Ragtop Man

First the build is terrific. We sure miss Shawn, Tom Coolige and Don in a mighty, mighty way. I don't think 3D will ever capture their craftsmanship or passion for the hobby. Second, there was no MEL option in the Ford - that was reserved for the Mercury Edsel and Lincoln. That said, FE to MEL is fairly straightforward swap; bellhousing and engine mounts were common to '60 (?) maybe '61. Mercury products were available with MEL 383 and manual transmission, that became the workaround for the '59 Daytona T-Birds, which were NOT available with a manual transmission. Ford did have some MEL / Ford and Edsel-branded light car (Galaxie/Fairlane) prototypes circulating Dearborn in '58-59 era, but the vehicle dynamics once it diverged from a straight line were awful to the point of dangerous.

Would like it to fit within a booth I am designing - seen that SilentAire makes several, guessing there are probably others as well. What is working best for you, would like something of a more compact scroll-type. It there's a good link to prior discussion, LMK and accept my thanks for your patience in advance! Need to give the electrician some direction on power to the designated booth area. Thanks!

Fiero was pegged as an affordable, lightweight two seat commuter car, but with really aggressive Pontiac styling. At the time, X1-9 was big, and the idea of a really innovative car that could be a stalking horse for new manufacturing techniques was hot - enduraflex body panels, mill-and-drill construction, space frame design, etc. Pontiac had an entire divisional concept built around the car - they would become 'center of expertise' for this type of construction. A very innovative 4-cylinder engine was also planned (Manhattan) that was similar in concept to the Offy - with no separate cylinder head (!) - that weighed only a little more than a 4-stroke motorcycle engine of similar type. As twin turbo 2.9L was also in the plan, as was a body to be pressed from lightweight HSLA (high strength, low alloy) steel. Other Pontiacs would follow the idea - light space frame cars with innovative styling, great handling and great fuel economy, and the campus at Joslyn Rd would go from stone age to high tech, keeping a large and loyal workforce busy for a generation. Then ... came the GM law of gravity. Namely, "yea, fellas, that all sounds good, but we have all this other stuff laying around, so use that instead." The suspension that debuted in '88 for the final year was planned for all in '84 and instead components from X car and chevette were substitituted. Engine came from the Pontiac foundry - the clunky Iron Duke derived 2.5L - instead of Manhattan. Purchasing killed HSLA steel, claiming it was too expensive and hard to press with conventional GM tools. What was once a beauty became the beast...

Pontiac gave blood to keep Fiero exclusive, so I doubt that was in the cards. Initial demand had the shop at full tilt for two years, then as the service issues heated up (literally) and demand cooled... the writing was on the wall. The plant would have broken even with one full shift, but, Bob Stemple had other plans as GM struggled mightily in the dawn of gulf war 1989. Reiterating the Bill Cosby line: "I brought you into this world, I can take you out..." he croaked Fiero even though Special Vehicles had a signed deal with ASC to turn over the plants and contracts to sell Fiero through all GM dealers and overseas.

And if the chassis/powetrain doesn't wind up under the Moby '65 Comets.. AMTs Comet/Fairlane/Meteor/Rancheros of similar dimension and origin...Revell Thunderbolts... Giveaway Trumpeter Falcons and Rancheros... I'll be very surprised. FWIW modern hot rod and street machine publications as well as SEMA and Ridler competitions would debate the idea that pro touring or whatever you want to call it is anything but alive and well. Not always my cup of tea, but I think this will be a terrific addition to their portfolio. Some very sharp creative vision and wise investment on Moby's part, IMHO.

Totally grooving on this - and it would definitely be a Harb's Hobby Finalist for sure. Getting closure on a long stalled project is one of the great feelings in the hobby. To review, though: is this the original 25T chassis? Love, love, love the idea of repurposing the early hemi for this, although I would keep a fire extinguisher handy for when a float sticks in one of those old Teapots.

Not sure my money would be on the table for it - but I would also bet that a 3D printed Magnum or 300 transkit would be a popular and profitable download, in that same commercial pocket as '70s Grand Am/Grand Prix with high interest in a narrow scope. FWIW, in 1979, I thought that 300 was the absolute shyte - Chrysler had resurrected a great name! Stalked the downriver dealer in Taylor after arrival, was sized up by the salesman as having insufficent funds for further conversation, but he did say they had a lot of interest and a markup on it. As 1979 unfolded and Detroit collapsed in the Iran oil crisis... the markup was gone and I'm fairly sure the salesman was, too. In the end, my last visit, the poor thing had been marked down to the bone, and I'm not sure if the store survived ChryCo BK.

