3/23 Update: First look inside the box: AMT 1964 Cutlass Convertible by Round 2....

[tim boyd]

First Detailed Look - Round 2's AMT 1964 Olds Cutlass Convertible 3 in 1

The team at Round 2 continues to break new ground. Who ever have expected that we would ever see a factory stock 1964 Olds Cutlass kit return to the market, especially after the original tool was heavily modified in 1967 to produce a one-time run of a not-very-accurate funny car kit?

Yet here we are. Amazing. Not only is the original factory stock kit content restored, but almost all of the 3 in 1 race and custom version content remains. Newly tooled parts are the convertible body, front and rear plated bumpers, and the clear and transparent red parts trees.

At this link you'll see 60 photos and captions with closer look - the easiest and quickest way to do this is to use the "Scroll" button to your lower left.  You'll see the full new kit contents, box art, instruction sheet, and decal sheet, along with a detailed look at the new body casting, and comparison shots of the newly tooled parts vs. the original 1964 annual kit counterparts.  As of this date (13 February 2021), apparently the Round 2 team expects the kits to appear in retail distribution channels within a few weeks. So you should be able to grab your copy (copies?) very shortly now.

I'll do my best to answer any questions you have, and thanks for looking!

******

Full Disclosure: This production kit was sent to me by Round 2 at their initiative. I did not ask for the kit, nor were there any promises made regarding possible coverage here or the tonality of my review and comments.

******

Update 15 Feb 2021 - see new slides #46 and 47 at the link above for more info on the decal sheets in the original and reissue kits...TB 

******

Update 3-20-23 - on page 5 of this thread, there is a new post with  a link to a full kit review and buildup on this kit posted elsewhere on the internet and now available to all without a subscription to the website's associated publication....TB 

 

The team at Round 2 continues to break new ground. Who ever expected that we would ever see a factory stock 1964 Olds Cutlass kit return to the market, especially after the original tool was heavily modified in 1967 to produce a one-time run of a not-very-accurate funny car kit?

Yet here we are. Amazing. Not only is the original factory stock kit content restored, but almost all of the 3 in 1 race and custom version content remains. Newly tooled parts are the convertible body, front and rear plated bumpers, and the clear and transparent red parts trees.

Read on for a closer look and make sure to check out the captions for each image. The easiest and quickest way to do this is to use the "Scroll" button to your lower left.

As of this date (13 February 2021), apparently the Round 2 team expects the kits to appear in retail distribution channels within a few weeks. So you should be able to grab your copy (copies?) very shortly now.

I'll do my best to answer any questions you have, and thanks for looking!

******

Full Disclosure: This production kit was sent to me by Round 2 at their initiative. I did not ask for the kit, nor were there any promises made regarding possible coverage here or the tonality of my review and comments.

Edited March 25, 2023 by tim boyd

[pack rat]

Re the decals; my original '64 convertible contains the same sheet as your original, Tim.

The Bonny-Ville decal sheet in the new kit appears to be based on the sheet in the '64 Bonneville convertible annual.

Edited February 13, 2021 by pack rat
pic added

[Howard Cohen]

This kit should be a big seller, not only for us over 50 guys but also for the youngsters who are catching on to 1960s cars. There are many possibilities for this kit with some simple parts swapping. I see mine with wire wheels (65 Riv), lowered, scallop paint, maybe even a bubble top  

If this one sells well, maybe we will see some other vintage kits reborn. 

Thanks for sharing the kit Tim. 

[doorsovdoon]

Beautiful looking car, I'll be picking one up when they appear in the UK for sure. I really like the box art, very nice.

[Danno]

Tim,

Thank you!

But, a question:  I note the infamous metal hood clip is shown on the instruction sheet, but it does not appear on the box-bottom "Parts Overview" and there is no mention of it in your review. So, inquiring minds want to know - is the dagnabbit clip back or not?  

PS: I really like the look of the new chassis screws. If we have to have them, they might as well look a little more 21st century that the 60's dudes did!

