1972coronet

**Addendum To My Preceding Post** I found a fairly-comprehensive breakdown of the history of 1969-Present Calif plates : http://www.15q.net/ca.html News to yours turly was the overlap of Black / Gold (1963-1969) plates to the Blue / Gold (Late-1969 - Autumn 1986) . Being an observant and a life-long (44 years) resident of Ca. , I have recognised some 1969 Passenger Cars with the Blue / Gold plates , and , inversely , 1970 Passenger Cars with the Black / Gold plates : 1.) 1969 Dart GTS 383 with "A"-series blue / gold 2.) 1970 Challenger (my cousin's car which she bought new) with black / gold "Z"-series plates 3.) Late-build "1969" Camaro (e.g. , built-into the 1970 model year) with "A"-series blue/ gold plates 4.) 1970 Dart Swinger 340 with "Z"-series black / gold plates Commercial plates (light-duty trucks and pickups) were black / gold through the 1971 calendar year . My personal 1970 Ranchero GT had black / gold plates ( "64 870 F") ; and a neighbours' 1971 El Camino had similar black / gold Commercial plates . Why is this such a "geeky" issue with me ? Because I'm a stickler for vintage plates on vintage vehicles ! Calif's 1993-present plates are boring , gross , and just out-of-place on vintage vehicles ! I despise them ! Further , having the "correct" year-to-vehicle plates is a big issue with yours truly . I have seen where guys think that the plates' digits are just arbitrary , and that troubles me . Whatever , right ? BTW : My all-time favourite plates ? Michigan '76 ! Most gorgeous plates I've seen ever ! I hope that all of my shared info is of some help to you .

Sounds like this is going to be a sweet BS23N0 , Mike ! Since you're going with a 383 Super Commando (vis-a-vis the Charger's 440) , I have a couple of questions for you : 1.) Is the Charger's engine mated to a 4 speed or a TorqueFlite ? 2.) What differential are you going to use ? The only diff available with the 383 was the 8.75" rear . 3.) What air cleaner ? Don't get me wrong ; this is your build . I'm just curious what other kits' parts you're planning to use .

I've read some conjecture that the reissue has been cancelled ; that it's going to be more of a modified-reissue , in the same vain as the 1970 Super Bee from the early 90's (i.e. , MPC body and interior , with the chassis / suspension / engine compartments from the then-new-tooling '68 Road Runner). It's alleged that the AMT 1971 Duster 340 (first issued in c.1998 , et seq.) is going to marry the MPC 1971 Demon Annual (ostensibly , 1971-issue) for its chassis / floorpan / suspension / etc. , etc. I hope that that is not the case ! Also , note how the original issue '71 Demon (and its 1971-1972 cousin , the Duster) had only stock Rallye wheels ; no optional wheels ! But a purusal of its chrome 'tree' reveals that there's room for custom wheels . Wonder why that option didn't materialise until the 1973 Duster ?

California : 1956-1962 : Chrome Yellow background with black characters , 6-digit . Alpha-Numeric order ( Example : AAA 111 ) 1963-1969 : Black background with Chrome Yellow characters , 6-digit . Alpha-Numeric order ( EX : AAA 000 ) 1970-1979 : Blue with 'Gold' characters , 6-digit ; first year for personalised characters , accommodating up-to 7-characters . Numeric-Alpha order ( EX : 026 BZM ) 1980-1986 : Blue with 'gold' characters , 7-digit . Numeric-Alpha-Numeric order ( EX : 1PCE149 ) 1987-1993 : Reflective-White with red-coloured "CALIFORNIA" and blue characters , 7-digit . 1993-Present : Reflective-White with a red-coloured , styllised "California" and blue characters , 7-digit . "Speciality" Plates : 1982-1989 : "Golden State" (colloq. , "Sunburst) 1998-2001 : Same as the "1993-Present" style , but with "Sequecentennial [sp] 150 YEARS" printed across the lower-portion ( often covered-over by plate frames ) There are also Commercial plates in addition to "EXEMPT" plates ( local , state , and federal stature ; these had a 4-point 'diamond' or 5-point 'diamond' , dependant upon which branch's vehicles they were intended for) . 1998 was the final year for these plates . Note : The first letter indicates the plates' year-of-issue . Typically , a new series / design would begin with an "A" and run-through "X" , "Y" or "Z" . Example : " 726 HYH " , with the "H" indicating 1973 calendar year issue . I focused on the "classic" years ; things become obscured from around 1998 & later .

