unclescott58

Hey, that's not a Chrysler 300! What's going on here!? All kidding a side. Unlike you Steve I do like '59 Mercurys. And you did another great job on this one. Scott

I've got that book. It's a fun one. Scott

I kind of like the first car in post #6. It's ugly, but...... Scott

I know somebody is going to ask about the difference between the regular Buick 455 and Stage 1 motor. So here it is. The regular 455 was listed at 10 horsepower less than the Stage 1. So 350 hp @ 4600 rpm. Torque was the same at 510 lb./ft @ 2800 rpm. Scott

I kind of like the Rollers Bill. Scott

Bore and stroke, in inches, 4.31 x 3.90. And I'm not just quoting from Buick' own info. Go back and read magazine articles from the day. Or from recent years for that matter. Especially the 1970 Stage 1 cars were very fast. November 1969 Hot Rod magazine road test. Stock Stage 1 GS, two people on board. Standing-start quarter mile, 14.40 seconds, at 96 mph. 0-60, 6.4 seconds. Cars magazine, October of '70, '70 Stage 1 GSX. Standing quarter, 14.00 seconds at 103 mph. Road Test magazine, the month before. Standing quarter, "13.95 pure stock." (Their quote) At 100.50 mph. Motorcade magazine in April 1970's issue, again back to a "plain" Stage 1 GS, not a GSX, did the standing quarter in 13.6 seconds, at 103.92 mph. All four of the tests listed the cars as having a 3.64 Limited-slip differential. Only the Motorcade's car was a four-speed. The other three had three-speed Turbo Hydramatics. And in all articles I've seen, not just those four, the given figures for the Buick 455 Stage 1 are 360 hp at 4600 rpm. And 510 lb./ft. At 2800 rpm. That's a lot of grunt to get things moving. By the way for comparison: 1967 426 Hemi is listed at 425 hp at 5000 rpm. And 490 lb./ft. at 4000 rpm. 1971 440 six-pack: 385 hp @ 4700 and 490 lb./ft. @ 3200. 1969 Mustang Boss 429: 375 hp @ 5200 and 410 lb./ft. @ 3400. 1969 Boss 302: 290 hp @ 5800 and 290 lb./ft. @ 4300. 1970 Chevelle SS LS6: 450 hp @ 5600 and 500 lb./ft. @ 3600. 1969 GTO Judge 400 Ram-Air: 370 hp @ 5500 and 445 lb./ft. @ 3390. And last (but not least), 1970 Olds 4-4-2 W-30: 370 hp @ 5200 and 500 lb./ft. @ 3600. The above is not put the other cars down, claiming that the Stage 1 Buick GS is a faster or better car. But it's a pretty good performance car, just as it sat on the showroom. People tend to over look the Buick GS because it's a Buick. And Buicks were (and are) grandpa's cars, right? Now to show you what kind of performance guy I am. I'd rather own something like a Buick Riviera or Wildcat, rather than a mid-size GS. And Buick did offer Riviera GSs and Wildcat GSs certain years. And offered Stage 1 engines in the Riviera. 425 dual-four-barrel carb. Nailheads in both Rivieras and Wildcats in other years. Scott

Some of that, like the top two, maybe more diversity than we need around here. Scott

I've heard if it. But never seen it. Where is it sold? Oh, and I've know of Brockway trucks too. Scott

Interesting model. And an interesting story about barstool racing. Cool. Scott

Yea, your right about that front end too. The more I look at it, the worst it gets. Scott

It would be nice to still see the instructions here too. Scott

I started working on mine last night. I still like the kit overall. But, I too don't understand the divot/dent on the passenger side door. I wonder what cause that. Also Lee mentioned the rear springs. They don't look like mono-leafs to me either. But that doesn't bother me too much. Again, I like the kit. But, when I think of it, there are a lot of little things I'd like to see changed. I've mentioned this before, I would really rather have had an SS/RS version of this car. In the mean time the non RS grille would be nicer with a few minor corrections. I also don't understand offering the car with the plain, non custom interior. The leaf springs I'm not sure if they are correct or not. I do know they should be the mono-leafs on the '67 Camaro. I just don't remember exactly what they look like without doing more research. And the divot in door? This also needs to be fixed on future reissues. Am I so unhappy with the problems above, that I regret that I bought Revell's new '67 Camaro kit? No, the problems are all very minor. It will still build into a very nice representation of a '67 Camaro. That only the real hard core nit pickers will complain. Again, overall, I'm happy. Scott

