Regarding your questions on the AMT Dodge Deora kit reissue...

[tim boyd]

 Our friends at Round 2 have clarified what will be contained in the new Dodge Deora reissue pictured in my NNL Nationals Coverage. In addition to that gorgeous original issue box art....

* The Deora will include the clear "bubble" bed cover (with top trim piece) and also the tonneau cover. Putting those original trim and tonneau cover pieces back in the tooling will replace the "camper" parts which have been in the kit since the late 1960's.

* Get this - The kit will include pad printed tires with gold Firestone lettering and pinstripe, as the 1/1 scale truck first appeared with back in the day.

* The clear parts will be included in duplicate, the second set in smoke tint.

* The decal sheet now includes "pre-cut" woodgrain panels instead of the thick adhesive-backed yinyl "shelf paper" in the original.

Apologizing in advance for those who have heard this story before, I've always had a special place in my heart for the Deora.  Imagine this...one day walking home from junior high by the neighborhood Shell station, and seeing, in primer without glass, a super streamlined compact pickup custom sitting on an open trailer.  It actually happened...to me.  Of course, I asked, and was told it was an Alexander Brothers custom, headed to California from Detroit (this gas station was just off M14 in Ann Arbor, the then-new Freeway connecting the Western Detroit suburbs to Ann Arbor and I-94, the exact route such a project would follow on its way from the Alexander Brothers facility to the West Coast.  Only months later did I learn the whole story, and that is was to be called the Deora.  

Others of you may recall that Car Model Magazine circa 1966 (IIRC) had a contest for their readers to name the new custom....and that Deora was the winning name.  (The details of this recollection are pretty vague, and I don't have my collection of Car Model Magazines at hand right now to fact-check this, so please forgive me if I've got a few of the details on this wrong.)    

I've built this kit twice before - in 1966 when I helped my younger brother with assembling his kit, and again c. 1977 or so when I did a commissioned buildup for AMT for their annual national sales rep meeting. With these changes above, I think I will be compelled to revisit putting together the original kit....and getting it right this time.

Cheers....TIM

Best regards...TIM

 

[Phirewriter]

Any information on what wheels will be included? The later reissues do not have the same rims as the original. While somewhat correct for the 1/1 version they are not the same as first or second issue. I don't have my kit in front of me but I recall it had a nice set of chrome reverse wheels and Halibrand mags similar in style to what was available in the original issue Revell '31 Ford sedan/woody kit. Plus the diameter and width of tires were different, with plastic covers to make the tires wider. Thanks for the update Tim, with the inclusion of the clear bed cover and tonneau this will be a must have despite the numerous Ertl reissues I currently have in my stockpile.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Phirewriter

[BIGTRUCK]

Here is what Tim described in the original Deora kit #2030-200

[unclescott58]

Looking forward to this one. I'm glad the tonneau bed cover is back, so I can build one that looks close to the original, real truck.

Edited October 20, 2015 by unclescott58

[ChrisBcritter]

Any information on what wheels will be included? The later reissues do not have the same rims as the original. While somewhat correct for the 1/1 version they are not the same as first or second issue. I don't have my kit in front of me but I recall it had a nice set of chrome reverse wheels and Halibrand mags similar in style to what was available in the original issue Revell '31 Ford sedan/woody kit. Plus the diameter and width of tires were different, with plastic covers to make the tires wider.

Those were the 13" compact car tires first introduced in 1963; the Corvair kits used them longest (I think the later Corvair also might have used those plastic sidewall covers for the racing version?)

Edited October 20, 2015 by ChrisBcritter

[Tom Geiger]

 

Tim Boyd Wrote:

I've built this kit twice before - in 1966 when I helped my younger brother with assembling his kit, and again c. 1977 or so when I did a commissioned buildup for AMT for their annual national sales rep meeting. With these changes above, I think I will be compelled to revisit putting together the original kit....and getting it right this time.

 

Tim-  Did you build this one?  I bought it at the GSL auction in 2001.  It's supposed to be the box art car for the release shown.

http://public.fotki.com/ModelCitizen/model_cars/deora_box_art_car/

[keyser]

Tim, thanks for update. I've got a bunch of these, original issue great. 

http://www.bonediggers.com/1-2/deora/deora3.html

Bonedigger's site has nice article about the car, kit, and a few things that varied. The taillight panel did not have external lense, it used reflection from above IIRC. A few other minor things too, and fun trivia about the car.

Glad I get more clear covers out of this. I buy builders with the bubbles/tonneau. 

Original mags were small, kind of Halibrandy. Tires had add on plastic sidewalls for width, Firestone markings. Wheelwells narrow, so need to rout out if you want bigger tires. 

Edited October 20, 2015 by keyser
Not Dave's Showrod site, Bonediggers.