If I remember , wasn't it Bruce ( Space Cowboy ) whom was constructing one ?

I just ordered one from Model Roundup (the red-moulded version at that) and am now anxiously awaiting its delivery . The box art alludes to having the sidelight ( colloq. , "windows" ) inserts ... remains to be seen . I don't care either way ; just nice to have this bad boy back in the mix !

Calif DMV doesn't 'recognise' 13-character VIN's (1980 & earlier) . Thanks for the idea , none-the-less .

In February 1992 , I bought a 1973 Duster for $70 . It was TB3 Basin Street Blue with black bench seat interior ; 318 / 727 (factory upgrade !) , 8.25" diff with 2.76 gear ; power disc brakes ; fully-functioning climate control (yea ! A heater / defogger for the Winter !) ; deluxe wheel covers ... etc. ... Why was it so cheap ? Its owner said that , "It won't pass smog 'cause the smog pump's missing..." . Well , I knew that a 1973 Duster with Calif Emissions and a 318 did not have an A.I.R. Pump (the Slant Sixes and 400 & 440 did , unfortunately ) , but I wasn't about to share that knowledge with the seller ( ha ha ha ) . So , seventy dollars lighter , I got the keys and paperwork , and got to work firing the sleeping 318 up and getting home . The thing ran beautifully !! After buffing its paint out ( Calif sun is rough on paint ; that TB3 Blue was heavily oxidised !) , replacing its well-worn bench seat with a real clean junk yard bench seat (from a 1975 Dart 4 door) , and tossing-out the trashed carpet (replaced it with black rubber mats from a 1973 Valiant 4 door ; the mats were in perfect condition after I scrubbed 'em !) , my $70 Duster was lookking nice . Got into a wreck on 12th Sept 1992 . Some "undocumented" folks ran a red light at 40 mph , hitting my Duster as I was making a legal left turn off of the 91 freeway . I had to sell the car . It wasn't *technically* totalled-out , but I had no recourse . If anyone comes across a 1973 Duster whose VIN is VL29G3B375353 (yes , I still recall its VIN some 22 years later !) or a blue / gold Calif plate number 726 HYH , please get a hold of me .

That's the one ! Thank you . When I first saw a '68 Hemi-come-"'69" Hemi Dart ( one from Dick Landy's stable ) , I thought , Why's that Hemi Dart running : - in Super Stock - and why is it all the way down in the "E" Class ?

From the best of my recollection (which has been called into question by yours truly as of late ) that car was built at the Amblewagon facility , and was based upon a 1967 Formula-S Barracuda with a 383 . Correct-amundo ! As I was typing "Lexan" , I thought , That's not the right name ! Indeed , it was thinner-gauge glass ( safety glass ? I can't recall ... ) and it would shatter if one som much as sneezed near it !

The 7-terminal ignition dist cap is still better than those lumps that are supposed to be distributors on those old MPC Chrysler 361-383-400-440 engines ! Is it possible that the disputed character line on the rear quarters is the result of tooling for future race versions of the kit ? In other words ; was the tooling for the Sox & Martin body made at the same time as the stock body ?

From what I remember about this "kit" ( ) from thirty years ago (!!) : - Moulded in black ; - Ridiculously-dark-tinted glass (as 99% of MPC's kit were plagued with in the 80's !!!) ; - Box Art car had gold-painted interior . While I never purchased this kit (its subject matter was of little interest to me , even though I enjoyed the show) one of my friends did . I remember him saying , " [explative] . How am I supposed to paint that interior tan over that stupid black plastic !" He , too , decided on a liberal-application of Testors (horrid) Gold Metallic Spray for the interior . That car was gross when he finished building it ( ).

Which one of the fledgling resin casters / masters is going to make a grille for the MPC 1975-1976 Dart Sport to convert it to the 1973-1974 style ? A tail lamp "filler" panel would be nice , too (although one could make one from the existing 1975-1976 "ornate" tail light panel in the kit) . I'd make one , but with my worsening arthritis , it's downright difficult to work with intricate pieces these days ( ) . 1973-1974 grille ; 1975-1976 grille :

Let me do some research ... One example of the A/FX programme that I can think of right-off would be Charlie Allen's "L.A. Dart" from 1964 or 1965 .

