[68 Sox & Martin Barracuda]

That's a super Super Stock , Roger !

That first photo looks like it's from Orange County International Raceway ( US 101 / I-5 , Irvine : 1967-1983 ) , judging by the EMPI wall banners ( ).

Didn't S&M campaign a SS/D Barracuda 340 in 1968 as well ?

[A young Tim Boyd!?]

Tim Boyd "[...]I was a stereo/rock geek back then. My "system" was based around an Olsen AM/FMS receiver and two Utah floor speakers (for those of you not familiar with these brands...let's just say they were known for their volume, not their quality of sound...!)

"When I started working at Ford in 1978 after graduating college, my first expenditure was a set of JBL4311BX studio monitors - the speakers that were supposedly used in the studios where the best rock bands mixed their albums. I still have those bad boys today, some 36 years later, in my family room downstairs. They seldom get asked to jam these days, but when the do, they still kick it out just like the day I bought them."

Ann Arbor , huh ? You must be familiar with these guys :

( R.I.P. , Dave Alexander , 1947-1975 ; R.I.P. Ron Asheton , 1948-2009 ; R.I.P. Scott Asheton , 1949-2014 )

And these darlings of the Grande Ballroom :

( R.I.P. , Rob Tyner 1946-1991 ; R.I.P. , Fred "Sonic" Smith , 1948-1994 ; R.I.P. , Michael Davis , 1943-2011 )

[A young Tim Boyd!?]

For those of you who follow this sort of stuff (I always did), for a while in the mid-;ate 1960's Joe Oldham was edtior of Car Model. Yes, that Joe Oldham. The one that went on to author many muscle car era articles for the east coast car magazines, and then much later was edtior for Popular Mechanics for the better part of two decades during which it became a huge (in terms of circulation) heavyweight in the magazine world. He is now retired by pens a column in Hemmings Muscle Machines and wrote a cool book a couple of years back about his memories (including a bunch of street racing in NYC) of the muscle car era.

Joe Oldham is very much around the fledgling social media outlets ; here's the direct link to his facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/joe.oldham.92?ref=ts&fref=ts

Note that Martyn Schorr is around as well : https://www.facebook.com/MartynSchorr?hc_location=timeline

I have Martyn's excellent book , Motion Performance : Tales of a Muscle Car Builder . Highly recommended !

[AMT Fred Lorenzen '65 Ford Galaxie 500XL]

Thanks , Tim and Mark . I just remembered it as being a mid-60's Ford Galaxie .

[AMT Fred Lorenzen '65 Ford Galaxie 500XL]

Wasn't there a reissue of this kit back in c.1987 as well ? It was moulded in orange (more of a tomatoe red , actually) , and , to the best of my recollection , it differed in respect to :

- The aforementioned headers (chrome tree)

- decklid moulded-shut

- L60-15 Polyglas tyres

- 'Thunderbolt' teardrop hood

Perhaps I'm thinking of a different model year ? I just remember buying the orange one --it , too , was a 3-in-1-- back in Spring 1987 (and it didn't survive the 1987 Whittier Earthquake) .

[Revell Sox & Martin Pro Stock Cuda]

I don't care what any-one says about this kit's "short-comings" ; I can't wait for mine to show up here in the next 3-5 days !

[Dumb questions: Tamiya bottle paint]

I have a bottle of Tamiya Clear Red and a bottle of Gunze Clear Ambre , and they're both 27 years old !!! And , yes , they're still just as good as the day I bought them !!

[Stevie Nicks]

My favourite Stevie Nicks song ; my fave for two reasons :

1.) The use of the Celesta

2.) The subject of this song ( Rhiannon ) is of Cymraeg origin

My next fave would be Gypsy . Why ? Because of her mentioning my favourite Rock band : The Velvet Underground

"So I'm back / to the Velvet / Underground ..."

Without further ado :

[1955 Ford F-100 (Monogram-come-Revell)]

You know what they say without pictures it didn't happen lol.

Funny that you should mention just that ...

I'm fully prepared to send Revell's customer service some photos if necessary ; however , given my great experiences with them , I really don't see how photos would be necessary

[1955 Ford F-100 (Monogram-come-Revell)]

Sounds like the part may have been short shot- no plastic got into the part of the mold where the grille is located- I have this same reissue, and the grille is present and accounted for on the sprue.

Thanks , Chuck . It just seemed so odd that it'd completely missed being cast !

Well , I have faith in Revell's excellent customer service ; I know that they'll send me the missing part .

