tim boyd

Chuck....just read your comments about the appropriateness (or more accurately, the inappropriateness) of SBC engines in Ford vehicles in your latest "Inspiration Files" in the new issue of MCM (#185) . Right-on! Interesting car you featured...it appears to be Michigan-based but i don't recall seeing it at any of the hot rod events I've attended in the area....anyway, enjoyed your feature. Sure would make a cool model car! Best regards...TIM

Thanks Ed! Best regards...TIM

Scott is correct here. Several street-legal Mopar engines, including the 1975/76 passenger car E58 360 hi-po, did not use Catalytic Converters in 1975 or 1976. IIRC (and someone needs to double check the following), Chrysler's famous (or perhaps infamous might be a better word???) "Lean Burn" engines during the mid 1970's were a further attempt to provide emissions compliance without the use of a Catalytic Converter. TIM

Wow John...you are quite the craftsman!!! Great to see the scratchbuilding and fabrication coming together so convincingly. Will be looking forward to seeing this one progress, but great work so far! Best Regards...TIM

Ed....multiple trusted sources have documented that Chrysler was planning a 6bbl street version of the 426 Hemi before it was cancelled, but I have never seen an actual photo of such a project. Accordingly, I am wondering what is the background of the full size photo you show in this post? Does it say whether it is a modern-day recreation or does it claim to be a restoration of a test engine that was constructed back in the day? In any case, your 1/25th scale replica looks terrific! Let us know once you decide to put it in a model car body - that ought to be quite the project! Best regards....TIM

Gerry....thanks for setting the record straight on this. Model kits take a LONG time to develop and do correctly. While it makes a great storyline to suggest that the new Meng kit prompted Revell to go ahead with a Raptor, the timelines involved for such a scenario to have taken place just don't meet the realities of kit development today. TIM

Guys....sorry to disappoint you on this, but IMC never made a 1/25th scale model of the original V4 powered mid-engine concept car. One of their very first kits, however, was the Mustang II concept car as pictured in Greg's post above. Best regards...TIM

Chuck,,,,John....James: Thanks, I don't get out so much anymore (my favorite hobby shop is a good half hour drive away)... Nice kit, anyway! TB

(Casey...would have sworn there was already a thread on the new Revell Boss 302 kit but didn't see it when I just looked...if so please move this to the existing thread.) All....maybe I missed the news but today I saw the new Revell '13 Boss 302 kit where I shop for kits - the Model Cave in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I would presume that it is also at other retailers with the special Revell/Hobbico advance distribution scheme. How appropriate; almost 50 years to the exact day that the original Mustang was introduced! ' Best..>TIM

JB, you are certainly entitled to your view on this but I suspect many magazine editors would take a much different view than the one you articulate here. This is particularly true for Hot Rod DeLuxe, which is one of the single most successful automotive magazine title introductions over the last decade, and which was ONLY available via newstand distribution for several years until they began to take subscriptions a little over a year ago. Most editors (and publshers) care about BOTH newstand and subscription circulation numbers, as together they are a sign of overall magazine health and as the basis for their advertising rate cards. I don't formally sit on any magazine staffs these days but I have worked closely with a number of magazine editors over the years as a freelancer, having contributed articles to over 30 different titles worldwide over 35 years. On that basis, and also based on my understanding of Intellectual Property Law in part from my 35 years in the automotive industry, I stand by my position on this subject. Thanks for your comments nevertheless. Always good to have an informed dialogue....TIM

Guys...like many magazines, the publisher Source Interlink Media would not appreciate an article from a current issue of one of their magazines being posted online. As many of you know, magazines live and die by circulation numbers....if your budget allows and the subject interests you, it would be best to buy a copy. Best regards...TIM

Thanks James for the feedback and absolutely agree with your verdict on this Elky. (PS - be watching for a possible 1/24th/1/25th scale El Camino Kit History article in a future issue of MCM) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Another teaser image from the album link: A This is a REAL '32 Ford Roadster Pickup body. Note the much more upright, truck-like cowl, windshield frame, and door/body section, as well as the slightly different "commercial" grille shell/grille (a simplified stamping on '32 Ford trucks, vs. the multi-piece assembly on '32 passenger cars). There were very few of these made originally, and even fewer survive (most '32 Roadster Pickups you see are "Phantoms" based on the totally different passenger car roadster body). Five more pictures of other equally cool pickup rods from Bruce's Rod Shop are at the link on page 7 of the album. Best regards...>TIM .

