54 Scale Auto • OCTOBER 2019
13
Glue the inner door panels in place
first. Center the windows to allow
clearance for the doors to close. I cemented
the lower edges of both windows to the lower
sills of the doors and let them dry overnight.
14
A clamp and canopy glue made sure the
window stayed attached and eliminated
any warp from the doors.15
The windshield didn’t fit as positively
as the door windows, so I sparingly
used superglue to tack the glass to the frame
and work out a slight warp. When secure, a
thin bead of canopy glue along the top and
sides finished the job. The pins molded to the
doors didn’t make for a positive fit at the
hinge points. I cemented the hinge retainer
into the roof and slipped the doors in place.
Unfortunately, the pins for the passenger door
weren’t quite long enough to keep the part
secure. I left mine as is, but drilling the pins
and replacing them with stretched sprue or
brass would be an easy fix.
16
The Corvair engine is a little soft on fit
and alignment but goes together well
enough for the limited visibility once installed.
I stripped the chrome from many of the parts
with oven cleaner to make them easier to
glue. The Hemi fit together a little better than
the Corvair. Again, I stripped the chrome off
some parts and painted them with Tamiya
metallic colors. I used Rub ‘n Buff silver on the
scoop and blower.17
Regarding the Hemi headers: The
instructions mislabel parts in the detail
picture showing the angle and order of the
pipes. Part numbers molded into the sprues
include L and R letters as well as 1, 2, 3 and 4;
I guessed 1-4 meant front to rear.
18
The dragster fuel pump interfered with
the seat bulkhead and would not let the
engine sit in the frame properly. I removed it.
Also, the distributor didn’t allow the top of
the body to fit properly. I filed about .040 of
an inch off the bottom of the shaft for
clearance. With no posable steering, the
wheels were cemented to the axles.19
The coupe suspension went in after the
engine was installed. The front wheels
are not posable but can be posed; I went with
straight ahead. Test-fitting is a must, and the
axles needed minor adjustment to look
symmetrical. Paint all the suspension parts
prior to assembly.A Bite Out
of History
The Piranha evolved from
the CRV (Cycolac Research
Vehicle) designed by Dan Deaver
and built in the early ‘60s by
Marbon Chemical. The car’s two-
piece body was molded from
Cycolac ABS thermoformed
plastic, for which it was named.
The CRV evolved from a roadster
powered by a 42-horsepower
Sunbeam engine into a semi-
gullwing coupe with a Corvair
engine, and, in 1965, a CRV-II
roadster with a turbocharged
Corvair six-cylinder won the SCCA
Central Division D Modified Class
with wins in half of all the races.Notably, AMT Models became
involved with a plan to build and
sell the CRV as the limited-
production Piranha. Both the
coupe and roadster would be
offered, and Gene Winfield’s
Speed and Custom Division in
Phoenix, Ariz., would be the AMT
factory shop. But with the demise
of Corvair, a slowdown in the
model car kit market, and a lack of
interest in the Piranha, AMT had
to abandon the plan. But not
before Gene Winfield’s
connections to the TV and movies
got the car some exposure in the
’60s spy drama The Man from
U.N.C.L.E.