Mark

Those are from the Olds engine in the Revell Anglia and Thames panel kits. There were some short chrome plated stacks in the kit also. For the Y-block, just cut the paired units apart and clock them 90 degrees.

Probably got scrapped after production ended. The trailer and display engine got recycled into the '63 Nova wagon kit. Had the Buick wagon existed in the mid-Sixties, AMT would probably have reworked it into a Craftsman series kit, or issued it in the "flower" series...

Ertl eliminated the bezels and tooled new, slightly larger red lenses when they reissued the kit. The new lenses are too large for the original bezels, but are a sloppy fit in the holes. Maybe add some Evergreen strip stock around the perimeter of the lenses as trim, then foil them.

Our three-point economic plan: taxes, fees, and surcharges...

I compared the actual parts. They're different. In the mid-Seventies, AMT went on some cost-cutting mission. Part of it included eliminating clear red taillights and cutting down clear parts trees in a number of kits. They didn't just eliminate parts, they made the associated trees smaller, probably so more of them could be mounted to a base and run at one time. Probably to eliminate a couple of positions in the production area and save money. The Corvair lost its side glass, as well as a number of very nicely done custom headlamp and fog light lenses. The clear shroud was among those parts, and it was probably more work to relocate the original shroud than to just tool a new one and connect it to the window unit on a smaller tree. Other kits reissued in the mid-Seventies also lost side glass and custom lenses. The '65 Grand Prix is another example: it lost all of the headlamp lenses (stock ones were tooled into the bumper/grille), lost the custom rear window, lost the side glass, lost the clear fuel container for the road test version (which wasn't in the reissue anyway). The red taillight lenses were lost too; there were never any stock ones, but the custom ones were engraved into the parts to which they would have been attached.

Same slicks, and, yes, they are marked "10.00 x 15" on the sidewall. The Monogram slicks (Hairy Olds, Boot Hill Express, Li'l Coffin) are exactly the same width (at the tread area) as the Revell slicks, and only marginally taller (1/16", maybe). Some of the Monogram slicks have "9.00 x 15" markings on the molded plastic sidewall insert. Others have no markings. Not sure which kits have what. I've got a pair of the Monogram slicks with the lettered sidewalls set aside for my '57 Ford wagon "street freak gasser". A set of resin, widened Mickey Thompson mag wheels I found at a toy show fit perfectly with those whitewall inserts, and I suspect that many old-school Revell mag wheels designed around the Revell slicks will likewise fit them.

But the clear part in the current issue of the kit (and all issues since the mid-Seventies) is NOT the same part that was in early issues. It was retooled, and the newer part doesn't fit as well as the original.

For the Suburban, the Foose FD-100 chassis might be the best idea, providing you swap the whole frame. For suspension parts only, the Revell '37 Ford coupe has a tubular-arm Mustang II setup in front. I'm pretty certain everything needed goes with the crossmember. The rear suspension in that kit is a C3 Corvette unit. Other possibilities would include a NASCAR kit (tubular A-arm front, Ford axle/"truck arm" rear) and the AMT Wagonrod.

Some mid-Sixties Jo-Han promos were Cycolac, very tough plastic, hard to cut and seems like no cement sticks to it. I'm certain that the Mavericks are styrene though.

That clear shroud isn't the original one for the kit. At some point, the kit was reworked for a "budget" series. A number of clear parts (headlight lenses, side glass) were eliminated, and the shroud was retooled to put it on a smaller clear shot with just the main window unit. Apparently the other parts don't exist, otherwise they would have been put back in later.

The Foose Cadillac chassis is built around the Cadillac's stock frame. Swapping the suspension is a possibility, but you wouldn't want to swap the whole chassis under a later car.

There's only the one issue of the Rambler wagon as a kit. It wasn't offered as a '59 annual kit, and the original Jo-Han didn't offer it in the USA Oldies series (probably for lack of engine/chassis detail). Their X-EL division did sell assembled reproduction promo models. but those don't even have an interior. Some of the leftover X-EL items were sold in unassembled form, but like the assembled version those didn't have interiors. The one issue of the kit was done post-SeVille, by Okey Spaulding's Johan. Accessories like this are usually done as inserts. As I understand it, most of Jo-Han's kit tooling consisted of a small number of mold bases, and a number of inserts had to be assembled upon one of them in order to produce a particular kit. John Haenle was probably the only person who knew how it all worked; with him gone, subsequent owners of the Jo-Han tools were probably wandering around in the desert trying to figure any of it out. SeVille didn't really do anything "new" during their tenure, all they did was repackage stuff that was intact from the end of the Haenle era. Not that there was much left at the end anyway. Okey only had two kits molded: the Rambler wagon, and the snap-together Chrysler Turbine car. The surfboards probably first appeared in the hearse kit in the Seventies (replacing the casket in the first issue), so they would have been an insert.

