1972coronet

Was there a 454 option in the early issues of this van kit ? I could swear that the Red Alert racing team van listed a 454 as an option instead of the 350 (yes , I am aware that the Red Alert was an LS-6 Chevelle ; I'm referring to the van's engine choices) .

Submitted for your approval ; the Randall AMC Pacer XR 401 (see attached photo) ! A little too over-the-top 70's for me ; however , a 401-powered Pacer would be enough to make naysayers stop scoffing !

Back in 1975 , my parents and I walked over to the local AMC dealership ( Ricker Motors AMC-NASH-Rambler on Whittier Blvd @ Dorland Dr. ) to have a peek at the then-new Pacer . My 5 year old eyes were fixated on its accompanying display , until I became distracted by the loud rumblling of the Dealership-sponsored Hurst-AMX SS/D ! It was being prepped in the service bay across the street ; man that thing was loud ! My folks passed on buying the Pacer , opting instead for a 1976 Mercury Monarch Ghia 2 door (351W). Let's not forget that Randall AMC in Arizona swapped a mildly-warmed-up 401 / Torque-Command '8' combo into a 1976 Pacer in 1976 ! The 'Pacer 'XR' performed quite well ; I'm not sure of how many were actually sold (if any). Afterall , 1976 was a dark year in performance , with the EPA and other college-boy-infiltrated agencies swooping-down on dealers' engine swaps (with the first 'deployment' in 1974 to Motion Performance after High Performance CARS ran an article called "King Kong Lives on Long Island" and their 350 and 454 powered Vega monsters !). I am quite looking forward to getting my dry , cut and bruised hands on at least one of these much-welcomed reissues of a 70's gem :) :) ! Thanks again , Round2 !

You're right , Ron ; that "Flareside" bed was the same from 1953 - 1979 !

The chassis from this ---and every MPC (et al.) 'A'-Body annual kit--- is completely unchanged from its 1970 origins (e.g. , the 1971 Duster and the mid-1971-intro 1971 Demon 340) , which is to say : - True dual exhaust ; - 8 3/4 differential (which was dropped after from the Dart / Duster after the 1972 model year ) . Believe it or not , the majority of 360-powered 1975 Dart Sports and Dusters were built without catalytic converters ! The 1976 models were absolutely built without cat cons ! Naturally , we out here in JerryBrown-a-fornia got nailed with a single exhaust , single cat con , and a milder cam ( ) . So , *technically* the chassis is correct for this application ! _______________________________________________ I'm am very much looking forward to seeing this kit's restoration and re-release ! Its first modified-reissue was the aforementioned smokey convoy chaser from circa 1977 (yes , the Dart Sport annual continued for the 1976 model year ; ostensibly , the 1976 Duster didn't make the cut ) . In 1984 , the Dart Sport's tooling was again modified , being released as the mislabelled "Dodge Duster" . Changes were limited to the tyres / wheels , hood (NASCAR-style hoodpins were moulded-in) , and the side pipes . This issue and its 1977 'convoy' relative were sans stock building options . My chief *complaint* about this series of Darts , etc. , has always been centred around the manual transmission . Why ? One look at the interior tub will show why : console (a TorqueFlite-only option after 1969) , with its automatic shifter , and the auto trans brake pedal . Then there's that off-scale 340 / 360 engine (it looks more like a 3.9 litre V6 !) , but that's truly small apples given the AMT Duster doner . A big Thank You to Round2 for not only dusting-off these moulds , but also for restoring the original parts :) :) . Now , if Round2 were to include the wheels / tyres from the Convoy Chaser in this reissue , then it would be perfect !

That's the one !

One could be built off of the MPC 1977 / 1978 Monaco ( Roscoe's Car , et al. ) , as it's the same bodystyle from 1971 - 1978 , with mostly cosmetic differences ( in 1/25 scale , of course ; the 1:1 underwent a lot of changes ! ). The grille and front clip for the 1971-1974 versions could be based upon the MPC 1971 Road Runner (similar yet vastly differences between 2 and 4 door models) , with the rear bumper / quarter panel extensions similaraly sourced (again , rear bumper is different from the 2 door). There's much more involved in that conversion , but it can be done .

Flat hood = "JH" Twin Scoop Hood = "JS" Shaker Hood = "JS" The Slant was only available in the "JH" (Challenger base model) and "JP" (Challenger S.E.) . The twin scoop hood was standard on the "JS" (Challenger R/T) , regardless of engine ( 383 Magnum , 340 , 440 Magnum , 440 Six Pack , Hemi) , at least for the 1970 models . Factory 'Shaker' hoods are kind of rare on 1970 models as there was a shortage of them (at least for the Hemi models ; and , yes , the Challenger's Shaker was different from its 'Cuda cousin) . I'm *fairly* certain that "JH" models , when equipped with the optional 340 and 330hp 383 engines , had the Shaker as an option ("N96") . Certainly , a customer could add the twin scoop hood post-facto , and I'm sure that some of the 'hip' dealerships would accommodate this request (e.g. , Mr Norms ,Rockville Centre , White Bear , Crosstown , Crestview , et al.)

I've always used the stock , plain wheels and tyres from the AMT Chevy Van ; in particular the 80's A-TEAM version . The Monaco's hub caps are *acceptible* , though not necessarily 'correct' . I was really hoping that when Round2 got their turn at reissuing this kit , that they would've at least got rid of those stupid deep dish wheels (more at home on a four wheel drive pickup !) and those ridiculous "Country Wide" tyres .

Direct quote from Wikipedia . Take it for its face value . As far as what Stock class a Dodge Phoenix with the 355hp 413 would qualify for , I don't know .

