MrObsessive

Every time I see one of these, the first thing that comes to mind is "wreck"! I was in a car accident in this thing as a kid in the later '60's. Not a serious accident, but enough that my Uncle who was driving (his may have been a '59) had to fight the steering wheel as the car I think had a bent frame. He hit a parked, late '50's Chrysler or Desoto (I don't remember which as it was a green four door with big fins on it). ALL of us in the back seat ended up on the floor (no seat belts on those cars in those days). No one was hurt, but you know you're in a world of hurt when you run into someone's car right in front of their house, and the owner is sitting there right on the porch!

Yeah, considering we're talking about two different types of cars (an intermediate as opposed to a "pony" car) even in scale, I wouldn't think you could use those without a LOT of work. BTW, I tried that top (I've got several kits for parts) on AMT's old '69 Chevelle convertible, and I found it interesting that the top on that one is also a bit long. I've always thought however that the Chevelle might be just a scooch under scale. 1/26 or 27th as opposed to 1/25. Either which way, a lot easier to modify that one to the Chevelle, than trying to get it to work on a Camaro.

As far as I know, I've never seen a proper uptop for any of the Camaro convertibles made. There may be one in the '68 as mentioned, but if it's the same one I saw years ago, it looked a lot like the hardtop shape wise, without the proper "droops" and "sags" that an uptop should have. Frankly, that's one of my biggest gripes with a number of the soft tops available. They're usually molded much to blocky looking, and not much like the 1:1 at all the way I see them. The biggest offender to me would be the top out of Revell's '65 Mustang convertible kit. Waaaay too blocky, and with some sanding of the top bows, you could probably make a hardtop out of it. I do remember those tops that R&R made years ago, and in fact I had one. It may have been for the Camaro, but as Snake said, they didn't fit well at all, and they were quite flimsy. If you bent or twisted it a little too hard to get it to fit, it would "tear". This was due to how thin they were vacuformed, and you had to treat them very gently IIRC. Frankly, you guys know me...........I would modify the heck out of the Camaro's hardtop. At least you would have the proper width and length, and of course, I'd have to have those "droops" and sags" as to me that's what makes them uptops, and not hardtops with vinyl over them!

LOL! Yeah, I'd hope for that price they could fly it over and deliver it!

You all know how much I love vintage Ferraris and a lot of the uncommon stuff that simply isn't seen on the roads anymore. I've been watching this auction for awhile, and at first glance I could have SWORN this was an actual car! Of course reading the description, it clearly is a kit and a mighty expensive one at that! At the price they're asking for it, I've seen not any takers and I've been watching this for a bit. Needless to say, at a ¼ scale, I'd have no idea where to put this in my house! It would literally need its own room, and of course something to support the weight as it's gotta be one heavy sucker when done. Some of you may have seen this, but if not you can check it out here.

I had a very interesting driver's test as mine was taken at our local police barracks. The Driver's Ed teacher I had at the time, took me over when it was around their lunch time. I had an officer literally eating his lunch while I was going through the course, and when it came time for me to parallel park, I guess he could tell I was OK as he simply said "Ok, Carry On!" Didn't even open the door to see if I was close enough to the curb! Guess he could tell by looking at the outside mirror? Anyway, I was thrilled as could be when I got my license........and BTW, I took my test in a tank of a car-----a '76 Caprice! Wish I could have taken the test in one of those rinky-dink little cars I see people take their tests in these days. My Dad could tell when he got home from work that I had passed the test as I was grinning ear to ear! Hard to believe that's over 40 years ago now, and there's days I don't leave the house if I'm off as I don't feel like driving ANYWHERE! Yeah, I cringe when I hear of someone that didn't pass their test till the fifth or sixth time!

I second Steve's idea of using clear stencil sheet for windows. I've been doing this for years as to me it flat out looks better than the kit glass, which way too many times is too distorted for my tastes, taking away from what's a very good build. If you check here and start with picture #80, I did a mini tutorial on how I did the glass on this Turbine Car. It may seem a bit daunting at first, but after you've tried it a couple times you may be spoiled by the results! Compound curves were mentioned.........you can do wraparound windshields with this method as I did this on my '58 Chevy convertible, but clear stencil sheet likes to be bent only one way. So as long as the curvature is only one direction, it can be done. Takes some patience though to let the epoxy FULLY set!

I’ve not tried this out, but perhaps the chassis out of AMT’s ‘66 Riviera would work with some tweaking? They were pretty much all the same through 1970. ?

I built the AMT one many years ago ('94?) and while I had no problem with it as far as building, I don't think AMT got the wheels and tires right on that one. Wheels are too small, and the tires don't have the correct profile as those in the kit to my eyes are too tall. Those cars had very low profile tires which I think make the car. Revell got that right in their kit, so if I ever get around to building that one, I'd want the kit just for the tires as they appear much more correct. The model is in many pieces now somewhere on my third floor, but I remember getting resin wheels and tires back then from someone in the aftermarket..........darn if I can remember who now as we're talking nearly 25 years ago. They could have resin copied Revell's kit which I think was out the same time as AMT's. The same can be said of AMT's Prowler kit which came out around that time. Monogram/Revell got the wheels and tires right, while AMT cheaped out. Just my two cents worth!

