SMP 1911 Chevrolet

[george 53]

Guys, when Missing Link pops these rascals, I KNOW that they'll be RIGHT up there with the quality of the rest of his stuff! I'm fortunate caz I only live about 15 minutes from the Batcave! I'mma TRY to watch this bad boy gettin poured!!! The guys overt DRAG don't mess around, when they do it, it's DONE RIGHT!!!!!

[imatt88]

George,

You got that right! I just got my '65 Lincoln 4-door hartop resin body and its flawless

[Craig Irwin]

I've bought a few Missing Link resin kits, and I know this will worth the wait.

[charlie8575]

Not only will the quality be there, but Kevin, Jeff, and Kris are three of the nicest people in the aftermarket. Not only will you be satisfied with the product, but you'll like the people you're dealing with, too.

Charlie Larkin

[Scorpius1]

If ya need a volunteer to mold and cast that one, I'M IN!!!!

[kevin]

shux fells you are makin me blush!...we sure try hard around here...& i couldnt do it all alone...jeff knows how to make a mold! greg has the production thing down too!

[Bugace]

Now!

Anyone that will scratch the engine?

[Eshaver]

Scratch building a Chevrolet four cylinder shouldn't be too difficult , least for me . Ed Shaver

[jas1957]

Early Chevys had T-head 6 cylinder engines. I was just looking & could only find a couple photos of a 1913 car that the Sloan Museum in Flint MI owns. They claim it is the oldest running Chevy & the second oldest in existence.

[kevin]

i will cast an engine...if i can get a master

[Eshaver]

I thought that tiny thing was a four . I'll go look .............. Ed Shaver

O K , jus looked an sure nuff, I was kind of right :

http://www.vintagechevrolet.org/1911/index_pg3.htm

There were some four cylinder engines manufactured as the companywas being formed . So, we're both correct !

Edited May 9, 2012 by Eshaver

[Casey]

I thought that tiny thing was a four . I'll go look .............. Ed Shaver

O K , jus looked an sure nuff, I was kind of right :

http://www.vintagech...1/index_pg3.htm

There were some four cylinder engines manufactured as the companywas being formed . So, we're both correct !

"No vehicles were produced in 1911 by the Detroit plant though two prototypes were completed by Louis Chevrolet and his team. The Little mentioned above and the second prototype, the future big six touring car - pictured here circa late 1911 with Louis Chevrolet in the driver's seat.

1911 ended without a single car from Little or Chevrolet in production. Durant finished November and December of 1911 at the Flint Wagon Works building wagons and completing the last of the Whiting motor cars left from the buyout. Production of the first car, the Little Four, would begin the following year."

So the SMP 1911 Chevrolet is "the second prototype, the future big six touring car"?

Edited May 10, 2012 by Casey

[Bugace]

"No vehicles were produced in 1911 by the Detroit plant though two prototypes were completed by Louis Chevrolet and his team. The Little mentioned above and the second prototype, the future big six touring car - pictured here circa late 1911 with Louis Chevrolet in the driver's seat.

1911 ended without a single car from Little or Chevrolet in production. Durant finished November and December of 1911 at the Flint Wagon Works building wagons and completing the last of the Whiting motor cars left from the buyout. Production of the first car, the Little Four, would begin the following year."

So the SMP 1911 Chevrolet is "the second prototype, the future big six touring car"?

It have to be. The pictures I have, shows the C Cab delivery from the side, and the Touring(parts layed out) from top, and side(unpainted resincasting put together). There it looks as the hood is far bigger then on the Little 4 Roadsters.

My friend, whom also is a writer for a swedish car magazine, visited Mike Watgen after he had began the castings of the 1911 Chevy. Mike went away about half a year after launching the 1911 Chevy prototype, May 1. 1993. No one now how many castings Mike did, but Mike might be the one who knew the most about the original SMP castings. The idea was that SMP should launch the 1911 Chevy, and the 1962 Chevy at the same time. But SMP got into problems, as alredy after the 50 first testcastings, the mould showed heavely wear. They made the mould out of aluminium, insted of steel. The instructionsheets was alredy printed for the kits, but they was never issued. Chevrolet wasn't interested in poor castings with theire name on, and they didn't invested in new steelmoulds. This probably because there was no time, as the deadline was to short.

No, the story don't tell how many "promos" was made, or if these was going to be made from the same moulds, but I will think so. So the question that is left. Was there only made 50 testshots of this model, and nothing more?

I'm going to ask Fred Sterns if he know which color the ones he was offered was. I've only seen black ones pictured, except Mikes in pale resin. I've never seen a box, and I've never seen pictures of the instructions that was made. Also that is a question for Fred.

Edited May 9, 2012 by Bugace

[Casey]

It have to be.

I should've been more clear. Is the SMP 1911 Chevrolet kit based on the second prototype 1:1, full-size, etc. 1911 Chevrolet? Or is the article referenced above inaccurate? Or...?

[Bugace]

I should've been more clear. Is the SMP 1911 Chevrolet kit based on the second prototype 1:1, full-size, etc. 1911 Chevrolet? Or is the article referenced above inaccurate? Or...?

It is the 1911 prototype. This one:

The first prototype ended beeing the Little Four Roadster, not using the Chevrolet name.

Also learned something more yesterday. My nose might be to big, as I was reading the old story from the 1993, about the 1911 kit, and Mike Watgen. At the very top right corner, there was a picture of the front side of the instruction sheet. So I have seen that one. . Thereby the nature just added another pinch, telling me I'm getting older. I'll see if I can take some decent pictures, or scanns of those pages I have, but I'm affraid the pictures are a bit to small, and the screening too rough, thereby don't allow for bigger good pictures.

