Mark

I thought the Nomad's drag version looked a lot like the blue '55 sedan, but never actually compared the two. The blue 1:1 '55 sedan was a local car. My older brother told me that, when he bought another car ('52 Mercury convertible) in 1972, that '55 was in the garage next to it. It was also for sale, but in 1972 it was just an old drag car, minus engine, that was never really competitive to begin with. Few people would have bothered to try to put it back on the street back then. His guess was that it probably ended its days on a dirt track, or got parted out. It had the NHRA legal 10% engine setback (furthest forward spark plug behind the front axle center line by 10% of the stock wheelbase). But the drivers' seat could not be moved further back than the B-pillar, leaving a cramped drivers' compartment. The gas pedal was nearly vertical. The car was nicely finished, as I remember it had a custom interior with chromed garnish moldings around the windows. Body/paint and possibly the front axle installation were by Ron Gerstner, who built a few well-known custom cars. Monogram copied his '34 Ford coupe altered for one of their 1/32 scale drag car kits.

Anyone for a top chop?

Shake the old stuff up really well a couple of days before you intend to start using it. You should be able to "roll" or "slide" the agitator around the bottom of the can. If you can't do that, you've still got solids settled down there and you'll be spraying watery primer.

Satco announced an issue of this pickup in unassembled form, (I believe) with a 4 x 4 version added. It never appeared, nor did their announced '66 Impala or belly tanker kits. The only issue I'm aware of is the assembled Wheat version, in turquiose. Those have vacuform glass, as the clear parts are always a separate tool which is easily separated from the main tool.

Slim Jim = cardboard soaked in A1 steak sauce! And, don't spare the salt. One of my brothers spotted me eating one, once...for several years, I'd get a gift package of Slim Jims for Christmas.

The AMT '53 pickup has a similar tailgate which is a separate part. That kit includes two tailgates, you might be able to get a stock one from someone who used the optional one.

Someone brought an in-progress '63 to a local swap meet this past weekend. It was a running/driving car with a Chevy 292 six cylinder engine (and yes, it was a 292). It was a two-door sedan, body looked pretty good but I didn't look underneath. The interior was gutted with seats stuck in from something newer. The seller was asking $3,000...probably wave a bit less under his nose and get it. A lot of people were looking, I left early and didn't see anyone getting serious though. Some front suspension parts are supposedly hard to find, but this was claimed to be a low mileage car. The AMC two piece front spindles would make a disc brake swap pretty easy, so I'm told. Probably a good project for someone, though I'd want a later AMC six myself.

I wouldn't bother swapping beds, I'd just change tailgates instead. I de-Foosed one of those pickups when it first came out, knocked the lettering off of the tailgate and scratched a set of tall FORD letters using a '63 tailgate as an example.

Testors can kiss me goodbye. I'll even turn around so they kiss me in the right place...

I built the first Round 2 reissue (the Dirty Donny custom) and didn't have any issues with the engine fit. I don't recall any trouble with the front suspension either. Dummy here wired the engine though, and even though I cut the hood open (as the early issues of this kit had it) you can barely see the front of the engine, let alone the wiring. I've got a couple more planned, on those the hoods will stay shut and I'll only put in as much of the engine as is needed when seen from below!

The original version was all wrong; it had the Logghe chassis which the Ramchargers never used. Their Darts had chassis built in-house, the Challengers had the narrow "digger" style chassis. The original kit had a stock body, essentially a promo model body. Thumb through a stack of period CAR MODEL magazines and you'll find builders back then griping about how wrong everything was. Now, of course, most everyone would love to see a stock '71 Challenger body!

The previous Ed Roth issue, and the 1998 issue before it, are both pretty clean. I'd suspect that Atlantis takes a little bit more care with their products, maybe running their molding operation a bit more slowly and carefully than a bigger operation like Revell. The only question is, did Atlantis tool new clear parts for this one as for a few other kits? The fit of the rear glass is questionable. If Atlantis tooled new parts, hopefully they'll offer them separately as with the other ones they have done.

What body changes should be expected?

With the '66, I'd give the nod to MPC. More chassis detail by 1966 standards, plus little things like separate door handles. I have part of a plated tree from one, the GT wheels look pretty good too. '67-'70, definitely AMT. MPC '67-'68 grilles are flat with no depth, bodies aren't quite as nice. MPC '69-'70 bodies are undersize. AMT made a couple of mistakes on their '70, neither '69 nor '70 are 100% stock but at least they are the right size. Revell's old coupe/convertible kits aren't worth bothering with unless you absolutely have to have those body styles.

The chassis and basic engine from this kit were used by MPC through 1973. The '71 Mustang kit now sold as an AMT item has those parts, the chassis has been lengthened however. The body was modified years ago to create the '67 Malco Gasser body. The original version of that kit still had the '66 front end, the Round 2 reissue has a new '67 front end. MPC could make their kit with more chassis parts and separate door handles because they didn't make the promo model.

The problem with the Bronco II was that, with the split front axle, one side of it was about a hundred pounds heavier than the other, which messed up the handling. One of the news "magazine" shows ripped into the Jeep CJ-5. But it was due to a film supplied by AMC which showed one front wheel lifting in a tight turn. The thing was built to carry troops on a battlefield, not to change lanes at 70 miles per hour. I wouldn't buy one and expect to drive it like a Corvette, but I guess other people have different expectations.

They saved about three cents apiece using cladded lug nuts. The savings didn't go towards lowering the price of the car though...

Removing the panel lines and filling in the grille and taillight areas brought the body closer to what it's supposed to represent.

I wouldn't expect any massive retooling such as a new engine.

The new tool Kart was designed by the group of old guard engineers at AMT, some of whom had started there under the original ownership, and lasted through the Lesney and Ertl eras. Someone had the brainstorm to let them all go in the middle of this and a couple other projects, which is probably what led to the mistakes that were made in the final product. Had the engine been sized correctly and the cowl/upper hood curvature been done properly, the new kit would arguably be better than the original. Still not perfect (wheels aren't quite right IMO) but everyone has an opinion. According to the Rodders' Journal article, Richard Peters had the Dodge engine left over from boat racing. The valve covers had been replated several times during the boat racing period, which left the stamped in lettering a bit washed out due to many layers of copper plating on them. Those were kept in the restoration, rather than being replaced as they are original to the car.

Both the old and new kits have issues, neither is perfect. Between the two, especially with the reissue being likely to have a much improved decal sheet, the "perfect" Ala Kart build will be closer than ever before.

The AMT '67 had that lower grille surround molded as a separate piece. When the tool somehow went "across town" to MPC, they changed the body to incorporate that piece. I'm pretty sure the "one piece" body has gaps at the lower outside corners of the grille openings, probably to enable the removal of the molded body from the mold core.

How does the height of the Badman version windshield compare to that of the 1963 separate-hardtop kit? Might be a simple proportion issue from that kit, that just carried over into the modified reissue.

A compromise would be to get one of the inexpensive "hobby" sets, and, when (inevitably) one or two of the "more often used" sizes breaks, pick up a pack of ten "industrial" bits as replacements. The "most often used" sizes ought to have dedicated pin vises or mandrels; that is, have one that is used only with that size bit. The "hobby" pin vises are usually made of aluminum, if the opening has "crushed" around a larger bit, then it will have some "slop" when used with a smaller bit later on.

This body is no longer "stock". Panel line detail has been removed, grille and taillight areas smoothed over. Hood isn't entirely flat either, it is the R/T two scoop hood that has been smoothed over. Drip rails have been removed also.