1959 Dodge kit, will it happen?

['70 Grande]

I seem to remember a year or two ago there was discussion of a 1959 Dodge kit being reissued in 1/25 scale. Maybe it was an old Johan kit that didn't lose its molds like so many did. Am I imagining this, or was there discussion about it back then?

Has anybody heard anything about this being a possibility?

[StevenGuthmiller]

The last that I heard, the old Johan '59 Dodge promo tooling was showing up on the Moebius table at some shows.

Seems that there may be a possibility that Moebius may try to do something with it.

But they'll have their work cut out for them.

This is a very rudimentary "curbside" kit with no opening hood or engine, no chassis detail & no interior.

The last issue came from X-EL many years ago & the interior from the original Johan kit had long since disappeared.

Modelhaus had offered a resin copy of the original interior, but with them gone, Moebius will be left to do a new tool of the interior.

I just hope that if Moebius gets the green light on this kit, that maybe they'll go the extra mile & add a detailed engine bay & chassis along with a fresh interior.

Although the old curbside version can still produce a decent shelf piece.

 

Steve

 

[Luc Janssens]

Maybe, they're better off, making an all new one with a whole slew of siblings (to spread the investment and risk) they can use the Jo-Han promo kit in the design process, scanning it, checking the scale and enhance it with detail, and parts we'd expect in 21st century kit.

Anyway this pure speculation on my part, but since one steps into a minefield, by just mentioning Jo-Han, an all new kit IMHO is the only way to go without having to worry about loosing your pants.....

[MrObsessive]

That's my thinking on this car Luc. Problem is, unless the car has some kind of racing pedigree, I don't see it ever happening. I may be wrong, but '59 Dodges aren't exactly setting the world on fire as far as wants in the kit world, except for us guys out here in the lunatic fringe.

I'd sure like to see it happen, but then there's that pesky issue of what else could come out of the tooling except for a stone stock build?

[Luc Janssens]

That's my thinking on this car Luc. Problem is, unless the car has some kind of racing pedigree, I don't see it ever happening. I may be wrong, but '59 Dodges aren't exactly setting the world on fire as far as wants in the kit world, except for us guys out here in the lunatic fringe.

I'd sure like to see it happen, but then there's that pesky issue of what else could come out of the tooling except for a stone stock build?

I'm not that knowledgeable on Chrysler products of that era, other that I like their styling, the same way the American public did, when these showed up in the showrooms at dealerships round the country. 

The question here is, when taking the skin off, how much is common and thus interchangeable between models, brands and from what production years, then with that in mind, what is possible with clever tool design (engine parts, chassis parts, interior parts, body and components and clear parts) for subjects for which there's a healthy demand.

Maybe the knowledgeable Mopar fans here, can shed some light on this....

Hmm...this almost sounds like a $250k+ question

 

[gtx6970]

Don't take this as gospel because I'm not all that up on this era Mopar cars .

But  I think the basic body shape and chassis and underpinnings are shared with a 58 or 59 Desoto.

Plymouth I has a considerably different roof line and overall body shape,,,plus has a different wheel base .

 

My personally would like to see a 59 Dodge, as long as it has the interior.  Theyre not terribly hard to find and if your patient can be had reasonably,, costs wise .

So my gut says this isnt gonna happen ,,,but Ive been wrong before

[gtx6970]

The last that I heard, the old Johan '59 Dodge promo tooling was showing up on the Moebius table at some shows.

Seems that there may be a possibility that Moebius may try to do something with it.

But they'll have their work cut out for them.

This is a very rudimentary "curbside" kit with no opening hood or engine, no chassis detail & no interior.

The last issue came from X-EL many years ago & the interior from the original Johan kit had long since disappeared.

Modelhaus had offered a resin copy of the original interior, but with them gone, Moebius will be left to do a new tool of the interior.

I just hope that if Moebius gets the green light on this kit, that maybe they'll go the extra mile & add a detailed engine bay & chassis along with a fresh interior.

Although the old curbside version can still produce a decent shelf piece.

 

Steve

 

Steve, I think your in  box is full. I tried to send a pm but it gets rejected

[Ramfins59]

Last year I had a PM conversation with Dave Metzner of Moebius.   I asked him if the proposed '59 Dodge kit would be produced as a full detail kit, or would just be a curbside kit that the promos were.  He said that it would most likely just be a curbside kit.  No mention was made as to whether or not an interior would be included, and no time line was given as to when the kit could be expected.

I really look forward to this kit being produced as I used to own a 1;1 '59 Dodge Coronet about 15 years ago.  I made a model replica of the car I used to own using a promo...

I knew that down the road I would most definitely be picking up at least a couple of these kits if and when they actually come out, so I had the foresight to get a couple of the Modelhaus '59 Dodge interiors that I have stashed away.

I for one am hoping to see this kit show up.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'd love to see it, and even if it gets re-tooled as a full-detail kit, it's sure to be significantly more cost effective to be able to start with an existing tool that makes a correct-looking body than doing all the measuring of a real car (with all the potential pitfalls THAT apparently faces).

There are lots of things that could be done with this car, other than the beautiful stock builds shown above.

For instance...      

