Mark

Oldsmobile was squandered. Rather than starting up Saturn, GM could have reinvented Oldsmobile, much as the division itself wanted to do in the Seventies. I guess GM wanted to sell new dealer franchises though. The different V8 engines was also a waste of money once smog and (later) fuel economy testing entered the picture, as each 350 V8 had to be tested separately. The engine switching deal happened mainly due to Cadillac wanting the Olds 350 for the Seville. This at the same time Olds was gunning for first place in sales with the Cutlass. Somehow GM couldn't build enough Olds engines, yet somehow they never ran short of Chevy engines. So some Cutlasses got Olds 350s while others got Chevy engines. They could probably have pulled off the switch had the Chevy engines been even slightly different in displacement; say, 340 or 360 cubes instead of the same 350. GM could even have called the 350 a 347 or something just to differentiate it, like the 402 cubic inch SS 396 Chevelles after 1969.

None of it happened overnight...various stages of it have taken place over the last 60 years plus. On one hand, there's the last minute de-contenting of the original Corvair, there's slapping multiple nameplates on the same car. They're still selling the same trucks with two nameplates. On the other hand, for some time they were building four completely different 350 cubic inch V8 engines. Over time, the original GM (actually the second one; it reincorporated prior to 1920 when Chevrolet basically took over the first GM) went from being a car company that loaned money, to a bank that built cars on the side. They now seem to want to just sell and finance vehicles, not build them.

The AMT mid-engine 'Cuda didn't come out until '67. It was issued first as the fictional funny car as the body had been converted to '66 spec for the promo and annual kit, and the Plymouth Dealers car was never updated to '66 trim (though it ran into early '67). The Hemi Under Glass packaging came later, it was merely AMT being opportunistic at the time.

I'm surprised someone hasn't stepped up for that one, though I'll still say that, as a Texaco station, it isn't that good. The sign is wrong, and the station itself is one bay. I can't remember ever seeing an actual Texaco station with one bay, most had two. I absolutely would not buy that kit for the sign. Instead, I'd buy the decal pictured earlier and scratch the sign to fit the decal. Besides the decal sheet pictured, Round 2 once made a separate decal sheet with Texaco stuff on it.

Doesn't hurt to try...if things don't work out, look for glass from a reissue '66. You might luck out and find someone on eBay parting one out. Or, try to find an open, started, or damaged one, and get a new interior, engine, and chassis too.

The Texaco version of the MRC gas station is hard to find now. I had one when it was issued, but sold it later when my brother turned up three partial Buddy L Texaco stations. The sign(s) in that MRC kit aren't too great. This was more than ten years ago, but I turned up enough loose items on eBay to complete the three Buddy L stations (except the sheet metal bases, which were often thrown away). Separate Texaco signs still turn up on occasion, that might be an option.

The '57 Corvette and '56 T-Bird are very good kits, if you are open to 1/24 scale. The '32 Ford roadster is actually what's left of the early Sixties Little Deuce kit, with a bunch of changes of course. The 1/32 scale semi trailers are puzzling...both Ollie's and Hobby Lobby carry these, but no trucks to go with them.

Radiator is a Ford unit, the two upper hose attachment points being a giveaway. I'm guessing Revell '48 Ford, with '40 Ford as the second choice.

Looks like a good fit, but did you notice that the Fairlane piece is a mirror image of the 1:1 hood ductwork pictured?

Years ago, I took my Dodge Dakota pickup in for new tires. This was my '88 which I had until 2004, so this was way over twenty years ago. Two wheel drive, V6/stick. Nobody asked me if it was a stick, and it didn't occur to me to tell them. Guy goes out to the truck to pull it in, gets in, sees three pedals and walks back in. The girl working the counter was the only one working there that day who could drive a manual.