Nice GP , Holmes ! Looks like the kind of car I used to see when I was a kid ! ~Whittier Bouldvard~ ~Artesia Boulevard~ ~Alondra Boulevard~ ~Bellflower Boulevard~ Keep up the nice work !

Absolutely perfect !

Nice work so far , David . A *tiny* suggestion , and please take it only as such : the 1977 models had ambre turn signal lenses on the tail lamps . This was a one year only deal ; it's easy enough to simply paint the ambre over the red-cast lamps . Let me see if I can pull-up an image as a reference . EDIT : The only photo I could find of the tail lights of a 1977 Monaco (see attached photo) . Too bad that the car's at an angle ; however , the taillamps are 'clearly' ambre .

Beautiful Dart , Rodrigo !! That engine is righteous ; the "weathering" is spot-on ! Your Dart looks like the Darts I have seen online from Brasil ; the whitewall tyres and the hubcaps are right on ! Do you happen to have a 'real' Dart your-self ? Keep up the great work !

What-ever did happen with this WIP ?!? This thread's 5 years old already !

And yet MPC was able to produce a cab with its rear panel moulded-in , with zero interior tub interference problems ... ( I'm not picking on your comment specifically , Casey ; I just wanted to use your comment as my launch pad ) .

Cool project , Mike ! Please tell me that you're sliding that 225 under its bonnet ...

Believe me , they're priceless ! I've got pics of my special feline companion , Buddy (R.I.P. , 12-APR-1986 - 02-JUL-1992) , sitting on the hood bonnet . You can't buy those kinds of things !

1) Was your introduction to modeling at home? Not that I can remember . I don't believe so ... 2) From whom? Most-likely , one of my older neighbours . 3) What kind of models (cars, planes, trains, etc)? A bit of every-thing for sure . I recall that the older dude up the street had airplanes hanging from the ceilling in his bedroom ! It was really cool . 4) What did the person who introduced you to modeling do for a living ? Hmm ... One of them worked at the local Alpha Beta supermarket ; the others were just buggers like me , students and whatnot. 5) How old were you? Around age four . Yeah , it was 1974 when I started . Snap-togethers , none-the-less . 6) About what year was your introduction? 1974 , for snap kits ; around 1975 or 1976 for my first glue kit .

Congratulations , Tomo ! Do yourself a solid and take lots of photos of not only your car , but you with it . My first car was a 1972 Dart Swinger . Factory EV2 Hemi Orange with white interior ; 318 V8 , 904 , etc. , etc. I bought it for $800.00 on 29th August 1989 from the son of its original owner . Believe it or not , eight hundred dollars was quite a bit of coin for a Dart ( or Duster , etc. ) in 1989 !! But , it was worth every penny . Say , did that t-shirt you're wearing come with your car or did you buy it in anticipation of buying a Golf at some point ?

It seems apparent that many customs from circa 1969 - 1972 (give a few years ?) were fitted with Cibie headlights . Chrysler's show / customs (1969 Swinger 340 built by the Alexandria Brothers [sp?] , the 1970-1971 RTS Caravan Plymouth customs , etc.) were almost always fitted with the Cibies . From what I can gather (in my 43 years in this organic host) is that there was serious speculation that the U.S.D.O.T. was going to grant approval of Cibie and Cibie-type headlamps for the 1970 or 1971 model year ; ostensibly , that never materialised (and , no , those gross square quad-lamps of 1975 don't count ... I'll refrain from opining ) . I really like their appearance ! I've been *toying* with idea of adding a pair to one of the 1969 Darts and-or the 1970 Road Runner I have awaiting in the rafters ...

Additionally , Ford started painting their engines in the aforementioned "Ford Engine Grey" for the 1983 model year (heck , even Monogram *asserted* that Ford's engines were blue on the then-new 1987 Turbo Coupe Thunderbird !). Good call on stripping that nice-shade-of-blue-although-it's-not-stock from your engine . I too am closely following your WIP , as I am curious as to its outcome ; how the completed kit is going to appear .

I , too , just commented on this kit on Revell USA's facebook page . Of course , I also complimented them on their solid points ; criticise as well as compliment , is my personal rule . Oddly , the blue 'street' version buildup on the box appears to have a decent roofline . Certainly this "illusion" can be attributed to not only its colour (blue , single tone) , but its position on the box art , and the lighting . I'm definitely not implying that it's absolutely alright ; I'm just mentioning the "play of colour" : the black and white (contrasts) versus the blue (compliment) .

I have absolute faith that Revell will make it right . There's too much potential for exponential loss of clients (e.g. , cynicism and comtempt for future products) if they just let the flaws slide . Revell's customer service is top notch , at least in my experiences with them . I certainly believe that it's in their best interest to continue this in regard to their complete products . Now , how about a revision / backdate to a 1982 model ?

Thanks for taking the time to share your photos , Brett ! Looks like a very impressive kit ; close to absolute perfection ! The engraving is just gorgeous ; super detailled and highly realistic ! I agree with Casey ; good call on Revell-Monogram's part as far as the ejection pin points (even the hood's underside's pins are in acceptable locations ! The decals are so-so , in regard to their phantom police dept markings . The California "E" (for "Exempt") plates , while incorrect for a 1990 model year vehicle , are still quite nice . Ca's 'exempt' plates were blue / gold until circa 1984 , when , at such time , the so-called "Sunburst" plates were utilised . A 1990 Exempt plate would be pearl white , reflective , red "CALIFORNIA" with blue characters . This kit looks like a superb candidate for sharing its parts ! The separate diff cover for the infamous 8.8" rear is great ! Now , I'm curious about how its tyres look ...