   

             

1959 was the last year for Dodge on a full frame, so, though I haven't researched it, I'd think one of the AMT '50s Mopars...the '58 Belvedere or the '57 300C...would yield a close chassis swap if necessary.

 

Edited February 12, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy

[426-Hemi]

-I WANT ONE!

[StevenGuthmiller]

Steve, I think your in  box is full. I tried to send a pm but it gets rejected

Sorry Bill!

It's been taken care of.

 

Steve

[MrObsessive]

I'd think one of the AMT '50s Mopars...the '58 Belvedere or the '57 300C...would yield a close chassis swap if necessary.

Round 2's '58 Plymouth would be the best chassis donor for that-------The '57 Chrysler would be too long. The engine is another story though as we've seen in another thread, there's no really correct engine for that era of Mopar available in kit form. I'd settle for a curbside kit as I can do something with the chassis and interior. But even if they don't come out with one, I've got one of the X-EL kits stashed away, along with a spare body that I picked up from Okie Spaulding years ago. 

That spare body was going to give up its roof to try and correct the inaccurate one on the '58 Plymouth, but I don't have the heart to cut up what's now a somewhat hard to get body/kit. I'd sooner correct the one on the Plymouth on my own and leave the '59 body for another future project.

[Ace-Garageguy]

 ...there's no really correct engine for that era of Mopar available in kit form...

Well, maybe not. The Red Ram Hemi info I posted is INCORRECT, and I've removed it to avoid confusion.

See dodgefever's posts below regarding the CORRECT B-engine availability in these cars.

Edited February 13, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy

[Ramfins59]

The '59 Dodge Coronet was also the very last car to have a flathead engine.  It had a straight six flathead.  If anyone wanted to replicate that, you'd need to use the flathead six motor from AMY's '41 Plymouth kit, with some modifications.

[Ace-Garageguy]

The '59 Dodge Coronet was also the very last car to have a flathead engine.  It had a straight six flathead.  If anyone wanted to replicate that, you'd need to use the flathead six motor from AMY's '41 Plymouth kit, with some modifications.

I didn't realize that. Fascinating. That would certainly make for a conversation-starter model. 

[High octane]

I'm just glad that I have one of those '59 Dodges buried in my "stash" somewhere. As far as it ever being produced is a BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH shoot.

[CometMan]

I was thinking the same thing as the rest of you guys about this one being very doubtful because of a lack of a racing pedigree, and no real options for customizing, until I saw the pics that Ace posted. Also, at least some of the were used by police departments, and probably fire departments as well. (Which seems to be a growing niche in the hobby) And a severe lack of Mopars of this era being represented. Who knows, maybe us lunatics have enough of a say to get this one made.

[Mark]

The '59 Dodge Coronet was also the very last car to have a flathead engine.  It had a straight six flathead.  If anyone wanted to replicate that, you'd need to use the flathead six motor from AMY's '41 Plymouth kit, with some modifications.

It was the last Mopar to have a flathead, but AMC offered one in the American as late as 1965. 

[Mark]

Just do a decent curbside chassis (one that is better than the flat slab included in the original kit), and an interior that is full-depth (unlike the shallow one with no driveline tunnel that the original kit had).  It'll sell in decent numbers because of the accurate-looking Jo-Han body and trim.  The trick here would be to not spend so much money on the new parts so as to make the kit unprofitable.  Keeping things simple would go a long way in that direction.  

[Casey]

If Moebius is delaying future variants of existing kits until they sell out, I don't think there's much hope for them investing money in a curbside '59 Dodge. At this point, I don't have much hope for the '59 Rambler wagon, either.

[dodgefever]

Well, maybe not. The "police special" sheet shown above lists a "252 HP Red Ram" as the standard engine. Though this probably refers to a poly-head engine, it could also be Dodge's little Red Ram Hemi

1958 (not 1957) was the last year for Hemis. The 252 HP engine would be a 326 poly, 1959 Dodge only.

361 and 383 B engines were available in '59, so one could mate a big block to the iron Torqueflite from a '57 Chrsyler kit.

 

Edited February 13, 2017 by dodgefever
typo, again

[Ace-Garageguy]

1957 was the last year for Hemis. The 252 HP engine would be a 326 poly, 1959 Dodge only.

361 and 383 B engines were available in '59, so one could mate a big block to the iron Torqueflite from a '57 Chrsyler kit.

OK, I'll accept that.

But I still have a question. What would have been the "D-500" optional engine mentioned in the Police Special sheet?

Not arguing, please understand, just asking.

361 B-engine 4bbl?

Edited February 13, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy

[dodgefever]

D500 was a 4bbl 383, Super D500 was a dual quad 383.

Edited February 13, 2017 by dodgefever
typo

[dodgefever]

Red Ram 361

D500 383

Super D500

To convert a '60s big block, you would need to modify the valve covers to the earlier 4-bolt style, modify the driver's side exhaust manifold and switch to a generator. 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

 

To convert a '60s big block, you would need to modify the valve covers to the earlier 4-bolt style, modify the driver's side exhaust manifold and switch to a generator. 

Thanks for the knowledgeable clarification and photos.

Good to know the B engine would be at home in a '59 Dodge.

I'll remove my incorrect info speculating that the little Hemi was available in '59 so there's no confusion.