W Humble

Andy: The designers I interviewed who worked on it, Bob Cadaret and Stan Mott, didn't seem so sure -- they called it the "Batmobile" (before Barris chopped up a Lincoln Futura and claimed it as his design) and 'The Butterfly'" for it's rear treatments. They thought it was a 'fun' concept. There were others more outrageous, as these photos show, but it was a wild time for styling in US cars; thinking about the Edsel, etc. The '59 Chevy was radical, rakish, and shouted 'look at me!' when out cruising, especially if dropped or 'dagoed' in the front, as we usually drove it. Popular, too; you were sure to meet yourself before the evening was over; same can be said for the 'sixties. I always thought that the latter integrated the front and rear aspects better. My bestie drove on in HS, I had the '55. I think the public agreed with me that the '62 was the tastiest, in a conservative mode, esp the BelAir coupe which kept the '61 roofline. But, to each their own, huh?

Eventually, you guys will pay the price... !

Thanks for the interest! I'll get on this asap. Sorry but my spam catcher suddenly decided to send all my MCM forum follows to it's bin, but I found them! As I mentioned, these photos were done in the mid-fifties, and some certainly have been in print, etc. Mike, my notes show that the '59 with the back-up lights (clear) in the 'cat's eye' tail-light lenses is actually a fiberglass proto model, no a real car. I have some others of it; they spared no expense when getting these finalized by the GM brass. I can hear y'all laughing, but I'm not adept at cell phone photography. I do have a few other skills.... My article for SRM netted $1K fees, which is acceptable. However they ordered and wrote two separate ones... Alas, I'm no big fan of the Impala line; '55's are my favorites, back in '61 (my first car) and now. I had cruised many's the mile in the '59 when nearly new, however -- and the rest.

Cool! My way of ruining old car ads was to flame, pinstripe, and scallop them; even up through the mid-sixties! Some okay, many should have been obliterated. If I can figure out how to capture them and attach, I might post some of my 'fifties drawings... my curse was that I seldom used decent paper; mostly news-print and lined binder paper. The former are obliterating themselves, and the latter look funny. I'm sure when I saved them I wouldn't guess that they'd be interesting (or embarrassing) to even me 65-years later! Wick

I once wrote a history of the '58 Chevy Impala, and Chuck Jordan, Director of Design for GM in the late '70s sent me a nice collection of prototype pics done by GM Photographic. Some of them have surfaced in other sources, and I had a number published when I did the history of the '59 Impala style for STREET RODDER's 2015 'How To' guide on their project car. However, there are more, and some pretty hard to ID as Chevrolets! Feel lucky that they didn't build them! The '59 Impala is wacky enough. I'm not good at reproducing photo images, but if the interest is there (and you can be patient!) I'll post this collection asap. (P being the operative word, I'm afraid.) Someday I'm going to get a younger person to walk me through shooting/scanning images and attaching them. I'm 77 this month. Wick

As I recall, not a few record holders in NHRA were inported sports cars with American drive-trains! A rare Bandini used to be seen in ad in HRM, powered by Cad. Almost as interesting were the fiberglass-bodied sports-class cars -- and there were a million, for a while. Folks have been doing creative and sometimes suicidal swaps in sports cars since long before our time. Also, building neato bodies on US chassis; like the Railton-Hudson I found in our Feather River Canyon in N CA about 1978; but it found a good home. Looked like a giant MGTD! < Old Carroll didn't invent nothin'! > My favorite conversion was when my bro in law showed me a mid-sixties A-H Sprite (or might have been an MG Midget) sitting in the high desert sage brush with a Chevy W-motor wedged in it. Somebody gave up and left it sans wheels in the wind-swept wastes!

Salvaged an old 1/24 Monogram Model A tub body (from the 1961 kit) that I painted candy turquoise and decaled as a S/R class racer; new frame from sprue, but reused the Chevy 283 with Hilborn and straight-out stacks, rims and tires, etc. Very 1958-ish with whitewall slicks, three speed, and all. It's not easy to rebuild something that got smashed fifty or more years ago, esp since my skills (as I laughingly call them) were not up to my ambitions! I'll post it when I get the steering, fuel lines, etc put on.

