Rick R

Funny how MoPars have become so hip in recent years. When I first moved to Orange County in the late 80s I started doing striping for car dealers in the area and continued my long-standing practice of buying cheap/cool cars. I went with one of my customers to a small car dealer auction and found a beat '71 Demon, base coupe, no options except a radio and a Pep Boys square accessory door mirror, but clean and not too beat up... $270 plus fees... I had it a few months, slant 6, TF, 100k miles. I hated the slow steering and cardboard seats, put maybe 5000 miles on it & sold it to someone who wanted it and had a grand... Forward to two years ago, Hot Rod Magazine runs a piece on a salvage yard that specializes in MoPars and there in a photo is my old white, nearly forgotten Demon, square door mirror, fender crease and all. I called the yard, they wanted $4000 for the body, 'since it was so nice...'

Neat piece, very adventurous! Just me, I'm not sure about the slats... I remember one car a few years ago that used something similar, a 50s Buick IIRC, but it was kinda 'temporary'. I'd rather see the wheel wells match, just my $.02... I like the bumpers, too. You have a potential killer car here, stay on it and it'll kick b&tt in a little while!

What a cool build! I love it! Hmmm... I remember once a long time ago I lost a 2-day old vinyl roof cover off a '69 Cutlass Supreme on the I-5 in northern California because I was driving too fast for the fresh glus to hold properly. Lets see, with that 640 C.I. BBC and that hood bulge, there's a chance the big dopey canopy roof thing could be sucked straight into the engine compartment at a traffic light. There's yer diorama!

I wouldn't worry about the responses here other than using them to get ideas and inspiration for future work. You're on an interesting track and I'll be interested to see where it ends up. Former drag car maybe? Old show car? Perhaps loosen the trailing edges of the front fenders and 'find' a little more rot...

Too bright for UC work? Ha! Check out the Mannix Roadster! There's yer undercover! Jay Leno described it as 'a 20 foot long silver thing with a head stickin' up in the middle! Bad guys'd look around, see it and say, Hey look! Mannix finally got here!' Then they'd go hit him in the back o' the head!' My own dramatic PI creation uses either a black Tahoe or a renter for UC work, and like Mannix, only destroys borrowed cars. 'Hi! I'm Joe Mannix! Bad guys are chasing me! I need your car!' 'Yeah, okay, go ahead! I didn't like it anyway!' Car looks great, Mike! Al little too shiney down under if it's in the NE, but it'll weather nicely. On the question of Rita v. Susan, I remember that Dr. Parker commented on the casting of Barbara Stock with the comment that he wanted to sit in at the casting Physical. The TV Susan was a bit more tedius than the book version, but still fun to look at.

I watched the episode of Spenser:For Hire, The Long Hunt, yesterday online, and I wish McNally the best of luck as well as really good aim at the conclusion.

It's still sitting where it was two years ago, in secure storage. The current owner also has several high-end restored Mopars, including a Hemi '70 Super Bee Convertibles built with correct parts by Jim Barbers' shop. There were two '70 SB Hemi 'Verts built, only one of them exists today, this clone is really convincing and a really popular car at shows. The Challenger is in line for restoration, but is also available for sale, and the guy with the prototype Yenko Camaro that is in MaxChevy is interested in it after his car sells. 'Til then it's available, asking price $30k. Probably a 1500 hour resto requiring LOTS of parts, many dollars but a great car anyway. I just hope someone would tackle the model project!

A couple of years ago I wrote an article for Muscle Car Review magazine about the documanted LAST '70 Challenger RT, a car that had been found in derelict condition in North Carolina. This oddly-equipped car (440 Six Pack, shaker hood, 4-speed, etc.) is available now online in a new article at Mopar Max magazine. Google the title and scan to the article shown at the middle of the cover on the right hand side. Weathering experts should love this thing!

Couple of things... As I remember the 'rules' of Z/28isms... As I recall the reason given for the no A/C edict was that the 302 was a high-revving engine that could burn up the compressor with extended periods of high-RPM operation. There was also a weight transfer situation, the heavy compressor would upset the delicate (and delicious) balance the car displayed. I'm wondering what rear end ratio nwas installed in the Z you were connected to, that could have minimized the situation. I also remember that Car & Driver magazine had a '69 Z special-made from the Van Nuys factory, equipped with factory air. Car was very cool, called 'Blue Maxi', painted Sunoco Blue and prepped by the Penske shops during the Camaro Trans Am effort. Supposedly the car was found a few years ago in a junk yard, totalled... paralleling the COPO car.

