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Model number: AMM1030/06

Review of the model:

When we think of big-body 1960´ Chevrolets it’s always Impala. And with good reason as they came with “all the bell and whistles” with extra chrome trim and more luxury interior. And in 1966 the Caprice was the most luxurious model available. On top of that; the engine is often top of the line too. The less expensive models from (still full body cars) are often left out in our minds. But think of the bulk of buyers who want a heavy reliable car, a true workhorse with no bling bling! – An alternative could be the Bel-Air or Biscayne. And if you took all the performance options from the top of the line Impalas and placed it in a sturdy sedan as this 1966 Chevrolet Biscayne 2-door Sedan you get a fast and strong vehicle perfect to law enforcement duties. I believe that this is some of the thoughts the State Police of Maryland had when they chose this beast of a burden.

Auto world is known for its 1:18 scale models of muscle and high performance cars and their reputations is well known for high detailing and true representation of the real car as well. Therefore I had no reservation about order this model from a dealer in Germany.

When Auto world models are richly detailed they are one of the best on the market and they are competitive in price too. They have the best interiors I have witness in my collection to date. Just to name a few: 1957 Chrysler, 1957 Thunderbird, 1964 Mustang etc. Some have even the ignition key in the instrument panel! On the other hand; Auto world’s moulds come from the Ertl Collectibles Models that in some cases lack the higher detail richness and this is widely shown in the earlier models. This issue is shown in my 1967 Mustang GT. – not a bad model, but lack of real chrome trim around the windows and lack of opening the hatchback can be a disappointment when we know what they are capable of.

So how will this model fell in category? The short answer is both!
Auto world’s models are heavy. I will estimate the weight is over 1Kg. and holding the model in your hands will give a feel of sturdiness and quality. The paint and prep work is very good and no flaw is present here. And if we look at the casting of the body I have never seen die cast parts fit so well ever. The dealer promotion pictures in Germany did not manage to show picture of the open hood as they most have thought that it was not a feature! (The best way to open the hood is with a toothpick from underneath the car) The deck lid and doors fit perfect too. So I can only praise Auto world for its good work here.
Therefore is it also a enigma to me why they choose to make the door mechanism with ordinary “dogleg” hinges it’s really a shame as when open the model looks non-realistic.

As I mentioned before Auto world can have one of the best interiors on some models, but on this car the interior is sparse compared to the better ones. No carpet and the instrument panel are just painted with silver. The safety belts are molded in the plastic seats.

A tour around the car outside will reveal beautiful stamped emblems and decals and all text stand sharp and clear. The clear glass (plastic parts) of the model is as always very good and that includes the head and rear lights, just look at the windows they are well made and are realistic. The red beacon on the roof very well made and looks if you could turn it on. The trim around the windows are only painted in silver and not real chrome parts as on other detailed models from Auto word. I tried to make it a bit better by painted them with Liquid Chrome from Molotow.

The tires and wheels with hubcaps are among the best in the market and that also is shown by the tolerances in the plastic parts on the steering mechanism.

Let’s open the hood (can be a bit tricky) and see the monster big block 427 cu Inch. 425hp. This is a big motor that fills the engine compartment quite well. The orange motor block, under the big air cleaner filter are realistic made and have a fine detailed sticker shown the renowned checker flag logo on top. The front end of the model has a big chrome bumper and grill that do not need extra attention as every thing is spot on.

Lets sum it all up; A very fine model with a feel of quality in both weight and parts but not all parts is best of line – if the interior and chrome trim parts where present the model could have scored more stars….But don’t get me wrong the model is still well made. And if you like I - can find a model on sale for small money. It can be a bargain!
 

I will give this model 4 out of 6 stars  ******

Below here are pictures of the model, historical description, old brochures, technical data and some movie clips for the real car. So please enjoy!

History:

by: Thomas A. DeMauro

By 1966 GM's intermediates, with near 400-cu in engines crammed between their fender wells, were rising in popularity faster than the hemlines of the day. The muscle car era had arrived.

Race tracks across the country were serving as the proving grounds for myriad new high-performance powertrain combos from the Big Three.
Though muscle cars were gaining momentum, full-size cars were far from washed up as racers. GTOs, Chevelle SSs, 4-4-2s and Gran Sports got bigger engines, (GM Corporate had a 400-cu.in. limit on engine displacement in mid-size cars at the time.), but the full-size cars still got the biggest ones.

 Some denizens of the drag strip couldn't resist the lure of stuffing the largest displacement engine possible in the lightest body in which they could order it. So when Chevrolet pulled the wraps off of its new 427-cu in variation of the Mark IV "big-block" engine family, introduced just the year prior, Chevy racers certainly would have wanted to get their hands on one, particularly when it was announced that there would be a high-performance 425hp version, coded L72. Yet, the only way to get the solid-lifter L72 was to buy a Corvette or to select something from the full-size line.

