Motor City

Mike and Art, Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Would there be an easy way to make an impression of the "OLDSMOBILE" lettering off of a Cruver model to make lettering for the hood and trunk on a '50 Olds?

I noticed the Revell '50 Olds 88 kit is missing the "OLDSMOBILE" lettering on the hood and trunk, and the "88" rocket emblem on the trunk. None of these are molded into the body. It's disappointing to just get decals. Cruver's '49 Olds sedan has the "OLDSMOBILE" lettering front and rear, so I'm guessing those could be made easily? The Revell '66 Impala SS is missing the molded-in "IMPALA SS" trunk emblem. The AMT '69 Hurst Olds is missing the molded-in "H/O" emblems on the front fenders and trunk. Does anyone make any of these emblems? Thank you.

yes, that's probably what it was; I never was a fan of that car, and saw a few of the Torinos with that color scheme in the Detroit area; a Ranchero GT would have been much cooler, but would have had traction issues!

I must be hallucinating. Okay, but there was a Kojak 4-door Buick Century model, right? Looking at the box art of the S&H Torino, I've seen it before somewhere. I'll have to read that post. The '72 Torino was made in a pale blue promo, and, I think, butterscotch.

I'd like to see the '58 Olds wagon (first photo) as a kit. I drove a '68 Vista Cruiser through part of college. The first kit pictured, a '40 Ford Sedan Delivery, is listed as a woodie? I guess it's like people who don't know the difference between a hardtop and a sedan, or a roadster and a convertible.

Anthony, This is based on the 1971 Impala Custom Coupe model (a convertible promo was also available in Sunflower Yellow, but never issued as a kit). The kit was updated annually and has good detail. I have the 1973 Caprice kit, which I built exactly like the Caprice Classic 454 Coupe my Dad ordered and I reluctantly sold in 1991. The chassis has good detail with a separate exhaust system, and it came with a detailed trailer, too. I'm not sure if the trailer was still included in the 1976 kit. I don't think you will be at all disappointed, and it was the only full-sized American model car offered that year, so you are really lucky there.

I remember a Starsky & Hutch Torino. It was 1/25th scale and I think it was made by AMT or MPC. A Ranchero GT would have been a cooler choice, but the show was popular at the time.

I didn't know Jo-Han had any radio models. Was it also made by Philco? I remember seeing a mid-60s Thunderbird at the local hardware store. I believe the list price was $29.95, It might as well have been $299.95 since I didn't have the money either way! On a related topic, I think the remote-control promos were made by AMT from 1949 to 1958, and Jo-Han in 1956 and 1957.

Another model to consider would be the 1970 to 1972 Buick GS. It's been done in 1/24th scale, but not 1/25. You could make all three years of this with a simple change of the grille and front bumper. The GSX was available all three years, and a Sun Coupe (folding sunroof) was available for 1972. A Pro Stock version similar to the Red Alert Chevelle could be kitted. Another car that younger people might like would be the 1995 to 1999 Buick Riviera. I still see many around here and some are tricked out with DUB-type wheels, altered suspension, etc. The same is true of the boxy 1977 to 1989 Caprice, coupes and sedans. These are really popular in Detroit right now.

How about multiple versions of the 2000 to 2005 Monte Carlo? You have the regular SS, the Supercharged SS, the V8 SS, at least 3 Special Editions, and the regular Monte Carlo without the rear spoiler? The 2006 to 2007 had revised front and rear ends, and some interior modifications, but nothing that would be difficult to tool. The emblems could be separate toolings to keep body modifications down. Decals for each Special Edition shouldn't be too difficult. There could also be a DUB version. I agree with what you are saying, Art, and I have a business degree from U of M, too .

Tony has some great suggestions. For something different, start at Michigan Avenue in downtown Detroit and head north. It won't be bumper-to-bumper traffic, and you'll get some appreciative looks since most cruisers ignore Detroit. If you like Mustangs, walk along 9 Mile in Ferndale. The parking lot behind the northeast corner there also has a lot of cool cars. Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic Church at 12 Mile has a good display, as does the west side of Woodward in front of Roseland Cemetery. You can usually get some speed north of Big Beaver, but it slows down again in Pontiac. The parking lots and medians there are full of great cars. I turned around in an old Pontiac neighborhood several years ago. This kid about 10 runs into the street after me yelling to his buddy (hey, it's a 'Rado!). I was driving my '77 Eldorado Biarritz with the wide whitewalls and Astroroof. I think he was in Heaven!

I owned my folks' '76 Regal coupe, and my brother also had one. They were more expensive than the Cutlass, but looked better without the wrapover grille of the Cutlass and Grand Prix. It was very formal looking and there wasn't a bad line on the car. The Century had a slanted grille and looked sporty, and was also the Indy 500 Pace Car that year. With an emblem and grille change, you could get three kit variations. Out of the '73-'77 "A" bodies, I would think the '73 SS, El Camino, GTO, Grand Am, 442, and Cutlass Supreme would sell well. Variations on all of these could be made for '74 and '75 models. A '77 Can Am should also sell well. I think the Big Three were too busy at that time trying to meet emission and bumper crash standards to bother with model cars, but it is time to see some of these done.

