Motor City

Hamtramck = Dodge Main, which was a huge complex. Do you still have the car, Ed?

The first tub is definitely an AMT '63 Thunderbird. The seat pattern is different from the '61-'62, and it matches the interior tub in my '63 hardtop kit. The hardtop and convertible used the same tub based on my examination of my '62 convertible. The second tub matches the interior on my '64 Falcon hardtop promo. I couldn't find my '65 Falcon. I know people on this forum sometimes comment on the convertible tub being used on the hardtop kits and promos, so I imagine that's also the case with the Falcon sharing the same tub on both body styles. I am continually amazed by the knowledge on this forum!

post some pictures, Dave; I rode in the back seat of a '26 T 2-door sedan several years ago, and must say it was a fun ride!

You get no disagreement from me, Mike! There is a market for those not interested in building full detail kits.

There isn't much demand for restoring Model T's, so you have to wonder what will happen to all of this stuff once he passes away. Thanks for posting, Bill.

I'm not sure who made the truck in the background, and I don't know its scale as I've never seen it. But the decals on the truck are "GM" and "Detroit Diesel Allison". Detroit Diesel is based in Detroit and used that green color on their engines for decades. Allison Transmission and Allison Gas Turbine were based in Indianapolis. Detroit Diesel and Allison Transmission merged in 1970 to become a new GM division called Detroit Diesel Allison. Allison Gas Turbine remained a separate division. At some point, Allison Transmission no longer was coupled with Detroit Diesel, and was eventually sold by GM to another company. I don't know what happened to Allison Gas Turbine. Dad was involved in a project for Gas Turbine, but decided to stay in the Detroit area. By the way, Detroit Diesel was offering to employees a Nylint Detroit Diesel Allison truck in the mid-1970s. Dad asked my brother and me if we were interested in getting them and we declined. Dad bought one for himself and when I saw it, I could have kicked myself! I eventually picked up a couple.

This one has been driving around the Detroit area for a number of years.

I just read today of a woman who was missing for six months and then found under a pile of stuff in her bedroom. The police couldn't find her the first two times. That's pretty sad.

the 442 also came standard with a rear stabilizer bar (unlike the GTO)

Dennis, There is a lot of good information here regarding 2 LS6 Chevelles for sale recently: 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 Automatic - Automobiles and Parts - Buy/Sell - Antique Automobile Club of America - Discussion Forums (aaca.org) 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 4-Speed *SOLD* - Automobiles and Parts - Buy/Sell - Antique Automobile Club of America - Discussion Forums (aaca.org)

The double stripes were rare on a Malibu back then, but with all of the clones today, most seem to have them. But you rarely see a real Malibu since most have been cloned into SS models, just like the Novas and Camaros. Getting back to the LS6 for a moment, I saw an unrestored triple black convertible with about 10,000 miles. I think it might have been at a show at the GM Tech Center. It had the domed SS hood, but black bench seat and no cowl induction. I thought it was weird to order such a beast and not even get the cowl induction. Talk about a sleeper! It's too bad about the lost build sheets. Cadillac kept all of their production records on paper from 1902 through, I believe, 1972. Except someone threw out the 1968 records. Then they stored subsequent records on magnetic tape for a number of model years and lost those, too! I will never know how many Eldorados were built as loaded as mine. I can make an educated guess based on options ordered through May 1968 and extrapolate the numbers for June and July and come up with a fairly educated guess.

The point is that none of those items were standard. You had to order cowl induction to get the pins and stripes. A lot of people assume that all of the muscle cars typically came with all of the cool stuff, but that's not the case.

stripes, cowl induction, hood lock pins, buckets, tachometer and gauge package were all optional on the '70 SS

GM went to the thin-shell bucket seats for '66 on the big cars (Impala SS, Bonneville, Wildcat). The '66 Wildcat has always had the incorrect '65 interior. You might be better off starting with the Revell '66 Impala SS buckets. The dashboard, door panels and seat patterns were all changed for the '66 Wildcat.

I keep my old car magazines to use as reference for painting model cars or if I am considering the purchase of an old car. Internet searches of particular cars are full of incorrectly identified cars. Many overly restored cars in magazines or for sale on the Internet have chromed parts that should be painted, a firewall painted body color that should be black (most GM big cars and intermediates), wrong wheels or upholstery. Finding photos of a less desirable body style of a car such as a four-door will usually give better results since people don't tend to restore or mess them up in the first place. Obviously this approach doesn't work with cars such as a Corvette or pony car.

The '68 and '69 had exposed wipers, while the '70 and '71 had hidden wipers. Do you have a resin kit of the Mark III?

I think a lot of the cars back then used varnished wood for a look such as with fine furniture. It makes that area of the car stand out, whereas it would just blend into the background if painted. Check out this tulipwood Hispano Suiza from a later period!

Many cars from the muscle car era came with bench seat, idiot lights and no stripes. Probably most of us would have ordered buckets, gauges and stripes if we had the money or were old enough to buy one. People often assume all of these desirable features were standard. Most of the GM intermediate muscle cars came with bucket seats in the early years ('64-'65 Chevelle SS, GTO, Cutlass with 442 option (but not F-85 with 442 option), Skylark GS. After that, they started to cheapen what came standard.

that is correct; I didn't say or suggest that the Corvair had tri-power; what I stated was: "GM dropped the tri-power (excepting '67-'69 Corvette 427) and turbo engines after '66";

usual drivel in the article ... "bespoke" is used; who speaks using that word other than snobs?

I found this on the internet ...

While in Dearborn yesterday I saw 2 Bronco Sport in the same light blue color. I checked one out up close and it looked really nice. Any rumors about a kit of either the big Bronco or the Bronco Sport?

Mark, Thanks for the great explanation. That will be really nice when you finish it. My brother bought the Bonneville kit, and I bought the Dynamic 88 kit, in '65. It was the first "adult" kit I bought as a kid after a Pyro '37 Chevy coupe started me off in this hobby. I wondered even then why the window area was messed up on the Bonneville, and would have preferred a 2+2 model instead. GM's '65-'66 "B" bodies are my favorites, and I have all of them except for the '65 Bonneville.

Mark, Thanks for the detailed information and photo. As I recall, the Bonneville had a 124" wheelbase, and the GP/Catalina had a 121" wheelbase, and the conversion to a 2+2 kit didn't correct for that. You did a great job on the window area. It looks like you removed the quarter panel to shorten it. Did you also shorten the area between the trunk and rear window? I think the 2+2 kit had fender skirts, but that wasn't a standard feature on that car. I wonder if the interior pattern was changed from the Bonneville.

Mark, How do you go about fixing the roof on the Bonneville? If you open up the side window area properly, you would add material on top along the new window edge? How do you also add a new driprail? I was going to get a Bonneville convertible promo since the hardtop was never correct when it was first issued. The Wildcat and Dynamic 88 were done properly, and most of the Impala SS's were correct, but some Impalas are also messed up on the driver's half of the body. Thanks!