Mark

I like the "Jo-Han" in the description...I didn't look too long, but there aren't many, if any, Jo-Han pieces in there. Most of the NASCAR stuff isn't even worth shipping. I've seen guys at shows putting them out at $2 apiece, and still taking some home at days' end. If you were close enough to pick them up, and you set up at shows, it might be borderline worthwhile. It's strange to see that '50 Olds custom kit in there...I only saw that around here for the first time about a week ago.

See if you can save it. It won't be reissued in that version, as it was later altered into the ZZ Top Eliminator (and changed yet again for a Thom Taylor-designed cabriolet). Try to get the Thom Taylor kit; it has a reworked chassis with the stock exhaust detail removed, and modern/traditional suspension. (The ZZ Top kit is a hack job, Monogram reworked the stock chassis parts just enough to get the finished model to look decent on the shelf.) I can't recall how much the lower body and fender unit are changed from the Early Iron issue. But you should be able to combine one of the newer kits with the good parts from your Early Iron kit to get a decent street rod.

Pyro didn't do a '40 Tudor (they did a coupe and a convertible), but Palmer did. It does look like a crib of the AMT All-Stars kit, though...wheels/tires are a dead giveaway. The Palmer kit is noticeably larger than Pyro's "1/32 scale" '40 convertible...

Three things helped kill the Aurora kits: -the Aurora name: Aurora was never really taken seriously by model car builders -the pricing of these items: Revell's complete car kits were more reasonable than Aurora's parts packs. Combine that with "not taking Aurora seriously", not knowing how good the parts in their kits were, and not being able to get a handle on how good they were from the poor packaging -Revell having "name" cars while Aurora didn't That said, Aurora probably would have been smarter to just offer the garage scene items in 1/25 scale, and if those took off, get into doing some car kits later. The garage items, plus a decent ramp truck, with photographic box art, might have stood a chance...

MPC Datsun pickups. I just like the looks of the 1:1 truck. I think I've got every issue except for the second (stepside) drag version, and the monster truck (which I don't particularly want). I bought the first ('75) annual on closeout not realizing how well done the kit is (the box art doesn't really clue you in). The Dodge D-50 kit is probably just as good, but for some reason that one doesn't do it for me (though I've got a couple of them). Over the years, other kits have seemed to "find" me: MPC '33 Chevy panels, AMT '28 Ford sedans, AMT '69 El Caminos. Most of these were "builders", but were extremely cheap and in most cases had the unique parts (all three of these share a lot of parts with other kits that have been issued many times, and can be found reasonably). I've brought home a lot of Mustang IIs (both AMT and MPC) too; it's not a car I'd ever own in 1:1, but I like the looks of them. I'll look at every AMC-related kit I spot at a show, too...

I haven't looked at Revell's website lately (as I already have as many of each Kurtis midget kit as I want), but as I understand it the Offenhauser version is still available while the V8-60 has been dropped. I figured the V8-60 would go away first; more of the top cars were Offy-powered, and the hardcore midget enthusiasts hold the Offy in higher esteem.

The parts breakdown of the newer RoG kit and the old Revell kit are quite similar (especially the multiple piece body). But the new kit has door hinges that are more in scale (and won't rub the paint off the first time you swing a door open). The parts are cleaner than they would be had Revell refurbished the old kit (which first appeared in 1958). In spite of having a pile of the old Revell kits, all of the body style variations of the Hasegawa kits, and various diecasts, this is still a must-have. Hopefully, they will get to some pickup variations (single and double cab), and maybe even a "fire" version (and include the portable water pump that is powered by a VW engine!)...

Can't say anything about the scale, but the kit is not a copy. The Pyro Table Top Series kits (the sixty cent ones, including the Texan) were molded in one color and didn't have rubber tires. Despite being designed and manufactured to sell at a low price (even for their day), the Pyro kits are interesting, and in some cases, a lot better than you'd think they would be. They also touched on a lot of unique subject matter (early Thirties Plymouths, for example).

