Mark

The one store I went into every so often only had six or eight different kits, nothing special. Lately, every time I go into that store, I walk out wondering why I went there...that's probably why the visits have tapered off considerably. The Michaels craft store chain appears to have reset their model kit section...smaller than before, most Round 2 kits gone, most Revell glue kits also gone, replaced in large part by Revell snap kits. They're still good for paint, embossing powder, craft wire, airbrush jars, and all sorts of other stuff though.

I saw two of them yesterday at a local shop. They charge full retail, though, so neither of those followed me home. I'll pick one up at another local shop that at least gives club members 10% off (offsets the sales tax, at least) then pick another one up online or at a show.

Because it was probably among those that were in the best condition. When you look at the original Jo-Han offerings like the USA Oldies, you probably wonder why they didn't reissue things like the mid-Sixties Plymouths and Chryslers. Simple...they probably weren't able to. Even the ones that were reissued weren't exactly like the original kits; the '64 Cadillacs didn't have the steerable front end, those and the Marlin didn't have clear headlight lenses like the original kits, and some of the kits' interiors had later upholstery patterns. They were putting together the stuff that was the most complete at the time, and trying to do it as cheaply as possible.

It's an old Jo-Han promotional model...was never released as a kit when it was new.

The Torinos differ slightly: '70 had the "Cobra" lettering on the front fender, '71 had it on the quarter panel. '71 grille bar also has a small snake emblem in the center, '70 does not.

Same body...panel lines wiped, door handles and scripts removed. Most of the original funny car kits were done after that year's annual stock kit but before next year's promo model, so they used stock bodies. The Soapy Sales kit was issued after the '74 annual...with no '75 Challenger promo or annual kit on the way (and apparently no desire to reissue the stock '74), they were free to slick up the body for the funny car. No different, really, than AMT converting several Sixties annuals into Modified Stockers, or turning the '63 Chevy II wagon into the Boss Nova...

Yes...

I read somewhere that, of the six cars, two were sold to the same guy. Not much of a market there, apparently, since nobody ever tried such a thing again. That said, I've got one of the Monogram kits on the pile...thinking it would look better with a Nomad-style rear roof section in place of the stock rear glass...

The block-hugger headers look modern too...not to mention the alternator and what looks like a billet air cleaner.

Some of the kit was retooled (bed, running boards, entire plated tree) but I never bothered to check to see if the parts were renumbered. When the retooling was done for the 100% stock version in the late Nineties, the Pontiac engine was eliminated. It has not been in any issue of the F-100 since then. The '62 issue had custom headliner detail that was removed from the next issue (the mid-Seventies "Super Trick Pickup"), and also had clear red taillights. The taillights were bagged with the tires, so unless that bag was opened and the parts separated, you will probably have two little clear red blobs. I picked up an original kit for cheap on eBay, only to find the taillights still bagged with the tires. Earlier this year, a parts box buy from a local automotive swap meet coughed up two unused taillights.

It's worth what someone is willing to pay. There might be only two people out there who need a '68 CJ hood and scoop, but this might be the only one out there...if so, one of those two guys is going to die without having gotten it...

The correct engine for the Marlin is the one that came in the Marlin kit. The next-generation 290 V8 was installed in the smaller American/Rogue body in '66, then across all AMC lines in '67. The new engine was in part designed because the earlier one didn't fit the American body on an assembly line (though one dealer built a few with the early engine to sell; they drag raced one also). AMC redesigned the larger cars for '67, it wouldn't have made sense for them to change them over to the new engine when they were in their final year of existence. The newer engine might have been legal for NASCAR in the Marlin body...but would it have been limited to 290 cubes? The older engine could have been run as a 327...still giving up 100 cubes to everyone else, but still nearly 30 more than a 290...

As overpriced as it might be, there might be some uneducated, just-starting-out, eBay seller out there to snatch that thing up thinking they've struck it rich. There is usually one at any decent size flea market at any given time, just waiting to pounce. And, after they've wasted a bunch of time and lost a ton of money, they either give up completely or get smart...but right at that moment, along comes the next newbie to start the vicious circle all over again. The last few kits I picked up at the fleabag, I was able to get only because I saw them first. There are deals, you just have to be there early.

I don't use EZPass, but handle a number of accounts at work. All are charged to one credit card. When I set them up, I was able to set the reimbursement amount. I had the idea to set each one up with a different amount, so when I looked at the credit card statement I would know which accounts were being reimbursed. After a month or so, they went ahead and changed all of them, most to the same amount.

All of the Frog/AMT kits I have seen were 1968 kits. If your Corvette has a chassis with the exhaust system and suspension molded as part of it, it will be the '68.