Hello Dave, Thank you for all of the great kits that Moebius has issued and will be issuing. It's great that you are not doing the same cars as everyone else (variations of Impalas, Chevelles, Camaros, etc.). My wish list: '41 Buick Special or Century fastback, '48 Pontiac Streamliner sedan-coupe (fastback), '53 Skylark, '53 Fiesta, '53 Caribbean, '54 98 hardtop, '54 Eldorado, any Hornet hardtop, '57 Bonneville, '57 Adventurer, '58 Skyliner or Ranchero, '59 Super 88 hardtop, '61 Starfire, '62 Grand Prix, '62 Starfire, '63 Grand Prix, '63 Wildcat, '64 Starfire, '66 Starfire. '66 Catalina 2+2. I better stop as I'm getting writer's cramp!

Hi Randy, Thanks for the link to the other site. Your work is awesome. Jim

That's beautiful work, Randy. How did you get the hood paint details on the '69 Mach 1 and '70 Torino Cobra, and where did you get the decals for the '74 Z-28? Jim

That looks like Bob Tate standing next to the rack.

Hi Casey, No, I don't recall exactly where it was. It was no more than a couple of short blocks away from the headquarters. It only took a couple of minutes, at most, to get there. Jim

In the fall of 1974, I had a break of several hours between college classes. Instead of an extended lunch, studying, or playing pinball, I decided to drive down to the Jo-Han factory on Moran Street in Detroit. That year, Detroit set a murder rate record for the city that has not been surpassed. To put it mildly, it wasn't a safe city to drive in. The neighborhood was a bit run down, and I had to be buzzed in. The woman was very helpful when I told her that I wanted to buy some model cars. She had me wait several minutes. While I waited for her to come back, I admired the models on display in their showcases. She came back with a bunch of promos and kits. She thought the '68 442 kit was missing some parts (it wasn't). Here is what I got: '68 442 kit, '69 Toronado kit, '71 442 kit, '72 442 kit, '69 Coupe de Ville promo, '69 Eldorado promo, '71 Toronado kit, '72 Toronado kit, '72 Eldorado kit, '69 GTX promo, '70 GTX promo, and '71 AMX kit. The price was $3.00 each plus tax! I only have half of them now. Had I known, I would have kept them all! A couple of years later, I was taking a Marketing class and made arrangements to visit the MPC and Jo-Han factories (AMT wasn't interested, as I recall). The MPC guy was very helpful, giving me sales information and marketing strategy, but no tour of the plant. When I got to Jo-Han, they didn't want to give me the tour. I told the person that they PROMISED me a tour, so they relented. The Moran headquarters was nothing special as I recall. I met the owner, John Hanley, who seemed rather quiet. I was driven a few blocks over to the injection molding plant, an old building with no sign to indicate what it was. Most of the workers there were women, which was a bit of a surprise to me. I watched some of the operations, but production wasn't exactly booming there in 1976. They were working the machines and pulling parts off of the molds. I don't recall if any assembly was going on. On a related issue, the thread regarding Testors snap kits had some comments about Jo-Han snap kits. I was very unhappy with these kits. I had most of them. What I found galling were the large-diameter plastic axles and cheap, hard tires. The axles would not be easy to swap out with metal ones so the cars could roll. The comments about the '75 Cutlass grille were correct, too. I knew there was something wrong with it, but never compared it to the real car.

Why was this car done AGAIN? AMT already did versions of the Impala in 1962 in hardtop and convertible forms, and later issued SS versions of both bodies. Why not do something new like a '62 Starfire, Grand Prix, Wildcat, XL, or Monterey S-55? Or, do some models from the same era that were never done: '63 Grand Prix, '63 Wildcat, '64 Starfire, '64 Catalina 2+2, '65 Starfire, '66 Starfire?

There were a few errors in the article. REO formed in 1904 after Olds wanted to continue manufacturing economical cars, but his financial backers wanted to build luxury cars. So he was forced out and started REO. REO continued making cars through 1936, and trucks through 1975, in Lansing, Michigan. Diamond Reo was the name of the truck in later decades after REO merged with Diamond T. GM was formed in 1908 and initially consisted of Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. Oakland was added in 1909. This pre-dated U.S. Motors. It's true that Olds was using a moving assembly line before Ford, and that part is lost on most historians. Ford perfected the use in the assembly line, but he certainly didn't invent it. The Rickenbacker plant still stands in western Detroit. I saw a 1925 Rickenbacker touring a few weekends ago. The Hupp plant is gone. The Detroit Historical Museum has a mid-twenties Hupmobile roadster in its collection, but it isn't on display.

thanks, Casey and Richard!

Thanks to all for your suggestions. I'm at work, so I don't have any promos in front of me . To clarify, the early AMT promos used nail heads from 1948 or 1949 to probably 1952, slotted screws in 1953 and 1955, nails in 1954, and slotted screws from 1956 onward (disclaimer: don't quote me on all of those years as I'm going from my memory). I think all of my Jo-Han promos have the nail head or non-slotted screws. Some of the promos have the nails in so tight that there is no way to get a pair of pliers on the nail head, and a putty knife or chisel is too thick to pry up with. Is there some other effective tool to pry these up without damaging the head or gouging the chassis? I have a few windows to reglue, as well as a few chassis to straighten out from kids leaning too hard on the models when playing with them. I could also use a couple of screws for a '56 Roadmaster 4-door hardtop. These are smaller than the screws used on the AMT models of the 60s. Thanks, Jim

Hi, I was wondering what is the most effective way to remove old nails that were used instead of screws to secure the body to the chassis on old AMT promos and many Jo-Han promos. I saw on another forum that using a soldering iron on the nails will heat them up enough to remove them from the body. Wouldn't that melt the plastic mounting posts? Thanks, Jim