A few additions/corrections: Jo-Han did make a '68 Javelin, as a kit, promo, and toy store friction. AMT sold the Jo-Han 1968 AMX kit in AMT packaging. The 1969 Javelin kit was sold by Jo-Han, in their box. AMT again sold the AMX, in two different boxes with different stock numbers. Jo-Han offered two 1970 Javelin kits: stock annual and Donohue Trans-Am racing version. The annual had four versions: stock, custom, oval track racer, and funny car (that narrow box was packed!). AMT sold the 1970 AMX kit, again in two boxes with different stock numbers. Jo-Han did not offer a two-seater AMX kit until 1971 (the first issue Shirley Shahan drag car, which differs in a number of ways from the reissued version). They never offered a 100% stock one (the USA Oldies kits all had Hurst mag wheels, and we won't mention the 1966 engine). Jo-Han did Javelin/AMX annual kits for every year, 1971-1974. The 1971 annual has its own box, the others all came in the same 1972 style box. AMT offered the '74 in an AMT box also, for the 1974 catalog year only. There were also 1971 and 1972 funny car only kits (each had its own box), which include only the funny car version and have bodies with hoods molded shut. These are rare now, because they didn't sell well when new (nobody ran that body in 1:1, and the chassis was obsolete). There was also a 1971 Donohue Trans-Am kit (sold by AMT), and a Jo-Han George Follmer Trans-Am kit, the contents of which varied over the years. These, and the snap-together 1974 offered by Jo-Han, pretty much cover everything made by Jo-Han relating to these cars.

There's much more to the later ('80-'87) Chevette than the taillights. The rear hatch is completely different, as are the quarter panels and quarter windows. The rear hatch glass was flush mounted, and the windshield changed to flush mounting at some point ('81, I believe). My mom had two Chevettes, one '80 and one '81. I don't think the '80 had the flush-mounted windshield, but the '81 did (the original windshield, anyway). While my mom was away on vacation, she let my sister use the car. A truck dumped some debris in front of her on the highway, cracking the windshield. The replacement was installed with the old-style rubber gasket. Mom didn't specifically notice it, but did say something about how the car looked different when I picked her up at the airport with it...

They're the same kit. The blanked-out grille piece was also in the '70 annual kit, which is where the body came from.

I wouldn't look for the A/FX version, but the 289-equipped B/FX would be a definite possibility IMO...

Looks like, if you install the headers on opposite sides, they'll point downwards like weedburners. I wonder if someone put them on incorrectly on the display models...

The lower tank (upper one is for fuel) and gauge panel would be for an air compressor. The engine runs on four cylinders, pumps air with the other four. The cylinder heads appear to be items manufactured for such a conversion, but a lot of home/farm built compressors were constructed on the cheap, without aftermarket parts like that.

The AMT '70-1/2 Camaro promo and kit have vinyl roof detail molded as part of the body. AMT did not re-box the Camaro kit for '71, they sold it in the same box two years straight (they did this with their Corvettes also). AMT's Camaro had the full-width bumper, non-Rally Sport front end. MPC's '70-1/2 Camaro kit (no promo) also had the full-width bumper, but did not have vinyl roof detail. For '71, MPC altered their Camaro to the RS front end with the split bumper.

The '70-1/2 promo was made by AMT, and has vinyl roof detail and low-back bucket seats with headrests. It also has the single, full-width front bumper. '71 through '73 were made by MPC. '73 promo was a Rally Sport 350 (kit was a Z/28 with oversize front fender emblems). By process of elimination, you're down to '71 or '72, and I don't think there is any difference between those two except the date on the license plate...

The only thing that bugs me is that eBay lets this stuff "roll over" time after time after time, and you've got to plow through that flotsam to get to anything decent. Every once in a while, I do a search under "Pyro" to look for a couple of kits. I've seen the same four dollar instruction sheets turn up in every search I've done in the last three or four years. I guess eBay wants to keep the "available item" count up there...

