Motor City

Mark, I've still got most of the real cars. You kind of get attached to them. 1968eldo.bmp

We sometimes called it Baccaruda in suburban Detroit back in the '60s, but it may not have been common across the country.

Mark, Those are some awesome cars. I'll bet the hearse got a lot of attention. I'd like to have a model for every car I've owned, but not all were made. What I have: '68 Eldo, '71 Eldo, '73 Caprice 454 hardtop, '87 El Camino (use '82 kit and '86 El Camino SS kit), '91 Beretta. The others weren't made: '76 Regal coupe, '77 Eldo Biarritz, '89 Riviera, '95 Riviera, '01 Monte Carlo SS. I do have a die cast of the Monte Carlo SS in the exact color combination. My Dad bought the Caprice, Regal and Rivieras new. I bought the El Camino, Beretta and Monte Carlo new. I've still got most of these cars and need to pare down.

thanks, Mark; he had a good, long life; I plan to build it at some point; that was a cool first car to own; mine was a '71 Eldorado (mine was shot, but I wish I still had it in some ways); those old E bodies could go through anything

My Dad died a few months ago, so I retrieved some of the models last night from my folks' house. Among them was the '72 kit, one of twelve promos and kits I bought at the Jo-Han plant in '74 for $3.00 each. I should have kept them all.

Hopefully the convertible will be re-issued so the '64 Indy Pace Car can be built. Also, the fastback kit could be built as a Shelby (in '66 only?). I would have preferred either over the hardtop, but I'm sure it will sell very well.

Colby, Is that a '73 or '74 red Apollo?

thanks, Bob

It looks great, Dave. Is that lacquer or enamel, and what kind of airbrush did you use?

I wonder if Moebius has any plant to produce a '54 Hornet hardtop. How about it, Dave?

"Anyway, I'm looking to buy a 70 Eldorado customizing kit (green car with ski rack on box), and I was just wondering how detailed and accurate a representation of the actual car it is?" If you're concerned about the accuracy of the taillights, the '67 taillights on the real car differ from the '68 and '69, and the '70 is slightly different from the earlier ones. The '70 parking lights are slightly different from the '68 and '69, and are not used on the '67. The cornering lights on the '70 differ from the earlier ones. All in all, it's a good model. The dual snorkel air cleaner is incorrect on all years. That was a Toronado part that was copied for the Eldorado kit. In the model car world, they are all essentially the same and are not that rare. I suggest you keep looking for a better kit or buy this one and another to make one good kit.

The Jo-Han '63 Fury kit is quite easy to find online and less than $100.00. Also, it isn't warped like the promo.

The original MPC '71 Charger model had hidden headlights, so try to find the grille online.

If I recall correctly, the Eldorado Rancher was originally a 1974 kit. The '71 and '72 box art have a ski motif, and I think the '73 also does. I don't think there was a '75 kit. I believe the '76 was also in the Rancher box. A Snap Kit of the '76 was issued later on. I had one molded in an ugly blue. I have listed the basic differences between years below. '71: louvered trunk, block ELDORADO letting on trunk, 8.2 litre emblem on front fenders below block ELDORADO emblem, vertical taillights surrounded by chrome bezels '72: script Eldorado emblems on front fenders in front of wheels, script emblem on trunk, 8.2 liter emblem on front fender, same taillights as '71, revised grille, chrome eyebrows on hood above headlights '73: eggcrate grille, wraparound front parking lights, retractable bumpers, new taillights above bumper, round rear side markers, full vinyl top '74: revised grille, vertical taillights integrated into rear bumper, landau vinyl top '75: eggcrate grille with large squares, sunroof, no fender skirts, rectangular headlights '76: eggcrate grille with small squares, slight changes to panel below trunk, slight revisions to front fender ends I know quite a bit about Eldorados as I own a '68 and '77 Biarritz, and my first car was a '71 Eldorado.

Hopefully the '48 Ford sells decently and Revell comes out with some other '40s cars. I haven't seen the IMC version in decades, and I don't remember if it's good or bad as I never built one. I have the wagon kit and the promos are pretty cool, too.

Hopefully the H/O will sell well and result in more '70s and '80s cars. I'd like to see a few Rancheros, Indy Pace Cars, mid-'70s GM intermediates, Mirada and Magnum, Cyclone and Montego GT. I wonder if the '48 Ford coupe is an updated IMC kit. Promos were made of the tudor sedan (Master Caster) and fordor sedan (AMT). For kits, I think IMC had a convertible, and Revell has the woodie. It has been a topic well covered. Why can't we get some other '40s cars like the '40 LaSalle, '41 Buick and Cadillac, and late '40s Pontiac and Olds fastbacks?

1995-1999 Buick Riviera

thanks for the suggestion, Mike; I'll do that

It looks like a '52. How easy would it be to convert the Lindberg kit into a '52? There is a resin '52 hardtop kit I've seen on Ebay, but the body has an obviously incorrect slope to it. I was thinking of taking a typically warped AMT '52 Ford promo for the front grille. Does anyone make the correct '52 side trim? Thanks, Jim

the '65 GTO had ram air as an option, but not many were produced; it became more popular in '66

thanks, Mike; I'll have to order the 88 set

That's a great suggestion, Mike. However, how much effort does it take to mold separate 442 and H/O emblems instead of using decals? It's another $20.00 to spend to make the kit the way it should have been in the first place. Revell did the same with the '50 Olds 88. When I checked a while back, I couldn't get Model Car Garage emblems for that kit. I AM glad to have some of these kits that I never expected to ever see - even with these minor faults.

If Moebius gets these, then maybe we will see the corrected '75 Cutlass grille, and maybe the botched '74 442 that became a Cutlass, and a reissue of the '73 Cutlass as a 442!

Another thing I didn't like was the decal emblems instead of molded-in emblems. Hopefully that was corrected with the revised kit.

Art, So was he able to buy the missing wheel and restore the car? The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn has had one in their collection for decades. It has the wire wheels and is proclaimed to be the actual Pace Car. According to this link, 2000 replicas were built, making this probably the first Indy Pace Car replica offered to the public. http://collections.thehenryford.org/Collection.aspx?keywords=1953+Ford