But while Chevrolet had made the high-performance 427 available across the full-size car line, the division didn't actually assemble a drag-strip-dedicated packaging of those elements the way some other manufacturers were doing at the time. So, it was up to racers to figure out that the hot setup was the base-model Biscayne two-door pillared sedan with the L72 engine checked off. A handful of savvy Chevy faithful did just that and were rewarded with a potent engine package wrapped in a large car that was both lighter and more rigid than an Impala hardtop.

The Automobile Manufacturers' Association (AMA) documents listed the curb weight of the Biscayne and Bel Air two-door sedan with the 427 at 3,895 pounds, the Impala sport coupe at 4,005 pounds and the SS and Caprice at 4,035 pounds. (Delete the heater, under RPO code C48, and another 22 pounds were saved along with over $70.)

Base price on a Biscayne two-door sedan with a V-8 (not the 427) was $2,484, positioning it $100 less than Bel Air, $305 less than Impala, $463 less than Impala SS and $516 less than Caprice. Simply put, though the L72 could be ordered in any big Chevy--four-doors and wagons included--the Biscayne was the lightest, cheapest, and potentially quickest option. At just under $450, this 427 instantly transformed Chevy's low-cost sedate sedan into a competitive drag racer. Though model-specific figures have not been found, a total of 1,856 L72 427s were installed across the big-car line in '66.

Engine:

The L72 427 engine was rated at 425hp at 5,600 RPM and 460-lbs ft of torque at 4,000 RPM. Its bottom end featured a 4.251-bore four-bolt-main block (casting number 3869942), forged steel 3.76-inch stroke crank with hardened journals, 6.135-inch high-alloy forged steel rods and impact-extruded (forged) aluminum domed pistons. The solid-lifter camshaft had 336/336-degrees duration and .520/.520-inch lift with stamped-steel 1.70:1 rockers.

A set of canted-valve, cast-iron "High-Performance" rectangle-port heads (casting number 3873858), with 2.19/1.72-inch valves featuring flash-chromed stems, were up top, and an aluminum dual-plane intake manifold (casting number 3885069) supported a 780-cfm 4150 Holley carb (list number 3246). Compression ratio was a premium-fuel-only 11.0:1. The distributor casting number for the standard ignition is 1111100 and for the optional K66 Transistor ignition its 1111074. A 37-amp alternator has casting number 1100693; K66 required a 42-amp alternator, casting number 1100696.

A staggered five-blade 18-inch-diameter temperature-controlled declutching cooling fan was employed on the L72 in place of the four-blade 17.62-inch fan on other big-blocks. Also included was a heavy-duty four-core radiator with a 2.62-inch core thickness and 439-square inches of frontal area (compared to the L36's three-core 1.98-inch core thickness and 429-square inches of frontal area).

Closed-engine positive ventilation was standard with the L72. Exhaust flowed through header-like individual-runner cast-iron manifolds, 2.50-inch head pipes and dual reverse-flow mufflers. Steve Leunig, head of the tech advisor board and the tech advisor for 1965 for the National Impala Association, says that there is ongoing debate in the hobby as to whether or not 2.25-inch tailpipes were used, as stated in Chevrolet's 1966 specifications, in place of the 2.00-inch pipes installed with other engines. Leigh has blueprints for the L72 tailpipes (part number 3883697--LH and 3883698--RH), which reveal an inside diameter of 2.005 to 2.015 inches.

Not surprisingly, A/C was not available for the high-strung L72. It also had a rumpety-rump 750 to 850 RPM idle speed when most other Chevy engines idled at 500 RPM. Even the L36 390-horse 427 idle setting was 550-600 RPM.

To verify a correct engine, a two-letter block code can be found on a pad just ahead of the passenger-side cylinder head, and is preceded by the engine plant code, "T" for Tonawanda, and build date consisting of two digits for the month and two for the day. The code for the 427/425hp L72 in a '66 full-size Chevy is "ID"; that engine is backed by a manual transmission.

Though "IO" is listed in some sources as the 427/425hp code for a full-size Chevy with the Turbo Hydra-Matic, the Chevy paperwork we examined and other experts, including Steve and Leigh, confirm that the L72 engine was only available with a manual transmission. Code IO is also shown in some sources as the 390hp L36 427 with K19 A.I.R. and Hydra-Matic, information that Leigh has verified against a Chevy engineering release.

Transmission:

Though the documented L72 Biscaynes normally seen have four-speed transmissions, the AMA forms and Chevy paperwork states that the M-13 heavy-duty three-speed manual was standard. The M-20 wide-ratio four-speed, the M-21 close-ratio four-speed and the M-22 "Rock Crusher" heavy-duty close-ratio four-speed were optional. Leigh and Steve say that only two M-22s were installed in full-size cars for '66.