Two titles of interest to modelers, and One's FREE! MaxChevy, a FREE online title, has my article on a real find, the first of several titles that will have coverage of the car in the next coupla months. The car is an Orange '69 COPO 427 Camaro, but this one is a factory prototype with a fascinating history. Google MaxChevy and check it out! Not free, ($14.99) but well worth the money, is the Summer 2010 issue of Motor Trned Classic, a coffee table title that never ceases to entertain. Besides a '69 Camaro Indy Pace car, the big news is a Road Test of the TV Batmobile including some magnificent photos and an in-depth (truth optional...) interview with George Barris plus a great piece on Adam West. This one should be a valuable addition to anyone's Batman archives.

I gotta be missing something here... IIRC the original issues of Revell's '69 Charger had many components designed as loyal copies of the parts used on the Dukes cars including the push bars, rims, and seperated 0, 1, and 2 digits plus a Confederate flag on the decal sheet. What exactly is the fascination with exclusively using the (incorrect) MPC/AMT kit (made from worn-out tooling) to build your 36th consecutive General Lee replica? George 53, I agree with your appraisal of the '68 and '69 Charger, the best looking car ever made by Chrysler, at least til the '71 Chargers and Satellites came along. A couple of years ago I researched and wrote a 'Subtle DIfferences' piece in Muscle Car Review, a Spotters Guide for '68-'69 Chargers, and used one of each year car, both restored by Phil LaChappelle, an expert in Ventura, Ca. His comments were that these cars were as poorly built as any musclecar, but were more cleverly designed. For instance in order to get the gap at the corners of the front bumpers correct you have to start with proper alignment of the rear opening gap of each front door. Modelers have it easy!

Probably correct, BUT the 201 cars done for Yenko, while COPOs, went only to Yenko. Motion, Nickey, etc. were also COPOs but not part of the Yenko run. As I understand it, the 427 emblems and other items were installed at the Factory and this car was used as a guide during the assembly period.

Thanks for the comments, guys. AS I understand it, the car now appears as it would have at Yenko Chevrolet when it was delivered/displayed there. Yenko had all the emblems and stripes installed at the factory and this car was used as the guide for the 201-car Yenko production run. When I saw it last November at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas it did not have the Yenko identification installed, because that aspect of its existance had not yet been authenticated. I actually prefer it that way. It's being left as a stock Yenko, and will be dyno-tested by one of the magazines based in Florida in order to determine the stock horsepower figures of the Yenko cars. The vinyl top is a difficult call for me too as I tend to hate the things, but it specs out to be original and the application is as flawless as the rest of the restoration. The car is simply stunning in every way. I'm promised a ride/drive when I get the chance to get to Florida, but til then this article and the next one, set for Chevy Enthusiast magazine, (better photos!) available online around the first of the month, should be of value to model builders looking for original appearance. This beast is as 'right' as you'll ever find... The owner, John Miller says, this isn't just 'A' '69 Yenko Camaro, this may be 'THE' '69 Yenko Camaro.

Just google 'Max Chevy magazine'... ya can't miss it!

As some know, (and fewer care)I write for 'real car' magazines, my newest title a cool online-only title, Max Chevy. Just Google Max Chevy magazine... I ran across perhaps the rarest Camaro ever last November at SEMA, the restored COPO Yenko Prototype rescued from a Tennessee junkyard and restored by Jim Barber for owner John Miller. No one is more tired of, or less impressed with, Orange '69 Camaros than I am, but this one is hyper cool and the restoration is incredibly well-done. I did a similar story for Chevy Enthusiast Magazine which will be online the first of the month (after a delay or three), with better pics, but this one shows the car and tells the story.

It could be built stock, but it'd be a pain, that's one of Revell's spindly/twisty/fiddly kits from the late 60s. If it was done well it'd ba a standout.

VERY NICE, Mark, as usual! I might've done the drip rails in black but just as likely I'd've sanded them off. Any car that fast, they wouldn't matter anyway! Same thing with the door handles... Then again, you actually FINISH cars, and I don't seem to... so you probably need no suggestions from me, huh? Your car reminded me of an experience with my '67 Barracuda 'vert in the mid-70s in Valdez, Alaska when I was but a mere child... I'd been laid off again from the Pipeline, and bought the car from its original owner, who was getting married and moving to Oregon, for a whole $170! Fairly clean, 318TF, decent car except that the drivers door was mashed in about a foot at the center and didn't open and had no glass...(No workie in a town that gets 306" of snow in a year...) Car ran great so I drove into Anchorage one weekend, encountered a small junkyard, they had a hardtop in the same light yellow good door for a whole $15. Six bolts off, six bolts on, great except the window had that cool curve at the rear. wind and water leaks, yes, but a vast improvement... Funny how I had all my COOL cars way back when they were cheap!

That looks really good! I was hoping you'd get the tangelo pearl on the chassis as that's what a rotissery buildup would have, The Orange. Black combo has been popuklar for several years but I never get tired of it! Consider painting the bumpers the same color Orange, maybe sand off the bolts and tighten up the ends a bit. I love the rolling stock too. My next Camaro build will be '67, two-tone HOK gold pearl, in the planning stages now.