Thanks, again, for the walk-through and overview review!

🌵😎

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Well looky there!! More amazing kit corrections, when they always catch flack for only re-pops. I personally love what they have done for old kits, tampo tires, correct/replacement of missing parts etc etc. Great news!

[Snake45]

Thanks for the preview. The only way this could be better is if it were a hardtop. (I'm not a fan of droptops.)

I have all the original stock parts of an annual hardtop, and procured a resin body to use with them. I also got a repro of the original bulged hood. My plan is to use those parts to build up a nice stocker, and then a second chassis with a wild BBC or something of the sort to use with the bulged hood as an early '70s street freak. Not sure yet if I'll buy one of these, or if I'll wait to see if they do a hardtop. But I'm still very glad to see it back, and to see all the enthusiasm being shown for it. 

[Luc Janssens]

A pity they didn't include clear lenses in the retooling of the front grille, IMHO would've been that extra to make something great even better.
But for the rest cool to have it back.
Thanks for the review Tim!

[GMP440]

Big thanks to Round 2 for retooling the Cutlass kit and for Tim Boyd to give us a great review on the kit.  Finally Round 2 is re doing and modifiying their tooling.  A while back I remember the naysayers were stating that Round 2 wasn't going to retool anything because the cost was not viable.  Well, the naysayers were wrong and now we are seeing things come out of Round 2's vaults.  Let's keep supporting Round 2.

[1972coronet]

2 hours ago, Snake45 said:

a second chassis with a wild BBC or something of the sort to use with the bulged hood as an early '70s street freak.

My first thought upon seeing that bulged bonnet : Street Freak ! Or , at least a mild custom ; not sure yet . 

Personally , I'd keep my version Olds-powered --- perhaps an M/P with the 400 Tri-Power from the 1966 4-4-2 .

[Snake45]

3 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

My first thought upon seeing that bulged bonnet : Street Freak ! Or , at least a mild custom ; not sure yet . 

Personally , I'd keep my version Olds-powered --- perhaps an M/P with the 400 Tri-Power from the 1966 4-4-2 .

I was "imprinted" at a young age by a '65 4-4-2 with, I think, a BBC in it in one of the first Car Craft magazine Street Freaks articles. 

[Mr mopar]

Nice to see the drag parts are in there ,Thx Tim for sharing !

[Bob Ellis]

My builder '64 Cutlass convertible is rather beat. I am ready to buy this model

[Daddyfink]

I hope they do issue the Streaker if the tooling still exist for it. That would make a cool bookend to this kit. 

[Snake45]

35 minutes ago, Daddyfink said:

I hope they do issue the Streaker if the tooling still exist for it. That would make a cool bookend to this kit. 

If you have a little skill, you can make it yourself from this kit. Grab one of the AWB funny car kits, chop the windshield frame off the stock ragtop body, and alter the wheelbase (an easy enough modification). 

[Daddyfink]

2 hours ago, Snake45 said:

If you have a little skill, you can make it yourself from this kit. Grab one of the AWB funny car kits, chop the windshield frame off the stock ragtop body, and alter the wheelbase (an easy enough modification). 

I do and I do, but, if they already have the body rattling around somewhere, that would make it a whole lot easier,. 

The spy photo of the trees in dry cleaning bags showed a body, and I think the last issue of this kit in any form was as the Streaker. Hence why I would think they can do it. If not, I have a King's Comet that will gladly give it's chassis for the effort. 

 

[tim boyd]

Just in case you are wondering what that Judson supercharger setup looks like when built and paint detailed, here's a photo of a Fad-Olds Bucket (body from the 1922 Olds in the MPC Beverly Hilllbillies kit) with that Judson installation from the original '64 Olds annual kit.  I built the blower on the 394 Olds from the AMT flip-front Willys kit so I could keep the stock 330 V8 in the annual kit, but the install would look the same on that engine that is in the original - and now the Round 2 reissue - of the original annual kit.   Wonder who is going to be the first one to do a new project using this Judson setup?  (Instruction sheet photo from my full kit review....)   -  TIM

 

 PS - looks like I used some parts box air cleaners (perhaps from the old Monogram RX-7 race version kit) on top of the Weber carbs...TB 

[tim boyd]

18 hours ago, Danno said:

Tim,

Thank you!

