ChrisBcritter

regulators, alternators, and

If they have another besides the Nova, that's fine with me!

Nice kit; only goofs I recall were that AMT used the hardtop's cloth-and-vinyl upholstery pattern instead of the convertible's all-vinyl one, and the hood doesn't have that depression in front between the windsplits. Scored a good built-up a while back that needed a good front seat and wheelcovers; managed to get both at the DuPage show. Tom P. laid down a nice gold paint job for me and that's where it sits - guess after three years that paint should be cured?

Shoot, I want a Ferrari-powered 4-speed '63 T-bird Sport Roadster like Robert Conrad drove in Palm Springs Weekend! Bonus points for the '57-to-'54 Merc swap at the end.

Got a good Revell '62 Chrysler ("Does he ever shut up about that thing?") windshield, but snooze-and-losed on the top boot and taillights. Guess I should get busy casting again.

And watch the prices for original 6-cylinder engines take off!

I got a couple little Wacky Races cars as cereal premiums; they permanently satisfied my desire for them in any scale.

Tom, does your wagon have compact or full-size tires? If full-size, there'll be a gap where the tire meets the rim.

The Craftsman kit was pretty much the regular kit without an engine; the other main difference was it used one-piece chrome taillights instead of the chrome bezel with red insert. It used the promo chassis and wheels/axles; oddly, I've seen several which came with full-sized promo tires - a goof on AMT's part. They were usually molded in ivory or sometimes a light brown (the one I had when I was five was that color). I have two originals, but I'll be picking up at least one of the new ones (for comparison's sake, of course ).

OH WOW! Now the only question is how well can they fix the body - the trim and emblems on that kit were some of the sharpest AMT ever made. Unlike most Craftsman kits, the hood was molded separately, and the engine compartment was still intact (unlike the RatPacker '65), ready for the 427s many of us will be stuffing in . All in all a happy way to start the weekend. Maybe I should look into casting some half red/half clear taillights for it?

A shot of the finished product, or nearly so (Molotow and sealer next):

Plenty of images here, if one wants to take a whack at it: http://imcdb.org/vehicle_1075629-Chevrolet-Impala-1967.html

Thanks, Mike. In my case I'll keep the Ranchero roof and cut it at the base of the A-pillars, since the '62 had roof/pillar damage. Alan is ahead eleven hours so I guess he's at work - looking forward to more! One idea: Look at the taillights from the Revell Ed Roth Mysterion; they're most likely your best match.

Boy, was this good timing! Just started a '62 Ranchero project yesterday and was thinking about Mike's conversion: Mike, did you cut the Comet doors and roof at the rear to get a better fit? And Alan, why did you make that angled cut through the doors rather than at the jamb? Finally to both: What glue did you use to attach the promo body to the kit body? Thanks!

This is on eBay right now; original version - did it fit any better than the reissues?

cats, sacks and

Well, it is a little more colorful than "kitbashed"...

The '62 Falcon landed on my porch today in fine shape (or no worse than the pictures showed). Off to be dismembered...

coconut cream surprise

'til it hurts

In a similar vein, the 1984 Japanese WWII film Zero featured a late-60s Datsun 1200 truck as one of the airfield support vehicles.

And - Sweet build, Gary!

They're in the Jo-Han '59 Rambler Wagon reissue; Okey Spaulding has them for sale.

Definitely! I figure that's why it hasn't been done more often - that and '62 kits/builders are very tough to find/pricey. Craftsman/promo '63 verts show up a bit more often, especially with broken windshield frames.

Snagged a '62 Falcon Futura this evening, cheap-ish; for once I was the only bidder: And here's probably why I was the only bidder: So it's getting cut up to provide the basis for a '62 Ranchero conversion - sliced at the base of the A-pillars and at the rear edge of the doors to get better alignment (somebody here did that with a Comet promo and said it was the best way to make it fit the Ranchero). Bonus: I'll put the B-pillar in a good '62 promo I have that's missing one; the color should match. The Ranchero didn't have front fender spears so I'll just fill the holes. This is what I was talking about in the Questions section when I asked about combining Cycolac and styrene. Just didn't want to jinx it until I won the auction.