stavanzer

The AMT '40 Ford Coupe. Iconic? Sure! But, I can never seem to actually Pay for One, as I always see something else I'd like better. If I ever get to a Model Car swapmeet again, I might just pull the trigger then, (but maybe not... Small Budget, Huge Inventory.)

Noel, It has been for a certainty that the original tooling is long gone. It was destroyed many years ago, along with other "unprofitable" tools that were sitting around. Blame Draconian State Tax laws about unused inventory, and the fact that all that tooling was for "Old Toys" in the eyes of the Folks who made the decisions at the time. This same Mindset and Tax regime cost us many AMT Tools too, If I understand what happened. (That is a BIG "IF") Here is what I think the situation is now. 1. Steve Scott is (to put it politely) an Old Man clinging to an "Old Man's Dream" I'll allow that it is not malice driving him, but a dream that he will never achieve. The exact same dream that keep men holding on to rusting Muscle Cars in the driveway. "I'm going to restore it, someday!" 2. The Car Itself? Rusting away in a garage in Southern California. From the ages and timing of all involved, my guess is that it is in Burbank or a some other very old neighborhood in SoCal. Most likely in one of the traditionally Model T Ford sized One Car garages that spawned so much of 1950s-60s SoCal Hot Rod Culture. It will be found when the children of the current owner clear out his stuff after he has passed away. It will look awful. It will be sold to somebody with VERY deep pockets, who will sell it at Mecum's or Barret-Jackson's after an extensive restoration, for millions. There is a 50/50 chance it will leave the country and move to an temperature controlled vault in Japan, like so many other Classic Automobilia has. 3. The kit. It is gone, Long Gone. In the years before the Great Hobbico Bankruptcy destroyed R/M, there had been a well planned revival of a couple of Tom Daniels popular Showrod Kits. It Got us the Tijuana Taxi, the Rommel's Rod and a couple others, all lovingly re-tooled from original kits. These were fresh tools, copies of the old kits, not the 1960's tooling. Although most kit maker's are very closed mouth about plans for new tooling, there have been Zero Rumors of R/M cutting fresh metal for a new Uncertain-T. (My suspicion is that if R/M considered doing the U/T , that getting the right's to re-tool it from Mr. Scott were a big deal, and not worth the trouble, so the idea died in series of phone calls and letters in the mid 2005-12 time frame) 4. So, for the 40-70 year old fans of this kit, there have been a few resin copies sold (and perhaps still available), there is an ever shrinking number of kits and built-ups for sale on the secondary market, and that is about it for the supply. Those that are left are expensive. They will get more expensive, so there is no better time to get one than today. Truthfully though, the demand for these kits appears to be shrinking at a slightly slower rate than the supply. There are just fewer and fewer people who want one of these kits, and despite the occasional newcomer, the fanbase for odd 1960's Showrods is not growing very fast. The supply that is out there will keep up with the demand for now. That is how I believe things stand in early 2022. I am most probably wrong about some things. Reading rumors here and at the 'Coffin Corner' of the "Showrod Rally" Website back in the day, and having read back issues of "Hot Rod Deluxe" and "The Rodder's Journal" magazines, there have been no human eyes set on the car since the mid-1970s, and no real solid news about it's whereabouts in almost as long. I think that the issue now is slowly sliding into "Dead Horse" territory, pending some Great, Unexpected discovery of either the car or the tooling.

Colour me "not surprised". It seems that it is harder and harder for companies (any company) to "Get Things Right The First Time" anymore. Projects with years of planning suffer from last minute glitches and simple mistakes that were never caught in QC. I can guess why this happens more frequently now, but I'll keep those thoughts to myself.

Thanks, Guys. Hot Wheels eh?

Great Job, Adam! MOAR Matchbox!

Link does not work for me, Clayton.

Enough to inspire somebody to use the AITM Restrite Sleeper, and clone the original kit! Good information, guys.

Well, I guess I am committed. My wife wants me to try building a Corner Gas Diorama. So, While I can fake the '82/83 Ford Pickup and the Crown Vic, I need to find a 68 Cutlass grille/flat hood to put on the AMT '69 Cutlass Kit to backdate it. Any body aware of a '68 Grille and or a flat hood?

12 more years for me. I'll be 59 in May, and 60 is getting closer every day. I won't retire until I can't work. I've got 28 years left on the Mortgage, and I cannot afford to be without a paycheck. But, I am doing well so far, although as Tom S, says I'm starting to give some things up. Good On you Mike. Enjoy Retirement.

Amen, Jim. Kalmbach's website is a horror show. One of the reasons I let my Subscription lapse 2 years ago, was they have moved almost all kit reviews and the better "Showpiece" articles behind the paywall. Like you I've spent time trying to get in. Nothing ever worked. So, I left.

1988 Acura Legend. An oversized Honda, it will cruz all day at 80mph+, and rides nicely. Quiet, Fuel Efficient, and plenty of power.

I always associate the his Name with Tim Boyd's and a fellow named Woodruff. I remember seeing all three names in many Tim Boyd builds over the years. RIP Charles Helppie.