Hopefully MCG will get a photoetch set out for the '64. The lettering can come off for the pro touring version, but for the stock version I'll want that lettering on there. As for the hood, it'll be some work, but a photoetch saw blade down both sides of the scoops will allow them to drop down flush with the surrounding areas. A little epoxy putty into the (routed out) seams, add some underside detail, and you have a flat hood. It looks like Moebius dropped a few bucks into tooling those scoop openings, so it's understandable to an extent that they'd want to get that money back by putting that hood into the first couple of issues of the kit. BIG shout out to Moebius' customer service. I bought one of each kit online. Each was inspected upon arrival; the stock kit had two copies of one parts bag but was missing another. E-mailed them, received a prompt response, needed parts were shipped quickly. Sometimes we'll be quick to let everyone know when things go sideways, but not when things go well. This time, things went very well, and anyone reading this needs to know about it in case they have a problem with one of their purchases in the future.

None in any kit. I haven't even seen a 3D print one.

The reissue Chargers all have the cross ram. But if you don't have that one, any of the others out there should work.

The annual kit came with a cross-ram Race Hemi. The engine and chassis parts were reused in the MPC '66-'67 Charger kits, so the engine from one of those will interchange. The Charger kits don't have the same exhaust headers as the Coronet though.

Sure looks a lot like my AMT Capri II. The wheel flares on mine are different, but I made that alteration.

The first version of the pickup was indeed the rodded version. It was molded in yellow, and had the Scotty's Muffler Service (real shop back then) decals. That issue is pretty highly sought after, as is (sonewhat) the second issue. Same truck, same parts, molded in red with Stroh's Beer decals in gold and the barrels that were originally included in the Beer Wagon kit. Though there are proportion issues with the cab, these kits are still somewhat popular because of the chassis mods. Those include the small-block Ford engine, Corvette rear suspension, and Mopar longitudinal torsion bar front suspension (not a Volare/Aspen transverse setup; those were new at the time and not on rod builders' radar yet). The Mopar IFS was installed on a number of these trucks; Norm Grabowski built a nice chopped top '54 with one. That said, if you want a stock '54 or '55, I'd start with an AMT '53, an engine from their '56 or maybe a Revell '57 Ford, and search out a 3D print grille.

I'm pretty sure the Tom Daniel 'Vette chassis is now under the '65 body. The four-door Corvette America chassis got cut down and reused under the Miami Vice faux Ferrari that was used the first couple of seasons on that show.

Nope. First the Stylizing parts, then the Here Comes the Judge drag version, then everything got chopped out or blocked off. The Vegas TV show version added a Continental tire kit (different from the Styline one) and a handful of parts have been unblocked since then. I don't think it would be too tough to scratch the Battlebird fairing and other parts.

The stock Comet having narrow tires is correct. Those cars are based on the first generation Falcon (with a longer wheelbase, except wagons). Big tires just don't fit on those cars. The Moebius stock Comet underbody is to an extent cribbed from the AMT '66 Fairlane and has slightly bigger rear wheelhouses, similar to what would be done to get decent slicks on a Comet without cutting the quarter panels. But on a 100% stock pre-1966 Falcon or Comet, there just isn't a whole lot of room for bigger rear tires.

"Lowered suspension" amounts to a wholly different chassis. Much more difference between these two kits than between the "restomod" and stock Novas, or '65 Mopars.

Chassis and engine parts are shared with the '65 kits. Clear parts too, as I'm seeing '64 taillight lenses on the '65 B/FX clear tree.

I've got to figure out the color information on that first version. It would look like an easy layup with a reissue AMT 'Vette and any of a number of decent FE Ford engines. Ollie Olsen's Willys (the as pictured version) would make a neat project too. That car was recently found; it later underwent a lot more modifications (body sectioning among them) and not much of it is left. The early version with the independent rear suspension and unique hood scoops is pretty cool.

'64 and '65 hoods are different at the front. The dual scoop hood should have the ductwork on the lower side. I don't know what the ductwork looks like for the Weber carb setup, but the dual quad setup should have ductwork resembling the one pictured below. Notice it is a mirror image of the one in the AMT '65 Fairlane kit.

I believe a more recent issue had different markings.

Wasn't there a reissue of the 1/12 version awhile back? If so, where it was made might figure into Atlantis not having it.