Innaday, GM was a pretty soft touch for the planners on S-Truck - any means they had to increase retail sales penetration would get an audience. They needed as many 4-cylinder S' in the mix as possible, the better to chin the CAFE bar for the V-8s in full-size pickups that were stupendously profitable. No one has mentioned - yet - in 1:1 scale the S-Truck is an excellent low-cost frame donor for an early Chevy "advance design" pickup. If I'm recalling the story properly, the rig of choice is an extended cab standard bed, which puts the wheelbase in nearly the perfect location, and cab/bed mounts within backyard adjustment. In 1:25, I'd imagine similar results would be possible, might make a neat conversion if you had a partial or started kit just sitting there looking for some attention.

Can't say that MPC wasn't really trying hard in that era to bring value to the builder! As a kid, I learned a lot about 1:1 from 1:25 kits - and I also recall they went together fairly well. Sure would like to find a '68-'69 Jeepster builder kit, IIRC they were an early source for the diecast Ford XL wheel covers, or were pretty close.

In '74 There was a great story in CARS Magazine (maybe SSDI?) about that exact 1:1 vehicle and powertrain. Mag went in thinking they would get the last 440 but apparently missed a cutoff, ordered the hot 360 after a tip from their PR contact. Black on black, with just the wheel lip moldings, Rallys and G60 Goodyears, hood pins, TF+slap stik, Tuff wheel, guages, yadda yadda. Left off the kiddy candy, car looked like a million bucks. A B-Body was pretty heavy, then, so it was unlikely to ET but it was otherwise an excellent performance car.

Tim: Do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The winner swap for this would be the 3.4L TDC V6 that was in the Revell Grand Prix - I drove a prototype in the day and it was ALL that, unfortunately nixed just when they had it right. Northstars/Shortstars were a thing for a minute; 3800 is gutty and fun, LS4 transverse V8 from the GXP is a cool swap, too. Nice kit that I really need to revisit.

"Tilt"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is incredible.

Need to get this out in natural light and pump some love into the roof.quarter so we can see it better!

Agree - if a dealer lands on a combination of features at a good price that turns very quickly, they will keep re-ordering units for stock until the District Managar stuffs them with Station Wagons in July when the market is dead. "Tim, we've got an objective on wagons right now, let's order a few...for you. Then we can talk about those Charger Rallyes ..." All the reasons you cited are exactly why 'muscle' just went over a cliff.

Someplace, I have pics of another conversion of the R2 "2+2" showing the general location of the cuts. The AAM 2+2 was decent, but it was using somewhat earlier resin casting technology, not sharp like the best of Don, MLRC, others An alternative strategy is to add the rear clip from the '65 Grand Prix, a more complex project that will require some filling and finagling of the opening for the bumper. I'll see if I can find the pics of my AAM with sharpie lines that show where the original cuts were - sent to a local builder friend who was planning to take a 'chop' at the project.

Oh, it's still ug-leee... But a good build nonetheless. BOB

I could see a tune up (perhaps clone?) of the Super Charger that would use elements from the retooled '68 Coronets. I think that interest would grow if the program likewise included a retooled '72 Roadrunner of the same quality and fit. That said, I'd step on a row of boxes to get to the '70 Cyclone even though I'm sitting on several as we speak.

Great build - they are just as much work as the bigguns! A Monogram 289 Cobra would have been a great 1/24-25 subject, but I can easily see the product committee saying, "We already HAVE a Cobra..." at the same time green lighting another Corvette.

Oh heck yes! I'm heading to the Studebaker regional show in South Bend this weekend - this is a great inspriation for the trip!!!

Nice job on the "Michigan Strong Boy" - IIRC, the last year that you could get a 4-speed in the big car. Several documented '69s... dunno on '70s. Question to the group: would clear coating the new/recent AMT / R2 decals help? This build is very well done, love the contrast, looks just like they did backinnaday cruising around Dearborn. Sure would be swell if the 3Dverse had the die cast Galaxie wheel covers for '67-70 - I think the closest in any kits were the '68-9 Jeepster from MPC.

Nice! So hot rod, so cool. Too be clear, tho: Which kit chassis did you start with - ? Sit, stance and details are exactly right!

Just teleported back to the '80 Street Machine Nationals... you nailed the look and feel of that era. Great job!

Things that make you say, "damn!" for $500! Super clean and gorgeous, surprised we are not seeing more of them that exploit the opening hood. The paint is outstanding and love the interior match, that feels exactly like 1964.

Sick, in the good way! All kinds of cool Fiero 1:1 swaps out there. I occassionally fantasize about stabbing in the Grand Prix GXP east-west V8 (LS4) in an '88 GT... Spent a good part of my early career working on Fiero projects for our marketing agency, got to meet with the engineers, and toured the plant up close. Lots of stories, maybe some day they will end up in a book.