Mark

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.

Test it...see if it is compatible with the cement(s) and paint(s) you normally use. If it is not styrene, you may be able to use super glue to bond it to styrene. But if paint won't adhere, the plastic won't be of use to you.

It's the old AMT annual kit (last issued as a '77) backdated. MPC's was updated through '81, but should still exist in that form.

Bigger parts, easier for kids to handle...also, the price point would have been a bit higher. The 1/20 scale car kits retailed for $3 when most 1/25 scale kits were $2.The 1/20 scale Corvettes were pretty much like the 1/25 scale ones, just bigger. The Ford Econoline kits were beautiful, but like most other folks, I wish they'd been 1/25 scale. Looking at the one I've got now, it probably could have been done in 1/25 with most (if not all) of its working features intact.

When this 'Vette kit was first released, the guy who reviewed it for CAR MODEL magazine mentioned that the parts breakdown is very similar to that of Monogram's 1/8 scale '65 Corvette. MPC's 1/20 and 1/25 scale C3 Corvette kits are pretty much alike except for their size (but not that similar to the 1/16 scale '63). Early advertising for the first issue MPC '63 mention a pre-painted body, but I've never seen one with that feature. All that said, this is a pretty decent kit.

All three of the mid-year '71 MPC kits (Dodge Demon, Plymouth GTX, and Pontiac Trans-Am) were pretty tough to find, even when new. A lot of stores didn't carry them because they might sit on the shelves until the '72 kits came out. The Demon isn't that good, to be honest: the hood is too flat (underside tooling is shared with the Duster hood, which is flatter), front wheel openings are the wrong shape, and the front bumper/grille doesn't fit very well. The new kit, when it appears, will drive down the value on "projects" and less-than-perfect unbuilt kits. Mint in the box originals should hold their value, though.

Not memory, just having the catalogs! I should have looked at the '71 catalog before my initial post, however. I don't have the mid-year release listing for '71, though.

AMT '63 annual kit. It should have the working hidden headlamps also. Only the annual kit had the separate gas filler; the "reissue" '63 convertibles have a different body that was tooled in the Eighties.

The other three ('65 Chevelle, '65 GTO, '69 Falcon) came out during '71. They aren't in the '71 catalog, but are in the '72 catalog and not listed as "new" for that year. The '66 Skylark was gone for '73, and for '74 only the two Chevies were listed. Both of those disappeared after '74. In addition, most of these weren't great sellers. I had the '66 Skylark back in the day, I picked it up on clearance. That would have been in '71 or early '72; we moved in mid-'72 and I remember having that one prior to the move. I had the Chevelle too, but that one was bought when it first came out. These kits were called "butchered" in one of the model car magazines back then. But to be fair, the issues of some of these kits prior to the conversion didn't sell well. I had pre-Modified Stocker issue '65 Olds and '65 Fairlane kits that I'd bought for cheap AFTER the Stocker issues appeared.

First issued in 1971. All nine were out that year. The first one dropped was the '66 Skylark (wasn't in the '72 catalog if I remember right), by '74 only the '66 Impala and '65 Chevelle were in the catalog.

I'll call BS on the Corolla. There have been periods (in North America, at least) where Toyota has sold "Corollas" on multiple platforms at the same time. Cars do evolve, but not with two or three completely different (front drive and rear drive) cars marketed with the same name at the same time. It would be like Chevrolet selling the Impala, and selling the Camaro alongside it as the "Chevrolet Impala Camaro"...

I'm pretty certain there was a Highway Pioneers 1903 Ford; that one would have been approximately 1/32 scale.

When I'm stuck behind someone blocking the aisle, I tap them on the shoulder and say: "if you move a little bit that way, you could block two aisles"... I've gotten (more than once) people who leave their cart in the checkout line and go off to do more shopping. It's not just walking a few feet over to grab a loaf of bread either; these characters go to the other end of the store. The last time that happened, the line was two or three people long and it took about ten minutes to move up to the front. At that point, I shoved the cart out of the way and placed my three or four items onto the belt. Guy comes back right at that moment and says: "I'm in line"...my reply was: "no, you left a cart in line and went off to do your shopping". He was carrying more stuff in his arms than he had in the cart before wandering off. I actually don't mind grocery shopping, except for the phone talkers who are oblivious to everything around them. What did these people do before those phones were available?

That's the 66.

If you're spraying it from the can (as opposed to an airbrush), why not pick up a can of clear in the same brand?

