Round 2 brings pro street back to life with the AMT 1/25 scale 1976 Chevy Nova pro street plastic model kit. Pro street cars haven’t gone away and seem to get better with age. This kit from AMT depicts not only the way cars were back in the day, but how they are maintained today.
Inside the box, you’ll find all the parts nicely packaged, black-and-white instructions, and redesigned decals. As we’ve come to expect from Round 2’s reissues, the instructions have an old-school vibe, but in this case, they’re easy to navigate.
First up, the 454 rat motor comes with a Lenco transmission to help power this quarter-mile monster. Assembly is straightforward, but expect to clean up some flash. The two-piece headers line up without needing any major adjustments.
As you may know, pro street cars need to be light, and one of the ways to lighten a quarter-mile car is to eliminate a lot of the interior. So, don’t be cranky that this Nova’s interior is bare bones. I especially like the detailed rear tubs. The dashboard has factory-stock gauges, but the kit doesn’t provide decals for them. That’s a missed opportunity for Round 2, who is usually all over those sorts of improvements to its reissues. The roll bar and factory seats look the pro-street part, but the Lenco shifter could use better detail.
I admit, the kit’s chassis confuses me a bit. The pro street tubs are not really used, and the wheels and tires don’t sit inside the wheel tubs. You have two rear coil-over shocks with the rear axle and traction bars, and the overall stance and appearance looks good. But the tubs just don’t enter into the equation.
The front suspension is straightforward, with the cross member that includes the lower control arms. The two front kingpins can be glued in place to pose the wheels turned.
In what I think is an oversight, the instructions don’t give you information about the exhaust. The kit includes the exhaust and muffler parts. I ran them, added the mufflers, and everything fit fine. So be aware they aren’t shown on the instruction sheet.
Section 5 of the chassis has you install the front wheel wells. I suggest installing them prior to attaching the engine and transmission to the chassis in Step 4. Doing so allows you to better center the engine with the headers and eliminates the problem of the headers hitting the wheel wells.
The steps for final assembly and closing up the body onto the chassis are straightforward. The kit comes with a variety of decals to make it your own. I inverted the markings on mine for a different look.
I was very happy with the AMT 1/25 scale 1976 Chevy Nova pro street plastic model kit. Despite some peculiarities and shortcomings, it provides both a good looking model and quick assembly. This kit will leave you with a build you can proudly put in your collection.