Years ago the Gatlinburg Museum bought a bunch of Barris' cars and the fiction that went along with them and that was the biggest part of the display. Neat to look at maybe once, but many of the cars, like the Black Beauty from the old Green Hornet TV series, were NOT originally built by Barris and were ruined by his alterations in the 70s. I hope that's changed by now... Gatlinburg is a legendary tourist spot for many in the Southeast, incredibly crowded, but it's friendly there and the food can be wondrous. The Garrett Museum is a great place, and if you have time and interest Oak Ridge is an hour or so away, lots of history there...

I think it's great that the producers paid tribute to the old, short-lived tv series and kept Dean Jeffries' design for the hero car, I'll bet Dean likes it too. I too hope it turns out to be non-hokey, the previews look good, good premise. The only downside I see so far is the January release date, probablyt not a good sign... The use of the Chevy motors in the many stunt cars is probably a necessary evil, I'd think the 440 would be more powerful if more expensive to rebuild/maintain. Great job on the model!

Go to WWW.geetotigers.com It's Jim Wangers website, he's a legend in the Pontiac hobby was the ad guy who helped form Pontiac's performance image all through the 60s, back when the brand had a great name. His personal collection includes a Verdoro green gen 1 Firebird 400 set up as a modern day street racer... great car!

Knew and worked with Barris for a while in the 80s and 90s, and came to know quite a few of the cars from his 'particle board' era, this was one of them. Hey, it is what it is... a show car... Probably the nicest build of one I've ever seen, though.

WHOA!!! Now we know what it'd look like of JC Whitney ever exploded! I have worked as an installer for many years, working with car dealers and individual owners, occasionally run into guys who don't know how to resist shiny objects... like the guy who had the red '87 Chevy shortbed pickup/campershell, with three tachometers... two digitals and a Sun Supertach... plus velour seatcovers inside. It got worse. Add fender skirts, two lines of Silverado trim, four exterior mirrors, abut a half-dozen antennas, many fog lights and driving lights, PLUS chrome slot mags and wide whitewalls! Woof! Terrible, completely tasteless, nightmare-inducing Ford, beautifully assembled and executed.

Excellent work on a difficult subject! I worked with Barris on a few projects in the last half of the 80s, into the early 90s, sat in and at one point even drove the original Batmobile a few feet out of the garage where it lived. In the early 80s it was in pretty bad shape... leaks, extra junk tacked onto it, those stupid labels on everything, and barely ran. Besides, the comic book comany wanted it crushed! Eventually Jay Ohrberg worked out a deal that gave George perpetual rights and GB finally put it back into presentable condition. At least two of the cars were 'fuzzed' in the 70s, and the original was restored yet again before it went to its current resting place in the Petersen Automotive Museum. A total of five 'original' Barris copies (including one drag car) were built during the run of the series for use in car shows. The original '54 Lincoln frame used for the Futura dream car was also replaced by a '66 Galaxie frame similar to the ones used in the copies. Maybe the most amazing thing I was ever told, though, by Barris' painter Roy Johnson over 20 years ago, was that the Futura bumpers, made from cast bronze then chrome plated during the construction in Italy, were tossed onto the shop roof after the car was stripped for conversion to the Batmobile. The bumpers were later sold for scrap. Ohrberg built several copies as well, and a collector in Santee Ca. bought a 'fake' Squarebird-based Batcar that Barris had confiscated in the late 60s and made a nice copy as well as restoring a Batcycle and creating a transport trailer that doubled as a showcase.

When the GTO concept was being developed the Holden development crew from Australia consulted with Jim Wangers, ad guy of note from the glory days of Pontiac, and he suggested dealer tactics as well as tech and visual adjustments to the car, but the lady running the show turned up her nose at all his suggestions. They were rewarded with a car that looked like a Camry, drove like a 4-seater Corvette and developed its own aftermarket within weeks of introduction. It's a shame that the GM dorks were so shortsighted, it coulda been The Great One (again). By the 4-door logic the G8GT and G8GXP should've been a smash hit, and it was a magnificent car! Didi everything right and ###### near won the Motor Trend COTY award for '09, but GM was already down for the count and couldn't grasp success. Like with the GTO, the ones who bought them, love 'em, and rightly so. The visual problem faced by the first run '04 GTO was certainly NOT an issue, the G8 was killer. Another issue is that the marketing geniuses had decided to change the series names, tossing out forty years of brand loyalty to Grand Prix and many to Grand Am as well, for no apparent reason... Was the change to 'G8' just a ploy to save trim tooling costs? Is it that Grand Prix starts with a G and has 8 more letters???