[1955 Ford F-100 (Monogram-come-Revell)]

I bought the latest issue of the old Monogram 1955 F-100 (whose origins date back to the mid-1970's) , as I've been wanting this kit for some time . I was always apprehensive of the c.1986 modified-reissue --and its subsequent reissues-- due to the (yucky) 80's / 90's "updated" parts (fuel injected 302 ; ugly wheels ; rubber band tyres ; gross tiller , etc. , etc.) . However , I was plesantly surprised to note the presence of the old engine pieces (the rare Autolite inline 4 barrel atomiser , and the not-gross-billit steering wheel among these parts) .

However ...

upon perusing the kit's contents , I noticed a glaring omission : the grille !! Not only is the grill not there , but its 'runner' mounts are rounded-off and smoothly-plated !!

Did Revell drop the proverbial ball here ??

Am I overlooking some-thing ??

I've contacted Revell's Customer Service (via online) and provided them with the requsite information .

Has any-one else encountered this in their 1955 F-100 ?

[Don Grotheer 1970 Cuda]

Just a shot in the dark here :

1970 : Looks like TX9 Black , FE5 Rallye Red , and EW1 White . Apparently , its black portions were repainted in what appears to be EB7 Blue .

1971 : Same as the 1970 , but with what appears to be EB7 Blue (maybe even TB3 Blue ? )replacing the TX9 Black .

The wheels on the 1970 appear to be Rader [sp?] wheels (in the first photo of the '70) , with the 2nd car (at last labelled as Pro Stock) having a different set of Fenton wheels : "Gyro" .

That last photo is of Grotheer's 1971 B/Modified Production Road Runner . Its colours appear to be : GW3 White , FE5 Red , and GB5 Blue .

** Note Regarding Paint Codes : The first letter equates the year of the colour ; "T" = 1962 ; "E" = 1969 ; "F" = 1970 ; and , "G" = 1971 .**

[Revell Sox & Martin Pro Stock Cuda]

The 4.89 ratio must be a typo , as that was specific to the 8³/₄ diff ; the Dana 60 ("Spicer") had 4.88 ratio . Then there's that aluminum case transmission ; definitely not "Stock" (although they were employed in the 1968 Dart , et al. , in a *not legal* capacity . They were painted with a mixure of black paint and metal shavings ; a magnet would easily 'catch' the metal shavings , and the colour appeared to be cast iron ) .

The varied bumpers must be related to the different-albeit-similar cars that S&M campaigned ; Eliminator , Stock , Super Stock , Modified Production, Pro Stock (not necessarly all of these classes ; just mentioning them ...)

Of course , none of this --okay , most of this-- information affects a 1/25 scale kit one iota !

[Dumb questions: Tamiya bottle paint]

Denatured Alcohol also works very well .

[Mpc 87 88 mustang gt]

I had the 1987 annual when it was new (Spring 1987) . The only complaints I had about it at the time :

- Chrome headlamps ( disappointing , but workable )

- Moulded-in tail lamps (really tedious to paint , even for my rock-steady 17 year old hands )

- B.F. Goodrich tyres ( completely incorrect for a then-new Mustang GT !! But , that's what MPC was using at that time *sigh* )

- Moulded-in-red

I paid little attention to its other alleged maladies at the time ( upholstery pattern , etc. ) , as I was more interested in the car as a subject ; that 1987 cosmetic redesign was outstanding for its time !

[Revell Sox & Martin Pro Stock Cuda]

Courtesy of out beloved forum ; details of Landy's customised oil pan :

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/?showtopic=59278

[Revell Sox & Martin Pro Stock Cuda]

Thanks for the great review , Tim !

Regarding the steering linkage through the oil pan sump ; Dandy Dick Landy had this exact setup on his A/MP 1970 Hemi Charger . I can only imagine that other Hemi-powered B & E Body MoPars had similar --if not exact-- arrangements .

Apparently , the lifespan of these custom 10 qt pans wasn't too long , as the welds would fatigue in short order .

Good call on the shifter for the Slick-Shift 4-speed !

I *believe* that the Reverse-Lockout was mandated for the 1968 or 1969 season (at least through NHRA's Super Stock class ...) . I was honestly expecting to see a Verti-Gate or Ram Rod shifter ; perhaps those didn't come along until c.1971 ?

I , along with many others , welcome this edition of the 1970 Hemi'Cuda ! Kudos to Revell for working within the parametres of the existing tooling's technological-limitations (e.g. , the hood's integral scoop) to bring the huddled masses a much-needed kit !

Here's a gorgeous looking '70 'Cuda in race livery :

[Rubystone Red for a Cuda]

Another alternative would be for one of your local paint suppliers to mix a batch of your desired colour . In this case , FM3 is Chrysler's colour code .

