Bob Ellis

Marc you did a great job grafting a '70 nose on the '69 El Camino. You have to get the model finished.

The model looks pretty good. I can understand why they made a new tool for the snap kit. It looks like it can be assembled easily by anybody. I think this one looks better than the tired MPC tool. 2 questions; what is the hole on the trunk lid? What is the rectangulat opening below the radio on the dash. My guess would be where the CB radio and the antenna goes? I might buy one of these after seeing the photos posted here.

Your post and pictures spell it out pretty well. If MPC didn't turn it into a stock car, it would be a better kit today. The door handles are probably more obvious, but other damage including a general wavyness of the body side crease has degraded this Cuda. The headlights are not sunken anymore and the front turn signals are missing too. While there are alot of Snap Kits out there and the boxes appear the same, some have 1974 on the rear and some do not. This may be a function of when ERTL issued assembled promos in red. I also seems that these promos got extra work done on the to improve the side wavyness. If so, an upcoming release of the Snap Kit may be better. Using an Xacto knife on the back side, you can cut open the hood in about 15 minutes. Take care in the front not to go too deep into the grille. You can keep the flat hood, or find a shark one. I used an AMT Challenger chassis, but I guess a Revell might be better? I am not sure if Revell will ever do this 72-74 Cuda. The engine options of slant 6 , 318 and 340-360, probably won't generate enough sales. So, it's good to have this kit around.

The colors are nice. Interesting convertible top

I just checked out the '61 F85 wagon. It appears some of the F85s had those chrome strips on the rear window and some not. So, building the kit either way is correct. I never owned or knew anybody that owned this car, but it appears these chrome pieces are part of an optional opening rear window.

I have to see how that tail gate and window work in real life. Too bad this kit is now missing.

Looks good. Its a nice kit. I decided to glue the pickup bed to the body and not the frame. Not sure that was a good idea or not. Seemed easier to paint the body.

Snake, you are right about the '72 grille. The Round2 grille is funky. The grill I used came from the Matchbox or early ERTL AMT 72 Chevelle.

Some more paint and detailing done on the '69 Galaxie.

Probably not a good idea cutting up an original El Camino. Better to use newer kits. MPC and AMT made 1971 and 1972 Chevelles. You may be correct that the MPC is more narrow than the AMT version. The current 1970 and 1972 ERTL or Round2 Chevelle kits are derived from the last AMT Chevelle called Red Alert. The MPC was last seen as a MPC kit called SSlasher or SS454 during the '80s. That kit has been missing quite a few years (30+) and was ruined after MPC turned it into a NASCAR kit in the '70s. You can still see damage where restoration as a stock Chevelle was not that great.

Snake, this has been discussed in a lot of posts here and on Facebook, but it is worth repeating. The problem with making a different year El Camino out of the AMT '68 El Camino, is that the width of the recent AMT Chevelle kit is wider than the previous AMT Chevelle kit that originated from the AMT '68 Chevelle. The current AMT Round2 '72 Chevelle is based off the original '68 Chevelle kit as well. This is why it is virtually impossible to add an AMT '69 Chevelle front bumper to a newer AMT '68 El Camino and create a '69 El Camino. Jimmy Flintstone used the original '69 El Camino with an AMT '70 or '72 Chevelle kit and it fits. Finding an original AMT '69 El Camino can be difficult and expensive. It also has errors in the door windows. The original '69 El Camino is on the bottom. The new kit is really a great kit with more details. I removed about one inch from the front of the two kits; the '72 Chevelle and the '68 El Camino. I did not use the whole '72 front clip because it would be narrow. I had to use a bit of Evergreen Styrene as shim to make it fit as well. The attached photo show the cut. The '72 hood must be sand down to reduce the thickness on the side edges. Otherwise, it will be to high.

The color makes that model. Looks great.

Got some Bare Metal Foil on tonight. next will add Model Car Garage SS emblems and put it all together. Maybe a SS 402 instead of a 454?

The first Johan Torino promos had a dated rear pan on the model. The Johan snap kit is a Gran Torino Sport, and has a hood scoop. The NASCAR Torino has a flat hood and open . Sometimes the body appears completely stock with the side trim and a hole for fuel filler on the side. I am not sure if the AMT version was borrowed or copied from Johan, but some appear to have racing covers on the grille. The johan Gran Torino Sport has side trim. In order to use the laser stripe, that trim must be removed. Somebody over the years made the decals, I think motor City Resin?

The AMT '66 Wildcat is almost exactly the same as the '65 kit. Having said that, the glass from the 66 kit should fit the resin 65 like a glove. I have inspected both kits together and I can say that both share most of the same parts. The 65 has a front bumper that flips up on the side and different tail lights. At a quick glance, it's hard to tell the difference. Kevin picked a a good subject because the doner 66 kit gives you everything you need to get the job done and it won't break the bank either.

I drilled out the headlight area and found another head light bucket out of the Round2 AMT '61 Galaxie. It was a custom with clear lens. These funky head lights are a result of MPC modifying the Cuda kit to a stock car after the 1974 annual kit. Don't forget that the turn signal lights under the grille were removed as well. If you get a chance to see an original 1972-1974 MPC Cuda kit, you will see how much better they used to be. In a related note, the Chrysler emblem on the lower right part of the right front fender was removed after the 1974 annual kit run. Non of the subsequent kit runs by ERTL that I have seen have the emblem.

It does look great.

Ron, I am going to do the same thing. Bad news is I found out my Pro-Modeler has an incorrect Torino body. Good news is my Cyclone is getting new parts.

Promos are a really good source for Vegas. Easy peasy to oprn the hood.

The purple custom is the epitome of the AMT 3 in 1 customs. Can't beat that look.

This is really a beautiful model. This built kit is a gem because it will never warp like the acetate promo version. Some people like the car without skirts, but these really look good.

It's interesting that you call this a promo build, because it is, sort of. What other people have said is true, the engine and firewall of the original 3 in 1 kit are lost. What you have are the remnants of the AMT Craftsman kit (1967) that also was sold as a drag combo kit with the trailer and Chevelle funny in 1969.All of this are the promo parts. In the 60s, this kit had a closed promo type hood. In 1987 or 1988, ERTL found the tool and resurrected the kit. Unfortunately, AMT lost the engine and the fire wall and the hood. Also, the separate red tail lights were eliminated in the 1969 reissue as well as a cost cutting measure. Amazingly, most of the custom parts, including Advanced Custom parts returned. $200 collector unbuilt '63 Impala kits became $50 kits over night with the reissue of this kit by ERTL. You will also notice that the wheels are promo design, and not the typical separate wheel cover and wheel backs that were the standard parts of the 3 in 1 kits. The hood is new, in that the tab to use the AMT hood clip is gone. The body is missing the hood clip tab as well. But it makes a terrific promo type model. Some people think that the old AMT models such as this Impala have a nicer rendition than the newer computer generated kits of today. Thanks for sharing your work.

I have had some Bare metal Foil last for years.

Your work is beautiful, so don't take this as criticism. The A posts on 62-64 Impala 2 door coupes/convertibles have solid bright trim, with no paint on the outside.

That is a good point about the Tamiya CB750; it got slightly simplified after 30 years. If you didn't know about the chain with individual links, you would think the re-issue was exactly the same.