[Danno]

Eagerly awaiting ...

[Art Anderson]

It have to be. The pictures I have, shows the C Cab delivery from the side, and the Touring(parts layed out) from top, and side(unpainted resincasting put together). There it looks as the hood is far bigger then on the Little 4 Roadsters.

My friend, whom also is a writer for a swedish car magazine, visited Mike Watgen after he had began the castings of the 1911 Chevy. Mike went away about half a year after launching the 1911 Chevy prototype, May 1. 1993. No one now how many castings Mike did, but Mike might be the one who knew the most about the original SMP castings. The idea was that SMP should launch the 1911 Chevy, and the 1962 Chevy at the same time. But SMP got into problems, as alredy after the 50 first testcastings, the mould showed heavely wear. They made the mould out of aluminium, insted of steel. The instructionsheets was alredy printed for the kits, but they was never issued. Chevrolet wasn't interested in poor castings with theire name on, and they didn't invested in new steelmoulds. This probably because there was no time, as the deadline was to short.

No, the story don't tell how many "promos" was made, or if these was going to be made from the same moulds, but I will think so. So the question that is left. Was there only made 50 testshots of this model, and nothing more?

I'm going to ask Fred Sterns if he know which color the ones he was offered was. I've only seen black ones pictured, except Mikes in pale resin. I've never seen a box, and I've never seen pictures of the instructions that was made. Also that is a question for Fred.

Tor, SMP did produce kits of the 1911 Chevrolet Prototype--they were available through Chevrolet dealers in 1961, right along with the promo! I've seen more than a few over the years at shows like the Toledo Collector's Toy Fair--of course at prices far higher than I was willing to pay at the time. As for aluminum tooling--that works for relatively short runs of plastic kits, but wear is a factor of course.

The SMP promo and kit were produced to an order from Chevrolet Division of GM, promoting the 50th Anniversary of Chevrolet, and were exclusive to Chevrolet, never marketed across the hobby industry. Not every Chevy dealer apparently participated, Horner Motor Company here in Lafayette did not, for example. The tooling was destroyed at the end of the production run, apparently due to the arrangements between SMP and Chevrolet, although the tire molds lasted for years afterward--saw the tire in AMT's tire chart that they maintained through the 70's, for example.

As for the 1911 Chevrolet prototype, it was a 6-cylinder car, and exhibited a lot of expensive parts (that Vee-shaped honeycomb radiator, for example, was the most expensive type of radiator of the day). It evolved into the Classic Six production Chevrolet with a pricetag of $2,500, in a day when a new Model T Ford sold for about $600. The marketplace was already full of cars selling in the same price class of the Chevy 6, and the car was a commercial failure--even today, seldom ever seen at AACA meets, even in museums. The most commonly seen brass-era Chevrolets are the Royal Mail Roadster, and the Baby Grand touring car, 1913-1916, which were followed by the il-starred Chevrolet V8 of 1917-18. Other than the early Classic Six, and that V8 powered car, Chevrolet concentrated on 4-cylinder cars until their introduction of the first 6-cylinder "Stovebolt" for 1929, at which Chevy became exclusively 6-cylinder cars until the 1955 model year.

As a correction, the late Mike Watgen passed away on May 1, 1994 (not 1993) while loading his car with resin kits for sale at the Hoosier Model Car Association Swap meet that Sunday. Mike was one of the real "gentlemen" of the hobby, and the then fledgling model car aftermarket.

Art

[Bugace]

As a correction, the late Mike Watgen passed away on May 1, 1994 (not 1993) while loading his car with resin kits for sale at the Hoosier Model Car Association Swap meet that Sunday. Mike was one of the real "gentlemen" of the hobby, and the then fledgling model car aftermarket.

Art

No doubt then, the kit was made. The fact that Fred Sterns was offered a dusin at once, is problay a verification in it self.

But Art. I'm reading in a magazine from desember 1993. So I must arrest You on the year Mike passed away.

Still Your friend

Tor Henning

[imatt88]

I hope this comes to fruition...I would love to have a few of those early Chevrolets....

[FASTBACK340]

This will be a nice piece of modeling history to have available. The only down-side will be the inevitable flood of 1911 Chevy builds at all the shows!

And yes, I'll grab one too!

[brewsterg6]

I'm in on buying one of these as well. I've been looking for years, but have been unable to track one down. If someone recasts this, they need to fix the lack of belt line moulding on the body, and get rid of the bowtie on the grille! One was on display at the 50th Anniversary VCCA Meet in Flint Michigan in the summer of 2011, but was not for sale. I also got to see the real car. Second picture is the oldest known Chevrolet, in a museum in Alberta, Canada.

Edited May 29, 2012 by brewsterg6

[Casey]

Similar era Ford kits? How many Teens era Ford kits are there? I can think of maybe five, in a number of scales.

I hereby challenge thee to a teens era buildoff! I will be using this :

[hotrod59f100]

Bruce I can see the rat rod guys mouths water over that 1.1 . I can't wait to see this kit in the under glass section. So many great builders it would be cool to see.

[Chuck Most]

I hereby challenge thee to a teens era buildoff! I will be using this :

Let me see if I still have that 1:32 Minicraft 1910 Hudson laying around...

[Eric Macleod]

I have followed this thread with considerable interest. Does anyone know if any progress has been made? I am not typically a Chevy guy but would break the mold to get ahold of a few of these!

Eric