Don't be offended, but... I know that hitting the 'follow topic' toggle gets one attached to it, but when enough is sufficient, switching it back doesn't seem to drop me off of the topic. I like 'what did you accomplish today' but there are so many new posts on it that I'd prefer to be dropped out to clear up my mail box. Don't get me wrong: as verbose and chummy as I am on MCM forums, I still want to be involved, especially with 'Wanted" , etc. Should I just keep 'unfollowing' on the toggle? Thanks! Keep up the good work! Hey, I just hit the 'follow topic' for this post! Wick

Sweet! Maybe I'll look! I have my original AMT 1;25 Bonneville kit, which I shortened (incorrectly) to make a Catalina, and the newer Mobius kit, which is really nice. Because at age 77 I couldn't afford a decent '61 bubbletop, I bought a '62 LeMans ragtop, but it's not working out for my sweetie of 55 years (nervous about not having a roof!) so it's going on Hemmings Auction. It's the "Little Indians" club calendar car feature for August '22 -- white on white. Oh well...

Good! I agree; now I need to find some 'typical late-'50s/early '60s teen-ager figures! Suggestions, you experienced diorama guys? Help? Wick, a child of the late-fifties/early-sixties myself! (9th grade in 1959, graduated HS in Class of '63...)

Besides the '53-4 Studebaker Starlight coupes and the '55 Chevy, the '61 Pontiacs rank as one of the most beautiful post-WWII American cars! Wanted one; now I'll never have one -- darn! Did you mention what scale those Ponchos are? Any one know of one for sale, even a 'builder'? Wick

Yes, of course the GTO package was on the LeMans model lineup, and a late release. However, the '65 Goat was a stand alone in the dealerships. Wick

Possibly, but somewhere I have the bore X stroke specs on both '326's, and the bore is shown to be smaller! OC I can't find it. We (who were driving them) didn't know, naturally. I drove a '63 LeMans, '64 LeMans with 4-bbl, high/comp, and a '65 2-bbl, and some others. Good torque, mediocre fuel mileage!! Wick

Funny you should ask...! I have the '62 Bonneville 1;25 kit, and I used the 2X4 (rudimentary!) setup on a '63 AMT LeMans to make my version of the SuperDuty or 'Powershift' 421 Tempest racer -- this was back in '63.. However, I had it partially disassembled to replace some parts (sourced from fellow hobbiests, thanks!) and made a resin pattern of the intake. I did a short run 'as is' 1962, then sanded the carb representations off and ran some more with just the manifold; add your own 4-bbls. If you want one, just let me know, with address, and which kind. :-<) Also, just swapped for another '63 LeMans ragtop kit, and this also came with the 326-cu.in. V-8, but this built-up car had a 3X2 ('Tripower'-marca registrada!) setup, which must have been added. It also had four of the shallowest-offset Halibrands I ever saw -- but I can make 'em deeper! I have the single-carb manifold for the 326 in my Poncho drawer, still. FYI: did you know that DeLorean put a 336-cu.in. engine in the '63's, but with 326 badging? GM caught on, made him reduce the bore in '64 to fit the ID badge; Olds and Buick after abandoning the alloy 215-cu.in. V-8, went with 330's. Of course, in '63, I could use the engine included with the kit (no trans on the bellhousing, 'cause it was under the trunk) for the 421 since all Pontiac V-8's were dimensionally the same on the outside. The pre-'59 engines didn't look exactly the same as the post-'59 series, but were more similar than some thought. Only in '67 did the appearance really change, with the coming of the 350/400/428 (and eventual 455) inchers -- no longer painted sky-blue or greenish-grayish. The 336/326 engines were seriously under-square, using the full 389 crankshaft stroke. We had a '62 Catalina long-roof as our family bus: I put baby-moons and Pacemaker glass-packs on it as anniversary gifts to the folks. I wish I had this beauty!!

