Bob Ellis

The 65-69 Corvairs had 4 wheel independent suspension like the Vettes. But I agree with the economics analysis, nobody wanted them after '65 when the Mustang came out. That air cooled six with a turbo got the most out of a so so engine. They probably made the '68-69s under a plant agreement.

I have this feeling we will never see it

Sam, How do you like the tire melting the plastic on the Pinto wheels? It also spent 15 years in two very hot attics. I never knew what tire melt was until the '90s. A lot of them got damaged.

Yes, the later AMT chassis is the way to go on updating the old MPC

I bought the Roth issue 57 Chevy too. I also built the 63 and 75 version of the kit. I am sure you will have it looking great when you are done.

Your story is great. I have a similar one. I built this MPC Pinto in 1974. It was in 3 homes I lived in after that. I sold it with a bunch of cars to a friend in Massachusetts in the '90s. Then that friend sold to a guy in Ohio. He sold it to a woman in Washington state. She sold it to a guy in Florida in 2011. He posted a photo of it and I asked him if he would trade or sell it back to me. We made a deal. Its back, but not as perfect as it left me. I used to use a soldering iron to attach glass and other parts when I didn't want glue to ruin it. You can see the glass has heated areas along the edges. Plus, the paint is a blue over a red metallic which I remember. 40 years of travel and now it's back.

Now you can understand why the made clone Cudas for the Nash Bridges TV show.

1964 Impala, both Revell and AMT

Tulio, looks great!

Thanks, and nice pics Tim. Apparently, big cars like that '71 Impala have become favorites for the Demolition Derbys, so we will be seeing less of them in the future. I just realized, that with some Model Car Garage '76 Caprice etchings, I can convert the '71 Impala into a Caprice.

This ERTL '55 Chevy 2 dr post kit created quite a controversy when it came out, maybe 20 years ago. It is based off the AMT '55 Nomad as you can tell by the single exhaust chassis and a few other items. The rumor was that the '55 Nomad kit had been permanently altered into the 2 dr post. So a frenzy was caused where people were snapping up the Nomads think it was last call on them. Well, the Nomad came back. It was all a bunch of BS.

Very nice

Nice job on the engine compartment

This '60 Imperial will look great.

It can be noted that the kit to avoid, has glass, interior, chassis and engine parts useful in restoring the old 1970-1974 AMT Camaro kit.

I built the '61 Ranchero when new. The detail is a s good as the 1/25, though very simple.

That AMT Camaro kit you mention to avoid, is the original AMT tool used from 1970 to 1977. ERTL back dated it from the 1977 version to 1970.5. .

Good idea using updated frame and engine. Kit came with a Hemi that was not available in 1972.

I am curious why you striped the chrome and I guess used Alclad? I really like the new door handles. Is the door handle button and cut brass rod?

These are 2 cars in progress now. The '71 Impala body was a real mess. A victim of the MPC Mild and Wild kit options. it also had a slightly smashed down roof. Lots of Evergreen styrene and Round2 '76 Caprice pieces needed to finish it. The '69 Galaxie has been sitting around for a couple of years. I never could keep the A posts from snapping, so I CA glued a brass wire to hold it together like I did for the '71 Impala. Now these projects can move forward.

When they restored the AMT 65 GTO, it didn't exactly return to it's former self. The first ERTL version had wires covering the headlights and some body contours were wrong. But, it is possible they could come back. The biggest problem is the kits were based off promos and the kit design, not even considering cost to restore, is too primitive for todays modelers taste. I wonder if the current supply of used kits / unbuilts satisfies the few that may want those cars.

I feel like they destroyed some good kits. The 66 Impala was a mistake, to me.

Its a great kit, if you take it for what it is. It's a LAND YACHT from the '70s. You can back date it to a 1975 using Modelhaus parts and build the last BIG Chevy convertible. It is also great for spare parts if you find a '71-'75 The trailer is really neat.

I should have done the title different. Have other people contribute their oldest models too, not just mine.

Glad you opted out of the phoney spare tire