Motor City

'71 Ford Mustang Boss - The Lost Boss (motortrend.com)

As mentioned in the article, seeing out of the back of the sportsroof required a lot of hope (that no vehicle was in the blind spots).

The standard engine in the '69 XL was the 240 SIX CYLINDER and 3-speed trans. I wonder how many ordered that! Optional engines were the 302 and 390 with a two-barrel carb, and the 429 with two-barrel and four-barrel carb. The 302 and 390 ran on Regular fuel, and the 429s ran on Premium.

My buddy's parents ordered a '70 XL Sportsroof in two-tone green with the high-back, comfort weave bucket seats, sport mirrors and optional wheel covers. It only had a 390 and wasn't a GT, but it was really sharp. I'll have to get some pictures of it from him since the car is long gone.

Hi Steve, Hopefully the decal sheet will include stripes for the optional XL GT (black, white, red, gold, and maybe other colors that I'm not aware of).

Because, as you already know, most people here are too cheap to pay $40 dollars or more for any kit.

I stand by what I said earlier. According to the '70 brochure: "Black all-vinyl bucket seats are available at no extra cost on the Wildcat Custom Sport Coupe" and "All-vinyl notch-back seats ... standard on the Wildcat Custom Convertible in Pearl White or Black"

Most people building kits want something that is relatively easy and goes together well. It is mostly hard-core builders on this board who are concerned with the minute details such as an accurate engine, trans and differential. Whether or not an axle goes through the engine block is of little to no concern for the average model car builder. After all, once it’s completed, it sits on a shelf with the hood usually closed. There are a lot of people like me who have promos and kits and care more about body and interior accuracy than the rest of the details. There’s nothing wrong with either viewpoint, but the target audience for highly detailed kits is not the same as that for a kid or adult just wanting to buy a kit for the subject matter or just to have something fun to do. Since we don’t know the cost of developing an all-new tool versus making minor improvements or corrections to multiple existing tools, Round2 will see how well sales pan out to justify their investment in this strategy. I think it is working out well for them and consumers. Many kits have come back on the market that we thought would never come back. Round2 will cover both markets with improved old kits and new ones like the Charger and Bronco. If someone doesn’t like this, they are able to buy kits from other model companies.

They can recreate any tool if the parts aren't warped. A styrene kit can be scanned using computer technology. Older promotional models molded in acetate (warping) plastic would be a bigger challenge, though some adjustments could be made to the CAD files. Jo-Han models could also be done this way but would require licensing from the current owner as well as from the auto manufacturers.

The '69 Wildcat had a 430 engine and the '70 had a 455. I drove a '68 Wildcat in high school and college. The engines are of the same family, though I'm not sure of any differences regarding pulleys and belts, ac compressor location, etc. I would use the engine out of the '69 Riviera kit. After '66, Wildcat bucket seats were only available in black (unless possibly a special order was available for a color change, but I've never seen one).

This is (obviously) great news. Round2 is listening and delivering! I'll have to get a '60 to duplicate the trucks I drove when I worked for the City of Dearborn in the mid-seventies. The unibody '61-'63 is just too cool to pass up.

I thought that just happened on the first-generation Mustangs!

It would be nice to also make a '70 XL out of this tool.

The '69 Wildcat had a 430, while the '70 had a 455. The Riviera used the same engine as the Wildcat in the respective years. There are always a lot of '69 Riviera parts on Ebay.

I'd go for a '58 Thunderbird hardtop or '59 convertible, or a '59 Invicta.

This is high on my list, too. All in due time ...

Thanks for the great photos, Tim!

U.S. Royal opened a plant in Detroit in 1941 next to Belle Isle. I believe it was the site of the Olds Motor Works plant that was destroyed by fire forty years earlier in 1901. The Uniroyal plant closed in 1981 and was eventually torn down.

patience, grasshopper!

My teacher bought an Emberglo '66 Mustang hardtop that year. We were told not to touch it! She drove a '57 Mercury before that.

They had a dark green and a turquoise available for '66.

Yes, I was surprised as that's something I wouldn't have done. I didn't care for the color choices either, and the tangerine small block was odd looking.

AMT did a 3-pack of unassembled kits of 1953 models (Ford, Studebaker, Pontiac) using the promo bodies. Their promos started using the non-acetate plastic during the 1961 model car season. What about the 1/20th scale Packard ambulance and the (1/25th?) Divco milk truck? How about it, Round2?

correct, it's probably 1/27th scale