Not for precision work, that's for sure. I have the X-Acto version, though in the past I made one by sawing a notch into the end of a cheap soldering iron. A machine screw held an #11 X-Acto blade in the slot, through a hole drilled perpendicular to the notch. For straight cuts on sheet plastic, I'll either use a saw or do the "scribe and break" method with a box cutter. But I still use the X-Acto piece once in a while, usually to cut odd-shaped parts from sheet plastic or for rough cuts on radiused wheel openings.

The big cars still used the early engine in '66. Jo-Han tooled it for the '66 Marlin, which turned out to be the only kit they did that was correct with it. The next-generation V8 was used in some of the smaller Americans in '66, because the older V8 was bigger and couldn't be installed on the assembly line. Jo-Han never did a 100% correct second-generation V8; most had later parts (valve covers, water pump, front cover) cobbed onto the old block. Jo-Han never did a late block, exhaust manifolds, or decent cylinder heads.

The wheels have been changed a couple of times over the years. Early issues used compact car tires (the ones used in Corvair and Opel GT kits for stock). Most of the early variations (Covered Wagon, Topless Pick-Up) had the same parts in different boxes, with instructions for cutting the top. I've heard those versions were done because the Deora was a slow seller. The slant six engine is cool now, but kids buying kits back then probably weren't too crazy about it. At the very least, AMT should have made the engine cover a separate piece molded in clear, so you could see the engine from up top. The Alexander's Drag Time was a DIY project in a box. The engine was the Hot Rod Shop (AMT parts pack) 392 Hemi, unplated. The whole tree was tossed in, so you got the Corvair engine along with it. The builder was supposed to radius the rear wheel openings, trim out the molded-in engine cover, and cut off the top. Trim lines may have been added to the inside of the body for the wheel openings, but you were on your own for the rest (and that plastic was pretty thick). I don't know what was included for tires, but if I remember right you were supposed to use the slant six engine's U-shaped display stand to make a roll bar. I've got an early Seventies issue with larger wheels and tires. The two sets of compact car wheels were replaced by the reversed/baby Moon set that is still in the kit, and a set of "Flag" mags that appeared in a few other AMT kits in the late Sixties. These were later changed out and replaced with the four-slot wheels that are still in the kit. This issue still has the clear canopy, and has a couple of surfboards that AMT put into a few other kits around that time The flat tonneau cover for the bed area is still included also. The next issue after that was the mid-Seventies "Vantasy" with the camper shell. I don't think the clear canopy reappeared from that point on.

The tires in the original were two-piece slicks, in two sizes. The fronts were a slick that replaced the vinyl slicks in the AMT annual kits of the day, and the rears were the largest slicks AMT had, the ones they used in their funny car kits (Mustang II, Monza, "Dragray" Corvette, "Mopower" Plymouth Satellite). Both were branded Goodyear. The AMT/Ertl reissue used vinyl, one-piece tires: AMT non-treaded NASCAR tires for the front, ex-MPC 16" wide dragster/funny car/Pro Stock slicks for the rear. Did the 1:1 employ "stagger", or use a floater on the front? If so, then you'd have to look to the aftermarket, or try the Monogram sprint tires...

DTR took, shall we say, considerable "artistic liberty" with the box art on their reissues. Their '32 Ford "jalopy racers", for example, can't be built anything like what is shown on the box with what is inside the box. I'd assume the tires are the same...

