sjordan2

Amelia Island generally has a theme; many important cars are there for exhibition only, and not necessarily entered for competition.

Yeah, the real jaw-dropper here is the array of Richard Petty cars (though a Lee Petty car is at his museum).

This year's Concours d'Elegance at Amelia Island featured some truly unusual one-off cars from long ago, plus many other cars of interest. Slide show here: http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/gallery/19831/Ghia-Gilda.html

Okay, I'll play along without Googling this. The bottom area around the hatch looks too detailed for a model, so I'll say real.

Jason– LOVE the tire marks on the side.

How about a spoiler?

Actually, Tonka is owned by Hasbro, which has been back and forth in talks with Mattel. But I agree with you about a better diorama for the Winton than the Tonka kit's Western street – although I found a painting of the broken-down Winton next to a conestoga wagon, which is probably not very accurate for 1903 either. The 2003 Smithsonian exhibit created a life-size diorama showing the Winton being pulled out of the mud with the aid of the block and tackle they carried along with them, backed by a majestic Southwest panorama that looks just right. Of course, Bud the bulldog is right there. http://www.examiner.com/x-2123-Baltimore-Family-Entertainment-Examiner~y2010m2d5-bud I would add that the person who originally posted this thread has not returned to the conversation, and further attempts to help him may not be fruitful.

That diorama kit looks great. The only difference is that most of the photos I see of the real car (and as displayed at the Smithsonian GM transportation museum) show a wrapped spare tire mounted in front of the radiator. But these diorama kits are nearly impossible to find. I bet Art could suggest some kitbashing/scratchbuilding approaches. On the other hand, maybe you could track this guy down and ask if you could borrow his build. http://s616.photobucket.com/albums/tt248/Pilgrim_02/1_25%20Models/?action=view&current=1903WintonTouring.jpg&currenttag=Tonka+Diorama

http://groups.google.com/group/transport-innovators/browse_thread/thread/fcb090885dd30657

Underneath the skin, it's still a Vega. Or is it a Vega Monza? Or a Monza Vega? Or a Megonza? Or a piece of **** no matter what you call it?

I am continually in awe of the skills of the people who visit this forum.

Mea culpa. I was talking about the styling of the nose, not the mechanical parts of the front end.

Not all. The earlier 70s versions had front ends that mimicked the Camaro.

Further investigation reveals that except for the grille, this was the body style used for the infinitely more appealing and well-known Cosworth Vega. http://vlane.com/blogs_article/251/beat-recession-5-chevrolet-cosworth-vega

That's what I found a short while ago. However, I cannot find a single image of the 1:1 car. EDIT: AHA! I did find one (and only one with this grille), based on your Wikipedia reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Monza_S.jpg

Very cool build, and this is one with a color I seldom like but looks great here. Very interesting to note that both Boyd Coddington and Chip Foose claimed credit for this one, though it seems Foose designed it while working for Coddington before they split over differences. There's an excellent diecast under the Foose name.

Eureka. This must be it. Note the Monza badge on the front fender. That's why it was listed as a Monza at the website that sells it. http://thumbweb.com/models/boxart/78monza1-7827-s.jpg And this may not be Kosher, but I lifted the following quote from another forum... "In response to the original question, the model depicts the 1978 Chevrolet Sportback in a Pro Stock configuration. In essence, the Sportback was a one year vehicle built from left over 1977 Vega rear body sections with Monza Town Coupe front sheet metal added to it so Chevrolet wouldn't have to scrap the extra bodies. MPC also released the model in a stock configuration along with the Pro Stock version that is shown in your picture..." So it appears that everybody is kindasorta right about what it is or isn't, and Jimmy is probably the most correct.

When I was checking out this subject I found an MPC kit with box art that appears to show the same tooling as the AMT, including the big scoop on the hood – which isn't on the hood of the build in question. Optional?

The Monza on the cover of your 78 brochure example is a Monza Town Coupe. It has a completely different roofline from the Vega; your model has the Vega roofline, among other cues. Scroll down to the Town Coupe: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/chevrolet-monza2.htm As Dave Zinn mentioned above, your model is a Twister Vega: http://thumbweb.com/models/boxart/twistervega-pro-s.jpg Regardless of body style, as the editors of Consumer Guide noted, "The Chevrolet Monza, introduced for 1975, was basically a Chevrolet Vega dressed for a night at the disco."

If you want to add engine detail, it should have a heavily modified, overbored 289 short block Chevy; you can see some pictures here: http://www.supercars.net/Gallery?cmd=viewCarGallery&carID=1890&pgID=1

Gowland & Gowland Highway Pioneers kits – Model T and Stutz Bearcat. These were joint projects with my Dad helping me along, and I cherish these memories.

As a museum professional, you probably know about this, while others may not – PBS aired a highly entertaining documentary by Ken Burns on this subject, "Horatio's Drive." http://www.pbs.org/horatio/index.html The DVD is available from the PBS online store for $24.98. PS– Amazon has the companion book to this documentary: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Horatio%27s+Drive&x=12&y=15

Any Mac guys out there? Doesn't work for me.

Uhh...at 6 votes real, 29 model as of this post, how is "real" in the majority?