blizzy63

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...

Put three-blade knockoff centers on those Cragar S/S wheels and I'm with you...

I'm familiar with this AMT/Ertl release (#6601) from 1991 but I've never seen its contents or instruction sheet. I understand that it contains the solid-front-axle gasser suspension from the original AMT '55 Nomad kit (1965). Does it also contain the rear ladder/traction bars as well?

Yes. To replicate a version of the 'Two Lane Blacktop' '55 Chevy would be a project. AMT (Round2) needs to refocus the theme of their 1955 Chevy Bel Air kit from the now-dated 'Street Machines' to the current 'Retro-Gassers'. With the existing Gasser parts in their '55 Nomad kit, there's enough to start a basic early Gasser. Add colored window-glass, a generous decal sheet, rear wheel cut-out scribing, roll bar, and perhaps a needed transmission mount bracket...and you're on your way!

The first two issues of the AMT '32 Ford Model 'B' Roadster came with uptops but were never re-issued again (shame). The kits pictured are AMT No. 132 "The Deuce" (1959) and No. 332 Sport Roadster (1960-61). These parts come up now and again on eBay.

Actually, I believe that this '56er and at least two '57 Ford Customs used in the films were genuine stock car racers. The rest of the cars were jalopy racers. At least one of the '57s sported a late-model Ford FE 427 engine (see screen grab). The other two may have as well. We never got to see the engine in the red '56er but she was clearly a strong runner on the track. While I suspected an FE in the actual car, I kept the 312 Y-Block in the model but replaced the "Teapot" Holley 4-barrel carb with a more '60s-modern low-profile carb and aftermarket chrome air cleaner.

Completed a scale model copy of a movie car that I was itching to recreate. The subject is a 1956 Ford Fairlane Victoria stock car racer that ran at Ascot Park Speedway in Gardena, CA circa-1966. It was featured in the films Fireball 500 (1966) and Thunder Alley (1967). The kit used was the AMT 1956 Ford Victoria.

Mag Star I ad, Road & Track, January 1966. The AMT '67 and '68 Ford Galaxie annual kits featured these 'mags'.

An unmolested annual kit from the 1964 AMT 3-in-1 Series catalog...

Revell 85-4516: Supposed to be out right around now..

Yup. Tiny, fiddley, little chromed parts (recalling old Revell drag kits). That's where one wants to keep a suicide note on standby...;)

Totally agree with your point: "It is what it is." I built this kit in 1990 in a stock-ish form when I was returning to the hobby as a young adult. I appreciated the history of the kit in terms of the experience of building AMT/SMP annuals in the early '60s. I learned that the kit had drawbacks including inaccuracies and warpage. Despite this, I would build this kit again in the future but only as a much modified gasser or Bonneville runner.

I have a copy of this picture taped over my modeling desk; I've been planning to build it...and that day is coming soon (I recently bought a new Dremel tool and a solid front axle from the Revell '54 Chevy kit is ready to go). P.S., if anyone has any of those old, soft Firestone Darlington tires or slicks lying around, feel free to send some my way. Thanks!

My go-to chromed rims for years were the ones in the old AMT '57 Chevy Bel Air ("Pepper Shaker") kits, although you only got two per kit (top of photo). The set of four (below) are the new kids in town for AMT. They were first supplied in the AMT 824 '36 Ford kit in 2013 and then later included in the AMT PP021 Custom & Competition: Custom Caps 'n Wheel parts pack in 2018. (The AMT 723 and 1192 '65 Ford Galaxie 500XL kits contain unplated versions of these new open wheels.)

Thanks for posting the decal sheet from this recent AMT899 'Stovebolt' kit. Looks like we get two vintage decal sheets in one: Above the "Stovebolt Six" is the decal sheet from the original 1967 AMT 2637 '37 Chevy Coupe kit; From the "Stovebolt Six" and lower is the original sheet from the 1969 AMT T288 '37 Chevy Coupe 'All American Show 'n' Go' series kit. Great job and thank you, Round2!

Here's my 2 cents on the subject: I picked up this partial AMT 1963 annual even though I already have a couple of AMT/Ertl repops in my stash. I was building a Shelby Cobra at the time and I wanted to have a close look at the original custom wheels which were renditions of the early Halibrand 'kidney bean' mag wheels. My kit has a poor condition box, some pieces are missing (interior, open wheels, wheel backs, some novelty items, etc.). The original owner appears to have attempted to adapt the body and chassis for slot car racing purposes. The body does have a crisp and bold quality that reminds me of a promo model. The 409 engine in this original '63 annual appears to an exact match to the one in the AMT '64 Impala kit (see comparison photo) in its stock form. The competition/custom engine parts are different between the two kits. The oringinal engine offerings are far more interesting than that offered in the later AMT/Ertl offerings which seem like more primitive 1961-ish designs.