1972coronet

As bad as the 1980 St. Regis / Gran Fury with California Emissions ? Those cars made the headlines ; to paraphrase : " New [ CHP ] pursuit fleet won't reach 100 M.P.H. " . That 120hp 318 four barrel was a pig . 49 states could be had with the E58 360 , which provided tremendous torque and 195hp . Brown wouldn't allow it . The Oldsmobile 403 was a California-specific engine . Another abject pig -- a negative marque on Olds' V8's record , surpassed only by the 350 diesel .

I am all-too-familiar with that asinine , 1960-1972 A-body-specific bolt circle pattern . My first car was a 1972 Swinger which I bought in 1989 for $800 . Not wanting to sully the original spare tyre ( completely untouched , jack , stand , and all ) , I set about to procure a replacement spare at the salvage yard . First spare with a good tyre was from a 1975 Duster . My first experience with that stupid small bolt circle ! The wheel wouldn't fit ! I quickly sold it to a customer at the gas station one night . His 1976 Scamp's tyre popped and he didn't have a spare . So , for $10 , I did an 'off-the-record' swap for him . I'd paid $3.50 for it at the junk yard ; I was saving the customer -a regular- lots of grief and money . Next salvage yard trip -- now aware of that stupid bolt pattern -- found me grabbing a nice wheel / tyre off of a 1969 Dart 170 . I didn't bother to check if it'd fit on disc brake equipped cars with that ridiculous pattern ! ARRRGG ! I sold that non-fitting combo to someone else for $7.00 . I finally found a perfect 14" steel wheel off of a 1972 Swinger , and used it for a spare . A few years later , I swapped the impossible-to-find-parts-for 4-piston brakes in favour of a setup from a 1974 Duster 360 , which also gave up its 3.21 geared 8.25" rear . No more problems with wheels ( and garbage brakes ) !

The entirety of your posts or "only" the photos ?

Lots of eye candy ! Naturally , my fav is the Bluesmobile ; which leads to a query you may not know the answer to : "Is it the sole-surviving car from the film ( A/K/A , the 'Star Car' for "beauty shots" ) ? Or , is it a good replica and / or a legit former police car ( V.I.N. of 'DK41--' ) ?"

These days -- if such a film could be made with a air of realism -- the plot could be The Bandit and The Snowman hauling paints , cleaners , and other chemicals that are banned for sale in California ! ??

If Round2 were to create either a new body or backdate the existing 1975-1976 Dart Sport body and fix any inaccuracies of the original 1971 Demon , I would hope -and certainly I'm not alone in this- that they would also create the 1972 grille for it . Yes , I realise that the 1972 has more than just a grille change ( upholstery -same as the 1972 Duster- pattern is different ; side markers are different ; and dashboard is different -the existing dash is correct for all 1972-1976 Dart , Duster , et al.--- the Tuff-Grip wheel is *technically* incorrect , as it was only available with mandatory power steering , which is a minor point ) . At a minimum , the 1972 grille could be used for a Modified Production or Stock or Super Stock build .

Great save on that bad boy ! Did you re-clock the steering wheel as well ? It appears to have been clocked upside-down in the 'before' photos . That green plastic looks nice , albeit super metallic-y . Just the same , a great 'canvas' for painting the headliner *without* its showing-through the topside .

Gorgeous Tri-Colour Tabby ! Is she vocal ?

Those are the 1970-1971 Dodge 14" Deluxe Wheel Covers ( "W11" ) , a.k.a. "Volcano" wheel covers . I have a set of a limited run of those from @Michael Kröger. I was overjoyed when I saw that someone made them in 1/25 scale !

Check out @hpiguyYouTube build & review ( @Casey posted it on this forum a little bit ago ) . He -Chris- addresses the instrument cluster ( 'dashboard' ) decal .

IIRC , the Trans Am(s) in the movie were actually 1976 models with prototype front and rear facias . That may or may not affect the correct T-Tops' respective designs / layout .

Good eye . I have an unbuilt 1978 C-10 annual in my stash -- haven't looked at it in a few years .

Back in c.1983 when I was perusing the 1983 MPC brochure , I thought that they used the MPC 1978 C-10 Annual as the basis for that prototype . It wasn't until now that I see the Monogram-type bed ( no 'tool box' cutouts engraved on the pickup box ) and dual fuel tanks ( with a filler only on the right-side of the bed , not visible in that photo ) . Perhaps a mish-mash of Monogram bed and chassis and / or suspension with MPC cab , wheels , and tyres ( the latter possibly being a retouched photo ? ) .

