maxwell48098

Outstanding build. I worked at a Ford dealer prepping new cars back in the late '60's - early '70's. I prepped several of these, but my favorites were the Mustang Boss 302's and 429's. But you cpould break the rear tires loose even on the Galaxie GT boats! Looks right on. A.J.

That was the first "truck" kit that I ever built, followed by the IMC Dodge L700 and AMT Peterbilt 359. A.J.

I've done this using the spare wheels from other F250s that I've built without spare wheels/tires. A.J.

Here's where I got mine. https://stsupplyco.com/collections/scenes-unlimited/products/m53-1-25-ford-bb-wheel-tire-set A.J.

One of the dealerships that I used to call on as a Chrysler Service Rep in the '70's would buy cars at the insurance company auto auction that had someone non-violently die inside them. They went really, really cheap because they smelled horrible inside. So what they would do is to get a bale of alfalfa hay that they'd spread around the interior and trunk of the vehicle. Then they put it out in the sun for a month or so. Amazingly, the alfalfa absorbed the foul smell that was inside the vehicle. But then the interior of the vehicle interior smelled like alfalfa! To get rid of the alfalfa aroma, they'd then spread a couple bags of charcoal around the inside of the vehicle and put it back out in the sun for another 3-4 weeks. Amazingly, the charcoal absorbed the alfalfa aroma. They'd detail the car, then put it on the used car lot. On model kits that I've purchased from heavy smokers, I washed all of the parts in soapy water. For the box, I'd put three or four charcoal brickettes inside and leave it out in the sun for a couple of days. The smoke smell would be gone. A.J.

Outstanding build. I remember being a teenager and riding in my uncle Henry's white '64 Galaxie 50XL. The interior in his was red and it also had a 427!

Having been building model cars and trucks since 1958, then using resin conversion parts/kits, one thing I learned was that when you saw a resin item you liked, you bought it then because it may not be available months or years later. I've seen the same thing with some 3D suppliers. My first AIM resin conversions and parts were purchase in 1982. I still have some of those old, brittle, heavy fiberglass resin castings A.J.

The only problem with producing in China is that the tools, once sent there, can't be taken out. If my memory serves me correctly, based on a conversation with a former colleague who worked for Walmart back then,Walmart was the one who drove model companies to have their kits produced in China instead of US, using "Walmart approved" companies so that the wholesale prices would be low enough to maintain Walmart margins. Walmart also got the first containers of the new products. (This didn't make hobby shop owners happy.) As it turned out, several years later, Walmart dumped models altogether. Walmart did the same with other folks like Black and Decker where the B&D products sold at Walmart had their own, lower "Walmart" specs. Those lower spec B&D tools didn't last, and hurt the B&D brand as well. A.J.

I've had very good luck on some of my Franklin Mint die casts that used real rubber of soaking the tires in Armour-All. Then I let then air dry for a couple of days. I now will check annually if any of the tires are getting hard again and apply Armour-All using a Q-tip. A.J.

Another fun fact is that the wrecker body from the old Revell Midnite Cowboy tow truck literally drops right on the short F350 4X4 chassis. A.J.

Interesting that only F350's had dual rear wheels ans only the long bed or cab and chassis. But with a little work, you can turn them into something like this mini-pumper. A.J.

Great work. The March/April issue of Vintage Truck has an article on a beautiful, restored 1964 El Camino. A.J.

I think that the ambo body is a great idea. Where I live in SE MI, there were several local fire departments that had Ford F350 (both 4 and 2WD) Pierce mini-pumpers. They all used the same Ford chassis that the current Ford wrecker kits use. I used one of the wrecker bodies and put it on a '74 Dodge D series chassis. I'm considering using the Ford chassis for a mini-pumper or lite rescue. A.J.

I did my own version, minus the optional side tool cabinets. A.J.

I used to work for Chrysler and had a '74 Trail Duster as a company "car". The unique thing about the '74's was that there was not upper door frame on the door. For those Trail Dusters and Ramchargers equipped with the optional hard top, the door frames were actually attached to the roof. The problem with that turned out to be lots of water leaks at the "A" post-to-door frame joint, and at the upper door frame-to-door joint. This was corrected for '75 and later model years where to doors were from the D-series pickups with better weatherstripping around the entire door. FWI The product planners thought that customers that got the convertible topS would not like the upper metal door frame when the top was down or removed. Actual use proved them wrong. HaHa! A.J.