Mark

As much as I want...no mortgage, no vehicle payment, all the bills get paid, and there's some left for savings, retirement, charity, and all of the other important stuff. I'm not rich, but consider myself very fortunate in that way. Other people I know have season tickets for one or more sports teams, blow money at the bars or the casino most weekends, own boats or motorcycles (or both) that they really can't afford, or have other activities that are way more expensive than mine. I have been tapering off somewhat on new releases, concentrating on filling holes in various sub-collections (Indy 500 pace cars, concept cars, for two examples) and picking up decal sheets and parts to go with things already "in stock". I've sold off some stuff that I'll never get to, and don't regret getting rid of anything (yet).

Basics...not filling seams between parts, not removing ejector pin marks or trademark information. Especially when there's a ton-o-money in aftermarket parts tacked on the same car. Ghost marks from unused cut lines on the underside of hoods would fit in here too. No inner fenders...being able to look at a car from one side, and see daylight from the other side. Same goes with seeing the inside of the interior when the hood is opened (or removed). Those pre-manufactured "distributors" that look like a couple of pieces of tubing stacked together, with the wires clumped together and stuck into the top. Incorrect class markings on drag cars...a fenderless T-bucket is not a gasser. A little research can save a lot of embarrassment; you don't have to leaf through an attic full of musty old magazines to get good info any more. Those "hot knife" Pro Street conversions, where the chassis is assembled and a different body dropped on without lining up the wheel openings or reworking the roll cage. A lot of those have cages that are nearly half an inch below the inside of the roof, with the driver staring ahead into the firewall or cowl. Seventies luxury cars with the basic "alternator and water pump" fan belt.

The '67 was the last annual to include stock wheel covers. The '68 annual kit box was marked "for 1968", meaning that AMT (not doing a promotional model for '68) did not have information on the 1:1 '68 when they produced the kit. Other "for 1968" AMT kits include the Camaro (a custom '67), Firebird (custom only, based heavily on the Camaro), and a "Chevrolet SS 427" (basically a custom-only '67 Impala with no rear window). I haven't got the "for 1968" Corvair kit, but my guess is that it had a '67 interior, and possibly did not have side markers on the body.

Basically two guys ACTING like they're beating the krap out of each other...

And then, you've got people who think EVERY intersection is "right on red". Some aren't, and have a huge sign posted. I've had people lean on the horn behind me, and had to reach out the window and point to the sign. When right on red is allowed, and I'm stuck behind someone, a very gentle tap on the horn usually jogs them awake.

The Chevy (promo and kit) used correct wheels with separate tires. The AMT '25 Ford double kit had its stock tires molded as a unit with the wheel when it first came out, and in all issues into the Seventies. No parts are shared between the Chevy and any other kit.

I remember years ago, when Campbell's (the soup maker) got busted for putting marbles at the bottom of the soup bowl for commercials, so the vegetables would be closer to the top instead of laying at the bottom under all of the broth. For the McDonald's commercials, they probably shove everything to one side of the bun, then show the "good" side of the burger. I don't often eat at places like that any more; I'm spoiled for that stuff because at work I can get lunch in the dining room. Most of the Revell drag car kits had that "prototype model" disclaimer on the box. The "prototype" was often a 1/16 scale kit with the hoses and wiring left off. The one-piece front tires and slicks, and the Cragar Super Trick front wheels that actually looked like Super Tricks were the giveaways...

Probably has something to do with its resemblance to the 426 Hemi block...

The first-generation AMC V8 is unrelated to the Packard V8, which was produced only in '55 and '56. They were all built at the Packard plant in Detroit, never in South Bend or Kenosha. ('57 and '58 Packards used Stude engines.) AMC buying the Packard engines was supposed to be the start of a mutual purchasing deal where the two companies would buy parts from one another. Packard's half of the deal (buying parts from AMC) didn't materialize, at least to the satisfaction of AMC's leadership. So they set out on a crash program to develop their own V8 engine. The AMC engine is often said to be based on a stillborn Kaiser-Frazer V8 design. A couple of ex-Kaiser engineers were working for AMC at the time the engine appeared, so that may or may not be true.

Don't underestimate any of them...

Correction...the back section does tilt up to expose the engine, the windshield remains attached to the body. Still, I'd bet the designer thought he could slide that Piranha chassis in there and have it work the same way. Other than the one I've got, I haven't seen an Astro I kit in years.

The Astro I body, as used in the Scorpion, is pretty well hacked up. Panel lines wiped off, things like that. The Astro I cockpit canopy (one big "door") and engine cover both attach to a belly pan and tilt up. Whoever came up with the idea of stuffing the Piranha chassis into the Astro I body probably thought they could do it without hacking up that belly pan. They were wrong, with the end result that the pan was hacked up and the remaining sections now attach to the body, which ends up as a single piece. I don't think the Astro I set the world on fire sales-wise, the Scorpion was probably done as a way of recouping the investment and get another product out there.

The whole world once feared Caesar... but Caesar feared his wife... A few years ago, a woman (not picking on women here, but she was a woman) who had just moved into the neighborhood was trying to put together a petition to start a HOA. My only question was: "if you want something like this, why didn't you move into a neighborhood that already has one?". I didn't get an answer. I saw her and her accomplice walk to a couple other houses before giving up on the idea...

