Mark

This is the old pro stock kit (last issued as the Twister Vega, but the body was the '78 Monza S). The body and a few other parts are new. The old body got changed every year, so they did a whole new one. Later on there will be a 1974 version, with another new body.

The rear bumper is definitely from the Modified Stocker. The front bumper shown is most likely from the "tiger stripe box" issue. The Modified Stocker front bumper had blanked out headlights.

I've got a front bumper from an Elegance Series kit, it is molded in yellow and much of the plating is gone. The plate may be blank. I do know the "tiger stripe box" kit had "AMT" plates, and the Show & Go kit had blank plates.

I only just noticed this: check the angle of the GTO on the Elegance Series box, then compare with the Modified Stocker box...

This version of the kit will be way better than the original. The original issue from 1973 has a STOCK chassis, molded-in exhaust detail and all. The rear wheel openings on the original were radiused, round, no flare, like an old gasser. I don't think the Jenkins Competition decal for the quarter panel even fit where it was supposed to go, in the area over the wheel opening. I'm getting to the point where the chassis won't really matter, as long as the stance is correct. I have the parts to do a more correct Toy IX (which had stock front suspension when first built), maybe I'll get to that at some point. For now though, I'd like to have one just sitting in the display case, and nobody will ever see underneath (maybe not even under the hood).

The chassis is similar to stock except for the lack of molded-in exhaust detail and the narrow rear axle. The MPC pro stock kits really didn't pay much attention to chassis detail (some had molded-in exhaust detail). Chassis is best described as "it holds the rest of the car up". To be fair though, reference material is tough to find, as those guys really didn't want anyone looking under the car back then.

Correct x3.

First was the annual of course. The "tiger stripe box" issue came right after that, maybe even in late '65. That one may have run through '67. Next up was the Elegance Series in '68. That one was molded in yellow with tinted blue clear parts, and came in the flat box with the tiny can of pearl spray paint. That one also probably had a lot of parts deleted like the others in the series. There is a 1969 Show & Go series issue also. That one had all of the original parts put back in. The Modified Stocker was issued in '71, the AMT/Ertl restoration came in '84 or '85.

The car on that AMT/Ertl box (first issue after the Modified Stocker) is built from an early kit, with the smooth roof and custom air cleaner from the Modified Stocker. In fact, that's an annual as it has "1965" in the license plate area on the front bumper. Pre-Modified Stocker issues have "AMT" in that area, or it is blank.

I looked at the 1969 reissue (last one before the Modified Stocker). The instruction sheet looks the same as earlier issues. No brand name is used to describe the custom wheels, either on the box or in the instructions...they are just "mag wheels".

Years ago, I saw a "converted back" SB that a local guy had just bought. The front clip was changed from the altered Coronet parts back to Plymouth parts, the rear glass was left alone, and the rear wing attachment points on the quarter panels had plates over them. No bodywork on the quarter panels at all. Under the hood, the vacuum canisters for the headlamp doors were still there, disconnected.

For the stock one, graft in the front wheel openings from a '70 Coronet. The SB used a Coronet front clip, and the ex-MPC kit is more correct there. Too, you can smooth the depressions in the nose piece, as the 1:1 cars didn't have those.

Pretty sure they are, and also pretty certain that engine was phased out during '64 making it incorrect for the '65 and '66 kits.

It's also the last Oldsmobile promotional model.

Those two Rambler American instruction sheets are both '63. The engine is pretty much the same from '63 to '64-'66 though, the axle hole was plugged and moved a bit, the oil filter (on the cylinder head, that's where it was on the 1:1!) may have been moved too.

Must be a regional thing...only the first couple of weeks were we short around here. On the other hand, I was finally able to get a haircut yesterday. I needed one even before this all started...

Word is that the Coronet and GTO were rushed due to a large order by a "big box" store chain. When they were in the works, the Coronet was said to be more accurate than the MPC kit.

Sometimes a banana is just a banana, but that Polar Lights GTO body does look off to me. I've thought about grafting the front and rear ends to an AMT '65, but do have an original '64 and even a spare '64 Lemans convertible and extra GTO parts. The PL Coronet is off too...I took extreme measures to get that one straightened out, should post some pictures of it to show what I did.

Maybe go with an updated tri-power setup, using the carbs from a Corvette. Chrysler hung in with the Six Pack through '71, it was probably a better all-around package than the Hemi for most buyers back then.

The Polar Lights funny car kits have them. Those include two or three sets of front wheels, so you can still build the donor kit with one of the other sets.

Both '65 and '66 convertible kits have clear raised tops, I believe one has the rear window molded "down" or "open" while the other has it in place, as part of the top. Not sure which is which, but I think the '65 has the rear window.

Jimmy Flintstone used to sell just the tires from that kit. I believe those were also used in a couple of the short-run resin kits he made for Testors. By accident I found that a lot of Monogram wheels fit those tires (wheels that fit their Goodyear Rally GT tires, like the Early Iron Series kits). He sets up at NNL East every year, for a long time he'd have bagged sets of tires available. Not sure if he still has any though.

1953 or 1954. Dodge only had one car line in several trim levels back then, no compact or intermediate cars, all were the same size. Not having looked anything up, I'd guess 1954. Dodge supplied the pace car for the Indy 500 in '54. Back then pace cars were chosen because of some sort of advancement and not because the manufacturer got a deal to do so.

Palmer sold out to another company around 1975. The new owners changed the box art to photos of assembled models for their 1976 kits. That's what drove the stake into Palmer!

It all boils down to subject matter in most cases. If the only available kit is an older tool, then that's what you have to work with. What kills a lot of Aurora and Lindberg stuff (military/planes) is that their products were often the first of a particular subject to hit the market. They usually became obsolete if/when someone else brought out a better one.