I have about 3 of the Hood Clamps. You can still find the screws and hold-down washers in a few AMT Kits, even today. I second Rusty 92, this is a great Thread. Every now and then, you will open a New Re-Issue of an old AMT kit and there are still Styline Custom Bits, spare Chrome trim pieces and what-not, left over from the kits glorious past. 2 recent examples are the '65 Ford Mod-Stock racer, and the '60 Ford Ranchero. Other AMT Kits show the same thing, only usually with fewer parts.

I'm sorry to, Rob. I'm expecting a tangled mess like that in my Future, too. No Fun in having to handle all this and Grieve too.

You are SO right, Steve! Those Flares and Hood are totally Killer. Would be nice to have them back.

Thanks, Casey, I had not realized that the 2017 Bug, was that kit!

Mike, That is the $64,000 Question! Nobody here seems to know, and the whoever knows, probably doesn't post (or even read) here. So, for right now, it's the secondary market for us Squarebody Blazer Fans.

The Heck with the Funny Cars! I want that H-1108 Maverick and the H-1106 Bug. They'd look awesome in front of the new Italeri 1/32 scale F-104!!

The first couple of years, there is not much at all to find wrong with a car. So, it's In-n-Out and you are done cheap. It's only when you get up in years that the process gets spendy. And my car had 55 K on it when it went, even after 12 years. Island of Okinawa is only 65 miles long, and about 12 miles wide. The Apocryphal story is that if every car registered on the island was on the road at the same time, they would need to have another 200 miles of paved road to put them on. Longest trip I ever took was less than 25 miles, took us 4.5 hours.

Good Luck!

I remember reading that "El Matador" article too. Talked about how many showrods were a pain to drive. You 'could' drive them, but would never 'want to' as they were such POS car to drive.

Try owning a car in Japan. While stationed there in the 1980's, I had a '73 Datsun (NIssan) "Sunny Excellent GL". Like this one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Sunny#/media/File:Datsun_Sunny_Excellent_Sedan_PB210_1.4GL.jpg Of course, you had to keep them tagged and inspected per Japanese law. The process is somewhat different than is used here in the U.S.,(although the Arizona system was similar). #1. Take the car to a Licensed & Approved Japanese Inspection / Registration business. (They had stand-alone companies that did nothing but this. Combination Garage-Business office.) Check it in. #2. Wait for them to call you and tell you how much it would cost to repair and tag your car. #3. Pay for the repairs and get receive freshly tagged car.(or do not pay, and surrender the car to them for a very modest payout.) The Key difference is that you do not choose what repairs are made to the car. There is no negotiation involved. Brakes, Tires, Lights, Tune-up, what ever is deemed "Unsafe", they simply Fix it It, for you. For Americans anyways, you did not "Take the car to a mechanic" and get it inspected or repaired. Nobody would do that. Instead, the car went to these "Officially Approved" places and they first inspected and then fixed your car, and then issued fresh tags. It was a neat and convenient One-Stop Shop process, but if you had an older car, the fees could mount quickly. You did not "comparison shop prices for tires, brake pads, ect" You just took what was installed and paid for it. No Muss, No Fuss, and very expensive..... It was Two Parts "Dealing with a number of Foreigners owning cars in you country and keeping their cars safe by your laws", and One Part, "Ripping off the same Foreigners". It was a racket, and we all knew it was a racket, but if you wanted to drive, On-Base or Off-Base, you bought a car, and played the Game. A couple other things: There were JDM Hotrods even then. The local Okinawans had some, and they were neat. How, they dealt with the same issues, we never knew. They had very strict guidelines on wheel size, rim width, how far they could stick out past the fenders, how many lights (Fog, Driving, Ect.) you could have and where they were placed, and a zillion other rules. You would see drawings in the inspection offices, with diagrams showing much of this stuff. The Japanese DMV preferred Stock cars, and discouraged any altering of cars. Also, if you knew that the car you had would never make it past the next inspection, you could choose to sell it to a junkyard, and just get rid of it. Thus avoiding a repair bill that was too high to pay. The Lifecycle for most G.I. owned cars in the USAF on Okinawa, Typically went this way: (as shown by the Names-Ranks listed on the registration papers) A Colonel, or Major buys a new JDM Sedan, and keeps it for his tour. (2-8 years). He then sells it to a Junior member of his Squadron. (a Major or Captain), who then keeps it for his tour. (2-4 years). It is then sold to a Newbie Officer (1st or 2nd Lieutenant) who keeps it for only a year or two. Now it's getting old and worn out. It is then sold to a senior NCO who then keeps it a couple more years, and then at 8-10 years of age, it finally goes to it's last owner, an E-4 to E-2 living in the barracks, and looking for a Cheap, Barely Legal, Beater to last only until they rotate out. This was my car. A 1972-3 Model, it was aging badly when I got it. It made it through one inspection cycle while I owned it, and I was told when I picked it up, that it would not pass another. It was too old, and had too many Kilometers to be certified legal again. So, we (my room mates & I) drove it and ragged on it, until I shipped out. Week before I PCS'ed out I sold it for scrap and got almost what I had paid for it 22 months earlier. Thanks for listening. I know I said too much.

Nothing wrong with that car. Paint and decals, on a stock looking Charger. Wow, what a group........

Great Find, Jacob. Thnaks for sharing. That grill is neat!

No, not strange at all. Different Times, Different Business cases.