Shirley Shahan (Judy Lilly stayed with Mopar well into the Seventies). As for the AMX kit, it doesn't have stock engine parts (Jo-Han AMC engines weren't all that accurate anyway, with some later parts cobbed onto a '66 long block). The interior is a 1970 unit with high-back seats molded as a unit with the bucket. (The instrument panel is correct '68-'69.) The chassis has no molded-in exhaust detail. The Jo-Han USA Oldies issue is closer to stock, though it still has a '70 interior bucket and also has Hurst mags as the only wheel choice (the Oldies issue has no optional parts or decals). Like the Shahan reissue, it has thick plastic rods replacing the wire axles used in the annual kits and original Shahan drag car issue. The annual issues were Jo-Han kits, sold by AMT. (The first two-seater AMX kit issued by Jo-Han in their own packaging was the original issue of the Shahan drag car, in '71.) Besides the '68 and '69 annual kits having more correct interiors, they also included stock "turbocast" wheel covers (promos had Magnum 500s) and a complete Logghe funny car chassis! The USA Oldies kits can be found far more reasonably than the annuals, though. Like many Jo-Han kits, the chassis have everything molded in, and the interior is so-so, but Jo-Han's excellent proportioning and fine detail work on the body save the day...

The Cyclone was converted to NASCAR trim after the '71 kits (annual and funny car) exited the MPC catalog. The NASCAR version (reissued by Model King a few years ago) uses only the body and trim parts from the annual, on a generic two-piece adjustable-wheelbase chassis (that was used in all of the kits in the series). Every Cyclone part is altered in some way except the windows (and the rear spoiler, if it is in there; I don't have one handy to check). The body is largely stock, though (no reshaped wheel openings) and can be brought close enough to stock. The stock hood, bumpers, and taillights can be had in resin. The Model King issue has stock 1970 and 1971 Spoiler decals ('71 annual didn't have stock decal stripes) as well as the stock wheels on the plated tree. The Revell '70 Torino GT/Cobra underbody is an incredibly good fit for the ancient MPC body, and that kit's separate door handles and side markers (cut from the body) will swap onto the Cyclone. The interior is the sticking point; I'll probably pull molds off of some MPC parts for mine. Mine isn't very far along, but I have seen one combination Model King/Revell Cyclone Spoiler finished...

Are you referring to currently available (Dirt Track Racecars) issue kits? AMT's 1975 catalog shows three (then) new sprint car kits, all credited to Grant King. These were called "Grant King Sprint" (no wing), "Pole Cat Winged Sprint", and "Drifter Super Modified". These differ in detail (injector stacks, hood, wheels, side pods, wing) but all use the same chassis. The '76 midyear catalog includes a fourth variation, the wedge-bodied "Groove Boss Supermodified", again credited to King. This one uses the same chassis, but has the wedge-shaped body. The original Seventies issues had no optional parts, and could only be assembled as the version illustrated on the box. The tires included were two sizes of drag slicks, the two-piece "neither plastic nor vinyl" things that virtually no cement known to man worked on. I built the original Grant King Sprint years ago. The small-block Chevy engine is on the crude side, the chassis was a bit fiddly but as I remember the pieces did fit together pretty well. AMT even included a jig to help assemble the frame. When you clean the parting lines off of the tubular frame sections, the tubes do appear to be round unlike a lot of funny car or dragster chassis back then. There was a 1986 AMT/Ertl reissue (called "Grant King Sprint Car") which included two building versions: the original "Grant King Sprint" and the "Groove Boss Supermodified". The wing and side pods from the other variations aren't included. Tires were changed to Eighties AMT NASCAR tires (front) and MPC 16" dragster slicks (rear). I didn't build that issue, but I remember reading the reviews on it. Supposedly the fit of the chassis and body panels was cleaned up (not that I had any trouble to speak of with the first one). If DTR commissioned a reissue prior to Round 2 taking over, I would presume that the DTR issue(s) would have the same combination of parts as the AMT/Ertl reissue. Even with different names, illustrations, and decals, I'd bet that if they have more than one version available, the parts inside the kit boxes will be identical. They've got a number of reissue AMT kits like the '32 Fords and Early Modifieds out in more than one box, all with the same parts inside. You'll need to check the aftermarket to see if better tires can be had.