Mark

The Wildcat was built on the Invicta (middle series, price-wise) body. It and the LeSabre are six inches shorter than the Electra 225 (214" vs. 220"), wheelbase is three inches shorter (123" vs. 126"). Only the Electra used the longer body for 1962. The Invicta station wagon, being essentially a 1961 wagon with a '62 front clip, was a half-inch shorter than the passenger car!

The extra headlight and taillight are remnants from when the coupe body was used for the promotional model. (The original annual kit was a convertible, and included the hardtop as a separate part with "vinyl roof" detail.) AMT would include extras of some small parts on the plated trees so the parts bins for the workers assembling the promos would fill up faster. They wouldn't have problems running short on headlights or taillights if some were dropped or broken. Many of the kits from the early Seventies (Pinto, Mustang, Monte Carlo) had five stock wheels on the plated tree for the same reason.

I've yet to see the putty that will stand up to paint removal agents like CSC, Purple Power, or Power Dissolver. The Testors (and old AMT) putties virtually dissolve when dropped into the dunk tank. Even if the stuff doesn't come right off, it will absorb the stripper which will, at best, complicate repainting efforts. Bottom line...either remove the existing paint with sandpaper, or count on redoing all of the putty work.

I've got a Street Rods series reissue '65 (the first issue immediately after the Gear Hustler). It has the stock wheels and custom parts restored to the kit, and has the Gear Hustler's topper instead of the slide-in camper. I believe that issue has the hard hats and six-pack, though they aren't shown in the instructions. Those items would have been tooled along with the topper, so they are close together on the parts trees. To make it more authentic for the construction company I worked for in the Eighties, there would have been several six-packs included, most of them loose/crushed cans tossed through a sliding rear cab window into the bed...

The tall "slide-in" unit first appeared in the original annual issue of the '65 El Camino kit. It later turned up in one issue of the '59 El Camino (not the first issue, but rather the third, in 1968). It doesn't really fit the '59 very well. The smaller "topper" in some issues of the '65 kit first appeared in the "Gear Hustler" construction company themed issue, around 1972. That one might fit the '59, but the '59 was never issued with that one.

The Torino GT kits are still out there. If you have any decent show/contest(s) within driving distance, you should be able to turn one up for less than the price of a current kit. The '70 Torinos are the only kits out there with the non-Boss 429 engine (the AMT mid-Seventies Ford pickups include what was called a "460" but is really a 360 FE-series mill). The Torino GT kit includes some optional engine parts (headers, valve covers, air cleaner). The underbody and engine compartment slide right into the Model King reissue '71 Cyclone stock car body, or a resin copy of the MPC annual kit.

The only "old" part of the banjo rear axle was the center section; all of the stuff inside was new. The reason for keeping the center section was that it had a torque tube and not a driveshaft with universal joints. The torque tube acted as a third traction bar. When the Pontiac rear axle was installed, the torque tube setup was retained. The Chevy engine/early Ford "banjo" rear axle setup seems to have been transplanted into George's "Hurst Gasser Passer" English Ford Prefect. Both Mustangs have fiberglass bodies. The '67 body is said to be a Ford Engineering piece, the same one that was used to design the body dies. It would have been used to determine where the steel body panels would be joined, where the spot welds would be, where the hinges would be placed, where access holes would be needed for routing wires on the assembly line, things like that. While the first Mustang was under construction, the rules still required a production car frame. Shortly after it was finished, fully fabricated frames were allowed in the interest of safety. The '69 Mustang used a Willys frame again because George simply stuck with what he knew would work. The '69 body is a "splash" taken from a pre-production car. There's a 1971 issue of HOT ROD with a feature article on the Multi-Maverick. The kit chassis is pretty much spot-on (mostly rectangular tubing, not round). There's also an interview with George somewhere out there, where he stated that MPC bankrolled the construction of the 1:1 car in exchange for the rights to make the model. (Not farfetched: MPC did kits of three of George's cars, and each was in the catalog for a long time.) The body is off, particularly in the areas of the hood and rear wheel openings. Like the AMT XR-6 Dodge Deora kits, the development of the kit went hand-in-hand with the construction of the 1:1 car, and occasionally got ahead of it to the point where some details don't match. There is another MPC Maverick kit (Jolly Roger funny car) that uses the Multi-Maverick body with a flat hood (the JR has a different chassis that places the engine entirely inside the body). One of those, even a built one, could supply the unscooped hood to help correct the Multi-Maverick. Neither issue of the MM had decals that got close to the look of the 1:1 car either.