The Rambler wagon boards look exactly like the ones pictured. The accessories in the Rambler kit are drawn from various sources: '59 Dodge wheel covers, Rambler American custom side pipes, Plymouth police wagon roof light, and so on.

The first issue of the Revell '31 Ford as the sedan delivery was molded in that color.

That fingernail resin is hot stuff, literally. It has to be, to bond to fingernails and withstand the filing and shaping once it's in place. It smells an awful lot like the dental resin that I messed with briefly in the early Eighties, before many model car guys were doing resin casting. The dental resin was also a powder/liquid mix that really heated up while curing, which dried out molds with warp speed. For this, the mold putty is just the ticket. If anything, the resin is probably a bit harder to file and reshape than the surrounding plastic, not enough difference to cause concern though. For the pillar repair, you wouldn't want to overfill the mold to the point where you'd have to do a lot of grinding on the inside. Done as shown, it should work out great. I suppose this could be attempted with 2-part epoxy, but I'd suspect that it, or Bondic, wouldn't work as well as the fingernail resin.

It's those talk shows..."next, men who cheat on their wives. Next week, women who are driven to cheat on their husbands..."

So, that could make today (1/26) "happy box-sized 1/24 scale diecast day"...

Try looking at the underside of the interior, or on the chassis, roughly underneath where the brake pedal would be in the interior. I'm pretty certain it's under the floor as opposed to on the firewall.

Someone once told me that the Radial Tuned Suspension package consisted only of a medallion that was attached to the instrument panel...

I'm surprised the used car guide didn't mention that a full gas tank would increase the value by 50%...

Will a separate app be needed to "jiggle the handle"?

I worked with a guy who owned an X1/9 that he bought new in 1979, and carpooled with him for two and a half years, using his vehicle one week and mine the next. He had a 4x4 and another car also, so the Fiat wasn't in use all of the time. But it did get used year-round. That said, it never stranded us. But there were never two weeks straight where absolutely everything on that car worked. One week it was the A/C, next up was the instrument panel lighting, then the radio, then something else. The dealer that sold him the car went under, and he was taking it to another Fiat dealer. That guy didn't know numbers under $100 for anything, even in the early Eighties. The Fiat bit the guy one last time when he sold it...the buyer paid with a rubber check. Of course, he shouldn't have handed over the title until the check cleared, or he had cash in hand. Everyone seems to do well in the "initial quality" surveys. How many people will badmouth a car they just purchased? I've never owned a GM vehicle, but have shopped them a few times. Not the last couple of times though; my current employer has gotten rid of several 2009 Chevrolets (Malibus and Impalas) that have had major transmission problems at fewer than 100,000 miles. These cars are all well-maintained and not abused by the people driving them. I'm sure those scored well in "initial quality" too...

Humbrol isn't easy to get in the USA. I'm lucky to have a local shop (Section 8 Hobbies in Buffalo) that carries an extensive selection of the tinlets. I was told it's the only place in a 75 mile radius with it, and I don't doubt that. I was unsuccessful in several attempts at airbrushing it, but I still paint a lot of things with a brush. For that I prefer Humbrol and use it whenever possible. Covers well, brush strokes level out well, and dries hard/not sticky like some other enamels.

I've used plastic caps from syrup bottles (the one that snaps over the spout) for small items like wheels. I've found vacuum formed packing material (small sheets with various shape bubbles formed into it) that could be cut apart and used. These things have a very slight taper which lets you peel the mold out without tearing it. For larger parts like hoods, I have used scrap pieces of clear acrylic like Plexiglas. I use clear so I can see if there are air pockets anywhere (there shouldn't be, as I fill the mold slowly). The same mold box sides can be used for different size parts by letting one end (and only one end) overlap the adjacent side. Tough to explain, but easy to figure out once you have the pieces in your hands. Mold release isn't needed except on two-piece molds where you are pouring new silicone onto existing silicone. Then, it is vital to being able to get your original part out without wrecking the mold. I've tried Lego pieces; they're handy but sometimes you end up making the mold bigger than absolutely needed, using more silicone. Just my opinion though...your mileage may vary...

It'd be ironic if they'd shoplifted the lock picks...