Mark

The '66 annual kit was parted out, body going to the funny car and chassis to the Fireball 500.

I believe he already is 100, close to 101 now. Last I read, still goes to the office a couple of days a week.

'65-'67 Barracudas were AMT, '68-'74 were MPC.

I'm pretty certain the second one is the custom wheel from an AMT '64 Continental.

Those are from a T-Bird kit, not sure which one. '61 or '62 for sure.

AMT did make a stock '66 Barracuda, in late 1965. The body was altered and reused in the funny car kit.

Since the chassis in the Olds was shared with the Chevelle, at the very least you'll have to wait until demand for the Chevelle tapers off. I don't see that happening anytime soon...

The only glitch with the Revell competition kit is the headlamps. One piece, plated, poor detail. They were done that way for the stock version, no clear lenses and a flat piece of clear stock to make the windshield "glass". Trying to fit a flat piece of clear styrene into the stock windshield frame is probably why built stock ones are seldom seen. Other than those two things, the original stock one was a decent kit, especially in its day.

If it's in color and has the thick axles, it's a promo. Maybe the early ones had the exhaust manifolds. I've got one without them, and no sign of it having had them.

The Starliner (fastback) hardtop and Sunliner convertible kits had engines. The Galaxie Club Victoria (square roof) hardtop kit never had an engine or opening hood.

In color, thick axles...promo. The '62 promos did have the engine. '62 Fairlane promos also have an engine, for some reason they have no exhaust manifolds (easier assembly?) but the air filter (cleaner) is plated, unlike the one in the kit.

The basic block is much wider than a small-block Ford. Since the engine isn't covered by a hood, I'd look for a Ford engine.

Those wheels are the fronts in the two Vega kits I mentioned. Cragar Super Tricks were used on the rear in both. Those were molded by MPC so they could be used with their annual kit stock tires, but I remember them being beefed up a bit on the back side. They could be filed or sanded on the back side for use with narrower tires.

I haven't had mine out of the box in awhile, but that looks like a Jimmy Flintstone kit of the James Dean car (can't remember which model he had off the top of my head).

The MPC USA-1 and American Spirit Vega pro stock kits. Originals only; the reissue USA-1 does not include them. Bruce Larson ran those front wheels on his '73 pro stock Vega. When he updated the car with a '74 nose, he changed the front wheels also.

The basic engine is a small-block Chevy with parts added to resemble the Ford engine in the 1:1 show car. The chassis in that kit originated in the King T, which had a Chevy engine. The Switchers T engine is also a small-block Chevy...both of these engines have a rear sump oil pan and oil filter location characteristic of small-block Chevys.

It may have ended. Manufacturers using licensing agreements get a "sell off" period. When the agreement ends, they can't make licensed items but do get a set period to sell off items made under the agreement. That way, they can't build a stockpile that would last several years after the agreement ends.

You're looking for the Revell '55 Chevy. Not the newer one, but the old opening-doors one.

The 1966 annual was updated and issued yearly through 1969. The '69 still exists but has not yet been reissued by Round 2. The existing 1966 kit is a different one, tooled in the late Nineties.

The pro stock kits were produced from the same tool as the annuals. The body of a car kit is an expensive part to tool. MPC liked to get a second use out of each year's annual kit bodies. Why else would the pro stockers have windshield wipers? Too, take a good look at the quarter panels on the stock MPC Mustang II kits...they get lumpier by the year, as they were modified back and forth. The V8 engine and snorkel hood scoop from the '75 Dyno Don pro stock turned up in the '76-'78 annuals.

The reason the Maverick kit is different from the 1:1 car is that the kit was finished first, with the actual car deviating from the original design over the course of its construction. That happened with two other kits earlier (XR-6 and Deora) making the kits slightly "off".

Different chassis in the Jolly Roger kit (notice the engine setback).

I had some of the Plastruct wire-core plastic tube. I recall the wire being tough to bend and even tougher to cut. It's been a long time; maybe it has changed, but I wouldn't commit to buying any great quantity of it before checking a piece for myself.

The kit came with a V8 but the 1:1 '63 Novas were only available with a four or six. The '62 and '63 convertible kits had the boot only, no raised top.

Those front tires date back to about 1968 with MPC. Pretty much every MPC funny car kit from then on had them, as well as Round 2 reissues of same. Round 2 has included them in their reissues of the '33 and '40 Willys as well as the '56 Ford. I haven't bought the most recent reissue funny cars, but I understand that this tire has been retooled and now has smooth sidewalls.