Hmmm.........interesting! According to this story here, Chrysler is intended to live on. Frankly, I think the automakers are making a BIG mistake by abandoning the car market and focusing mostly on trucks and SUV's. While that might work for a few more years, no one's looking at the 13-15 year olds that will be buying cars come the mid and later '20's. My better sense tells me they will NOT want to be driving the same kind of cars their parents are driving. I may be wrong, but killing off one type of market to support another is not always a good idea.

Oh well................bummer reading that story but there is a bright spot! The Charger and Challenger lives! THANK GOODNESS they're not going to water it down using the Alfa platform. That also should spell good news for the Hemi.......I don't think Chrysler wants to kill that anytime soon. At least that's my hope!

I think the enthusiasts out there were overlooking the four doors of the concept as it just looked flat out FANTASTIC! 100% better than the total 180 that Chrysler ended up giving us. In fact, I wanted a 2012 Charger before I came across my Challenger. That particular dealer tee'd me off though as they tried to pull a bait and switch and pushed something else------NOT the car I knew they had. Well, the rest is history as later on that day I came across the Challenger at a completely different dealer, and drove it home that night. I called that other dealer to at least thank them for their time...............never a call back in reciprocation, so I know who to never go to again when looking for a car.

LOL!! Among the many difficulties I had with that Midget WAS a leaky top! EVERY time it rained hard, I could feel water dripping on my left shoulder! Now granted that could have been the original top as I had the car in 1985, and the car was a '71. I kinda doubt that though as I've never seen an original top last that long, and the triple windows in mine were clear and not yellowed. On the subject of timing belts again...........I also had at one time a '90 Mitsubishi Mirage. Tiny car, but at the time I bought it I needed something to get back and forth to work as the Mercedes 250S sedan I had before that literally had rusted to death, and wouldn't pass inspection. A couple years after I bought it, my better sense told me to get the timing belt changed ASAP as the car now had just over 100K on it. When the mechanic had taken out the belt, he showed me the cracks that were starting pretty much in the area that you described. He said that another 5 or 6000 miles the belt would have let loose and destroyed the engine as that also was an interference design. He replaced the belt along with the water pump, and all was good for the next four years until I traded it in on a new Saturn Quadcoupe which BTW..............used a CHAIN for the timing! Who'da thunk it??

I was seriously hoping the 1971-73 Riviera would see the light of day when I mentioned this car to Ed Sexton at the NNL East a couple years ago. Now with the shape they're in, that's just a pipe dream. I'll just have to be content with the resin one I have. Not a bad casting, but the roof shape (crown) bugs me to no end, so that's Job 1 once I decide to ever begin building it.

There were very loud screams of protest when the Charger debuted back in '06 as a four door sedan from us car enthusiasts. The criticism was so bad that Car and Driver said that in all the years of being a magazine publisher, they have never received so much hate mail over one car! Many were hoping (including myself) that the car would look like the absolutely beautiful 1999 Charger show car. But that show car came out right around the time Chrysler was about to be sold to Daimler, and of course as we now know they had other plans. Interesting though how the 2011 restyle of the Charger does resemble that '99 show car much better! Almost as if that's what they had in mind, but changed up at the 11th hour due to Daimler. This car still gets my heart racing to this day even nearly 20 years later! Actually we DID get a two door "Charger"...................................the Challenger!

When I owned my 124 Spider (early '90's) I had tracked down the original owner shortly after buying the car. She had told me that the reason she sold it was because she had a very minor accident with it (slightly bent frame which I fixed), and that she had a valve job and timing belt replacement done. That was probably a month before I had bought it, and I could tell some work had been done on the front end of the engine as the timing belt cover looked new (more than likely cleaned up), and things were nice and cleaned up in the engine compartment in general for what was then a 14 year old car. Fiat IIRC, required that the timing belt and tensioners be replaced WITHOUT FAIL every 2 years or 24,000 miles whichever came first. One reason I believe for the rather frequent change for the belt is that it was an external one as opposed to most cars of the era having an internal timing belt/chain. Well, one very cold morning about two years to the month that I had talked to the original owner, I went out to start the car. It started up with no trouble at all considering that the temp was in the single digits. The car ran for about five minutes and then shut off for some reason. I tried to start the car, but all I heard was a "whirring" sound, so I thought well maybe the starter went out or bad fuel pump. The local garage came to get the car but then called me about four hours later to tell me the really bad news....................the timing belt had snapped and because it was an interference engine, ALL the valves were bent as well as a distorted head (aluminum). Right then and there I knew that the car was now a total loss as it was going to cost waaaaay more to fix than it was worth, so it was eventually parted out and that was the end of it. Lesson learned on that one! I did have a couple electrical gremlins that I figured out-------NOTHING like the electrical nightmare I had with my Midget about 10 years earlier! That car DID leave me nearly stranded in the middle of nowhere as it would shut off without warning as I later found out due to a faulty tach. One of the worst cars I think I've ever owned before or since! So you're correct about the Fiats Bill. One has to be willing to spend the time, patience, and money to keep them going strong. One very bad weakness I do remember about them was rusting issues. Particularly here in PA if you didn't keep on top of the rust, that tinworm could eat through the car in no time which also led to early junking. I was surprised that mine considering its age was pretty solid, but then it may not have always been a Pennsylvania car. Particularly when the frame needed to be straightened I was worried that something would break but no, it held together excellently.

