Fabrux

The car is butt-ugly but the engine is pretty.

I managed to find a really nice shop while traveling down in the Boston area. Its called The Spare Time Shop and its in Marlborough, MA. They were packed floor to ceiling with kits of just about every genre and had some OOP stuff as well as aftermarket decals, accessories, some resin, etc. If I ever head down that way again I'll definitely be stopping in.

It even has a Navigator bumper...and those flares suggest it might be a 4WD...

Every once in a while I see on eBay a 1:25 resin 80-96 F-600-800 cab, grille, and interior. Would make a good starting point. Although being 1:25 scale you'd be limited to the AMT kits and a dually bed was never kitted. It could be made, though.

Wow, that's really neat. A different world back then, that's for sure.

The non-chrome wheels look to be the same ones used with the various dirt bike/off-road/wet bike trailers in combo kits. The fenders are California Stepside fenders and Revell put them in all sorts of kits that they probably shouldn't have: Ford Courier, Datsun 620, Chevrolet C10, etc.

This is what happens when certain versions were issued only once and the tooling modified. Look for any original tooling versions of kits and you will see ridiculous prices.

Hey Dan, try Picasa. They're free, unlimited space as long as each picture is under 1MB I think it is. They also have a downloadable desktop program for organizing photos (I don't use it but I'm sure some people find it useful). And its not blocked by proxy at work so I can see all your pictures!

Aha, there you go! I thought it was odd that I couldn't find a 1972 version. Usually when MPC did an annual they started with the first year of a new body style, which for this truck was 1972. Thanks for this! I'll update the posts.

I would hope that actual production versions would have sidewalls...

Anyone that frequents BaT will have seen this already, but for those who don't, I present this slightly confusing (to me) 1 of 1 1963 Bel-Air wagon with every factory option. eBay auction here. What confuses me is that it is trimmed as a Bel-Air but has triple tail lights. Did all wagons have this?

Now THAT is buildable...! I'm going to have to try it one of these days...

Every time I see your stash, Steve, I see something I didn't see the last time... You'll have to show me the Warlock next time.

Haha... the all important new magazine smell.

What's wrong with the one-piece bed? I prefer one-piece full-width beds, myself.

My LHS brings in a bunch of copies of MCM, SA and its quarterly bonus issues for us "subscribers" on his list. Its not quite a subscription per se as I end up paying full cover price each issue, but since he picks up all his stock in the US its cheaper in the long run. Plus I still support the magazines! I also head to Indigo every month and pick up Hot Rod, Classic Trucks, Custom Classic Trucks, Muscle Car Review, Mopar Action, Bronco Driver, Blue Oval Trucks (or something like that; same outfit as Bronco Driver I think), and the occasional issue of Vintage Truck. I really should subscribe to all of these as I would save a ton... but, hearing horror stories of copies getting mangled kinda puts me off.

Continuing with 1960s political incorrectness...

I think they used the same rims and tires all the way through the run. Which, BTW, interchange perfectly with those in the most recent AMT 84 GMC kit. The tires are Goodyear Blue Streak Specials. And I guess I got the engine wrong, my apologies. I'm not that familiar with Chrysler engines.

Thanks, Dan! I'll update the original post.

Aha, that makes more sense! So, with the Pumpin' Iron release you could actually build the 79 LRE version, hmm.

The only clutch I've had to replace was in a 96 F-150. It had around 200000km on it but I'm pretty sure it had been replaced before. As was mentioned before, the 97 Escort has a hydraulic clutch so be sure to check the master and slave cylinders as well as the line between them for leaks.

At this point I'd settle for the Warlock. Would love to see if the 79-80 cab is a separate tooling or not.

The full-width 8' bed returned in 1981 as a pulling truck called Thunders Truck (see what they did there?). The bed was stripped of trim to match the cab, which was the same as the LRE however the kit curiously included the 79-80 grille. The bulge hood from the original annuals was modified with holes to allow headers to exit straight up. The engine also was modified to add a blower. Molded in black. MPC #1-0442 The final offering of this tooling associated with MPC was first issued in 1984 in the middle of the monster truck craze. This version is an almost carbon copy of the Thunders Truck but with monster truck suspension and wheels. Molded in red and first issued under MPC #1-0451. Re-issued again in 1988 by Ertl, the box art was unchanged other than to note that Ertl stock number 5344 replaces MPC stock numbrer 1-0451. AMT later reissued the kit multiple times in 1994, 2005, and 2006, all as the Li'l Red Express and seemingly forgetting that other versions of the tooling exist. This version is the same as the original MPC LRE and Pumpin' Iron releases only molded in the typical AMT grey plastic. Stock numbers 5459, 38248, 31938.