['71 Hemi Cuda 'vert sells for $3.5M]

I believe the sno-white car is also the ONLY 1 of the 11 that came optioned WITHOUT the billboard call-out decal? That would have to add to it's value for sure

The Sno-White export model is , indeed , Stripe Delete . It also does not have a radio , as European frequencies are ostensibly different , thereby making a U.S.-spec receiver useless .

If I had the opportunity to order a 1971 'Cuda brand new , I also would've checked the 'Stripe Delete' box .

['71 Hemi Cuda 'vert sells for $3.5M]

One thing I wonder about the car is if it really came from the factory with the steel wheels and hub caps? I would think a car like that would have had at least a set of ralley wheels or even Magnum 500s.

Plain steel wheels with hubcaps was standard fare on 'BH' (Barracuda) and 'BS' ( 'Cuda) . The oft-misnamed 'Magnum 500 wheels , whose name is actually 'Road Wheels' were an option with any model / engine combo except with the 426 Street Hemi , where 15" wheels were mandatory (1969-1871) .

A Hemi 'Cuda convertible is hardly a base model.

"Base Model" , being , in this case , a (almost) zero options model .

The steel wheels and hub caps are so overdone anymore. Especially on Mopars seems like.

They were more common than you think . If any-thing , 'Rallye Wheels' and 'Road Wheels' (colloq : 'Magnum 500') are overdone . I've always embraced the plain wheels with base hubcaps , even back when I first got into cars . Every-one thought that I was crazy for liking that plain look !

The steel wheels / hubcaps arrangement is some-thing which all manufactures did . How many Nova / Chevy II models do you think left the assembly line with Rallye Wheels ? Not very many . Sames goes for the Duster , Dart , Demon , Dart Sport , Road Runner , Mustang , Javelin , etc. , etc. , etc.

They look cool on the right (base model) car. But, they look cheap on a nice car.

If this car wasn't as close to 100% as possible , its value --on the bidding block-- would have diminished "x" amount .

[Rubystone Red for a Cuda]

Testors makes a the correct Panther Pink / Moulon Rouge in aerodol cans .

[pets.....]

Do you call them by their full name when you scold them?

Ha !

Y'know , Molly has never been admonished . She's never gone where she's not supposed to ! Perhaps a big part of her behaviour is due to her disability ; she's partially blind .

Oliver , on the other hand ... he's been a brat since the day I brought him home . Typical of a 'Ship's Cat'

['71 Hemi Cuda 'vert sells for $3.5M]

Well , let's see here ...

1971 Hemi'Cuda Production

Hardtop (BS23R1B) = 108

Convertible (BS27R1B) = 11

I don't have a breakdown of options , transmission , etc. , nor do I have a breakdown of the shipments of the hardtops ; however , I have the following numbers on convertible shipments :

7= U.S.

2= Canada

2= Export

All are amazingly accounted for (!!) .

I've seen 1 of the 2 Canadian cars ; an at-the-time , 30,000 miles , 100% original , heavily-optioned model ( EV2 Tor-Red , V2 Tor-Red interior , AM-Cassette-Recorder , etc.) .

I've seen both of the Export cars . Both were shipped to France ; one is GA4 Winchester Grey , the other is GW3 Sno-White .

One has the highest sequence number , the other has the lowest sequence number ; both respectively alleged to be the 1st and the other the last off the line at Hamtramck .

If I remember correctly , the one in question here (the $3.5 million car at Mecum) had only one option : The Super Performance Axle Package ( 4.10 geared Dana 60 ; 7-blade clutch-drive fan ; Maximum Duty Cooling , and ; Power Disc Brakes ) . The Torqueflite was standard with the Hemi (and the 440+6 for that matter) , so that doesn't count as an option .

I first read about this very car back in c.1996 , when it sold for a then-record $350,000

[1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396]

I can't wait to see how your '67 Chevelle comes out !

I love the '66-'67 GM A-bodies ; such a classic bodystyle .

I've been wanting to add this gem to my 'to-build' stack . I'm thinking that a Baldwin-Motion type version would be in order ( SS-427 ) .

Is that blue closer to LeMans Blue or Marina Blue ?

[pets.....]

Here's some pics of my two lovers :

Molly Anne McCalico , Age 12 years .

Rescued from the local shelter in 2002 when she was 6 months .

Oliver Nathanel Hawthorne Sabastian , Age 11 years .

Rescued from the same shelter as Molly , on 14th Feb 2004 , age 8 months.

Both of my lovers together :