hp and go 0-60 in 7.2 seconds. Only 240 of the 6,339 made that year came with the fuel injection option. The ‘57 ‘Vette was very popular in hot rod and drag circles. Many of these cars found their way to the strip as so called “gasser” cars. Many of the ‘57 ‘Vettes were also built into personal hot rods. Until this day the ‘57 Corvette is a popular with Corvette enthusiasts.

For the Modeler: This is a 1:25 scale, skill level 2, AMT/Ertl ’57 Corvette street machine kit. One big difference between this kit and the real cars is the engine. The kit includes a nicely detailed 454 cid engine and a four speed transmission. This would be more like the garage hot rod or a true “gasser” build.

This ’57 Corvette kit comes with some nicely molded and detailed parts. Parts such as chrome plated engine parts and Cragars street star wheels. Interior was also nicely done. In this kit I found a separate frame from the floor pan along with little to no flashing, pin marks, or mold lines. Surprisingly, for an older AMT kit, I found that preparations for painting were not as time consuming as I thought it would be. However I did run into some small issues: 1.) the rear valance had a small fit issue, leaving a gap to be filled. But this issue is not noticeable due to the rear bumper piece covers the area well. 2.) The decal sheet had very minimal options. 3.) Front inner fenders (included in kit) will not fit with engine headers provided. Other than those small issues this kit was a good build. I built mine to resemble a home garage built hot rod. I added some mild modifications to the kit during build, such as omitting the rear wheelie bars and lowering the suspension about 2-3 scale inches. I swapped the wheels with parts box wheels and tires and wired and plumbed the engine area as well.

All-in-all this is a nicely done kit for AMT/ERTL considering some of their other kits with molded in suspension and exhaust. I enjoyed this build and I recommend it for any ‘Vette or gasser fan to purchase and have some styrene fun. I liked this kit enough that I have another one of the ’57 ‘Vette street machine to build that is already painted and ready to assemble.

 
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