A funny car was issued also, with the narrow chassis that was used under the Funny Hugger II (the '69 Camaro that Model King reissued some time back). That chassis was used under a couple other bodies also. The Nova funny car had different front fenders, with the front wheel openings shifted forward to match up with the chassis. The Ventura II had a different front clip including the cowl vent that was molded as part of the body. The rear bumper was a different piece too, with wider taillight bezels and a body color filler piece that went between the taillights. Both sets of wheels (stock and optional) were different too.

Every '72 I've seen with bucket seats had the high-back Camaro/Vega style seat, not the low-back seat with the separate headrest. All of the '72 brochures I've seen show the high-back buckets also, and those are done before the cars go on sale. Even though the kit first appeared in '72, I'll say it's a '71.

Government in action, or government inaction?

Auto World catalogs often included photos and information gathered from various sources. The photo of the built kit is probably from a CAR MODEL Magazine article on the trade show where the kit was announced. Some of the "sell sheets" AMT sent out to wholesalers and retailers used photos of 1:1 cars (sometimes retouched or even altered with markers!), or altered artwork from earlier issues of the same kit. On top of that, some of the funny cars didn't necessarily include the decal sheet that matched up with the box art. These were $1.70 retail kits as opposed to the then-normal (for AMT) $2, so when they ran out of one sheet while packing the kits, in went another. (Jo-Han did a lot of that too.) The '65 Nova and '63 Tempest usually had the "box art" sheet because AMT had another kit out at the same time with the same sheet as each of those. I've seen most of the others with sheets other than what matched the box art, and these were otherwise not messed with so it would be tough to say that someone just swapped decals. Besides the spoiler and headlight covers, there were two short rear bumpers, to fill the holes in the body for the rear bumper. All of those parts were probably added so that AMT wouldn't have to include the Corvair kit's plated tree in addition to the Barracuda one (with the 'Cuda's bumpers blocked off).

It's unlikely to drop right in. I don't have the Revell kit in front of me, but I'm pretty sure the interior assembles onto a floor that in part creates the driveline tunnel on the underbody. The MPC piece sits atop a separate chassis/underbody, so it would be shallower. If the door panels are the same, you might be able to get the Modelhaus piece, cut out the console and rear seat, and adapt them to the Revell interior.

The block is different...no provisions for installing another cylinder head or the "other" four pistons. Pontiac tested the idea by building 389 V8 engines with one bank of cylinders removed. The production cylinder head was actually one of the better V8 units, however nobody bothers to save those now because there are later ones that are better.

If you want the stock style sheet metal front cover and a water pump, both as separate pieces, several late Seventies/early Eighties MPC kits had them: Chevy Monzas, pickups, and El Caminos. The most common kits now would probably be the '86 El Camino SS and '84 GMC pickup (ex-Fall Guy). The '82-'92 Firebird and Camaro kits might have separate parts too, but I'm not positive.

Only issued once, around 1968.

Chevrolet didn't need the Corvair; they were selling thousands of conventional, cast iron pushrod engine cars every working day. They'd have been a lot smarter to bring the Chevy II out in 1960, or share the front-engine version of the compact that Pontiac, Buick, and Olds were using. Ten years later, they'd have been smart to bring out the Vega with the already tested, anvil-simple cast-iron four-cylinder engine that they were still putting into a few thousand Novas a year, as well as selling to Mercury Marine (for boats) and Kaiser Jeep (for postal vehicles). The Vega got its aluminum engine in part because GM and Reynolds Aluminum had a lot of money tied up in aluminum foundry facilities. With the Corvair gone, the investment was too big to leave idle, so the Vega got the aluminum engine.

The two engines (Pontiac Tempest "half a V8" slant 4) were the same except for the size of the blowers. Mickey Thompson swapped in different engines to attack multiple class records at Bonneville in each visit. The Attempt I was a bit on the small side, so Revell probably put the second engine (and the trailer) in to get the box a bit more full.

Ford offered a '37 roadster, but it was a convertible with the roll-up side windows deleted and sheetmetal caps installed to cover the window slots in the doors. Ford Australia offered roadsters through 1940.

I remember a few years ago, a lady I knew owned a '99 Impala and GM couldn't supply a hanger for the exhaust system. I'm not sure if an aftermarket part was available. This was a while ago, the car was about five or six years old at the time. The manufacturers only have to supply body and trim parts for a certain length of time. My niece's '03 Cavalier was hit hard in the front when it was two or three years old. Even at that time, the choice was between a used front fascia or an aftermarket piece that didn't look exactly like the OEM piece. GM couldn't/wouldn't supply a new one. And the used one was hard to find, because most salvage yards wouldn't break up a complete front end to sell the bumper. If I remember right, they did locate a used one. If the dealer will use only GM parts, that sounds like a self-imposed rule to me. As far as I'm concerned, if they want the job they can supply the parts to do the job. Insurance companies are another matter. Someone nailed the rear bumper on my '04 Dakota when it was about two years old. Insurance company can specify used parts (in NY) if the vehicle is not the current model year, and/or has more than a few thousand miles on it. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't find a used one in good condition, so they had to spring for a new one in my case.