[tim boyd]

 

Tim Boyd Wrote:

I've built this kit twice before - in 1966 when I helped my younger brother with assembling his kit, and again c. 1977 or so when I did a commissioned buildup for AMT for their annual national sales rep meeting. With these changes above, I think I will be compelled to revisit putting together the original kit....and getting it right this time.

 

Tim-  Did you build this one?  I bought it at the GSL auction in 2001.  It's supposed to be the box art car for the release shown.

http://public.fotki.com/ModelCitizen/model_cars/deora_box_art_car/

Tom...no, I built one that was a better rendition of the earlier mid-'70's AMT box art with the strobe-style side decals.  My memory is pretty foggy on this one, but it says that the AMT Art Dept. slammed together a kit quickly for the box art, then commissioned me to do the kit properly for their annual sales meeting coming up.  I never took any pictures....memory says might have been silver with orangish strobe style graphics, but I'm sure you guys will quickly correct me if I'm off base here.  (Update...memory correct..it was the "Vantasy Camper" version illustrated in the Bonediggers link in Keyser's post above).  

BTW, your buildup looks really sharp, whomever built it did do a very nice job.  

Cheers....TIm 

.  

Edited October 20, 2015 by tim boyd

[tim boyd]

Tim, thanks for update. I've got a bunch of these, original issue great. 

http://www.bonediggers.com/1-2/deora/deora3.html

Bonedigger's site has nice article about the car, kit, and a few things that varied. The taillight panel did not have external lense, it used reflection from above IIRC. A few other minor things too, and fun trivia about the car.

Glad I get more clear covers out of this. I buy builders with the bubbles/tonneau. 

Original mags were small, kind of Halibrandy. Tires had add on plastic sidewalls for width, Firestone markings. Wheelwells narrow, so need to rout out if you want bigger tires. 

Thanks for the reminder about Thomas V.'s Bonediggers site.  That was amongst the best researched and most entertaining of the early model car websites, and I was very sad when he stopped updating it many years ago.  A really first class effort.  And an excellent backgrounder on the Deora kit.  

[RancheroSteve]

Good to see this one back with the original artwork and parts!

The kit is inaccurate in all kinds of ways, but still very cool. I tried to build a more faithful version a few years ago - created the peak on the nose, changed the grille and headlights, created decals, put a lot of work into the interior and made a bed cover.

When I met Mike Alexander at The Petersen, he told me he thought the color on the Hot Wheels version was the closest he'd seen, so I tried to match that.

[Tom Geiger]

Glad you got into the thread Steve!   I remember you posting your build thread back when you built it.  I still have all the photos you sent me of the 1:1 car at the Peterson Museum!

[horsepower]

I may be way off, but comparing my House of Kolor color chip book to the pictures of the restored truck it sure looks like lemon yellow candy over a solar gold base, you can almost get the same in HoK model paint with the solar gold base and lime time candy top coat, but I bet Tamiya gold base with transparent yellow top coat would be very close.

[RancheroSteve]

Here's a link to some shots I took of the restored Deora a few year ago: http://public.fotki.com/Roullier/cars_cars_cars/deora/

There are a few differences between the restored car and the original - mostly in the interior.

[unclescott58]

Great photos of the real thing Steve. Fun to look at. But, this brings up a question that's been bugging me for a while now. Does anybody know why the Deora nameplates on the original vehicle read "Deora II"? And later Hot Wheels Deora II is called Deora II also. What gives here? Was there another Deora? A Deora I? And if so what is, or was it?

[fseva]

 Our friends at Round 2 have clarified what will be contained in the new Dodge Deora reissue pictured in my NNL Nationals Coverage. In addition to that gorgeous original issue box art... .

* The Deora will include the clear "bubble" bed cover (with top trim piece) and also the tonneau cover. Putting those original trim and tonneau cover pieces back in the tooling will replace the "camper" parts which have been in the kit since the late 1960's.

* Get this - The kit will include pad printed tires with gold Firestone lettering and pinstripe, as the 1/1 scale truck first appeared with back in the day.

* The clear parts will be included in duplicate, the second set in smoke tint.

* The decal sheet now includes "pre-cut" woodgrain panels instead of the thick adhesive-backed yinyl "shelf paper" in the original.

Apologizing in advance for those who have heard this story before, I've always had a special place in my heart for the Deora.  Imagine this...one day walking home from junior high by the neighborhood Shell station, and seeing, in primer without glass, a super streamlined compact pickup custom sitting on an open trailer.  It actually happened...to me.  Of course, I asked, and was told it was an Alexander Brothers custom, headed to California from Detroit (this gas station was just off M14 in Ann Arbor, the then-new Freeway connecting the Western Detroit suburbs to Ann Arbor and I-94, the exact route such a project would follow on its way from the Alexander Brothers facility to the West Coast.  Only months later did I learn the whole story, and that is was to be called the Deora.  