Gear ratios for the three-speed are: First 2.41:1, Second 1.57:1 and Third 1.00:1. The M-20 ratios are: First 2.52:1, Second 1.88:1, Third 1.46:1 and Fourth 1.00:1, and the M-21 and M-22 gear ratios are: First 2.20:1, Second 1.64:1, Third 1.28:1 and Fourth 1.00:1. The gear teeth in the M-22 are cut with less angularity than the M-21, increasing both durability and operational noise. The main case casting number on the four-speed was 3885010 and the tail housing was 3857584. With the L72, the 11-inch clutch pressure-plate spring load was increased to 2,600-2,800 pounds from 2,450-2,750 pounds used with the other big-blocks.

Differential:

Chevy's 12-bolt differential featured an 8.875-inch ring gear and, when so ordered, an Eaton clutch-type Posi-traction unit. Division powertrain charts and the AMA forms indicate that 3.31:1 gears were standard with all the manual transmissions, and Posi-traction was optional. With the close-ratio four-speed only, 3.55 and 3.73 Performance axles, or 4.10, 4.56 and 4.88 High Performance axles with Posi-traction, were available at extra cost.

Chassis:

The '66 Biscayne rolled on a 119-inch wheelbase. Its front tread was 62.5 inches and the rear, 62.4 inches. The perimeter frame was strengthened over the '65 models by increasing the thickness of the steel--good news for drag racers.

Independent front suspension employed upper A-arms and lower control arms attached to their spindles via ball joints. The lower control arms had reaction-rod-type struts. Heavy-duty springs and shocks came with the L72 and a .8125-inch anti-roll bar, used on all V-8 models, reduced body roll in the turns. In the rear, the heavy-duty solid axle (included with the L72) was located by two upper and two lower control arms (standard-duty models used only one upper arm) and a Panhard-style lateral link to control sway (with a large 2-inch diameter bushing at the axle end), with coil springs and shocks smoothing the pavement.

The F41 suspension was available on the 325hp 396, the 390hp 427 and 425hp 427. It featured a .9375-inch front anti-roll bar from the station wagon, "special springs and shocks," a rear anti-roll bar, the Panhard-style lateral link (with a smaller 1-inch diameter bushing at the axle end), and 14 x 6-inch wheels.

Standard manual steering provided an overall ratio of 28.2:1, resulting in 5.42 turns lock to lock. Power steering reduced the overall ratio to 19.4:1, and lock-to-lock became a much more manageable 3.52, but it added 22 pounds over the front wheels. Leigh tells HMM that when power steering was ordered with an L72 engine, a special deep-groove cast-iron pulley was installed on its pump.

Brakes:

At the four wheels were 11-inch drums that were 2.75 inches wide up front and two inches wide in the rear with a total swept area of 328.3 square inches. Metallic shoes were optional under code J65 and included a special 7/8-inch bore master cylinder. Power brakes were also an available option (RPO J50).

Wheels and tires:

While other Chevrolets came with 14 x 5-inch stamped-steel wheels with 7.75 x 14 bias-ply tires, standard, Steve says that the L72-equipped Biscayne featured the same 14 x 5J wheels with wider 8.25 x 14 bias-ply tires, and that the 14 x 6JK stamped-steel wheels could be ordered separately, but were also included when the F41 suspension package was ordered.
Though the larger 8.25 x 14 tires were not included with the F41 option, experts say that they were a mandatory option when F41 was specified for other models, since, according to Steve, the L72 cars already had them.
 

Body and interior:

The Biscayne was 213.2 inches long, 79.6 inches wide and 54.4 inches tall. It was available in 15 solid colors and an additional three, two-tone combos that had the roof painted a complementing color to the body hue. Three cloth interior colors--fawn, blue, and red--were offered. Fawn vinyl was available on sedans only at extra cost.

What to Pay 1966 427/425hp Chevrolet Biscayne:
Low - $30,000
Average - $55,000
High - $100,000
 

Technical specification:

213.2 inches long - 5415mm

119 inches wheelbase - 3023mm

79.6 inches wide

54.4 inches tall

Weight: 3,895 pounds

The L72 427 engine was rated at 425hp at 5,600 RPM

and 460-lbs ft of torque at 4,000 RPM. 7,0L

Total production of Chevrolet Biscayne 1966: 307.900

Old brochures of the car

Video of the real car from YouTube

If you have any question or comment your are free to contact me at: aeronautic@stofanet.dk

Dealers are welcome to get their models reviewed too.

Aeronautic Feb. 2018

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