StevenGuthmiller

I don't really think that the author was trying to "compare" yesterdays muscle cars with anything that may exist today. He would probably agree that there is little parallel between the two . I think his gist was mainly that when we think of a true muscle car, we think of a relatively stripped down & inexpensive 2 door with a large powerful "Basically designed" engine, & given the vehicles that call themselves muscle cars today, with every bell & whistle imaginable, turbo chargers, super chargers & a sticker price well over what a house cost in 1964, there are few cars out there that could be "shoe horned" into that category, let alone the "American" part of the equation. I'm not sure whether or not I agree with his conclusion, but it is definitely food for thought. Steve

Sweet! The only good looking Volkswagen ever built in my opinion. Steve

I have to admit that when I saw this article claiming that the Honda Accord V-6 coupe may be the "Last True American Muscle Car" I chuckled. But the author does make a fairly compelling argument. I love my Hondas, but I never dreamed that anyone could ever make a convincing claim about a Honda in this department. Steve http://www.yahoo.com/news/accord-v6-coupe-last-real-181539070.html

I have a very nice one of those. It's on my "to-do" list. Steve

Guess that means that we get 2 Ford days in a row on Friday & Saturday. Steve

With a full time job where I'm typically working 10 hours a day, many times without even getting a lunch break, I find it difficult to find the time for one hobby. By the time I get home at night, all I want to do is go lay by my dish! Steve

Kind of like these yo-yos! You'd have to be totally blind in order to think that this sort of thing looks good. Not to mention the "practicality" issues. I agree with you Bill, dumb as dumb gets! Steve

Wow Tommy! You've been a busy boy!! Must about have all of your bases covered by now. Steve

With the huge push for muscle cars over the past couple of decades, how about we give the Mopars & Chevies a rest & do another nice Buick GS. I personally would be all over a '68 or '69! Steve

This would have been a job for AMT! They already had the '57 Chrysler 300 tooling. That said, I'll take a half a dozen! Anything to see something other than another Camaro or '32 Ford kit. I think this is the reason that Moebius has been successful for the past few years. Regardless of what you think of them, you have to admit, at least they're not giving us the same old tired stuff! Steve

They absolutely could! As long as the important '68 pieces are there, ie, grille, bumpers, etc, the body basically drops right on the chassis with virtually zero modifications. I built an original MPC '69 Coronet a few months back using the chassis & engine bay from the '70 Super Bee kit. I probably shouldn't be advocating for a '68 as I spent some fairly serious coin for an original one a while back. But to answer your question, I think the "existing body" rumors are most likely bogus because I see no reason that they wouldn't have made themselves a boat load of money reissuing the '68 using the GTX/Roadrunner chassis & engine parts. Steve

The "Sheeps Head" always freaked me out with those human looking teeth! Steve

Steve

I was sitting around bored today & going through a few things for the up coming move & realized that I don't think that I've ever posted this one. Being as building is off for a while, I figured that this would be a good time to post it. It's just a Monogram '65 that I built probably 15 or 20 years ago. It's a little grungy & see it's missing a wiper! Steve

Let's put it this way. For kit purposes, the 300's entire chassis, running gear, engine, engine bay, glass, wheels & tires & probably the interior floor would be easily carried over to a Desoto kit. The hood would only need a small mod to make the small scoop above the grille. Other wise, it should just be a new body, front & rear chrome pieces, dash, steering wheel, seats & interior door panels. I would think that it would be every bit as easy as going from a '72 Ford truck to a '69, or from a '53 Hudson to a '54. The exact same thing could be done with the '55 300 & a '55 Desoto. There are also opportunities with just the Chrysler New Yorkers or Windsors from those years. Steve

It's called "Bondic" or "Laser Bond" & while it has many great uses, this isn't one of them. There's just not enough bonding strength to withstand the rigors of the build itself. You wouldn't want to get the body all beautifully painted up & polished out & then have one or more of these joints fail. I would go with either a super type glue or an epoxy with some backing plastic anywhere that it's possible. Your best bet might be to replace the body. If it's not a rare kit you may want to consider just scrapping it & starting fresh. After all, as I said, You'd hate to waste a bunch of time & materials just to have it come apart on you before you can finish it. Steve

I'm hoping that they'll give some thought to a '56 Desoto. It would be a short leap from the '56 Chrysler 300 to that & it could be produced as a stock version, racing & a pace car version. I know how these companies like to maximize their toolings & this would be a perfect opportunity for that. & lord knows, we could use at least "ONE" Desoto kit! Steve

Flintstone casts some very nice stuff. I bought a '61 Olds 88 from them a while back & while the casting is pretty thick, the body is nearly flawless. It's very high on my "to do" list. The '61 Starliner is one of my all time favorite body styles & definitely my favorite Ford from the 50s & 60s. I was lucky enough to find an original AMT annual & build it a little while back. One of the few models I've built recently as a mild custom. Did Flintstone correct the front fender scripts? My annual had "Sunliner" scripts instead of the correct "Starliner" ones. In this case it didn't matter. I removed them anyway. Steve

Nice Steve! The paint is beautiful! If I could make one suggestion it would be to remove the wheels & add some spacers behind them. The wheels are far too "inboard". It would make a huge improvement to the stance if the wheels were out closer to the fender openings. Steve

Thanks Wayne. The way it looks right now, we'll probably be beginning the move sometime in mid May. We have already signed a contract for a house in the town of Hawley Minnesota, a town of about 2,000 people about half way between Moorhead & Detroit Lakes MN. Our house went on the market this past Monday, & while it's not yet sold, we had an open house yesterday & our realtor claims that there are offers on the way. It would be great to sell in less than a week! My last day of work will be May 12th, so the move will likely begin in earnest around that time. I'm hoping that we will be at least in the new place by the first of June, although I'm sure that it will take a while to get settled. Not sure how often I'll be in Fargo, as at this time I'm not anticipating having to go back to work, but I'm sure that we will spend a considerable amount of our time there shopping, going out to dinner, etc. I'm sure that there is a good possibility that we may meet up there at some point. Steve

Thanks Charley! I appreciate that. Steve

Thank you Manuel! Steve

It's called "Sunfire Red" & it was available on the Pontiacs & the Buicks under the name of "Coral Mist" in '64. MCW doesn't carry it without a special order, but there was a very similar color on the '61 Pontiacs & Oldsmobiles called "Dawnfire Mist" that they do carry. I think I may go with that. Steve

The '66 should be a fun & easy one. The kit I have is nearly pristine. I have the '64 GP already all planned out. It's going in this direction. I absolutely love this color! Steve

Eh, you might be able to just scrape off the burnt bits. Steve