To add a little bit of information: -Besides the AMT '65 Mustang ('64 pace car) convertible, Monogram first issued their 1/24 scale Mustang convertible with Pace Car decals. -AMT issued the 1967 and 1969 Camaros as Indy Pace Cars in assembled promotional models and as kits. MPC/Ertl offered a mediocre '69 Camaro convertible as a stand-alone kit (molded in orange, without Pace Car decals) and in a three-car set (molded in white, with Pace Car decals), in the late Eighties. -Revell's '72 Hurst/Olds convertible is no longer in production, but it can be built as a Pace Car provided you track down a Fred Cady decal sheet. -The MPC 1979 Mustang pace car (offered as the 1980 annual kit) has an option for the T-roof setup used on the actual Pace Car. Monogram's kit has the sunroof which makes it a replica of the version that was sold to the public. -Others are available in resin. R&R offers/offered the '52 Studebaker and '54 Dodge convertibles, and probably has others as well. KG Models offered the '85 Cutlass Calais as a vacuform kit. I passed on that one back in the day, but it actually looked pretty good (though it took a lot of work to cut out and assemble).

NHRA Gas class rules at the time required two seats. The Willys kit has one seat because the first issue was modeled on the John Mazmanian car, which was frequently match raced at a lower weight, and with a larger engine, than NHRA Gas class rules allowed. When match racing, the rules are whatever the participants agree on. The second issue, the black Stone-Woods-Cook car, was match raced as well and many pictures of it can be found with one seat. The Pittman Willys is restored to the 1963 season version. For 1964, Pittman built a '33 Willys with a Chrysler engine. In 1965, while match racing with the '33, it was wrecked. Pittman then "un-retired" the '41 that he still owned, installing the Chrysler engine and making some other changes. The '41 was used through mid-'66, when another '33 Willys replaced it.

Nope...'61-'62 Buick Special wagon. The Double Dragster doesn't include the adapter to mount eight carbs to the top of a supercharger, nor does it include a crank-drive blower setup for a Chrysler engine. (The DD's Chevy engines do have crank-drive setups.) The same Chrysler engine (with more chrome) was in the '63 Nova wagon, along with the trailer from the Buick wagon. The Boss Nova kit has the engine too, minus the crank-drive blower (it doesn't fit the Nova wagon in its mid-engine configuration).

The Ertl Corporation acquired AMT in 1982, when Lesney went into bankruptcy and was forced to sell it. (Lesney bought AMT in 1978, moving it to Baltimore after the Troy, MI building had been sold in a climate of fast-rising property values in that area.) Ertl acquired MPC in 1985. Under Ertl's ownership, some AMT kits were released under the MPC brand, and vice versa. After a couple of years of that (and shipping AMT and MPC branded kits in different size boxes), the MPC brand was phased out, and only used on Buyers' Choice reissues that had been MPC items originally. MPC was started in 1963 by George Toteff (an early employee of AMT) and Dick Branstner (who then owned the "Color Me Gone" super stock Dodge). They stayed on good terms with AMT's upper management in spite of having left the company to start MPC. The first few MPC kits were sold through AMT because they had excellent distribution, and were able to place the products in far more stores than a new company. The early MPC kits distributed by AMT include the Dream Rod, Wild Dream/King T double kit (two AMBR winners in one box!), '28 Ford two-door sedan, and '65 Dodge Coronet. Box art, decals, tires, and instruction sheets all are MPC, they don't match up with other AMT kits that were out at that time. The first "official" MPC kit was the '64 Corvette. AMT already had Corvette coupe and roadster kits (based on the promotional models) so MPC had to distribute that one on their own. That's why it's a lot easier to find either of the AMT '64 Corvettes, than the MPC '64 coupe. When MPC reissued some of the kits that had previously been sold under the AMT banner, all of them were modified in some way. MPC didn't want to issue the same items AMT had sold. So, the Dream Rod became the Tiger Shark, the '28 Ford sedan became a roadster pickup/station wagon, and the Wild Dream/King T double kit was divided with each car being sold separately. There was some back-and-forth activity between the two companies into the late Sixties. Somehow, the Plymouth Barracuda and Chevy Fleetside pickup kits that had been issued by AMT for 1967 became MPC kits for 1968. These, and the Jo-Han kits packaged and sold by AMT between 1967 and about 1974, have never been explained by anyone in any great detail. With all of the principal parties now gone, it's unlikely that anyone is left that knows the "how" or "why" behind some of this stuff.

