Mark

I'm thinking that taillight lens is from one of AMT's early Sixties T-Bird kits, probably one that had Stylizing parts in it. I've never had a complete kit (I've concentrated on stock versions of those) so I don't have any of the instruction sheets to verify this.

The Hurst wheels, being newly tooled, are on a separate parts tree. They should be bagged with the other plated parts.

The wheels pictured are the Hurst mags from the GTO kit. I didn't get the reissue '66 Hemi Under Glass Barracuda, but I would guess they are in that kit also.

The '65 GTO reissue does include a set of Hurst mag wheels. The wheels in the Avanti are Halibrands, those are already included in a parts pack along with three other sets of wheels and wheel covers.

Well, AMT did have the Chevy promo contract in '64 (they kept it through '67, and lost it to MPC for '68). With the indecision by Chevrolet about the Chevy II itself, it's no wonder there was no promo for it that year. They didn't order one for '66 either...they likely figured they didn't have to promote it, they seemingly sold all they could build in those years.

AMT could have revised the Nova wagon to '64 trim on their own dime, or even just reissued the '63 version in '64 as they had done with the Ford pickup kit. But they didn't, which would seem to indicate that, like the Buick wagon before it, the Nova wagon kit didn't set the world on fire in terms of sales.

I visited one of my brothers yesterday; he gave me a pile of magazines. Among them was a February 2022 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines. That issue includes an article on one of the 100 Thunderbolts, with some commentary by its original owner. The car was an automatic as delivered to him, but Ford gave him the parts to convert to a four-speed along with the car. Apparently they knew right off the bat that the automatic wasn't going to cut it.

No AMT '64 Nova. Some articles about the Chevelle have stated that it was originally supposed to replace the Chevy II entirely. Chevrolet backed off on that, kept it but initially dropped the SS, hardtops, and convertibles. Another compromise brought back the SS and the hardtop, but not the convertible.

Few Thunderbolts kept those original automatics. Most were converted to manual transmissions immediately. The word about the automatic got out quick, racers who were allocated a car would try to get a manual.

That looks like the Lincoln automatic from the Revell Thunderbolt kit.

No kit V10 that I'm aware of...maybe there's a 1/24 scale diecast with one. Watch those diecasts though, many are described as being a particular scale on the box, but measure out much smaller. There are 3D printed variations on the V12 mill, like an ARDUN hemi-head conversion, or finned "aluminum" heads. One of those setups could be right for a custom Lincoln.

The MPC flip-front '53 (cab and bed very obviously cribbed from AMT's kit) has the "toothless" low-end grille, but it does have headlamp lens detail molded as a unit with the grille. MPC's truck has chrome bumpers too, should anyone want a set of those for an AMT pickup.

The '68 Shelby HAD a clear teardrop hood. It, along with the side glass, has been MIA since the mid-Seventies however. Most common, most easily found teardrop would be the '66 Galaxie piece.

Hangman was converted from the earlier Tom Daniel Dragon Wagon. That has since been reissued (with a name change to "Circus Wagon"). At the time, everyone connected with Revell-Monogram said that the Hangman was converted back, as opposed to them doing an entirely new Dragon/Circus Wagon. If that's the case, the Hangman likely won't be back.

Another option is to look for a damaged '67 or '68 promo model, or parts of same. After looking around a while and keeping tabs on selling prices, you can then decide on which way to go.

The grille opening area is definitely different between '67-'68 and later cabs. I just saw resin emblems on eBay, someone probably has the grille too. Rebuildable pre-1971 builtups go for stupid money lately.

AMT created both of the Chevy/GMC pickup kit tools, a lot of parts interchange between them. To get a '68, for the exterior you will need a grille, a hood, and probably a tailgate. You might be able to find all of these in resin. You'd then have to figure out how to backdate the grille opening on the '72 cab, then rework or eliminate the side trim from that cab.

Revell was doing a lot of things on the cheap in the late Sixties. The multiple-version kits really got going (these three gassers with a common chassis, the Corvair powered C-cab based thingies, the several dune buggies with one chassis, and so on). They went to those greasy two-piece tires and slicks in a lot of kits around that time also.

I'd bet all of the stock parts are in there, except for the tires.

The trunk lid was a running change on the Henry J. Kaiser tried to build the car down to a $1,000 price tag, and left out the trunk lid as part of that. It was later added, as was the glove box. The Allstate had slightly different upholstery, it also used a Sears battery and Sears tires. I believe the engines were painted different colors also.

The Special Intetest series kits all originated in the early Sixties, but had all of their optional parts removed. The Model A Fords had been issued without optional parts previously, the '58 Thunderbird had not.

Only that first issue had the stock wheels. They had holes where the lug detail would be. Tires are the ubiquitous Monogram 1/24 scale skinny tire with whitewall insert, as in their '58 Thunderbird kit. Wires are nicely done too. The Lincoln tires and wheels are a lot taller, neither interchanges with the pickup parts.

A woman I worked with had a dog that got sprayed twice. Never underestimate a terrier!

Original was dark blue. The Seventies issue was black, a late Eighties issue was (off) white. SSP issue (late Nineties) uses original box art, I have one and am pretty sure it's dark blue again.

Ansen Apollo wheels, with center cap detail, were included by AMT in their '67 Impala annual kits. I'm pretty sure they are in the custom-only "for 1968" "Chevrolet SS 427" kit, basically the '67 hardtop minus stock trim pieces and rear window opening. Not what you could call beautiful wheels by any stretch, but if you need a good set for a period project, there they are.