Mark

As misshapen as that Vega wagon body is, I'd look for something close enough (coil spring front and rear) and let it go at that.

Correct.

One other thing: for the chassis detail, you want an AMT Monza, not MPC. The MPC underbody detail is pretty much equal to their Vega kits. On the other hand, if you want a Monza body, MPC's is the way to go.

AMT made four Monza kits: '75 (called just "Monza 2+2" on the box), '76, '77, and a custom only "Monza SS". The Round 2 reissue is a '77 but the box art is copied from the 1975 issue kit. All have stock underbody and suspension detail. Jenkins' Toys IX ('72) and X ('73) were built with stock front suspension but with R&P steering. X was later converted to a strut front end and '74 exterior trim. There were no subframe connectors on those two cars, the front ends were stock. The rear suspension and roll cage were tied in to the rocker panels. Toy XI ('74 Vega) had a full tube chassis and strut front end as built. The Monza kits would work for the engine compartment and floor detail. For XI (and the revised X) you'll need to start from scratch. I would build the "new" chassis onto the interior. A separate chassis looks cool while it's in the works, but pulling everything together into a complete package will be a pain. I'm looking forward to getting one of these things standing on four wheels, on a shelf.

"Everybody was Kung Fu painting..."

Box says "7.5 liter"; that would be a 460. Even if it is, it's a more modern setup, and 1/24 scale, way different from a stock early Seventies engine.

Give them a break...it's gotta be tough coming up with space ship designs, planet names, weapons, and species names not already taken by Star Trek and Star Wars...

They might, but those are 1/24 scale, newer version with fuel injection. For an early Seventies Mustang or Cougar, the Torino mill will be way closer in terms of equipment and an easier fit.

What does he have now? A good start...

AMT did produce a few 1/32 scale slot cars. I know the Avanti was among them (reissue includes the separate lower front pan from the slot car). With the Mustang being so popular at that time, it's very likely it too was issued as a slot car.

Back then I wanted a Firebird like James Garner drove in the Rockford Files. Then the sleek '77-'78 was restyled into that hideous '79. Garner agreed with me, he didn't like the '79 either. I think he drove a GMC Caballero in the last handful of episodes.

The '69 was altered into the '70. Both could be built as hardtop or convertible.

The Revell '68 Hemi Dart kit has a good one. You can still build the Dart as the stock version, as it also includes an 8-3/4" axle. The Jo-Han Sox & Martin 'Cuda unit (also included in their SC/Rambler kit) isn't quite as good, as it includes the removable "chunk" (gear carrier) from their 8-3/4" axle as included in the Chrysler Turbine Car and their early Logghe chassis funny car kits. The Jo-Han inspection cover and the rest of the axle do look good however.

Yes, it was.

That's one of the two, the one Farrah had. Supposedly, she only drove it a few times. Barris built two, the other made the rounds at car shows. Probably got reworked into something else by a later owner. I don't recall seeing it at the ISCA show in my area, but I do remember seeing the Travolta Firebird. I can picture it now, he wants to just get away from it all, so he hops into his Firebird with "Travolta Fever" plastered across the hood...

I'm pretty sure Eckler sold the Monza taillight rear bumper cap as used on the Foxy Vette. They definitely sold all of the flares, and the hatch conversion, as used on the Eckler version. If you swap front and rear bumper caps, the Eckler hatch 'Vette can be built without the flares (would look pretty good too). The flares fit other 'Vette bodies too: I've got an MPC '75 convertible in the works with those, didn't take much to get them to fit. It's surprising how close some of those 'Vette bodies are, despite having been designed years apart by different companies.

And that will work for me...

The kit is based on AMT's '69-'77 Corvette annual kits ('68 was a different one). So this kit (and the Eckler 'Vette) were designed together, and came out after the '77 kit. Actually neither kit is 100% correct. The Eckler car is pictured on and in a few of their catalogs (I have one of them). The wheels on the 1:1 car are Corvette knockoff wheels, or maybe the '67 bolt-on version of same. The interior is stock, AMT put their efforts into the body alterations. Unfortunately the rear hatch is a separate piece. AMT was doing that at the time (their Mustang II and Pinto kits also have it). Best to attach it to the body, closed, to keep everything straight. Barris was doing these deals where he'd "give" the celebrity a "free" car. The paperwork the person signed for the "free car" included them signing over the rights to let Barris put another, identical car on the show circuit, and gave him the marketing rights for the kit. He roped John Travolta in around the same time, Revell did a kit of "his" Firebird. I've seen stories about other celebrities that turned down the "free car".

I'm in on these (the truck and trailer, not the diecast bucket truck). It's too bad Revell did the Roth cars, otherwise maybe Round 2 would have issued the Haulaway trailer as a companion piece, instead of an enclosed trailer...

I completely forgot that I had also bought a (molded in blue) Round 2 pro street Nova from the same guy. Again, no body, as this guy was a slot car drag racer and bought these kits for the bodies. I got a couple of other kits including a Revell '68 Hemi Dart. Parts gold mines! The original plan (when I get to it) will be to stick the Resto Rods pro touring style interior into a Pro Street Nova. I always disliked the interior setup in that kit. Get rid of those Cragar "plastic center cap" pro street wheels (the 1:1 wheels do have plated ABS plastic center caps, hinged for lug nut access!) and change the engine setup to fit under the hood. Instant up to date pro touring version.

I checked the box of parts that I bought (complete kit minus body, glass, and bumpers which were used on a slot car). Mine is molded in white. The instructions incorrectly show the pro street chassis; the stock one is included. All parts for the stock version, including tires, are included. The stock version assembly procedure is not shown in the instructions. In short, it should be the complete original two-version (stock or mild street machine) kit, plus the Resto Rod parts. The bench seat and open wheels will not be in the Resto Rods kit, as those were tooled later by Round 2 for the Bill Jenkins issue.

Did you buy that kit sealed? The sticker on the top panel of the box might indicate that it was bought second-hand, you may have bought a combination of parts from two or more kits. I bought an incomplete copy of that same kit a few years ago (original buyer bought it to use the body for a slot car). I wanted the Resto Rods wheels and interior bits, and also got a spare chassis and other leftover parts. As I remember it, the kit could be built stock, and had two complete engines (stock/tunnel ram, and that Resto Rods generic engine) as well as that long block/engine stand setup.

Worst case: the Atlantis parts pack based kits will be a parts gold mine. Best case: they'll plate all of the parts that were just silver plastic first time around, include an extra pack or two for optional parts, include bigger decal sheets, and so on...

Epoxy will be two parts, that must be mixed fully in the correct proportion (usually 1:1 of each) in order to properly cure. Look for one that dries clear, and steer clear of "dollar store" stuff.

The (then) new wheels and tires in the Hawaiian were tooled and produced in China. Atlantis did not get those, and so had to tool new tires again.