CometMan

If you threw in 4 fried-chickens & a Coke, you might be in business!

I do remember seeing some ex-police Diplomats being used as Taxis, or by teenagers as their beaters, Rob. Not nearly as many as the '70s Dodge Monacos, '90s Ford Crown Vics, or '00s Chevy Impalas, but they were out there. Chances are that some folks with better "contacts" beat you to your idea. Then, after pulling the power train out, scrapped the rest of the car, so they didn't make it to "public auction" too often.

That was the joke going around at the time, that everyone on his route probably considered him to be a hero! But, the Post Master, who is considered a government official, didn't find the humor in it!

My ex is with the USPS, one time a carrier was caught with his ENTIRE GARAGE filled with junk mail that he had stashed there, simply because he was TOO LAZY to deliver it!

Very nice looking Olds, Al. Building something that is a copy of something you, or someone you kew, is always very special!

I think that car still fits into your niche, Adam. While it was a rather attractive LOOKING car, and doesn't seem out of place next to other generations of Corvettes, it has the same 175 hp as my Ford Fusion (which has a 4 banger), and gets about half the gas mileage to boot!

Steve, those are the standard stock hubcaps for full-sized '65 Mercs that Al has on his model. The optional deluxe version was essentially only different because it had a spinner added to the center. If you are willing to fudge just a little, the deluxe cap for the '66-'67s are very similar, the biggest difference being that part of the veined section between the outer edge and the center is raised to give the spinner a larger area to sit on., those are in the '66 kit that has been re-issued 2-3 times, is rather easy and cheap to find.

Nice work, Craig! I always love seeing Edsels, and wagons, being built. But an Edsel wagon is even better yet!

Very nice work on a very unusual subject, Al! My parents had a 1:1 four door in Ivy Gold (I was brought home from the hospital in it!), I built that kit MANY years ago (I paid $25 for a boxed, un-started kit at a 1:1 swap meet!), it's still in my parents basement...SOMEWHERE. If I may give you a little tip, the simulated air scoop on the front fenders of that car were flat silver, would really make your model stand out! Otherwise, very well done.

Good luck to you and your family, Rob! Not too often you hear of anyone actually voluntarily LEAVING Florida, let alone having the nerve to decide to stop being a corporate zombie! I have traveled in that region of the country quite a bit, it is nature at it's best.

We've already had a little taste of that, Joe. During the Blackout of 2003, when a very large section of the Eastern half of the U.S. and Canada lost all electrical power. That was just for a short time, (a few days if I remember correctly) until they figured out what had happened and fixed the problem. People around here were an absolute mess without being able to play with their gadgets every minute, that was 13 years ago. People have become several times more dependent on their electronic devices since then, imagine what folks would act like if that happened again!

It seems like a lot of us really like this car, but the girl in Mr.O's pic doesn't look too thrilled!

We're not parking it, we're abandoning it!

That always was a very unique looking car that has been over-looked for too long! I'd really like to see it kitted too.

Thanks for your input, guys! You have confirmed my suspicions, that if I'm in the area, and have time to spare, then I should check them out. If not, I shouldn't go out of my way to go there!

Hey everyone! Just heard of a Hobby Town shop that is about to open in my general area! It sounds like they are part of a large chain, but it is the first one in my area, I haven't dealt with them before. Anyone have any experience with them, good or bad?

I agree with Harry! Other than maybe taking the molding and emblem off the rear quarter, and possibly adding a set of fender skirts to give it a long, smooth silhouette, and adding a fancier set of wheels/tires there's not a lot to improve on this car! It set the styling trend that most others followed for several years.

Very cool, Bill! If you blinked twice, you would have missed the scenes showing it like that!

I've done business with Michael quite a few times also. One time he sent me a dash set for a '60 Plymouth when I had had ordered one for a '58 Plymouth (I have a '60 in the resto pile, but it is far down the list), when I contacted him about it he sent me the '58 set immediately, let me keep the '60 set, and threw in a set of '55-'59 license plates for my "inconvenience"! He is great to do business with, and seems to be an all around great guy, too.

Here in the 'burbs of Detroit almost all 7-11s will give officers a small coffee or water for FREE! Probably lots of fast-food joints, party stores, and gas stations do the same as well. Rarely ever hear about one of those places outside of Detroit proper getting robbed!

Carl, that happened in my general area. Stuff like that happens here almost every day, really makes watching the local news an "interesting" experience! What makes it really laughable is that there are always tons of people ready to come out IN DEFENSE of someone like that by saying "he was just hungry, trying to get something to eat".!!

I agree, if an old or rare model is trashed, it is doing the hobby a great service for the seller to salvage any parts that may still be usable, and move them on to someone who may be looking for those parts. Since that takes a lot of time and effort on the seller's part he should be allowed to turn a nice profit without any complaints from anyone! It's similar to a junkyard for 1:1 cars, but the main difference is that at a full-sized junkyard, especially ones specializing in antique cars, if they get a car in that they realize may be able to be put back on the road, or has one major problem, but has many usable parts, they will try to sell it as a whole car first, even if it means that their profit isn't as high. They realize that the goodwill that comes from doing it that way will eventually increase their profit several fold through their good reputation, and repeat business, allowing them to stay in business! These clowns take perfectly good kits, or nice build-ups, and part them out, asking outrageous prices for each part. What they ignore is that, while the profit may be quite good for awhile, eventually folks will get tired of it, when business dries up and they are forced to change their practices, or close, they will be the first to ask for sympathy by saying that "no body wants to pay for anything anymore"!

Mike, they have a white plastic insert, no need to paint unless you prefer the look when they're painted.

Yeah, Richard, I used the word "decal" loosely for lack of a better term for BMCP's products. But, they are still very nice, and better than trying to paint those gauges! Also, thanks for sharing you technique, I may have to try that!

Tulio, while not being a perfect match by any means, a grille from a '65 Merc, and taillights from a '70 Ford might at least be a starting point for your '74 conversion.