Only some of the '68 kits were way off (Camaro, Firebird, Chevrolet SS 427). The boxes for those are marked "AMT for '68". The Corvair was also a "for '68" deal; I don't have that one, but would guess that it is a '67 that was not updated. Some of the others (Falcon, Chevelle) couldn't be built 100% stock but were accurate for the most part. The Falcon didn't have stock wheels, the Chevelle didn't have a stock engine. Those weren't marked "for '68", just '68. The Corvette was the worst of the bunch, probably the worst thing AMT ever cranked out.

But the box wasn't marked "for '68" as with the Camaro, Firebird, etc. Why, I don't know...but then again I don't know why they would have guessed at the thing like that. If they didn't have any advance information, they could have waited until the 1:1 car was available, then do a crash program to get a more correct one out.

Don't get me started on EZPass. Count up all of the people in your state who are using it, figure each has $25 or so on account at any given time...then arrive at whatever that works out to...a rolling, ongoing, permanent, interest-free loan to the state. Slip up though, buddy, and they'll nail you to the wall for all sorts of service charges.

Nasty as that '68 'Vette is, I don't think it's a "for '68" kit. MPC had the promo model contract for Chevrolet in '68, and they probably made sure AMT didn't get any advance info on any '68 car that MPC was going to do as a promotional model. AMT had to throw that Corvette out there, as well as the "SS 427" oddity. They did get a decent '68 Chevelle kit out, but even that one didn't have stock engine parts. AMT did a better Corvette kit for '69. That '68 did get reissued twice, first as the AC spark plug tie-in "AC cellerator" custom, later as a John Greenwood GT version. Greenwood must have been thrilled to open the box and see what was inside...

Whether or not something still exists plays a part in deciding what will be reissued! That said, the box for the stand-alone Firebird kit reads "AMT for '68". The Firebird, Camaro, and "Chevrolet SS 427" were "for '68" kits that couldn't be built stock. I think the Corvair was a "for '68" deal also, but can't remember off the top of my head. The "for '68" kits were something I avoided like the plague in years past, but recently I've picked up the Camaro, Firebird, and Chevrolet. The "Chevrolet SS 427" is a real hoot; picture if you will a '67 Impala assembled as the custom version, with all exterior trim (script) removed and the rear window completely filled in. I'm looking at sticking that one together as pictured on the box, just have to check and see if the decals are usable...

The tolls on the New York Thruway were supposed to end when it was paid for, in the mid-Nineties. A couple of years before that, though, the state created a new entity that purchased the Thruway from the existing one. Mortgaged for another twenty or thirty years, the sale price went into the till to help balance the budget one year. The same thing was done again in another year, this time with the buildings that belonged to the prison system. Locally, a few years ago a couple of guys campaigned to get one particular toll booth removed, claiming the state never had the authority to put that one in in the first place. They fought it for several years, collecting tolls all the while, but were eventually forced to remove it. Shortly afterward, one of those guys got a series of threatening letters, and he spotted someone watching his home...turned out to be a toll collector. I'm not sure if he got jail time, but he did eventually get fired over that. The morning the toll booth was shut down, one of the local radio stations set up nearby, handing out donuts and coffee. Another toll collector showed up screaming at them about how he was going to be out of a job. If I remember right, they actually had to call the police on the guy. I guess that job was his birthright... One local legislator got on the bandwagon to make the "temporary" 1% sales tax addition permanent. His quote was, "it's only a lousy penny". Someone did some digging and found out that this guy was collecting a pension as a county employee, and was close to nailing down a second pension as a legislator...the heat got turned up on him, and he dropped out just short of qualifying for the second pension.

When government employees are a large enough group to constitute a voting bloc, it's probably too late to do much about it. Around here, we had a "temporary" 1% sales tax that lasted over 20 years. Several other counties also had a "temporary" 1% also. Everyone was just waiting for someone/anyone to push it through as a permanent measure, then the rest followed.

The one-piece clear hardtop was used in the '60 and '61 annuals also. The '62 annual hardtop kit included only a custom hardtop. So, if in 1962 you bought the annual "hardtop" kit and built it stock, you had a convertible.

One store in my area had the MPC '79 Trans-Am. Shelf price $29.99, 40% off was still over $19 with sales tax...more than I really wanted to pay for that particular kit, but in all likelihood cheaper than at a show or from any of the online sellers. Some of the online sellers seem to be shying away from that particular kit; maybe they are figuring on the craft stores carrying it. The HL website shows the AMT '64 Impala and '53 Ford pickup, but I think I've got as many of those as I need. LHS still gets plenty of business from me...grabbed a Moebius Satellite there this morning, and will probably get the MPC Cosmic Charger when those come in.

The reissue kits are actually 1960...'60 seat upholstery pattern, and the opening hood and engine. The '59 annual kit(s) did not include an engine. The reissues have blank license plates. These have rims with separate wheel covers. Over the years, the rims were messed with so they would fit those two-piece tires.