But, a question:  I note the infamous metal hood clip is shown on the instruction sheet, but it does not appear on the box-bottom "Parts Overview" and there is no mention of it in your review. So, inquiring minds want to know - is the dagnabbit clip back or not?  

PS: I really like the look of the new chassis screws. If we have to have them, they might as well look a little more 21st century that the 60's dudes did!

Thanks, again, for the walk-through and overview review!

🌵😎

Danno....good question!  

You are clearly correct - I double checked just to be sure - there is no hood clip in the new kit.

In the annual kit, the hood clip is installed in the body assembly (step #4 - last section on the first page of the instruction sheet).  In the new same section of the new instruction sheet there is no mention of the hood clip, only a statement (at the very bottom center) to install the hood as the last step of the assembly process.  

I wouldn't claim this will work for everyone, but given the tight fit of the new body to the old hood, I think in many cases it will stay put on its own, particularly after some modest paint thickness buildup.  

Hadn't noticed the new chassis screws - thx for pointing that out.

Cheers...TIM  

Edited February 14, 2021 by tim boyd

[Erik Smith]

I am glad they included the “racing windshield” as that was my plan for the kit. 
 

Here is an old thread on the Judson supercharger. I haven’t been able to dig up a single photo of the configuration in the kit. 
 

 

[stavanzer]

A note On the Judson 'Charger. Somebody noted that the Instruction sheet is partly wrong on the carb mountings. They should be Vertical. Straight up & down, not slanted, at a 45 Deg.angle. I like the Little air cleaners, Tim.

[Daddyfink]

I would dare say it is two of these mounted on a single custom manifold

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Daddyfink

[tim boyd]

23 hours ago, alexis said:

A note On the Judson 'Charger. Somebody noted that the Instruction sheet is partly wrong on the carb mountings. They should be Vertical. Straight up & down, not slanted, at a 45 Deg.angle. 

Certainly possible....particularly given the supporting detail in the earlier thread.

On the other hand, back in the early-mid 1960's much if not most of the AMT gang on Maple Rd were hard-core auto enthusiasts and Woodward Ave warriors from what I have been told by those who were there at the time. 

I think I could understand a certain lack of realism in the size and spacing of the blower ribs, but the question about the vertical mountings of the Weber carbs sounds to me is a bit puzzling to me.  The AMT team would not usually (but not 100% of the time) miss the memo on this type of thing.  Perhaps the 45 degree inclination of the dual blower layout was a special case somehow?  And I'm not an expert on Weber carbs....is it that they simply do not function properly at a 45 degree angle (vs. straight horizontal or vertical inclination?)  Anyway, it would be a quick fix to mount them vertically if desired....TIM 

Edited February 15, 2021 by tim boyd

[Plowboy]

On 2/13/2021 at 2:12 PM, Luc Janssens said:

A pity they didn't include clear lenses in the retooling of the front grille, IMHO would've been that extra to make something great even better.
But for the rest cool to have it back.
Thanks for the review Tim!

Very disappointing since they made that improvement to the '63 Nova wagon. There's no excuse since the grille is newly tooled. I could understand if they just refreshed the old tooling maybe. But, to cut a new grille and have the headlights molded in? I'll vote with my wallet on this kit. 

[drodg]

Thanks Tim for the write up and great photos as always.  

[Erik Smith]

On 2/14/2021 at 9:01 AM, Daddyfink said:

I would dare say it is two of these mounted on a single custom manifold

Yeah, that kind of makes sense, since it looks like it's made for four cylinder engines. 

50% more horsepower!