Same basic car, but much of the Dream Rod's body was reworked in the transformation to the Tiger Shark. The 1:1 car was recently restored as the Dream Rod; all of the changes were reversed. Long story short: if you want a Dream Rod, search out a Dream Rod kit. Some parts (glass, chassis and engine parts) could be sourced from the Tiger Shark if needed.

The donor kit that would be needed, is the AMT/Ertl Connoisseur Classics issue pictured in this thread. There is an MPC Connoisseur Classics issue also; that one is from the Seventies, and includes only the stock parts. The Vampire Van doesn't include the stock Chevy fenders, hood, radiator shell, or other trim parts. That said, if you are able to get to any of the bigger model car-related shows, you should be able to find a rebuildable original panel delivery. One of the guys I set up at shows with had a couple of them last year. They were in decent shape (not gluebombed), had all of the parts needed for the delivery, and could have been rebuilt using a Vampire Van as a donor. Each was in the $20-25 range, less than the price of the delivery parts if they were offered in resin. I remember him lugging them to several shows and not selling them. I don't remember where the first one sold (probably a show I didn't go to), the second one finally went at NNL East last month. I'd have bought them myself, but I've already got enough parts to make three good ones already...and that's probably two more than I'll get to...

Under all of the body modifications, it's still the '33 Chevy panel delivery. The Vampire Van body still fits the stock Chevy fenders, and the stock Chevy hood still fits to the Vampire Van's cowl. On the flip side, the Chevy cabriolet body should drop right onto the Vampire Van chassis, if you are interested in a vampire-themed convertible with a coffin-style hood...

I'm pretty certain insurance laws differ from one state to another. In 2006, someone rammed the back of my 2004 Dakota and bent the rear bumper. I was told that NY State law allows the insurance company's estimate to include used OEM parts if: (a) the vehicle is not "current year" (2006 in my case), or (if it is "current year" but has more than 5,000 miles on it. In my case, they could not locate a suitable used bumper, so they had to pay for a new one. While checking prices on used vs. new bumpers, most of the used ones I came across included in their description the disclaimer "not suitable for insurance repair". I don't know what that encompassed, possibly these units had been bent previously and then straightened. Used bumpers that would have been acceptable were priced the same as new ones (or so close that shipping would have made them cost more). Sometimes the OEM parts aren't kept in stock very long, so used and aftermarket are the only available options. My niece's 2003 Cavalier was struck and nearly totalled (really should have been; the estimate was within a couple hundred dollars of a total loss...and after repairs were started, additional work had to be done that pushed the total higher). This was in 2006 or 2007. Even then, a new front bumper fascia wasn't available from GM, and at the time no good used front end sheetmetal was available in the area. So she got new sheetmetal but an aftermarket fascia, which differs visibly in some minor detail. In a case where only the fascia would be damaged (and none of the sheetmetal) the auto parts dealer will rarely split up the complete front end to sell just the fascia, headlamp(s), or one fender. The whole will often be worth more than the sum of the parts, and will be easier to sell.

Nope...offer the panel, but at a price that reflects the content. Selling less for more doesn't work, at least with me...

The retro-Thunderbird was killed before it had a chance, by dealers looking at a big fat markup. It was probably worth sticker price, but the ten grand beyond that, that some dealers were asking, brought a lot of negative press. The PT Cruiser ran its course. Daimler didn't develop a second-generation model, they only cheapened it and squeezed every nickel out of it. A co-worker of mine had a very early one; a few years later she looked at another new one but was appalled by how much the thing had been "de-contented". A two-door wagon would have sold better as a second model than the convertible, and would have lent itself to a sedan delivery version. The HHR was okay, but overpriced at first. I considered pulling the trigger on one in 2007. My nephew, who sells new cars, told me recently "be glad you didn't buy one...we've had a lot of problems with them". Then there's the panel version: pay $300 more for no rear seat, no windows in the rear doors, and no quarter windows? What kind of logic is that? I'm surprised Ford didn't come up with a similar vehicle, to grab a piece of that market. The Fiero: typical GM thinking, build it out of the parts bin but charge the long dollar. I looked at one in 1984. Base model, $8,400...sticker price, dealer won't budge. Where's the OHC, where's the aluminum engine...where's the five-speed transaxle? Throttle-body fuel injection...not much more than half a Quadrajet with a bunch of wires attached, dead-end technology. After looking at that, I never gave a GM vehicle more than a passing glance until I saw the HHR.