Also in late 1976 a separate, non-annual version was released as an Off-Road Camper. This issue includes the dirt bike and an odd partial-length camper/sleeper arrangement. The Adventurer SE badge on the front fenders was replaced with Power Wagon 100. MPC #1-0412 The seemingly final edition of the annual kits for this series was for the 1978 model year. Addition from the 1977 issue include wood stake box sides and a front roll pan. MPC#1-7809 At some point in 1977, the tooling was modified to include a 6' step side bed. The bed is an entirely new piece as is the shorter chassis pan. The cab was also stripped of any molding or emblems. The first version with the step side bed was released in 1977 as the Warlock. Buildable only as the box art truck, this kit was the first inclusion of the generic MPC 5-lug wagon wheels. Molded in black. MPC #1-0417 The existence of this next kit suggests that there may have been plans for a 1979 annual, but I can not seem to find any references to one. The biggest re-tooling for this kit occurred at this time to update it to the 1979 body style which included modifying the cowl, a new hood, and a new grille. Aside from the model year changes, this kit includes the same options as the previous Warlock. Molded in orange. MPC #1-0418 Curiously, the next issue of this kit from 1979 returns to the previous 77-78 body style, depicting the 1:1 special edition Li'l Red Express truck. The 2WD suspension returned and the kit included new 5-lug slotted mags and exhaust stacks. Molded in red. MPC #1-0427 For 1980 the tooling of the Li'l Red Express was re-issued with the body of the 79-80 body style, this time in grey/silver plastic and new decals naming the truck Pumpin' Iron. Original 77-78 grille and hood were also included. MPC #1-0432

Time for another installment in kit history. These kits are a bit more familiar to me so I hope I've done this chronicle justice. Also, being from the 70s information and pictures of these kits are easier to find as there are more of them left around. As you may or may not be aware these kits started as a series of annuals produced by MPC. As far as dating of the kit release goes, I have found box pictures showing a copyright date of both the year depicted and the previous year for most of the issues. For simplicity's sake I have chosen to list the year depicted as the year issued. The first kit issued with this tooling's long run was the Baja Brute, which was actually the 1972 annual although not labelled as such. The truck depicted is a regular cab, 8' full width box trimmed as an Adventurer SE. The engine is a cobbled together Chrysler B/RB V-8 that lasted throughout the tooling's run. Options with this kit included both 2WD and 4WD suspension with stock wheel covers and 4WD 8-lug wheels, a stock hood and a bulged center hood, off-road race equipment, and service station attendant equipment. The kit has a the grille used for 72-73 and is molded in white. MPC #1-0458 Next up was the 1973 Dodge Pickup annual. This was a straight re-issue of the Baja Brute, swapping the service station attendant building option with an emergency attendant option. The kit has the grille used for 72-73 and is molded in white. MPC #1-7309 Moving on to 1974, the kit was re-issued with changes appropriate to the full size truck, which was mostly limited to the grille. This same grill was used until 1976. To keep the kit interesting to buyers of the 1973 issue, this version had many of the same options including a choice of either 2WD or 4WD and associated wheels, both hoods as before, service station equipment and a dirt bike. This kit is also molded in white. MPC #1-7409 The 1975 issue is almost the same as the previous 1974 issue, however the service station equipment was swapped out for the race equipment from the 1973 issue. MPC #1-7509 In the year of the US's bicentennial, the changes were limited to the omission of optional truck equipment and inclusion of a second dirt bike. There also appears to be two boxes for this issue: one with '76 in the upper left corner and the other has 'NEW' in the same location. MPC #1-7609 Late 1976-1977 was a big year for this tooling and saw a lot of kits issued. The body trim was re-tooled to reflect the 1:1 trim changes: the body side moulding was moved from above the wheel well flares to below them, a new trim line added just below the cab window along the entire body and bed, the Adventurer SE badge moved from behind the rear wheel well to between the front wheel well and the door, the tailgate relief panel was re-shaped and lost the 'Dodge' badge, and the new-for-77 grille. All subsequent re-issues would include either 4WD or 2WD suspension rather than the option to build one or the other. The first kit on store shelves was the 1977 annual with the ubiquitous dirk bike and off-road racer equipment. The bulge hood was also omitted. MPC #1-7709