Mark

SMP. SMP made all of the Chevrolet and some Chrysler products (Imperial, Valiant) kits through 1961. The AMT '62 Impala annual kits have "SMP" engraved on the custom license plate on the plated tree.

Then again, if you counted the molded-in rocker arms on the 340 heads, you could have come to that conclusion too... The 1:1 Viper engine looks smaller than it is when you see one out of a car. I've seen one off and on at one of the local swap meets, and had the bright idea to try stuffing one into a Duster kit underbody. That thing ain't anywhere near to fitting: it's pretty long, and the oil pan gets in the way of everything...

The street machine version had a Viper style intake and some other new parts, but the engine was the 340. With the original annual kits, the '71 has a smooth trunk lid while the '72 has the center peak (which was phased in during '71 from what I have read). '72 taillight holes are more squared off also.

The Nova wagon was a '63, and the engine was different. In fact, the sixes in the '64 El Camino and Chevelle wagon differ slightly from one another.

The F-85/Edsel/Chevelle used one chassis, the Nova/Tempest used another. The Barracuda and Corvair use a common chassis. The Falcon, Mustang, and '67 Cyclone each had their own chassis.

MPC had several different early funny car chassis. The usual plan for MPC was to decide which stock kit bodies they wanted to use, then adapt the chassis with the closest wheelbase. That's why there were Coronet and '70-'71 Mercury Cyclone funny cars which never existed in the real world. Some chassis could be molded with different length side rails for different wheelbases. The '67 Color Me Gone Charger, the Mercury Cougars, and the Unswitchable '67 GTO used the same chassis, but there are at least two lengths to the side rails. I know the Color Me Gone chassis is a tad longer than the Cougar's. The '68-'70 Mopars (Chargers and Coronets) all used the same chassis, and I'm pretty sure it was reworked and used under Challengers and Barracudas as well. I have a later version with extra mounting points for the front radius rods, apparently different kits used each location. There was a 1970 Logghe Brothers chassis also, first molded with separate side rails like the early chassis. Later kits had the chassis with the side rails, front crossmember, and interior floor molded as one piece. This chassis was used under the Mercury Cyclones, a couple of Firebirds and Camaros, and a Maverick. In 1972, MPC tooled an all-new narrow, modern chassis and started using it, but some kits were issued with the 1970 style chassis a couple of years after that.

I've heard and read several knowledgeable people say that this kit measures out very well as a 1/25 scale replica. It's not as long as a regular Cadillac. The only big issue is that the front fenders, hood, and front bumper are slightly short ahead of the front wheels, with the bumper bullets being longer to make up the overall length. I'm planning on plumbing some of the parts from the Foose custom into one of these, once I get a second body to correct this kit.

The two all-new Foose kits generated more buzz than nearly anything else Revell has done in the last few years. They're somewhat simplified yet have good detail. They're accurate as the finished 1:1 vehicles yet leave meat on the bone for those who would do things a bit (or a lot) differently. And, both kits have chassis, wheels/tires, engines, and interior parts that are adaptable to other projects. Anyone I know who bought one, bought more than one. These kits, and the new-tool modified Model A coupe and roadster pretty much knocked it out of the park for Revell. A stock '56 Ford pickup would probably sell well...stock Cadillac would sell well among the fanatics, but there just aren't enough of them around.

You've got to watch some of these swaps, particularly Mopars and some Fords...the Duster has its inner fenders molded as part of the body. Same deal with the Revell Dart. I bought the Hemi issue of the Dart, minus the body, from a slot car guy with the intention of using its underbody with a 'Cuda. Fortunately, I still had the defective body from another Dart I'd bought earlier (Revell sent a replacement for that one).

The Corvette is probably a ('69) Dyno Racer. Same idea, except the cars were pre-assembled and included a "launcher". That series included a 'Vette, a Firebird, and a GTO. The reissued '69 GTO funny car kits have "DYNO" on the rear license plate because the body was used for both.

If you have eBay prices, you'll essentially be taking everything there to exhibit, and bringing all of them back home.

I meant the one pictured in the ad...

I wonder how that '32 Ford got built in 1/32 scale, seeing as how none of those kits included an engine...

Styrene is styrene...use plain old styrene cement if you can wait for it to set fully. If you want to get going on the bodywork right now, use CA glue.

Nope, one issue included only custom parts (no stock bumpers). And even then, only one of the two custom versions was included in that issue (Barris Cruisin' USA, the one with the rub-on graphics and sheet of stick-on iridescent material).

Those yellow one (AMT/Ertl reissue) usually had thick/runny/dull/wrinkly plating too. I probably had three or four of those over the years; all of mine did. I think I've got one left, if I ever get to it I'll just paint it yellow and stick the "airport limousine" decals on from the Che Riviera "highjacking" issue...

I worked at a place where the owner was in the habit of loaning money to employees. Many would leave before paying back in full. Others would walk into my office and ask me to loan them money. I pointed to the sign on my desk that read: "loaning money causes amnesia"...

That's three more than me...

This is the AMT kit. AMT tooled one for '67, it went to MPC for '68 (along with the Barracuda; nobody knows the how/why of those deals). AMT tooled another one for '69, with the big-block engine and dual exhaust. The existing '72 pickup kit is made up from parts from both tools, along with some new parts.

That cap was also included in the '68 reissue of the AMT '63 Ford pickup. How would you access that raised area over the cab?

It's a '69. It was released in an annual-style box also: same parts, even the same decals. I had the annual kit back then, have one of these now. This one is the tougher of the two to find.

As part of my work, I put together bank deposits. Last week, I had two lulus in a row. The first one included four rolls of quarters. I'm not making this up: the trainee teller DID NOT KNOW WHAT THEY WERE. I got fed up with that branch (last year, another trainee initially shorted me $1,000 on a check I was cashing) so the next deposit was made at another location. Canadian funds deposit (actually two; one check and some cash: each gets a different exchange rate). Another trainee: he converted the cash but deposited the check at par. Big boo-boo: that day, a Canadian dollar was worth 72 cents US. I reported that the next day (7/31). As of Friday (8/3) I left work without having an answer on the final exchange value on that check. Easy to say "dumb millennials" or something similar, but I'm not going to do that. What I don't get is how someone at the bank could stick these guys at a teller window without them being trained as to how to spot a check in Canadian funds (easy in my case; I told him what it was up front) or what rolled coin looks like. If anyone screws up and hands out too much money, 99% of people will walk out without saying a word...

With a lot of one or two-man operations, be it home improvement, auto repair, or whatever, a lot of those guys like to have the "security" of having a week or two worth of work "backed up". That's old thinking though, because someone desperate to have the work done NOW can find a website somewhere, and line up the work when THEY want it done.

Yet another source would be wide inner wheel rings from the parts box. If any are included in the same kit that has the wheels you want to make wider, that's often a bonus as the outer rim detail on the inners will more often than not match up with the outers. Trim away the old/narrow outer ring, then add the wide inner ring in its place. If you are careful, you can do this without damaging plated wheels. I'll usually save any leftover wheels from a kit. If the outer rim looks good, but I don't like the style of the center I'll chop that out and replace it with a center from another wheel (or a casting of one). Sometimes you can take two different wheels that you aren't crazy about, and turn them into one that you like.

Except that MPC (then a competitor) supplied the kits. I've never seen one of these with anything but an MPC kit in the box.