Mark

Reissued by Round 2 a few years back, as the Chuck Miller Fire Truck. Only the rear wheels and a couple other parts were different between the two.

The fenderwell headers were never used in competition, as the exit holes in the lower front fenders were illegal. After getting bounced from tech inspection after the first inspection, the next stop was the Hooker Headers shop, where the headers were replaced and the holes in the fenders were patched. Early pictures show Toy IX with two Hooker stickers on each front fender; the lower ones covered the fender patches. Earlier, I got the timeline messed up. Toy IX (first Vega) never had a strut front end. As I understand it, Toy X started out with a stock front end but was later converted to struts. Though not a full frame car at first, the strut conversion would probably have made it one. Toy XI (final Vega) was full-frame from day one.

That "restoration" doesn't look much like the "under construction" shot, especially ahead of the firewall. If that car is Toy X, not much of it is left from the early days. XI was restored recently too, but that car hadn't been altered over the years. X was used a lot, by Jenkins as well as subsequent owners.

The Duster underbody would be the way to go for the early Barracuda (and Valiants too). I've got both a '65 and '66 unbuilt, but will probably keep the original parts. I might do something about the inner front fenders though. I've got a '63 Valiant that is getting the chassis plate from an MPC '76 Dart. That piece fits too, but needs a little trimming at the back end and has no front suspension detail at all. The MPC LA Dart/Hemi Hunter has an add-on piece that does provide some detail, I might tweak one of those pieces and cast a few copies for my MPC Duster/Dart projects. The later ('70-up) Barracuda is more of a shortened big car than any relation to the early cars.

The first Vega did not have a full tubing chassis, at least not when first built. Forward of the firewall was stock. The rear suspension attached to a tubular structure that included the roll cage. All of that was tied in to the rocker panels. The chassis forward of the firewall would have been changed to tubing (making it a full chassis car) when the front suspension was changed to a strut setup. In any event, there is nothing from the Nova chassis that would be usable.

You need more than a hood and grille...all four fenders are different (except for sedan deliveries IIRC, those use '35 rear fenders for '36 also). AAM did do a '36 phaeton, but maybe they did a '35 that I'm not aware of.

I wouldn't wrap them in anything. I'd box each one separately. If you are concerned about them moving around in the boxes, you can get smaller corrugated boxes at stores that deal in sports cards.

The AMT '28 Ford sedan, and early issues of the MPC '28 Ford roadster pickup and woody wagon (derived from the sedan kit) have a set of the early solid Halibrand wheels. They are on the small side so they won't fit some newer tires. They are probably best used with the tires from the Ford kits.

Only the body and related parts are from the original Tempest kit. The chassis and interior are shared with the altered-wheelbase '65 Nova kit. Both were first issued as altered wheelbase drag cars in 1967.

It's all about when the kit was created, and how many versions it has been through over the years. The Buick was first manufactured in the late Nineties and has only been issued a couple of times. The Charger has been both promotional models and kits for 1968 through 1970, it has been used as a couple of funny car bodies, a couple of NASCAR versions, and of course the General Lee which for a time was one of the all-time best selling car kits. So the tooling has been through the mill, to say the least.

There probably won't be anything out there exactly like what you will need. I'd determine the spacing of the lines, and scribe a large piece of sheet plastic to create some "stock" from which you can then cut the panels.

Revell never made a '55 Nomad...only AMT.

The proportions of the Monogram '57 are terrible, the too-tall roof being the main issue. The Revell '57 is nearly unbuildable even in the early issues, and guaranteed unbuildable in the later ones. I built a 1998 issue Revell '57 hardtop a few years back and have an old '55 hardtop in the works, but am still working up the nerve to tackle that Nomad.

The Hemi with a single four-barrel carb might have been better. Chrysler sold the street version with two fours however, because they wanted that setup to be legal for NHRA Stock and Super Stock classes. They did experiment with it again to try to get the Hemi smog legal for 1972. They couldn't quite get it there. But the single four-barrel Hemi was no slouch, Arlen Vanke ran one in AHRA GT class, and got it into the tens...

For the average guy, the 440 was probably the way to go. The guy who worked as a dealership mechanic at a Dodge or Plymouth dealer probably went with the Hemi, as they had the acumen to keep it in tune. The killer engine IMO was the 440 Six-Pack. Probably better than the Hemi in the hands of all but a few. Two of my cousins (two brothers) had '69 Coronet Six-Pack cars. I remember my dad seeing one of them with the hood off, he and my uncle (their dad) were scratching their heads, as in "why would you buy a car that you have to take off the hood to work on it".

That's the original issue...same kit. Some of those early kits have a "rear view mirror" molded in relief on the inside of the windshield. Other than that, no changes to the plastic parts.

The connection with Johan was broken off not long after those shots appeared...from the sound of it, an agreement couldn't be reached. Whether or not the Comet even exists now is not known for certain. The Maverick parts likely do not exist, as the Seville-owned Jo-Han announced a Maverick but never produced it.

The Nova has been available a few times in the last twenty years since the Millennium issue, both as stock and Pro Street. Most recent was the (same) stock/drag kit, as the Bill Jenkins Grumpy's Toy I/II.

I like the paint sets, myself...

My mom would buy them for me...she thumbed through them too every so often, she said they were well-written. She even bought the one with the "finger" cover, which some places didn't put out for sale because of the cover.

Well, no painting required provided you could live with the tan color the body is molded in. Or, as was printed in the old Auto World catalogs, "molded in color, so you don't have to paint it if you don't feel like"...

Most likely better quality back then. I only used one particular bit (forget the size) in a Moto-Tool to drill holes in vacuum forming molds. I did go through a fair number of that size bit, and did buy them by the pack.

Too, the drill bits bought in bulk are more likely to be industrial items and should last a bit longer than the hobby items that were in the original set. With the smaller bits, it's usually the side thrust when using them in a pin vise that does them in.

Have you disassembled it yet? Stripping the paint will undo the putty. If any balsa was used in the body alterations, stripping the paint will create a real mess. Not sure who did that 1:1 custom...might have been Starbird, maybe Dave Puhl or Dave Stuckey. I remember the R&C article...the bench seat was put in for the three brothers that rode around together in that car. Wonder if it's still out there somewhere.

Buy in bulk...where else, eBay! I probably have four or five sets of 61-80 bits, the same ones were missing from all of the sets. eBay, decide which ones you need, buy 'em ten in a pack, buy 'em from one vendor and usually get a discount. I think I bought seven packs (70 bits) for $35, delivered to my door. I probably won't have to buy any more drill bits, period.