First prize is a Chevy Cruze...second prize is TWO Chevy Cruzes! I'm here all week folks...try the veal, and don't forget to tip your waitress! I don't get the excitement over that car...checked it out at the local new car show that virtually coincided with its debut. Typical GM "this is the one that's going to drive the imports back to the shores" that we've heard so many times before...and the car was thoroughly underwhelming...

My '79 AMC Spirit GT had a Ford electronic ignition system, Ford starter, and Ford four-speed manual transmission. Never touched any of those items (except routine maintenance like tune-ups and lube changes) in 215,000 miles. The GM alternator was another matter. The GM power steering didn't give me any trouble, though. People still ask me about that car...it outlasted the company that put it together. If the "right" one came along, I'd buy another in a minute...

The last time I worked downtown, I drove to work by the shortest route. My brother used to manage a Midas muffler shop that I drove by on that route. When I told him how I was driving to work, he told me: "as you drive that way, count to three over and over...every third car you see probably won't have insurance". When my 2004 truck was about a year old, someone slammed into the back of it, bending the rear bumper. Guy gets out of the car (an '89 Probe, if I remember right) and, first thing, says "do we have to go through the insurance?". Uh-oh. We pull off to the side, and he says "I haven't got my insurance card with me". When I did payroll and HR at a roofing company, "I don't have my drivers' license with me" translated to "I haven't got a drivers' license", and that stuck with me. But this guy did have insurance, and the bumper did get replaced. I still think insurance companies are legalized thieves, though. If you have had a claim recently, your insurance goes up. If you haven't had a claim in a long time, then you are "more likely" to file one soon, so your insurance goes up. If you have a small car, you're more likely to get hurt in an accident, so your insurance is higher. If you have a truck or SUV, you're likely to cause more damage to another vehicle in an accident, so your insurance is higher. When isn't it higher?

I didn't see anything regarding financing...maybe the guy paid cash for it? That said, then as now, not having at least "fire and theft" insurance on a two-year-old car wouldn't be too bright. I can't stand giving money to insurance companies (you're basically buying something you hope you will never use, and if you do put in a claim it gets even more expensive afterwards). But, fire, theft, and liability insurance isn't as outrageous as collision coverage...it makes sense to have it on a 'Vette. I was going to dump the collision coverage on my ten year old truck, until I looked at the itemized bill. Not even ten bucks a month, that's less than the "uninsured motorist" coverage that you can't be without around here...

Correction...just pulled my builtup out of the box...the cylinder heads and spoiler parts on it are painted black, molded in white. Based on the Scrambler Vega that I have now, and the Dunn & Reath 'Cuda that I had some years back, I'd still bet that the spoilers and side spats in the kit as-issued weren't painted to match the body. The rear pan on my Firebird is definitely not painted. The chassis is a one-piece "1970" Logghe Stamping unit (side rails and interior floor "tin" molded as one piece). Other kits that used that same chassis were the Mercury Cyclones, '71 Blue Max Mustang (the first MPC version, the one with the stock body), the '73 "Warlord" Camaro (but not the '71 "USA-1"), and the "Jolly Roger" Maverick. The later kits had a different oil pan to replace the front-sump Ford unit, to try and make the engine look different.

Beswick was probably referring to a reissue of the 1/18 scale diecast version, not the kit. Most of MPC's funny car kits (including the Firebird) used bodies that were shared with the promotional models and annual kits. In most cases, the bodies were updated year by year for use in the annual kits, which took the funny cars and Pro Stockers out of the picture in terms of reissue possibilities. MPC updated their Firebird body through '81. The Boss Bird was based on the '72 kit. It has a stock body with the flat (no scoops) hood molded in; MPC never offered a kit with that hood as a separate piece. The chassis was shared with a number of other kits, and the engine is a Ford Boss 429 with different heads and valve covers to make it resemble a Pontiac. The body was pre-painted in pearl white, but the Trans-Am spoiler pieces were molded in black. The other pre-painted funny car kits had similar brainstorms; for example, the Dunn & Reath Barracuda had a nice metallic red paint job, but the rear pan wasn't painted. I've got a Malco Scrambler Vega with a nice paint job and unpainted spoilers.

Maybe they can start doing what they did with the Copper-Cooled Chevrolets in 1923. Most of those never left the factory; they went straight to the scrapper...

In the picture of the engine compartment, the main fuel line goes forward from the fuel tank (it's below the coil in the picture), into the cool can, then comes out where it splits off into the lines going to the carbs...