RE: 1966 Hemi-prepped Darts : There were a few A/FX Darts in '64-'65-'66 which were "factory" prepped with the Hemi . The extent of the factory's affiliation was that of providing the parts / part numbers via "Hustle Stuff" ( predecessor to 1972's "Direct Connection" ) in order for whomever to modify their Dart to accept the 426 . Typically , the entire front suspension was replaced with leaf springs and a straight front axle , right from the A-100 truck and van models . Back to the 1968 Hurst Hemi ; some racers cosmetically-updated their 1968 Hemi Dart or Barracuda to 1969 parts . These cars were ostensibly no longer "stock" , no longer current year . They were run in A/MP or -this was news to me- some pre-Pro Stock class from 1969 , whose class I can't recall at this time .

1966 D-Dart for sale : http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=SC0513-153163 Ted Spehar's '66 'D' .

You're right , absolutely . I neglected to mention some of the other modifications (Lexan door glass , fibreglass fenders / hood , etc.) to the '68 LO23 / BO29

1968 was the only year for Hemi-powered Darts and A-Body Barracudas . These started as assembly line cars from the Hamtramck Plant, and were shipped to Hurst-Campbell for butchery conversion to Hemi power . A sledge hammer was used for clearance on the shock towers' portion of the shear panels and for frame rail / rear wheel house clearance for the rear wheels . The rear wheel openings were crudely cut for tyre clearance . The Hemi engines --essentially stock engines , albeit with crossram induction-- were installed along with either a modified TorqueFlite ( B&M 'J' torque converter , and reverse-pattern manual valvebody ) or a "Slick-Shift" **A-833 4 speed. The T-Flite models also received the Hurst Dual-Gate shifter and mini console . Early T-Flite versions were equipped with 4.89 gear'ed 8.75" rears ; 4-speeds had 4.88 gear'ed Dana 60 rears , and ; by the 2nd batch , both T-flites and 4-speeds received the 4.88 Dana 60 . These were standard-width B-Body diffs (52.5" , IIRC). Additionally , one-off large-bolt pattern manual disc brakes with the (dreaded) 4-piston calipres were utilised . These were developed by the late Scott Harvey . The 1966 Dart was the "D-Dart" . It had a highly-modified 273 V8 which was rated at 275 hp ; radical solid-lift cam ; either a Holley or Carter AFB ; 4.89 gear'ed 8.75" rear (yes , 4.89...an exclusive-to-the-8.75" Chrysler diff ) ; Doug Thorley headers (still available !) , and ; all were 4-speeds (the radical cam specs didn't permit automatic trans ... until the "loose" converter came along in the aforementioned 1968 Hemi's : the B&M 'J' model). The 1966 D-Dart ( "D" meaning the car was qualified to run in D-Stock ) wasn't a *truly* special-built car . The only indication as to their heritage would be their VIN's : LO23E62. L=Dart O = Super Stock 23 = Two Door Hardtop E = 273 four barrel V8 6 = 1966 2 = Hamtramck Mi. Plant ** = By all accounts , "Slick-Shift" was a Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins innovation . Other common name for this arrangement was "Crash-Box" .

I apologise if this is old news ; however , in the case that it's not : http://gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=349392

NHRA = No Hot Rods Allowed

That's one super 'Crescent' Mustang , Michel ! (what happened to its backup lights ... ?) Back in the 80's , my friend and I used to joke about the Monogram Muscle Car series : "We've built so many of these , we could build 'em in our sleep !" Clean build ! One of my favourite kits of all time

Thanks for clarifying "H/Stock" for me , Niko and Brett . Not sure how I missed knowing that ( ) . If it'd been , say , "H/SA" or "SS/H" or "H/MP" , then I'd have been hip to it ; now I'm just embarrassed . Thanks again , guys

Now that I think about it , it was the 1970 Challenger whose Shakers were in *very* short supply , and thusly , the standard R/T hood was ... standard .

Welcome , Jason ! Your AC Cobra looks exemplery , especially for your first build :) . Good call on chosing Tamiya paints . You can't go wrong with their excellent aerosol (synthetic lacquer) or their brush-on paints (acrylic) . I've used Tamiya almost exclusively for 20 years . Can't wait to see your next build !

That's one nice 'X' ! A vinyl top on a race car is unusual . What class is H/S ?