Thanks for the positive words, friends! Now I'll try to find sources. Help: I need teenagers (not undead ones!) from about 1960 era, or able to be modified as such. Wally, Eddie, Bud, Lumpy and maybe a chick? Sounds like fun! Wick

DOT 3 brake fluid is the old stand by, but not not not brake cleaner! Solvents in brake cleaner are able to dissolve styrene and other plastics with easy; the jugs they sell them in are a different formulation and don't melt. Also, as unlikely as it is you might mistakenly buy DOT 5 brake fluid (commonly called silicone) it is valued because among other things, it will not affect paint, etc. Very expensive, also! I've also found that DOT 3 can be used for model stripping even when salvaged from the car; not as effective, but it still goes after paints, esp. the rattle-can variety. As an experiment, I collected DOT 3 from a couple of restorations (1:1), strained it really well with a paint strainer, then coffee filter paper -- takes a while -- then put it in my Tupper-type tank. Worked okay. Be aware that 2K finishes (catalyzed, hardened, whatever you call it) often resist strippers doggedly. I often use polyester or epoxy primer/surfacers on older, salvage-type bodies for it's covering ability and toughness. Not great for box-stock builds, tho, as it can also obliterate molded details before you know it! BTW, I'm not investing in any more Testor's ELO -- which just smells like DOT 3 anyhoo. Wick

I began by 'guerilla sourcing' thinks like this, and have found some easily accessible shortcuts; fine tubing is one. You have to locate some tel-com wire, the kind with the spaghetti strands inside, very old school -- but then you don't need miles of it?! The old telephone cables, even the four-wire from the wall to the phone have the skinny strands inside that can just be pulled out. "Paired cable', pre-fiberoptical, is a good source and had many colors! Cheap, too! One separated, pull the black strand out straight, then carefully strip off 1/2 inch or so of the insulation, and nip it into a solidly mounted vise. Then, carefully and methodically, begin easing the insulation 'tube' cover off with the anchored end as a starting point. A short section is easiest, but I've had success with up to three-feet lengths if it is warm and I'm not in a hurry. I use a folded piece of rubber, like from a bike tube, or ?? to grip the wire insulation, for traction, but don't over-do it. Still, even if it snaps, just start over and more will slip away. Sometimes it wrinkles if rushed, but that has uses too, often. You can source lots of colors, plus the copper strand inside is useful too, as it's tiny/thin and flexible, plus won't rust. It is about right for plug wires on 1;16 scale, but too plump for 1;25. Wick

I use whatever base coat fits my color needs, then usually go with PPG 660 clear (or 661 spot clear) which is a 2K auto finish. Only hazard to my kit is getting it too thick, but at shows everyone wants to know how I get it so shiny -- which flies in the face of the squeamish-ness about 'non-scale' thickness, I suppose. I have tried U-Pol rattle-can clear, which so far seems okay (easier -- if that's my goal) because I know lots of body shops use it. Haven't used lacquer clear for some time, as like the old synthetic enamels, it tends to darken over light undercoats. I have an OLD Mono Avanti that I did in white that now is yellow. Just my angle... Wick

A little off topic, perhaps: as a retirement job, I got on with the local PPG dealer, Martin Auto Color -- mostly as a delivery guy, but also doing some paint formulation from 'recipes' already stock. I've been using PPG/Ditzler for forty years, I guess, and since I was a 'credit customer' (though a shade-tree restorer of 1:1 cars) they kept me for almost five years. To the point: don't be afraid to go to a 'big car' paint store (if you're over eighteen, of course) and see what they have 1.) as advice, and 2.) surplus in the back room. I was eventually 'laid off' when the economy got un-good, but left under happy circumstances with about half a pickup-load of 'mis-matched' and unclaimed paints -- and all top-quality too! I've been sharing them with my nephew, who is about the only person nearby that I know doing models: trucks, cars, and some rail-road by rebottling in my wife's old spice jars which she puts in the dish-washer for me. I have some very neat colors, including a lot of trendy stuff (Ultra-violet, Monster Green, Hemi Orange, and plenty of whites. Black I still have to buy. Point Mk. II: they are the ones to advise on thinners, reducers, and hardeners, if you're in doubt; using lacquer thinners (the really HOT ones aren't available much any more) can possibly cause bubbling, wrinkling, and lifting on some undercoats. Your slow-drying paints can stand some 'cellulose', but be aware that a big hit of it can lead occasionally to a major 're-do' job. Voice of experience here! On the other hand, I do use utility lac to rejuvenate the odd bottle of Testors or PLA or whatever. I am not a fan of rattle-cans (there are exceptions, oc.) and the hardware store 'rusto' enamels are usually to risky. No, I've never had 1;1 finishes ruin my styrene, as I usually use polyester or epoxy 2K primers -- same source. I M Humble O... Wick