Great work so far Steve! Interesting info about the floorpan/chassis. I was wondering with some massaging, could they also be used under Johan's '65-'66 Fury II's? I've got both of those (two door hardtops) that could definitely use some sprucing up underneath someday. IIRC, 1965 Chrysler switched platforms for the Fury's to the C body? I'm no expert on how and when the platform designations changed, but anything to me is better than what Johan gave you back in those days. IMO..........the bodies are top notch! Undercarriage not so much.

Good thought! The way FCA is handling things with Chrysler, sadly they may cease to exist by '21. There was to be a new Challenger and Charger come '19 or '20, but I've heard not a word about those car's replacements in probably two years now. I've seen the '19 Challengers, pretty much warmed over '18's with some detail differences. As much as I like the Challenger (heck I OWN one!), the design's getting a bit long in the tooth considering what's been done to the Mustang and Camaro recently. There was talk about bringing back the 'Cuda name on a smaller platform to perhaps replace the Challenger. I don't know HOW they'd pull that off since Plymouth bit the dust back in '01. Dodge 'Cuda?? Naaaah!

Oh yeah! I really like what I'm seeing here! Regarding the cost, there's no way I could have afforded DeAgostini's 1/8 '67 Shelby all in one shot! The price would have been prohibitive!. Now it's taken roughly 2 years to get all the parts (25 month subscription), but it's not like I can start on it anytime soon anyway! A couple more shipments to go, and I'll be all set. One thing I like about your Delorean is the engine detail. That's one area I think corners were cut a bit on the Shelby. Instead of giving you an entire transmission casting like yours, they "halved" it, and to me just would seem incomplete even though I doubt I ever try to pick that thing up and turn it over for all to see. That I tell you will be one HEAVY model! Later on, I may go to Shapeways and see if I can find a 3d printed 1/8 scale Ford 4spd trans from that era. Some re-engineering would be needed perhaps to make it fit properly, but at least to me it'll look better.

They have.......this is apparently the reintro'd one for '21. Perhaps without the V10 it'll be more reasonable price wise? Last I knew, that car was well over 100k for the last ones that rolled off the line. I actually didn't care for the last gen Viper looks wise. While it was not a bad looking car at all, I liked the previous one much better as it was to me a simpler, cleaner design.

Oh yeah! One of these used to live right below me from 1995-2004 when I lived above what used to be a Fiat dealership. The owner of the place had died years earlier, but his wife and son had taken over. I believe this was made into a Fiat place not long after he quit selling Studebakers not long after they had ceased production here in the States sometime around 1964 or so. Obviously they were no longer selling Fiats by the time I had moved in, but there were TONS of parts in the garage, and Fiats in various states of disassembly parked outside in the lot. His son was still working on the occasional Fiat when I first moved into the apartment above, and I used to own once upon a time a 1978 Fiat 124 Spider. Not the most reliable car in the world by any means, but it was a blast to drive! I have to admit that I was a bit shocked to see Fiat make a comeback into this country after we pretty much chased them out of here in the early '80's. I can't remember the last time I've seen one of those 850 coupes here on the road------along with the rear engined Spiders they were neat little cars............if not a bit too cantankerous!

This is not only one of my favorite Ferraris, but also one of my favorite '60's road racers! At that price however, I'll have to be content with just the models!

While I was not a fan at all of this era of styling from Olds, I gotta say that is super squeaky clean! Not sure of the year (1989-90?), but 25+ years later the looks have grown on me. I've said before in other threads........don't be surprised to start seeing more and more of this era of car turn up at the 1:1 car shows in a few short years.

Tommy, this is just me but the '67-'68 roofline is a bit different than what you want........ Edit: I don' t know what happened there, but this posted before I wanted it to. Anyway, you can see that the '67-'68 roof is a bit more "rounded" than the previous years, with a faster angle to the C pillars. Remember back in those days, GM was on two year styling cycles so '67 would have been the year for some major body changes. Some things were carryover such as the windshield perhaps, and of course engines and chassis.

That would be my best bet. Roof crowns are about the same shape, and you'd reshape the C pillars somewhat. BTW, that was a very nice car back in its day. My Uncle had one (actually a '66) and it's one of the first new cars I can remember any family member buying when I was just a kid. He had a '56 Chevy Bel Air 2 door hardtop which he kept for a bit as a second car (my Aunt mainly drove that one), but he was a diehard Chevy guy for years.