Mark

135" wheelbase was probably never legal in NHRA for a funny car. Pretty sure about 115" might have been the limit back then. The dragster chassis cars and other outside-the-rules creations were strictly match race or local track stuff.

Look in model car magazines from that period, and you'll see lots of builds with exaggerated front end stretches like that. AMT probably had the kit designed and ready for production before sticking Ronda's name on it. Bright side: to get a moderate stretch, the chassis would be cut down instead of lengthened as was often done back then. In the "not everything has to make sense" sweepstakes, it might be interesting to join two of these kits together to get an even longer one...

I built a Yenko a few years back, as what would probably amount to a more altered "historic" version: fully gutted interior, vent window frames removed, and so on. I believe that, when new or near new, they had to run wheels and tires pretty close to original equipment, but as time marched on the rules opened up a bit. I wound up using MPC Minilite wheels, which came in early Seventies Vega and Mustang kits. All of them were five-lug even though they should have been four-lug for the Vegas. The R&M resin wheels pictured look like they are modified from MPC wheels. For tires, I used four of the smaller Goodyear racing front tires that were included in a number of kits including the SSP reissue Monogram slot car body sports cars. Their racing version Shelby Mustang fastback had four of them too. Another tire that might work would be either size of the Round 2 hollow Goodyear Polyglas tires, which can be had with other lettering or striping also. The Fireball 500 Barracuda and Warren Tope '73 Mustang have good looking versions of these tires. First step might be to try tires you already have on hand...if you find something you like, they're already paid for!

Round 2 (more recent) reissue of same kit.

Piece of clear plastic, to cut a windshield. You sure it isn't lodged in the side of the box bottom?

Those AWB cars were converted by an ambulance builder, they didn't necessarily brace everything up as much as was really needed. Front fenders were fiberglass, short production run things, so all of that leads to the body lines getting a bit wonky on some of those cars. The wheelstands didn't help at the back end either!

Nope, you'd just have to drown it out with a couple of speakers that sound like someone beating a rubber raft with an oar. Cops pull up, just tell them you're trying to loosen some trim fasteners in your car interior...

One of those "mantlepiece" kits. Most companies tried at least one back then. Revell's were larger-than-normal scale sailing ships, Monogram's were usually World War II aircraft. AMT were "the car guys", so logically theirs was a car. MPC tried theirs later, (probably) first with their boxing of the Airfix large scale "blower" Bentley, later the "General" locomotive. A second loco was announced but never released.

I'd better get mine further along by the time this one comes out. All of the parts are already acquired/paid for, so I may as well finish it. Polar Lights body (modified a lot), MPC grille...

Maybe Daimler-Benz needs the money...they've probably burned through the funds they got by looting Chrysler...

The Cad engine is a good one, but using it backdates the car a bit compared to the Hemi. No big deal, the AMT Fiat includes a 392, and I've got a couple of the Revell parts pack Hemis anyway. If anything, I was hoping Atlantis would dust off the parts pack Buick mill and include it. I figured the 392 wasn't going to make it into this kit.

It's the ex-Revell kit with hinged hood, doors, and trunk. I built one a few years ago from a Nineties issue (the Roth issue came out after I had started it). It doesn't just fall together out of the box, but the pieces do actually fit for the most part. Just resist the temptation to redesign or re-engineer it other than to fix the hinges which are on the sloppy side. Window fit on mine was tough, but I'd bet Atlantis is taking a bit more care in molding the kit than Revell did so that might not be as much of a factor. Bottom line...not the best nor the easiest to assemble '57 Chevy kit out there. But if you like Tri-Five Chevies, you should take a swing at sticking one of these together. I used to be bothered by the scale and accuracy differences between different companies' kits of the same car. Now that stuff gets me interested in seeing the differences.

General Mills owned MPC, and also Lionel, back then. They also owned other companies that made wooden kits and paint-by-number sets.

The Revell Hemi engine never came with a carburetor setup of any kind. You sure that's not the Cadillac engine?

Yes.

MPC often used photographs on the boxes of its drag car kits. When they used artwork, it was either because there was no 1:1 car, or the kit was so far off from the 1:1 that they couldn't retouch the photo to match the kit. Windshield wipers added to Pro Stock cars, moving hood scoops forward on the hood, changing wheels, adding shaker hoods to funny car bodies, things like that.

Mr. Gasser.

Tools using heat, probably modified soldering irons or something similar, were used to assemble promo models. If you have ever taken an old promo apart, you'd see the interior bucket attached by heating the end of the mounting posts and mushrooming them over. The kits instead had plastic rings that slipped over the posts. Often the small parts like taillight lenses would have super long pins on the back side. Those would go through a hole in the chrome bezel, then through a hole in the body, and likewise get heated and folded over on the inside of the body.

The bus was actually first issued around 1958, as a 23 window. The '67 update changed the back end to the wider rear hatch (eliminating the corner windows) and added vinyl tires.

MPC '67-'68 Firebird annuals, '69 mid-year Trans-Am, and reissue Firebirds including the one-shot convertible. '67 engine was all plated, or very nearly so. The '69 annual may not have it as that one includes the turbine engine, but it's not likely you will trip over one of those. The black MPC '69 Camaro has it too, as it uses the Firebird chassis and interior just like the MPC annual Camaro did. (The annual had a Chevy engine though, also the turbine that was in the Firebird also.) One more: MPC Daytona transporter. No transmission (that kit uses a Toronado FWD unit), and that one might not have stock accessories (air filter, exhaust manifold).

You'd have to check the most recent issue of each kit and see where it was made. If it was made in USA, there's a chance Atlantis got it. I did pick up the last issue of the Beetle...man, is that thing rough.

I bought one recently, didn't have one back in the day. It looks like it will go together easily enough. Styling is subjective...I'm looking at it as a canvas for restyling, the front end in particular.

World's longest rat rod...Tractor Supply flat black, red rims, whitewalls painted on with roof paint, and more saw blades and rebar than you've ever seen on one vehicle before...

I'd bet Satco's issue was licensing.

The idiots toss empty water bottles wherever they happen to be when the bottle is empty. Too much work to carry it to wherever the next trash can is, or stick it back into the bottle holder on their bike.