I was once a 'stringer' for Mike Lamm's SPECIAL INTEREST AUTOS Magazine (Hemming Pub, long gone) and I did the history of the FBCG in issue #61, Feb. 1981.* I got GM Design Chief Chuck Jordan interested in it (he won in 1948!) and he asked all the staff who had entered to bring their cars to the Design Center, where he had GM Photographic shoot them with their designs! Boy, did they all look 'hip', 1981 disco style -- and the hair!!! Of course; didn't we all? But it was fun, and I ended up with a fell set of Fisher Coach plans; the Napoleonic coach that you see on all Fisher Body cars, which was the only model eligible until 1937, then was phased out post WWII. Like some of you, I wanted to enter in 1962/63, but it was just too much for me and the resources I could muster in a tiny N CA town -- 'closer to Oregon and Nevada than California; -- we used to say. A highly-modified AMT Corvette would not have gotten inside the tent, compared to what was being entered back then. Writing car stuff in that era was particularly fun because so many of the 'real deal' guys were still alive, and SIA opened doors for me to interview a host of names, both big (Smokey Yunick, Mickey Thompson, Mal Bricklin, John Bond, etc.) and not-so big -- but still important to auto history. I also wanted to attend the Art Center School (of Design) and corresponded with Strother MacMinn, the Director but just didn't have the art bona-fides to get in. Still, Mr. Mac sent me a wonderful, complimentary letter after the FBCG article which made it even more worthwhile! I still treasure it! Ole' Wick, still in N CA *Prob. in HMN Archives

Peter: yep, I began to suspect that the ingredients were similar if not the same -- and that Testor's was getting 10X the price for it! I just hoped, when I spotted it on the shelf of the old Paradise Hobbies shop that maybe it was safer, being marketed by a known model supply source! Live and hopefully learn! Still, ELO was the first experience I've ever had with styrene degradation... Wick

I love a good debate, but not a slanging-contest. Maybe this wasn't my forum? As B. Zimmerman once said, "I get all the news I need on the weather report." Or 'The Week' cartoons post? Ole' Wick Now, back to modelling!

Nice! I know this is very old school, and possibly apostacy, but I have found a lot of bits and pieces on toys (and junked die-casts) that can be separated out and used or resin-copied, even by a klutz like me. I used the roof and a-pillars of a 1;25 Trans Am toy to replace the destroyed top and w-shield of a very brittle 1961 Chrysler (JoHan) that I've had since new, and after also extending the 'fins' a scale six inches and putting on huge rims, it came out very dramatic. Also, I found a generously-sized representation of a coolant pusher fan on a d/c M-B that I can easily surface cast and replicate muchas tiempos. You never know! Wick

I know I'm just an eccentric, p---ing in the wind, but ; why don't you guys give up TV? I did, when I was about fifty, and have had almost thirty years of relative peace and calm, and haven't missed enough of life to concern me. It's mostly trash anyway, including the so-called news. No cable, no dish, nothing by my DVD player. Just sayin'...

Painted my '64 Bonneville (converted to GP by adding the concave backlite roof that some 3:1 kits included -- a GP with a long trunk!) some PPG basecoat that is very like Nocturne Blue, except it has a very fine metallic. Irridescent, tho; looks almost purple in direct sunlight. Rather than PPG 2K 660 clearcoat, I tried rattle can U-Pol clear, as I know a lot of good body shops keep it on hand; came out nice! I have to find some lights that mimic the in-grille GP turn-signals now. To get that shimmery-metallic look Pontiac used to feature on it's upholstery, I paint a base color, then put BMF aluminum on the facing surfaces, then paint with semi-transparent color, in this case: base '51 Merc powder blue, and Testors 'metalflake blue' on top. Then I add accent panels or sripes with another coat atop that. Seems to work pretty well, tho the interior is very hard to see. Eventually post some photos, I hope... Also shot the Olds V-8 block of my Mono 'Green Hornet' restoration in PPG mixiing-color gold. Think I may do the new custom frame, etc. in that color also, and carry it onto the T-bucket body in a SoCal-type motif. Using up 1:24 Mono parts: 5-spokers/slicks from my old Sizzler kit, and other bits. All bought about 62 years ago! Wick