7 replies to this topic

[lordairgtar]

I was at the swap meet in Waukesha Sunday, and picked up a couple of long wanted goodies. I was able to get a 1960 Buick glue bomb in pretty good shape except the hood is glued shut but the engine is there. painted red, it will be taking the plunge in the purple pond. Eventually , it will be silver to match the 60 my gramps had when I was growing up. Many trips to the cabin on the weekends in that car. He had it for nine years until he bought a 69 Skylark. Ahhh, memories. The other car I got is a 68 T-bird flat bottom promo. The chassis pan is black plastic with an AMT logo on it, and the car is molded in a light green color. Question: what full detail frames would fit the Buick and the T-bird?

[camaroman]

LAG, I believe the chassis from Revell's 64 Impala will fit the 60 Buick although you did not state what model it was. I am using that chassis under my 62 electra duece and a quarters. I don't know how much the Thunderbird chassis changed from 62 to 68 but the New issue AMT 62 thunderbird might be a good place to start looking. I recently saw one of those at KB Toy Liquidators for around $8.00.

[bigphoto]

Amt's 66' Tbird would be more accurate and for an engine you
could use the 390 Tbird or the 429 from Revell's 1970 Torino
also the auto trans from the 66 Fairlane could be used although
in reality it wouldn't bolt up to the 429 depends on how anal you are
The main thing is have fun!

[lordairgtar]

I think Buick only had the one body style in 1960, of which the models were Le Sabre, Invicta, and Electra. I am thinking the model that AMT did was an Electra or Invicta. I am doing it as a Le Sabre. The name plate on the front fender is too small for me to read under all the red paint. Thanx for the tips about the chassis. The Buick was not an X frame, it was a perimeter type.

[camaroman]

For a perimeter frame for the Buick check out the Revell 65 or AMT 67 Impala kits. If were to happen to be a Special, which was a smaller car, Try the Revell Chevelle kits (65,66 wagon or the 67).

The detail on the 66 thunderbird chassis is like a promo.

[Steve Milberry]

Gregg, it's pretty easy to tell if you have an Electra or a leSabre or Invicta if the trim hasn't been removed. The Electra will have 4 vent on each fender,,all others had only 3. This is true for every year Electra that had the vents.

If it's not an Electra [and I think that's the only Buick made that year] the leSabre script on the front fenders just behind the headlights will look like writing while the Invicta emblem will look like a longish rectangle.

While the bodys were pretty much the same the Electra rode on a 126.3" wheelbase and the other two were on the shorter 123" wheelbase. But if AMT was doing things like Jo-Han in those days the car might be molded shorter to fit the box,,,Jo-Han did that with thier Cadillacs.

Buick didn't start making Specials until '61.

I don't really know which detailed chassis would be closest but the Chevy would need to be streached if the wheelbase is in scale. The engine in the AMT '66 Riv is the nicest nailhead Buick engine out there right now but you'd need different valve covers and intake if you want to do it stock,,,another reason I usually do rods and customs. LOL

[camaroman]

Steve Thanks for the correction on the Specials. I had forgotten the year of introduction of that model! glenn

[lordairgtar]

The model has 3 ports on the fender, so I am thinking it is the Invicta as there is no script, only a rectangle which I will remove. I wish I could somehow create the mirror image speedometer that those cars had. LOL. I do notice on all the 60 Buicks, the rear passenger side bumper always sagged a little. I noticewd this when I was a kid and I see it to this day on them at car shows.