But Harry, there are no mirrors or back washed grilles. You can't approve of that. I'm sorry Harry, I can't resist. I try to stop teasing you on that, before it gets old. Scott

I love Motor Trend Classic. But, their free digital version above leaves a lot to be desired. I think I'll just have to find a paper copy. Scott

Here is a joke Buick guys like to tell. "Do you know how you get your Buick ready for racing? You turn the air conditioning off." That's one of reasons I love Buicks. Their engines put out lots of torque. In fact, find another muscle car from that time period that puts out 510 ft-pounds of torque that the Stage 1 does. There is none. Not even the legendary 426 Hemi. And torque is what gets the car off the line. Second, Buick did not use mechanical lifters to get there. So, you could still order such luxuries as air conditioning with your Stage 1 car. So, like it's joked. How do you get your Buick ready for racing? Scott

It's easy to convert Monogram's GSX Stage 1 kit into a regular GS. The first thing you need to know, is that Stage 1 refers to the engine and not the car. The model is a GSX with a Stage 1 455 motor. The Stage 1 motor was optional on all GS models, including the GSX. The GSX was essentially nothing more than a trim package for GS coupes. It included most of the available GS performance options, other than the Stage 1 motor. But as noted, that could be ordered with the GSX package. In 1970 you could get your GSX in only one of two colors. Saturn Yellow or Apollo White. (Gee I wonder what inspired those two names? Also, the 71 GSX could be had in more colors.) The GSX came with spoilers front and rear, a hood tach, and a blacked out hood and striping package. All of which was not available on the regular GS. So to convert your Monogram GSX into a regular GS? First leave off both spoilers. Fill in the hole for the hood tach. Leave off the stripes. And paint the whole hood body colored. Also, leave the headlamp bezels chrome. They were only painted body color on the GSX. What to do about the Stage 1 if you don't want that? The Stage 1 and regular GS 455s look the same externally. I just leave off the Stage 1 decal on the air cleaner, and sand off the emblems on the front fenders. 1970 GS's without the Stage 1 motor, just say GS 455 on the front fender. Good luck you wish to change the Rallye clock in the instrument panel over to the regular factory tach. That maybe a little tough (but, I know modelers who can do it). On GSs other than the GSX, you had to pick one or the other. They both used the same hole in the dash. I like the regular GSs better than the GSX. They were just as fast. But, were sleepers. Not blatantly advertising their performance potential like many other muscle cars. The Stage 1 motor put out 510 ft-pounds of torque, and a more than likely was underrated at 360 hp. They were known to surprise many of guys driving Hemis, Cobra Jets, and others. Rather than showing off with spoilers and stripes, which really don't do that much. With a Stage 1 Buick, you show off with your right foot. That's it. I hope you guys found this helpful. Scott

Sorry, that is a 1961 Studebaker Lark Regal. In '61, Lark Deluxe came with single headlamps, Lark Regal with duals. Also a different grille between the 61's and 62's. Plus, and this doesn't apply to wagons, new rear fenders and taillights on the '62s. Sorry Tom, your wrong on this one. Scott

Man, there are too many things I could say about blowers that will get me in trouble here. Scott P.S. Won't she fall off at speed?

"one clean chevy!"??????? Scott

Boy, the roof on the Revell (maybe Renwal?) 1/12th scale Mustang and Shelby kits does look like it's chopped in the "C" pillar area. It just doesn't look right. Scott

I like the pictures of the real car. But, how about some pictures of the actual kit? See the boxes and photos of the real car are all great, but they really tell us little to nothing about the actual kit. Is it any good? Scott

Whoops, I just noticed one mistake. The link Al used is for the 1971 Barracuda. Though the interior choices were pretty much the same for both 1970 and 1971. Also, if you go to oldcarbrochures.com you can see the original sales brochure for the car. Scott

Wow! Great responses to these questions. Using copies the Plymouth Fact and Features book. I'm impressed. You normally can not get a better source than that. So, I have nothing more to add, other than I'm glad to see this not start out as another Revell Barracuda bashing thread. Thank you. Scott

New one on me too. Pretty cool. You need to build a model of it Randy. Scott

There you go again Steve, you and those darn 300s. I just don't get it? All kidding a side, another nice find. And how about Holthaus, a.k.a. Modelhaus, I'd check with them. They may repop the wheels. Scott