True...but there are a surprising number of detail differences between the Young American and Garlits Wynnscharger kits when you actually compare them part for part. Hope Round 2 does the work to fully return the tool to the original Garlits format when they reissue it, but under any circumstance, glad to have this one back. TIM

Thanks Guys...glad you enjoyed them. Best Regards....TIM

Just so we are totally clear on this, the built-up 1/25th scale scratchbuilt hobby show sample shown in the May, 1971 issue of Car Model magazine (and pictured on Steve Magnante's website at this link http://www.moparmax.com/columns/magnante/vi_2-2.html ) was most likely built scratchbuilt by Phil Jensen, as noted in my earlier post in this thread. It was not made from a pre-production tooling test shot. TB

Casey and the rest.... Interesting subject, and as a Dodge guy in my youth, a subject very near and dear to my heart. Like Steve, I built that L700 (in my case, the summer it was introduced) and I was just blown away by the accuracy of that kit . Looking at this subject from another view, by the time that IMC announced the stillborn LVT Cabover kit, the 1/1 scale Dodge product, never a big seller, was already well past its prime. The decision not to go ahead was IMC's, from what I recall. I don't think Testors was really involved, as this took place (again, from what I recall) before Testors took over the IMC product range. The info in my book would most likely have been based on the various Phil Jensen "Tidewater Trucker" columns in Car Model magazine from 1970-73. I am also of the understanding that Phil, a well respected proponent of model car scratchbuilding, did just that (scratchbuilt) the 1/25th scale LVT sample seen in that Car Model photo in Steve's article. No tooling was ever started as far as I know. Finally, this is the first I've ever heard that the Dodge LVT and the Ford W-Series might have shared the same cab. I could be completely wrong about this, but I'd want to see that statement in writing from a well-respected Class 8 truck historian before accepting it as gospel. Interesting discussion guys! Thanks...TIM

SHARP! TIm

Greg...thanks for noticing and posting. There always has been a strong linkage between model cars and the readers of full size car mags, but most car magazine editors are not too aware of this, and even if they are, they often have other battles to fight. In this case, HRD Editor Drew Hardin is aware of the link and devoted a full page of a very full issue to model cars. There are literally millions of Baby Boomers out there that built kits as kids, and don't have a clue that their one time hobby is alive and well. Bits like this help to spread the word. Thanks again...TIM ..

....plus commentary from what some view as the world's pre-eminent Traditional Hot Rod and Custom event are awaiting your visit at the following link....http://public.fotki.com/funman1712/11-scale-automotive/2014-texas-lonestar/ Hope you get some cool model building ideas here! Thanks for looking.....TIM

Charlie's exactly right. Tom shows how he has started a new mostly scratchbuilt project comprised of a truck conversion of a Model T along with a period-correct Wrecker boom and bed. Also, his technique for scaling accurate dimensions from period photography. Cool stuff! TIM

Steve Perry at Calnaga Castings was working on a super-accurate 427 cammer resin kit...you may want to check out his website for details....TIM

Greg...to answer your question above: The same basic kit was updated to the 1969 body shell, Boss 429 engine (if memory serves correctly), new Ohio George "Mr. Gasket" graphics, and a one-piece clear body shell. It was available in two different box arts during 1969 & 1970, but never reissued after that. A couple of years ago, Round 2 hinted in one of their newsletters that this second 1969 version might be under consideration for reissue as well, but nothing further has developed to date that I have heard about. TIM

Tim Ahlborn posted pictures of his build of a test shot on another forum this evening. It's the original circa 1969 T500 kit, without the sleeper (as it was in the original box art issue). Looks terrific. I would imagine that Tim will cover this in his column in the mag in due time. TB

Just to reaffirm BigMerc's comments here...the FE series, Ford "335 Series" (351 Cleveland, 351M, 400) and the Ford "385 Series" (429, Boss 429, and 460) were each separate engine families. The "335" and "385" series engines used a similar design approach, but were still different engines series and did not share parts between them. The "FE" series is an entirely different design, having been engineered 10 years prior to the "385" and 12 years prior to the "335" engine families and using the different engine design principles common to V8's in the domestic industry at that point in time. I also agree with Bill that the best way to a 351M or 400 would be to start with the 351 Cleveland in the Revell '70 Mustang Mach 1 first issued in the 2000's. TIM PS - also wanted to note here that the Ford SuperDuty engine family, which comprised engine displacements in three sizes including a 534 cubic inch version, was yet another Ford engine family separate and apart from the 3 above. To my knowledge, the only Ford SuperDuty engine in scale is the outstanding example in the AMT Ford C-600 (really a C800 or 900 due to the engine) Stake, Tractor, and Van kits. This engine was correctly identified on the box art of some versions of this kit, but also misidentified as a 361 on some others such as the Stake Truck, which was the "displacement" for the Heavy Duty version of the Ford 360 truck motor in the FE engine family.

Chris...thanks for this latest kit history and for all your prior threads on truck kits... I never realized that the Formula One Team Bronco had its roots in these early 1980's Revell kits...I always assumed it was based on the old Monogram Bronco tool.... On this one, I wanted to point out that the "Six Wheeler" version pictured above is really one of the "Phantom" (Imaginary) kits, as the "Ram" era (internal Ford development name for the 1980-96 F-Series) Effies that were Dual Rear Wheels were only on the LWB (133") Chassis, not the 117" SWB chassis reflected in the Revell kit. Still, until Monogram's kits in the 1990's, this kit was the only choice for someone who wanted to kitbash the DRW pickup bed, albeit with splicing in sections of another bed both in front and behind the Revell bed to get the correct length. Will be looking forward to seeing this thread develop further. Thanks again...TIM