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What would YOU like to see as a model


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1 hour ago, rrb124@sbcglobal.net said:

Any 1970-1994 Alfa Romeo Spider convertible. I have owned 3 real ones. They were sold in most countries worldwide for decades!

Any Fiat 124 Sport Spider from 1966-1973. I have owned one. They were sold in most countries worldwide for decades!

Fiat 124 Coupe too.

Fiat 850 Coupe and spider, 128SL and X1/9.

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Great diecasts of many of those. Duetto, 74 spider, 124 spider, Abarth 124, X1/9, 850 coupe. Hatchette, Salvat, Whitebox, and one other. 850 coupe is Seat. eBay has most. Not silly money if you look. I’ve got duetto, 74 spider, 124 Abarth, X1/9. Did guilietta coupe, gtv6, disco volante, and 33 Stradale too. Many others. Montreal, SM, DS19 cabrio. 

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59Impala; for what it's worth, when I interviewed Smokey Yunick on the W-motor (in 1979) he said it was 'junk'.  OC, it ties with the Corvair flat six as one of the shorter in-production engine series in Chevrolet history.  What the heck, IMHO, I don't care much for the '59s either -- my '55 DelRay 2-dr post, (6 years old in '61,) was my fave -- and first car.* No, it seldom outran the 348s!   Now I can't afford any of them, unless as scale models!

Packard is good, but the one I'd like the 1935 "120" coupe, club or business; it was a very pretty smaller car (Buick sized) and had 'three windows/suicide doors' as well.  I once had one, oc.

*My second car was a '51 Ford DeLuxe club coupe, with >oh, no< an 8BA flat-motor, that I liked very much.

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1 hour ago, W Humble said:

...for what it's worth, when I interviewed Smokey Yunick on the W-motor (in 1979) he said it was 'junk'. 

So I guess he thought the 4 speed, dual-quad, posi-traction 409 wasn't so fine.

There, now you got the song stuck in your head!

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Well, Smokey was making his name racing early NASCAR ovals, and when the '58 came out with the W-motor, he refused to abandon his '57 coupe with small-block.  Reasons: 1.) The new body had mounted the engine about 4-in. forward of the 1955-57*, eg. with the block-front beyond the centerline of the front spindles -- worse handling and weight distribution. 2.) The new body was quite a lot heavier, even in Biscayne 2-dr sedan versions.  3.)  The 348 had the wierd 'combustion-chamber-in-block' design, which didn't pay off in the rpm range that the speedways required.  The W was a fantastic torque producer, from 348 thru Z-11 427, of course, which with some weight jacking and transfer tricks did the job at the strips, or on the street (naughty!) 

I also loved Pontiacs back then (a '55 and '62 were our family rides) and the bitchin' 421 was my unattainable goal; it was real fine too!  Alas, GM pulled out of competition, and Ford and MoPar took over.  Perhaps it's for the best: the richest automobile company in the world that had the biggest engineering department ever; they could have steamrolled the smaller outfits...  My history of the W-Motor was printed by The Late Great Chevy Club back in about 1980, and reprinted as a serial in the Vintage Chevy Club Assn. magazine about two years ago.  My article on the history of the '59 Impala was in STREET RODDER's `1959 Build-Up book in 2015 -- may be online somewhere.

*I'm a codger who refuses to call 'em 'Tri-Fives"; that was unheard in 'the day', much as 'Shoebox' for the '49-51 Fords is a much much later coinage.  Yes, at almost 77 years of age, I'm finishing 1/25 models of both my '55 Chevy and '51 Ford 'as they were'.  Well, sans pinstriping by 'Coop' Cooper, alas.  :-<)

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The photo <<< accompanying my form personality is of me in '62, an 11th grader at Modoc Union High (CA), probably frowning because I need another clutch plate for my hot 265/Power Pack '55 -- or can't find any gals to ride around when I'm looking for street races to lose!  Hair 'Chicago Boxcar' by Brylcreem btw.

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My Holy Grail for kits would be a 1912-14 Mercer Raceabout, to go with the MPC Stutz Bearcat. Aurora was the only company to make both cars in the same scale as plastic kits. And Those were bigger kits, not 1/25. I had both Aurora kits, but Tire Melt and Time had ruined them. They had no engines either. Maybe, I should just try to hunt up Diecasts of each. 

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12 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

Great idea! My boss lucked onto what's probably the lowest-mile Executive existing; only 1861 original miles. As found:

1580447432_56packard.jpg.d925159094ec1362f9f823e43ab3ff03.jpg

Beautiful car.

Now I hope he doesn't take it to Foose or somebody who'll blow it apart to make a rat rod out of it! 😭😢

Cars that survived this long should be treated as the veterans they are.

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The story of the Ford Vedette is an interesting one. Devised by Edsel Ford and E.T. Gregorie, the Vedette was originally intended for the North American market as a smaller alternative to the main Ford lineup. Powered by the 136 V8 (V8-60) and designed in Detroit, it was on track to be produced and sold in the United States after the war.

Originally the ‘49 Mercury was supposed to be the ‘49 Ford, but was later deemed too large for the low-priced field. Hence the similarities in design language between the Vedette and Mercury Eight. The Vedette was eventually seen as unfit for the U.S. market, and executives feared that it would cannibalize sales of the main Ford line. The car was then to be sold in France, where smaller cars proved to be more popular. 

The concept of the Vedette was ahead of its time (selling a small car lineup alongside a similar full-size lineup) and it predated the Falcon by over 10 years. Interesting to think about what could’ve been. 

5EC93E94-77A3-427D-A8AA-5371F4286C52.png.f8103f6a4299ff503d1973b31b890140.png

98BD0449-8AB1-4E68-8FDC-E88424A9457C.jpeg.4175033f5c1744d189a5514a475acb47.jpeg

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1 hour ago, Smoke Wagon said:

The story of the Ford Vedette is an interesting one. Devised by Edsel Ford and E.T. Gregorie, the Vedette was originally intended for the North American market as a smaller alternative to the main Ford lineup. Powered by the 136 V8 (V8-60) and designed in Detroit, it was on track to be produced and sold in the United States after the war.

Originally the ‘49 Mercury was supposed to be the ‘49 Ford, but was later deemed too large for the low-priced field. Hence the similarities in design language between the Vedette and Mercury Eight. The Vedette was eventually seen as unfit for the U.S. market, and executives feared that it would cannibalize sales of the main Ford line. The car was then to be sold in France, where smaller cars proved to be more popular. 

The concept of the Vedette was ahead of its time (selling a small car lineup alongside a similar full-size lineup) and it predated the Falcon by over 10 years. Interesting to think about what could’ve been. 

5EC93E94-77A3-427D-A8AA-5371F4286C52.png.f8103f6a4299ff503d1973b31b890140.png

98BD0449-8AB1-4E68-8FDC-E88424A9457C.jpeg.4175033f5c1744d189a5514a475acb47.jpeg

Cool little car! Thanks for the history lesson!👍

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