pack rat

Yup. I'm pretty sure every custom piece I used on this build is in the '64 coupe kit.

Yup....beautiful.

An early 60's-era custom Vette inspired by a built-up '64 custom I acquired years ago. I borrowed the hood and Terra-thrust mags from the old kit and did my own version using a partially complete '63 I had on the pile. A pretty simple build; emblems shaved, rear window "split" removed, added taillights; typical mods from when these cars were new. Paint is Tamiya TS-54 light metallic blue with a lavender pearl-tinted clearcoat. An interesting contrast to the over-the-top '70's-era custom I did long ago.

According to an old issue of Collectible Automobile, it was originally a Coronet 500 that the factory hired the A-brothers to modify for the '68 Detroit Auto show to promote the Super Bee. There's no explanation in the article for choosing a ragtop though (?).

And I bet you have a stack of re-issued '63s for parts, right? I need a '65 coupe and a '67 roadster to complete my set (although I have a "THE Cat" '67 in the beater pile).

BTW : There was no such an animal as a Super Bee convertible , in any year . Maybe Dodge was planning to produce one , but cancelled it last minute . Road Runner convertible ? Absolutely ! 1969-1970 . There was ONE '68 Super Bee ragtop; a show car modified by the Alexander Brothers. It was obviously the inspiration for the MPC box art. The kit was trimmed as an R/T and contained basically the same parts as the hardtop, with the addition of a set of lakes pipes similar to the A-brothers car and an extra decal sheet with the Super Bee stripe.

I picked up this restoration candidate pretty cheap a few years ago. The original chrome pieces were missing, but inside the box was a complete chrome tree from a USA Oldies Suburban wagon. The windshield was also MIA. I substituted a windshield from a junk-box '60 DeSoto and had to modify the Suburban rear bumper to the correct non-wagon configuration. I figured the rear bumper mods would be the toughest part of this resto...no such luck. The body had been coated/waxed with something (why??) that was tough to wash off before I could prime it properly. The rear window glass that was included isn't the original kit piece, and doesn't fit 100%, but its better than the one I tried to fabricate with clear sheet plastic. Paint is Testors Mythical Maroon, the closest thing to Plum Red Poly that I had on hand. Yes, the flake is heavy, but I can live with it.

Thanks for posting a pic of this one, Tom. I remember seeing it years ago on the Spotlight board. It's good to see someone preserving these old builds. I can envision some kid having a lot of fun putting this thing together on a kitchen table many years ago.

Beautiful job. Love the upholstery.

Here's a pic of the '23 T parts (minus the stock oil pan). Sorry that it's a little fuzzy. NOTE-This is the vintage '70's-era kit, the pic is not from Round2

The '70 AMT Camaro annual came with the vinyl top, the MPC kit didn't.

Two finished....so far. The Imperial is an original SMP annual, the Dodge is an enhanced X-cel promo. I have an X-cel Chrysler and Desoto, and an original Johan Fury kit waiting on the to-do pile.

I think the gluebomb/survivor definition differs depending on who you're asking. From my own stash....a red/white gluebomb and a black survivor.

Glue marks (?) on the rear of the box, a crack or hole on the rear of the cab, a piece of white sprue jammed between the cab and bed, and the interior/glass don't appear to be sitting quite right; in addition to the crack/missing emblems. Yup....$110 is WAY out of whack!

I'm 90% certain the bike is only in the first issue you posted. I picked one up a couple of years ago just for the bike. I was assured by the seller that the bike was complete, but a few pieces were missing. I can scratch the missing bits though. I always assumed the bike was an Ace, not a Henderson. Guess I'll have to do some research.