Motor City

Wasn't the '69 Barracuda one of those messed up tools that had emblems and other details resurrected? Is it too jacked up of a kit to make anything realistic out of?

interesting; I never read the book, but saw the movie, and read the awful reviews of the kit! I wonder about people stealing works of art, historical manuscripts, archaeological artifacts and celebrity cars. Who do they show these to for bragging purposes?

Lorne, That's a dirty shame. Has the room been at a stable temperature all of these years? I bought 6 Modelhaus kits shortly before they shut down. I wonder how those will hold up over time.

thanks for the tips, Snake and Bill! Jim

that is really cool; Whomever did the body also did a great job, and it would make a nice kit. 3D printing will allow us to eventually create our own. How about some Starfires!

interesting comments on this topic; The Christine car was a Belvedere hardtop - not a Fury (as claimed in the Facebook post). Jack Kevorkian's (Dr. Death) '68 VW van that he used as a mobile "clinic" to euthanize clients, was also bought at auction. I wonder who would buy such a vehicle. Sadly, one of Ted Bundy's innocent victims graduated from the same high school as me.

What methods do most of you use to safely dismantle the glue bombs since most were assembled with model cement? I've seen interior tubs with the tabs broken off. Would it be better to use a tiny drill bit to drill through the cement surrounding each tab? Have you salvaged glass with cement on it? If so, how? THANKS!

and someone on the forum will think it should be made into a model car

PMC made the 150 4-door promo that year. I have the bank version (no windows). They are quite affordable with minimal warpage.

Steven, Thanks for the suggestion of using Evergreen sheet styrene. I would have thought with all of the "phantom" kits done of cars that never existed (Modelhaus), and highly customized bodies (Jimmy Flintstone), someone would have done this already because it is one of the best styled cars of that decade.

The Henry Ford Museum (I won't call it by its dumb, newer name) store sold a very nice 999 assembled model. It isn't currently shown on their website. I believe it is 1/18th scale, but could be 1/24th. I don't know if it's resin or diecast or a combination of the two, but it had really nice detail. The price was around $200.

Steven, The 401 was standard on the '63-'66 Riviera, with the 425 optional. The Super Wildcat dual-quad 425 was optional on the '64-'66, and standard on the '65 Riviera GS. The Formula Five chrome wheels were an option on the '64-'66.

Scott and Joe, I sure was wrong on that! I read years ago that the '65 Riviera was the last to use the "X" frame. Obviously that was not correct. I always thought the "E" bodies from '66 to '70 (Riviera, Toronado and Eldorado) shared the same perimeter frame, and read that GM had considered making the Riviera FWD for '66. Buick felt that its buyers would prefer the traditional RWD, so it appears the Riviera had an "X" frame that was unique to the North American market. Thanks for correcting me on the photo, too, Joe. That's an interesting induction system on the 425 engine! For all you modelers, don't worry. AMT put a new "X" frame chassis under the '66 Riviera model car (I checked it against my '65)!

The Riviera went to a full-perimeter frame for 1966. I pulled this picture off of Ebay to show.

Sorry, Patric, no wagons or 4-door hardtops allowed! I forgot to include the Cruver '49 Olds 98 and JoHan '55 Star Chief.

that is awesome detail, Steven! thanks!

That's a good point, Steve. about just using plain buttons. The '66 bucket seats were available only in black or white on the hardtop. The Wildcat got cheapened in '63. Adding a convertible was fine, but they also had a four-door hardtop, which my grandfather bought. Bucket seats were optional on the four-door hardtop, but still standard (with console and tachometer) on the other two. In '64, a four-door sedan became available, with bucket seats and tachometer now options on all versions.

The Wall Street Journal wanted me to take a survey after I couldn't get past the 2nd paragraph. I stopped at the local library to read it. It's the Saturday/Sunday edition and starts on the bottom of p. 1 of the front section. Page 10 is too large to fit on a typical sheet-fed multi-function, so I couldn't post it here.

The only reason Chevy didn't have a V8 for so many decades is that GM wanted people to buy a more expensive GM product with an 8. Pontiac offered a 6 through '54, Olds through '50, and Buick through '30. They eventually realized that they needed an 8 to compete with Ford. Plymouth finally came out with an 8 for '55, with Nash following in '56.

Steve, Thanks for all of the great suggestions! I never realized how similar the Bonneville dash was to the '66 Buick dash. That looks like the way to go. I just looked at my '66 Riviera promo and the seat backs are too blocky, but the seat pattern is quite similar to the Wildcat. I'll look at modifying a pair of seats or the ones from the '67 Impala. A little bondo and an exacto knife should get the correct pattern. The little Wildcat emblems will be a bit of a challenge.

I think for the dash I would have to modify a '66 Riviera. By the way, the photo above is of a '66 Wildcat Custom with the buckets. The seat backs have miniature round Wildcat emblems. The door panels are really sporty.

Pontiac also introduced their second V8 for the '55 model year. They had one in the early thirties, too. Also, Chevy's first V8 was in the late teens.

Tim is correct on both places; I got a beautiful Ford promo from Pasteiner's; I have also gotten some kits, paint and photo etch supplies at Model Cave, and they discount from the list price on their kits

Members 428 posts Location:Michigan Full Name:Jim Skelly With all of the talented resin casters out there, why hasn't someone come out with an interior that has the correct seat and door panel pattern, thin-shell bucket seats and dashboard? The '65 interior that comes in the kit is not even close. I realize there wouldn't be the demand for this that say a '63 Grand Prix or '67 GS or something else never done by the model companies would have, but this was one of the best looking cars of that decade.

"As for the interior, the sad fact of the matter is that not that many car modelers get that wrapped up about 100% correct interiors. (Not as many as, say, serious airplane modelers.) There are still many of us who are happy to paint the guts semigloss black with some chrome door handles and other trim, maybe some woodgrain, and call it good. Round 2's not going to spend the money to update the interior on this particular kit, which they'll be lucky to move 5000 of. (And come to think of it, the exterior chrome trim on this body isn't really correct, either.) I don't mean to sound like a smartass here, but if an accurate interior is important to you on this model, why not make your own? Door/side panels aren't all that hard to do if you really want them, and in the world of google-image, reference photos are easy to find." Snake, I don't disagree with what you've said, but thought that one of the resin companies would have done it already. I should have posted my comments there. I thought I would have to use the buckets out of the Revell '66 Impala or AMT '67 Impala. For the side panels and upholstery pattern, I guess I would bondo over the existing tub and scribe new lines? I wouldn't know where to start on the dashboard. I've even thought of converting it to the Philco radio that was available on the '65 88 and '66 Impala SS.