blizzy63

Thanks, Snake. I just had to have a '55 Chevy sedan in the flavor of the Staub Brother's circa-1963 gasser on my shelf...

Will be glad to have the early gasser parts back. They are useful for the AMT '55 Bel Air Sedan kit (which should have them too). Taillights were not the best on this old 1965 kit. I tried to improve the stock taillights but they were not to my satisfaction.

Those are definitely the original "custom wheels" (wheel covers) in the AMT 2153 '53 Ford Pickup kit from 1963. They were part of customizer George Barris' contribution to the custom parts in the original kit. They lasted through the '60s until 1969 when they were replaced by five-spoke mag wheels on the AMT T270 '53 Ford "Baja Patrol" kit. The Barris custom wheel covers were restored to the kit in 2019 by Round2 (AMT882) and also appeared in the same year in the AMT Custom & Competition: Custom Caps 'n Wheels parts pack (AMTPP021).

Here's a jalopy AMT '40 Ford Sedan glue-bomb I restored some years ago. I added the dual exhaust parts (upper) from a '40 Ford Coupe kit.

Are you working on the AMT '39/'40 Ford Sedan kit? That kit never had the extra dual-exhaust parts. They were only in the AMT '40 Ford Coupe and Sedan Delivery kits.

Sorry, which "'40 Ford" are you refering to...?

Hopefully, their knees would be too shot by now...?

Tri-Power ended with the 389 and 421 in 1966. 1967 was 400 and 428. 1966 Pontiac brochure page below:

This 1967 Pontiac brochure page says that that air cleaner was factory stock:

That story had me scratching my head a bit since I recall the "streaker" fad occurred around 1973-74. The AMT F85 'Streaker' Funny Car kit came out in 1967 which, I believe, was pretty much still in the "mooning" era. Someone "streaking" in 1967 would be considered a unique, one-off occurrence.

To answer my own question: I believe that I'm thinking of the styrene Goodyear tire overlays in the original AMT #6167 '67 Ford Mustang GT fastback kit. (Also in the AMT #6168 '68 Mustang GT kit.)

While we're talking kit tires, I'd love to see someone produce a Goodyear Blue Streak Sports Car Special for early '60s track racers like Shelby Cobras and Z06 Corvettes, etc. (I believe AMT made some 2-piece styrene racing tires of this type in a couple of their kits circa-1967-68.)

I'll be checking out that new Monkeemobile kit. Hope the wheels look something like this:

"Yugo Edsel... What are you gonna do?" [Old Midas commercial] It's funny how at the time of this kit release (1967), the '58 Edsel was merely a 9 year old car. Shows you what a cultural joke the make was. (In my eyes, a '58 Edsel was no better or worse than a '58 Ford or '58 Mercury.)

...but an outhouse door bolted to the front is OK.... ??

Rear tires appear to be the same 2-piece Firestone "Bonneville" tires in the AMT/Round2 '37 Chevy Salt Shaker kit. Tires are molded in black and the seam sands out acceptably smooth. No tread detail; More like early track racing slick.

Here are my AMT go-to Cragar S/S mags sources. For decades, I've liked their realistic look and Cragar hub detail: AMT '50 Ford Convertible, '65 Pontiac Grand Prix (deep, wide mags), '65 Ford Galaxie, '65 Chevelle Wagon (and '65 El Camino), '70-1/2 Baldwin Motion Camaro.

I agree. I'm not a Mustang guy either but this one looks like a must-have winner. A first-gen-Mustang-GT mid-'60s dragger will look good on the shelf...

Or...I can just build another 'Boot Hill Express'...

It signalled the end of the Custom Car era. This "custom" was all about the car show circus...er...circuit. 1968 was owned by drag racing and muscle cars. Below: The begining....and the end...?

It appears that the grille/front bumper unit has definately been, um, modified... The hood has gained a pair of hood pins. The separate hood hinges are still in the kit. The rear bumper/taillight bezels appear untouched but there are no clear red taillight lenses.

If I dreamt that a bunch of guys were doing that to a vintage Ford...it would be a nightmare! I can picture it: I'd be struggling with them and shouting "Nooooo!" But to no avail; they would continue cutting the steel and slapping on the Bondo... (Kinda like my Grade 10 Autobody Class in 1979!)

Eccch! Fake-'50s hot rod for a fake-'50s musical...

IMHO, the best thing AMT Round2 can do with this old Shelby Cobra kit is to restore it to its original 1963 glory and leave it be (It should have its old Halibrand mag wheels back!). It's the original Cobra kit from back in the day and if a modeller finds it lacking, they should modify it or find themselves a more preferable Cobra kit. Below is one of my COVID 2020 builds. It was an enjoyable challenge with an experimental paint job and it got the building of an AMT Shelby Cobra kit off my bucket list...