Mark

A guy I once worked with mentioned that his car ('79 Cougar, two-barrel 302) was running hot. Did he check the radiator? Yep, looked good. How about the oil? "I checked it, it's four quarts low". "Dude, the thing only holds five quarts, and a good part of one quart is in the filter". Had to talk him into bumming a company vehicle to go pick up some motor oil before starting that car up again. He still had the car when I got sent to another location, so apparently it didn't get any permanent damage from that episode. How it got "four quarts low" is a mystery. He did get the oil changed on a regular basis. One car I had went over 200,000 miles and it didn’t even use a quart in 1,000 miles. And I'd bet more of it leaked than burned.

Different ramp body, or just a different grille?

With some of the same types of articles creeping into the regular Hemmings Motor News, it's not really that surprising. I am surprised that magazine has kept going, many of the ads are the same every issue. But if the parent company can still sell all those ads, they're going to keep that one and ditch the others.

I'm surprised it's essentially the whole car (probably minus engine). Every aspiring Dune Buggy builder (or savvy auto parts flipper) was buying up old Beetles for the chassis pans back then.

Rubber edge trim should be painted on the exterior surface. Tint would be applied to the interior surface.

Two sets of tooling for one subject are the exception, not the rule. Two AMT '64 Galaxies for example, one for the promo (still exists as the stock Craftsman kit) and the other for the annual kit (now the Modified Stocker). The '69 Torino fastback was modified a lot less than other Modified Stocker kits. The chassis was altered to remove the molded-in exhaust detail, wheel openings were whacked out, door panel detail smoothed off on the interior. The windshield wipers weren't removed from the body. The roll cage and engine parts were already in the annual kit. The crash bars and wide wheels for the Modified Stocker were added. Ertl restored the Torino to stock by scratching some detail back onto the interior side panels, and creating new "slides" for the body sides with stock wheel openings. They also tooled new stock wheels and maybe the seats too. The stock Cobra grille was used in the Cobra convertible/coupe version and carried forward to the original Modified Stocker. Most if not all of the Modified Stocker parts were left alone by Ertl. Apparently the body side slide tooling from the Modified Stocker still worked with the tool and weren't discarded by Ertl. So by switching those tooling pieces, both the stock and Modified Stocker versions can still be run.

Lindberg (now AMT) '64 Dodge and Plymouth are about as close as is readily available. The MPC '68 Coronets include two similar tires for the trailer. Some early MPC annual kits had similar tires too.

The AMT coupe bodies have the trunk unit molded as part of the body. Removing it isn't impossible but would require some work.

The 1969 reissue was the last go-round for the '62 Galaxie hardtop. It presumably no longer exists, as, if it had been in good enough shape to be reissued, it would have been at some point. Either issue seems to sell for about the same money, the annual has many more optional parts however.

Wheels might be dated, but they look "right" to my eyes. The larger diameter wheels tend to not leave much of the tire sidewall exposed, they're just "all wheel" with no really visible tire from a side view.

As I understand, Heller now owns the tooling for those kits, and has issued them in the distant past without plating on the appropriate parts. I believe AMT (the original company, prior to Lesney or Ertl) saw 1/43 scale trucks as something of a solution to rising kit prices due to increasing plastic costs. But the truck builders already had sizeable collections of 1/24-25 scale trucks, so those people didn’t buy into the smaller scale.

The reason the remaining examples sell for good money, is because at some point all of them were expendable. Only the super-high-end stuff like Cobras, most Hemi cars, and the like escaped that. GTO Judges got turned into dirt track cars, same as any other big-engine intermediate car. The same is true with parts. As an early teen, I assisted in cleaning out a two-car garage. The pile at the curb included TWO big-block Chevy tri-power setups. I'm not sure if any air cleaners were included, but at least one of the intakes had the carbs still on it. I'm sure there were other goodies on that pile, but those intake setups stuck out in my mind.

With those first issue Revell '29 pickup kits, you get, at no additional charge, those toxic tires that turn styrene into bubblegum. And the first issue is the only one with stock tires and wheels.

These particular cars do have certain issues that can keep the value down. The exhaust manifold deal for example. Not easy for the average guy to handle, expensive to pay someone else to fix. The quick flip artists won't want to bother with something like that because they want something they can half-ass together cheaply and quickly. All those people steering clear = low demand. On the other hand, those who are capable of fixing such an issue, and are patient enough to work their way through it, can get themselves a good deal on one of these cars. With the average guy, they just want something to cruise around in, and will avoid what they might think will need a lot of work. That's where the flip farms do their business, preying on those folks. It's only after the sale when those buyers start seeing expensive issues.

Well, a modern (2024) build would most likely use an LS engine...

The kit manufacturers usually put headers low on the priority list because they'd then have to rework the rest of the exhaust system to match. The headers were often in a tight space and not readily seen on the finished model, and didn't show up well in box art photos. Instead, they'd photograph other, more readily seen features for box art. Heck, some of the Monogram multiple version 1/24 scale kits even had supercharger setups while still having exhaust manifolds. I've got a built MPC early Seventies Mustang pro stocker (not an annual kit but the dedicated pro stocker) that has exhaust manifolds on the engine! They were even illustrated on the box side panel.

Bad electrical in some instances, also hidden/difficult to fix structural rust. I'd avoid auction cars, lots of issues hidden with expanding foam covered with undercoating.

'63 was the final year for acetate promos at Jo-Han. They were late to switch (AMT and SMP did so during the 1961 promo run). There are two types of acetate promos: those that are warped, and those that haven't warped yet (a number getting smaller with each passing day). Acetate doesn't just warp; it shrinks too. And it shrinks inconsistently. Don't waste time trying to "un-warp" one. Jo-Han again made Rambler Classic four-door sedan and wagon promos for '64. Best bet would be to locate a damaged '64 promo, and either accept the slight styling differences or convert it to '63 spec. The bumpers on the '63 promos are styrene, and could be adapted to the '64 body. I have seen the '64 sedan body in resin, but it was poor quality.

The annual kit had an incorrect chassis, it's a full length frame when the 1960 Chrysler cars (except Imperial) were Unibody. The USA Oldies reissue had a more correct chassis, though everything is molded in much as with the annual pictured.

Seems like the guys plowing driveways always overbook themselves. When it isn't snowing, they're raking in the money. But, when there is a halfway decent snow storm, they're caught off guard and left unable to take care of everyone who contracted their services. The people who don't get taken care of in a timely manner will sign up with someone else, but they're probably just switching to another overbooked guy.

Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like bananas...

Andy Warhol meets Red Green?

Are the Iceman items 1/24 scale? That right there will add about 2" in scale.

The Monogram kit was a snapper, but it had decals, not stickers.

The annual kit also had V8 emblems on the body, and had a slant six engine under the hood. I believe the MPC '68 repeated the error, with "340" hood inserts and a slant six.