I agree with your assessment completely -- I just didn't want to "go there" for the very reason you've stated in the last sentence .

In the 1980s ad seq. , there was a paradigm shift in 'our' public learning institutions . A change for the worse . All that I ever heard whenever I enquired about the lack of courses in tangible skills ( auto shop , etc. ) was that "things are changing... all of that's going to be obsolete soon..." and to the effect of "go to college and get a degree... join the military... take courses in [ computers ] and technology." I just gave up at that point . I dropped out after the first three months of Grade 10 : " 'cause the world a person lives in , is his brain , well mine just gives in... " ( Who Says , Richard Hell , Blank Generation , 1977 )

Ah... the 1990s were a spectacular time for such selling & purchasing . The former company I worked for --which will remain anonymous-- was under the acronym of 'GPC' . I referred to that acronym as 'Generic Parts from China' . I've been singing the blues for 25 years -- closer to 30 years -- about the great defection of North American companies to China and other financially-impoverished countries . That's not a jab at the citizens of these countries ; it's a jab at their ruling powers .

In not so many words : Manhattan Project !

For some reason , that made me recall a quote from William S. Burroughs , pertaining to a "commodity" which can't be named here . Suffice it to say , "Somebody called me on the phone / and said / 'Hey , is Dee-Dee home ?'..."

I bemoan the fall-from-popularity of coffeehouses . Even the cool independent 'houses close stupid early now ! Like , 1900 hrs. ! I remember when they were open until 2300 , 0200... 0400 in the case of Nova Express ( ostensibly , a Burroughs-themed hangout ) which was in Fairfax , across from Canter's Deli .

You must reside in a geographic region in Spokane which receives less-than-normal sunlight in the winter ( i.e. , surrounded by foliage and or structures which cast-shade most if not all of the daytime ) . I mention this for a couple of reasons : 1.) Most people believe that all of Washington shares Seattle's climate 2.) Even though the Spokane region is guarded from the weather and temperatures of its neighbours ( Idaho , Canada , etc. ) , the ground temperatures must be pretty darned cold ( frost and snow maintaining season-long presence on the north and east sides of structures , etc. ) In other words , I'm just being a nerd ; a dork . This kind of stuff fascinates me .

Got that right ! That's the target audience ( price-point notwithstanding ) : those whom know little to nothing about mechanical functions ** . The only way for anyone - kids especially - to learn how to change a flat tyre is for someone to show them how to . This lack-of-teaching & learning started -in my observations- in the 1980s . By the time I'd reached high school , auto shop was book work only , with no hands-on ! Everything that I've learnt over my 51 years was via trial and error , and by observing / helping others with their vehicles . ** I'm not the sharpest butter knife in the tacklebox , but I do practise critical thinking , and exhibit apprehension almost to a fault .

Are you enquiring about the 396-427-454 ( Mark IV ) series only ? If so , you are correct insofar as AMT offerings are concerned .

That statement in which you're referring to was a facetious statement : I was goofing on the idea that a simple carburretor ( atmoiser , et alia ) could provide 100 MPG on its own , and without taking other crucial components involved ( the aforementioned vehicle weight , engine size , etc. ) into consideration . As far as the chosen spelling : I choose to employ the so-called 'alternate spelling' in practically every instance .

Perhaps the finest aspect of that long fabled "100 MPG Carburetor" is that it dismisses some many other mitigating factors ! No mention of : vehicle weight ; final drive ratio ; engine size / displacement ; tyre & wheel dimensions ; octane of fuel ( appropriate rating *without* retarding the [ poop ] out of the timing , etc. ) . Just a simple -albeit , scientific breakthrough- atomiser ! A similar fallacy inhabits the 'thought' process of ordering a vehicle and / or what kinds of garbage the manufacturers are foisting upon their customers : small engines with turbos ; overdrive with a tightly-geared final drive ( example : 2012 Chevy 1500 , short bed , V6 / 4L60E , and a 3.08 final drive ! Gutless gas hog ! Should've had 4.10 or 4.56 gear ! ) ; CVTs ; cylinder cancelling ; and enough techie [ poop ] to baffle Mr. Wizard . * When did the "'C' word" instead of the "'S' word" become "BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH" ???