Mark

Nichels was the "in house" builder for the "factory" Plymouths from mid '63 through '69, except for the Petty cars (the Pettys built their own) and maybe one or two others. Don't use the Petty cars as reference, as they do differ in a few ways, the roll cage being among them. The kit is likely a compromise, with features from one or the other. Some of Petty's cars were white under the hood, but not because they were constructed from white cars. All of the "factory" cars were being built from bare bodies, even by then. Those were called "bodies in white" but that's just the terminology, they were unpainted or in primer as delivered. Some of the independent racers may have been rebuilding showroom cars, but not the factory guys.

If I remember right, someone did offer the stock Chrysler parts, as well as bodies cast as a single piece. I'd estimate that they sold enough parts to wear out one set of molds, which would be a yardstick of sorts as to whether or not something is worth doing.

If the ones pictured have that red background as part of the sheet, they're probably from one particular eBay seller who is in the habit of pirating other people's hard work and creative ability. Not only will they be copies of someone else's work, but they will be crude copies.

MPC's custom parts were hit and miss back then. You want u-g-l-y custom stuff, check out their '67 and '68 Firebirds. Thankfully, I have yet to see one built with those parts...

I even have an MPC '68 Camaro, it's fifteen miles away right now though.

'87 Thunderbird optional wheel.

Those wheels are MPC, they look like the ones in the '69 Firebird annual kit. They may have been in the Camaro too, as both kits shared a ton of parts.

Only things I can think of are... -the small bumps on the end cylinders, also the casting marks at the top of each horn. May as well get those if possible, it seems most of the guys who run these manifolds don't smooth them off. -check the angle on the outlet...do these dump straight down, or do they tuck in towards the engine block, like block hugger headers?

The store I stopped at today had the Charger Daytona from the "postage stamp/tin box" series, so there's a chance you could get that one. The clearance section had an AMT '70 Camaro (orange version) that was missing the grille, for $5.74. I already had a Model King issue that I bought minus front bumpers for a buck (back when it was new; that hobby shop closed four years ago), so I grabbed this one. I thought someone might have swiped the grille and then returned the kit...nope. Sealed bag with the plated tree inside, no grille on the tree. They also had an HO scale slot car set...don't know the original price, but it was marked $65. Both cars were missing...Round 2 should think twice about making them so easy to get at without opening the box...

Nope...shouldn't be too difficult though. Toughest part will be finding a convertible boot that fits the body and looks like it belongs.

No pens, but when I worked in construction years ago I collected pencils with company names and logos on them. All of the suppliers were giving us pencils (good ones, too) by the bunch. I'd keep one or two of each for myself. When I mentioned this to others, they'd give me more of them from other industries. I got away from construction in 2000, came back in 2019, now nobody does pencils, they give away calendars and writing pads. Haven't seen a pencil with a company name on it yet. I still have the old ones, and use the "extras" when needed as most are good quality #2.

I built a 1998 issue a few years back...Revell did some cleanup back then. After that issue, Revell parked the tooling and only dusted it off for the Ed Roth issue. Not as crisp as 1963, but not as terrible as some would have you believe. That said, I do hope Atlantis tools up new clear parts. They will have to do so for the '56 should they decide to reissue that one.

The hot glue temporary assembly on resin bodies doesn't straighten the body in and of itself, but it does let you pull the body into shape and assemble it in a corrected stance. Some "mass produced" resin bodies (Jimmy Flintstone in particular) are pulled off of the mold before they have fully cured, and finish curing with the rocker panels spread further apart than they should be. Pulling the body into the correct shape often corrects interior bucket and hood fit. Even when the body is straight to begin with, keeping it assembled correctly will keep it from going out of shape during storage.

Hot glue is those glue sticks that you put into a glue gun which heats them up. There are smaller glue guns for the craft people, the regular size ones are used for other things. The hot glue for heating/bending styrene rod is a great idea, you will get consistent temperature every time unlike using matches or other heat sources. The glue will peel right off once cooled. I use hot glue to temporarily glue slightly warped resin bodies onto chassis, to pull everything back into shape. Works great for that too, you can put the temporary assembly back in the box, then pull everything apart when you pick up the project again.

AMT Dodge Deora. There is only one in each kit, as the Deora has a slant six engine.

I'm surprised the seller isn't saying "it looks complete, but I don't know much about these things..."

The black Demon 'Vette comes off a bit better, though the faux-BMW wheels and red stripes don't come off as being particularly demonic.

"Don't take the Bonneville, take the Rambler".

No, the Iron Horse appeared in '74 or so, the first '66 coupe with engine detail came later.

They did come on heavier trucks, not pickups. One of the car magazine guys called them "furniture truck manifolds". An oversize Chevy exhaust manifold might be a good starting point. If I had a 1:1 part handy, I'd scratchbuild one and make castings.

If you have a Turbo Shark, the ex-Mako frame, suspension, and basic engine will be the same. Wheels and engine accessories, and exhaust system, will be different.

Pretty sure the previous issue was available in both gold and white, with a sticker on the box to denote what was inside.

I'd look at a combination of Lindberg '53 Ford convertible wheels (maybe even the inside half) and Revell '57 Ford hub caps. AMT '32 Ford stock wheels might work also, as they are too small to be correct for a stock '32 but will fit the '56 tires. Work will be needed; maybe use the outer ring from one half of a wheel over the inner detail from the other half to give the correct depth, maybe the hub cap has its outer diameter trimmed down to look right. But some combination of parts will get close to something that will look right.

The trophies are neat too. Some of the ones I have were altered a bit by the original builders...like having the bases cut down to make them different heights.

Jimmy Flintstone offers a convertible body for the Chevy kit. His stuff is serviceable and reasonably priced, the convertible body is a notch or two above his usual standard.