Motor City

Thanks for the information, Dave. I never knew that the '64 and '65 couldn't be built stock. I recently bought '65 that was missing some parts and never completed so I could restore a '66 with nice paint and interior but had a cemented, broken mess of a suspension system front and back. My '66 has the wheel covers. It's easy to swap the aluminum knockoff wheels between the AMT and MPC kits. On the 1:1, the '67 had optional turbine aluminum wheels to replace the knockoffs available earlier since for safety reasons, they bolted on instead of using the spinners. I think it was a mandated Federal safety standard change. I bought the Streaker Vette when it came out and sold it after attempting to bondo the hole in the hood and couldn't get it to look right. I think my brother's MPC '68 Corvette also had the spring suspension, but I'm not positive.

Dave, Are you saying that the '64 and '65 couldn't be built stock since stock wheels or wheel covers weren't included? What years did MPC use the working spring suspension?

definitely a no-brainer ...

For the chassis, the spare tire was mounted upright inside of the passenger quarter panel. The vertical gas tank was mounted on the driver's side quarter. My parents had a '68 Vista Cruiser that they bought new. The tank eventually started to rust out, and the tailpipe exited beneath it! We had the Olds dealer replace the tank. I should have had it towed there for safety reasons, but I drove the mile there without incident. I drove it in college, and it handled very well for its size. As Bill stated earlier, 3D printing is going to get really big. Those who use the Modelhaus business model of offering a complete kit with chrome-plated parts will do well.

A big complaint at the time of the Mustang II's introduction was that the Mustang had gotten too big and heavy. Ford PR and writers were claiming that the Mustang II had similar dimensions to the original Mustang. From a selection of my Mustang brochures: 1965: 181.6" long, 68.2" wide, 108.0" wheelbase, 2562 lbs. (hardtop) 1971: 189.5" long, 74.1" wide, 109.0" wheelbase, 3087 lbs. (hardtop) 1975: 175.0" long, 70.2" wide, 96.2" wheelbase, 2748 lbs. (coupe) Having driven a '67 hardtop and a '73 Grande - neither of which I owned - the '73 was a much better car. The additional width didn't make you feel cramped like you did in the '67, and it felt more solid than the '67. I was not impressed with the ride of either one. I was disappointed with the front and rear styling of the '71 Mustang when it came out, and I still think they detract from the rest of the car. The Mustang II was simply too small. Ford should have retained the width and wheelbase of the '71-'73 and shortened the car a bit. It did sell well for its era.

that's good to know; I have the '65 2+2 promo

I'm looking forward to this, a kit I never bought when it originally came out. Another version to make a Shelby GT350 or GT350R would be the next logical step. Maybe another kit later on with a pony interior, or save that for the hardtop/convertible tooling if that still exists? There sure are a lot of possibilities. It would be easy to have the GT and non-GT rear valances in the same kit, too. The non-detailed chassis won't be a deal breaker for most potential buyers.

The Sport Wagon (1964) and Sportwagon (1965-1969) had a fixed-glass roof instead of a sunroof. The resin model was made to add tinted "glass" plastic inserts. The 1964-1972 Vista Cruiser also used fixed glass. The later Vista Cruiser (1973-1977) had an optional flip-up glass roof panel.

Presumably Revell Germany owns the Ranchero and Skyliner tooling, and Atlantis owns the 1/32 tooling for the old Revell-AMT kits. Hopefully Atlantis will reissue all of these kits in their last versions. I wouldn't expect them to eventually backdate any of the models such as the '55 Buick and Mercury, but it would be easier to do with the multi-piece bodies.

Wishful thinking, Casey? My grandparents had a solid black '55 Special 2-door hardtop. It was a gorgeous car that was traded in on a '59 Dynamic 88 2-door hardtop.

I picked this up at Hobby Lobby. It seems to have nice detail and a good paint job:

I've never had this kit, so I plan to get it. I have the AMT '49 Custom 4-door promo in red. Shown is a gray version from the Internet. It was available as a windup, remote control, and possibly without a windup mechanism. This was AMT's first use of injection-molded plastic. A '49 Plymouth 4-door was also available.

Buick was the #2 automaker (after Ford) from 1907-1910. Here is David Buick's grave marker at Woodmere Cemetery in Southwest Detroit: David Dunbar Buick (1854-1929) - Find a Grave Memorial Henry Leland, founder of Cadillac and Lincoln, is also buried there: Henry Martyn Leland (1843-1932) - Find a Grave Memorial

Realistically it would make more sense to do an all-new Ranchero in 1/25th scale. The exteriors of the '57 and '58 are pretty much the same except for the front end and side trim. The '59 would need a lot more work. I think there would be more of a business case for a '68-'73 Ranchero GT.

None of the stock carbs in the kits back then had great detail. The air cleaner covered up whatever blob of a carb was plopped onto the intake manifold. Besides that, sometimes the hood didn't close properly if both the carb and air cleaner were on the engine.

thanks, Snake, that looks sharp (for a 4-door sedan); it's made by Welly, and I'm going to get one

The vent window fit is atrocious on the convertible version.

Dave, Please do the '66 Coronet 500 and Satellite after this!

actually, the correct color for the big block is orange, not red; early small blocks were red orange; the '79-'82 and '86 El Caminos might be good kits to get the small block from

Steve, I agree that the box art should be corrected. I understood what you were saying with your earlier post, and hopefully your photo clarifies it for others. Most seem to use Bare Metal Foil for that area. Maybe you can glue a small piece of bare wire at the top of each A pillar? At least it's not a glaring error such as MPC's '76 Corvette convertible, '76 Satellite-based Road Runner, or Jo-Han's '74 442/Cutlass S and '75 Cutlass S with the incorrect grilles.

Disregard the box art. It's nothing to agonize over and something that Bare Metal Foil will cover anyway. All of the '71-'76 big Chevies are like this except the '71 Impala convertible promo. These are good kits with a detailed trailer included. I have promos of the '71 convertible, '72, '74 and '75. I have the '73 Caprice hardtop kit, which is a faithful reproduction of the real one Dad ordered with the 454, and I sold in 1991 after too many Michigan winters! The '76 promo was only available in maroon and white. I want this kit to complete my collection.

Why is the picture showing a silver 1970 442? Time to start another rumor?

Or restore the tooling for the '65 Dynamic 88 and '66 GS. The Dynamic 88 could also be made into a Starfire or Jetstar 1 with a new grille, body and interior. The GS could also lead to a '67 GS.

That is the color most often seen, but was available in several other colors ... tan, light blue, red, black, and possibly others.