blizzy63

For a '53 Ford pickup, instinct would tell me to swap in a Cadillac 365/390, a Ford Y-block or Ford FE 352/390/427. A real oddball would be a 1962-63 Chrysler Ram Induction/Max Wedge 413/426. The optional engine was supplied in the AMT '49 Mercury Coupe kit back when it was Mopar's latest-greatest Super Stocker mill. (Both AMT '53 Ford pickup and '49 Mercury kits were originally released in 1963.) Such an engine swap in either vehicle circa-1963 would have been rare and expensive.

1976 was the final year for a big block in a Chevrolet automobile. The 1977 Chevrolet full-size was a completely redesigned animal and had a small block 350 as its biggest engine. The ‘76 full-size was available with a 225 net h.p. Turbo-Jet 454. I’ve only seen one such factory-equipped Caprice in my life (see my post above).

I have a stash of Testors Extreme Lacquer spray paints in all their colors that I picked up here a there after Testors was going out of business. About a year ago, I kept wondering what THAT smell was I kept smelling in my hobby room that never aired away. I kept blaming the lidded jar of lacquer thinner that I kept on my desk. Then I tore into my boxes of rattle cans (most unused) under and around my desk and discovered the one Testors Extreme Lacquer Root Beer can had relieved itself through the bottom seam and all around the other cans. I now keep a regular, close watch on my stash for the next chemical geyser.

Here's the built-up engine bay on the AMT 928 '70 Monte Carlo SS454 kit (2018) for comparison to the MPC '76 Caprice. [Model by Dragonhawk1066]

Very cool AWB!

Back in my last year of high school (c.1981), my Physics teacher drove a '76 Chevy Caprice 2-door with a 454. As we didn't see too many big block V8s in our area of the continent, I was curious to see a 454 in an everyday Chevy. I have to say, after having a good look under the hood in Auto class, that I was not impressed with this detuned dinosaur covered over with accessories and smog control devices. The 454 went from muscle car legend in 1970 to gas-guzzling anachronism just six malaise-ridden years later. The challenge with the MPC kit is not just to add the appropriate engine accessories but to include all the black rubber and plastic under-hood linguini typical of American cars of this period. The kit: Reality:

[Duplication deleted]

Here's the original decals from the AMT T144 '39 Ford Sedan 'Street Rods' series kit (1974). I don't think the new kit's will look like this.

$3,100 for a new bare-bones domestic pickup in 1981. That’s $10,400 in 2024 money. Scotty sez that Ford is offering a 2024 single cab, bare-bones, plain-jane Ranger pickup for $20,000 US. Problem: It won’t be available to the North American market! Overseas only. That tells you plenty.

I’ve seen this before at Michaels. They have a select set of models for a while. Then it peters out and then they’re all gone. I ask an associate in the store if they’re going to get in any more models. They don’t know. I conclude that Michaels is not going to carry model kits any more. One day, out of the blue, they have a section with new models. The ritual repeats. I’ve witnessed two of these cycles and I am currently watching for the third…

Stevens Internation sez that a Revell '57 Ford Wagon is TBA... REVELL USA RMX-4548 1/25 1957 Ford Wagon $0.00 TBA

I found an old AMT '65 Corvette convertible annual and I measured the width of the body between the rocker panels along with the chassis. I compared it to the latest releases of the AMT '63 Corvette coupe and convertible kits. All are 2-3/16" wide. I had the headers off the engine again and trimmed the ends off a bit. The firewall was still struggling to find its place. The "Race" (supercharger) hood opening is a bit too forward, I tried to trim as best that I could. Anyways, I've called her done!

Another subject off my bucket list... 1966-67-era Modified Sports Car class C2 Stingray dragger. Kit: AMT/Ertl 6520 1963 Corvette (1988). Paint: Tamiya TS-52 Candy Lime Green. Decals: Vintage, original (and crumbly) AMT 6927 '67 Sting Ray Sport Coupe annual. Inspirations (pictured below): AMT 1967 coupe annual box art; Marrs Boys/Jardine Headers '63 Stingray (with '65 front clip) gasser.

I have a question about the body dimensions between the AMT '63 Corvette fastback/coupe and the old AMT 1967 Corvette fastback/coupe kit bodies. AMT completed the annual kits of the C2 Corvette, fastback and convertible, in 1967. After that, the kit was re-issued three more times before AMT back-dated the kit to produce a '63 spit-window coupe (A163, 1973). Was there a dimension difference between the '67 coupe body and the later '63 coupe body? I am currently building the AMT/Ertl 6520 '63 Corvette coupe kit (1988) as a box art build to appear much like the '67 drag 'Vette [AMT T238 '67 Corvette coupe (c.1971-72), pictured below]. I've noticed while fitting the body onto the chassis with the 427 engine and side-exit headers, the headers stick out widely and cause the '63 body to bulge out behind the front wheels. The Big Block engine and headers were derived from the '67 kits. Was the the '67 body wider? Was the '63 body adopted in 1973 narrower? Even the '63 firewall is struggling to fit.

This takes me back to when I was a kid around 1975. I was building the AMT ‘49 Merc as a ‘50s lead sled. I glued the fender skirts on and painted the body. Later, when it was time to mate the body to the chassis, I found some difficulty getting the skirts over the rear wheels. I believe I ended up pulling the skirts partially off at the bottoms in order to clear the wheels. The finished model did have skirts in the end. It’s too many years to recall why this was occurring but …. my message is: beware.