stavanzer

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.

Amen, Bill!

-I'm a HUGE 1950 Buick Fan! But really only the '49-53 body style. The Grinning Grille on the '50 is the pinnacle of American Chrome in my opinion. I wish Promolite had gotten their 1950 Buick to market. I'd have bought a case of them.

And, most of the trucks I see here in Kern County CA. (Ag & Oil) are 3/4 or One Ton Trucks with about 30% being 'Doolies'. Half Ton 2x4 trucks are relatively rare. And Half of trucks you see on on the roads are Fleet Trucks, every one of them White. The second most popular colour strangely enough is Black, given our Desert Climate. And while being in California, many oilfield companies are headquartered in Texas or Oklahoma, so you plenty of Tx and OK plates on the road. The only Long Beds you see are special order Farm trucks, used in the fields. That is where are the LongBed 2Door Cabs are around here.

Thanks, Guys! Ford is an '83. Does AMT Make a '68 Cutlass Fastback like that? I've already got the Lindberg Crown Vic, just need to find a close-up of the Door Badge.

Carl, I hate Column Shifters. I just learned to drive in one. Give me a long Floor shifter any day. I still miss my CJ-5 Jeep, Now, that was fun to drive!

My Wife and I have gotten hooked on Corner Gas, a Canadian Comedy Show. Set in the fictional town of Dog River, it is an ensemble comedy featuring some very funny actors. (Brent Butt, Gabrielle Miller, Fred Ewanuick, and others) Now, I'm trying to ID the cars in the Show. Brent drives a worn '68-69 Olds Cutlass(?), Hand drives an old 70's-80's Ford Pick up, and the Police car is the Ubiquitous Ford Crown Vic. I may try to build at least these three, If I can pin them down. Thanks.

I don't see how the '67 Vette Grille that is on the chrome tree is going to fit this kit. I guess that the '67 Grille is leftover from when the chrome tree was used on a '67 Vette? Casey is correct. Some great parts and kitbashing possibilities in this box.

I just re-watched Chris's video build. Makes me want this kit even more. Maybe do a full stock build of it. It would look nice Setting next to a Stock Revell A-Model Build.

Chuck, you are one of the sharpest observers here, and a whole lot better educated about both 1/1 and Model car kits, But, Just what the heck does this statement even mean.. I'm puzzled.

Well, the Vette is nice. Not much else catches my eye though. Now I see the 3 engine options for the Vette. Wish they'd found the Blower Manifold. The Rest of the blower is there. Well, a good stash will have a part that will work.

So, large Chunks of what will be in the new kit then. Thank You for posting these photos' They will be useful for a comparison when the new kit comes out.

Wicked Tinkers, about 10 years ago, at the Scottish Festival.