I don't see any. I bought this kit because my original issue kit is missing some parts, including the carburetors. So, I haven't got originals to compare to, but the new ones look good. The ejector pin marks are on little tabs that have to be trimmed off, two on each carb. One tab is attached to the intake horn (near the bottom, on the back) and the other tab is attached to the lower front part of the carburetor. The intake horns are partially hollowed out in the style of recent Revell exhaust pipe ends. I'd bet these are better than the original parts.

The Premier kits are molded in styrene. I've got an unbuilt '55 Chevy convertible. It's molded in two colors (white and blue). The body is split in such a way as, when assembled, the car is a factory style two-tone color scheme. The side trim is molded as separate pieces, plated, which cover the seams. The plating is as good as anything made today. The colored plastic is opaque and extremely shiny. Years ago, I showed this kit to a couple of friends. When the new-tool Monogram '55 Chevy convertible was issued, one of them built one right away. Remembering the split body in the Premier kit, he cut the Monogram body apart in the trim recess area when painting the two-tone color scheme...he said it saved time, he didn't have to mask the body or wait for one color to dry before applying the second color!

If that's like the other Premier kits, the windshield is a sheet of clear acetate, die-cut with tabs that fit into the slots on the body. I've got a Premier '55 Chevy convertible and a two-seater Thunderbird, and that's how they are. No windshield frame was included. One of the manufacturers of wood model kits (Berkeley?) did a kit of that show car also. The body would have been a rough-shaped balsa block, with cast metal trim parts and rubber tires with stamped metal hubcaps.

A fair amount of the Little Deuce remains, but a lot of changes have been made. The engine is different, as are the wheels and tires. The headlights and taillights have been changed also. If you want to replicate the Little Deuce, try to find one of the Early Iron Series roadster kits (the one molded in black). It's a lot closer to the Little Deuce than the recent issues. I've found a couple of those for way less than the retail price of the current version.

The tires are the ones tooled for the Rat Rod Model A releases. They're nicely done, but look like radials with their rounded shoulder areas. The old Revell Goodyear bias-ply tires had sharp delineation between the tread area and sidewall. That said, the newly tooled parts are done quite well. I bought the reissue because the original kit I have is missing the gas tank, carburetor/intake horn units, and another part or two that weren't in any of the later issues. Revell is paying extra attention to exhaust pipe and intake parts, and trying to mold these parts with hollowed-out ends. I don't have the original parts to check against, but I'm betting the new carb/intake parts are better than the originals. The new generator looks better to me, and the Chevrolet script on the valve covers also looks like it's improved. The decal sheet is also larger than the original, with instrument faces and body side striping the original sheet lacked. The license plate decals on the original sheet edge out the newer ones, but otherwise the new sheet is decent. The optional parts (fenders, lanterns, and raised top) will probably be saved for use on one of the recent issues, as will the new wheels and tires. Revell also included two newly tooled mag wheels that look a lot like the American Torque-Thrust IIs on my Fairlane. I'll have to either pull a mold off of one of these, or scrounge a second pair, for whenever I get around to building another Fairlane.

That's Jack Abramoff (sp?), a famous lobbyist. The media made the Boris Badenov comparison at the time he was in the news.

The whitewall tires appear to be the Rat Rod units; not exactly like the originals. The parts trees to the right side in the next two pictures (fenders/gas tank, plated wheels and other parts) are new tooling. Apparently the original parts were discarded and/or altered when the kit was first revised away from the original Tweedy Pie configuration in the early Seventies. My original issue kit is missing the gas tank and carburetors with curved intake horns, so I've been waiting for the reissue since first hearing about it. It would have been nice to see wheels and tires that match the originals more closely, but these can be put to use on something else. Wonder if we'll see the Tweedy Pie/Boss Fink again at some point?

The can will lose pressure over time, but in many cases the paint inside may still be usable if decanted and applied with an airbrush. I have had paint settle and separate, namely AMT lacquer in solid colors.