Others of you may recall that Car Model Magazine circa 1966 (IIRC) had a contest for their readers to name the new custom....and that Deora was the winning name.  (The details of this recollection are pretty vague, and I don't have my collection of Car Model Magazines at hand right now to fact-check this, so please forgive me if I've got a few of the details on this wrong.)    

I've built this kit twice before - in 1966 when I helped my younger brother with assembling his kit, and again c. 1977 or so when I did a commissioned buildup for AMT for their annual national sales rep meeting. With these changes above, I think I will be compelled to revisit putting together the original kit....and getting it right this time.

Cheers....TIM

Best regards...TIM

 

Sounds worth it for the tires alone!

[RancheroSteve]

But, this brings up a question that's been bugging me for a while now. Does anybody know why the Deora nameplates on the original vehicle read "Deora II"? And later Hot Wheels Deora II is called Deora II also. What gives here? Was there another Deora? A Deora I? And if so what is, or was it?

As far as I know there's only one original Deora. But the nameplate thing is strange - I asked Mike Alexander and he didn't know. Looking at vintage photos of the car when it first appeared in magazines, the nameplates just say "Deora" without the "II". Below, a crop from Rod & Custom September '67:

My guess is that it was a restoration thing - maybe they had to make new nameplates and decided to add the "II"?

[Tom Geiger]

That's what it looked like Steve!  I believe the car is the original,  but could it be a replica... hence, TWO?

I know the Deora was missing for many years.  At one point someone told me it was rumored to be in a garage in New Jersey... but that was right after the Fireball 500 was found rotting out back of a car dealership in the state, so who knows?

[samdiego]

I think the HotWheels Deora II was a new design from HWs. Foose may have had something to do with a full size realization of that car. The main design feature was that it used a Taurus wagon for the front much as the original used a Ford Station Wagon. 

[Jairus]

I want one!

[Mark]

Maybe the "II" nameplates were added after a repaint?

[RancheroSteve]

I believe the car is the original,  but could it be a replica... hence, TWO?

I know the Deora was missing for many years.  At one point someone told me it was rumored to be in a garage in New Jersey... but that was right after the Fireball 500 was found rotting out back of a car dealership in the state, so who knows?

Like I said, I've never seen any indication that there was more than one "original style" Deora. I know the car went through several owners and was painted a dark purple/blue with a tan interior at one time - yes, as bad as it sounds! The main difference in the restored car is in the interior - a different upholstery pattern and the absence of the center console, which came from some early 60s Ford product, if memory serves. Mike A told me it was lost, and I guess they chose not to replace it.

Here's a cool photo I found on Flickr - posted by a guy who says he did bodywork on it. He's in New Jersey. Note also that the hubcaps are off in this photo and the wheels resemble the original kit chrome reverse units.

[MrObsessive]

I want one too! I LOVE that boxart! I'd like to build mine to look like one of the first Hot Wheels I got back in '68...........that really cool looking lime green (Antifreeze?). Fit the wheels with some mid '60's Dodge mag wheel covers and some redline tires, and make a 1/25 scale Hot Wheel!

[Tom Geiger]

Here's a cool photo I found on Flickr - posted by a guy who says he did bodywork on it. He's in New Jersey. Note also that the hubcaps are off in this photo and the wheels resemble the original kit chrome reverse units.

Ah, so I see that the New Jersey connection wasn't an urban legend!   Good to know that.   The Deora was always near and dear to me. Probably because it was a Hot Wheels car, but also due to it's slant six engine!    

[RancheroSteve]

Ah, so I see that the New Jersey connection wasn't an urban legend!   Good to know that.  

I don't know if you read the comments (click on the photo), but one of them says, "Al Davis Jr owned the Deora, . . . it was snoozing in his Moorestown garage." [Not too far from you if I'm not mistaken, Tom?] So that kind of implies to me that the Deora wasn't so much "lost" as just out of sight for a while.

A little history from when it was auctioned in 2009: "After the first year's lease was up, Chrysler arranged to lease the Deora for a second year. They requested a new look for 1968, so it was repainted in Lime Green Pearl. After the second year, Chrysler did not renew its lease. The Deora was sold to Al Davis, a noted custom car enthusiast. Davis passed away in 1970. His son, Al Jr., stored the car for a while, then took it on the show circuit in 1982 and won a Championship. In 1998, the Deora was taken out of storage and re-restored to resemble its 1967 appearance. The Alexanders hadn't kept the paint formula, so it's believed the present color is a little "greener" than the original gold. The born-again Deora wowed 'em once again in 2002 at the 50th Anniversary of the Detroit Autorama, when it starred in a display of famous Alexander Brothers customs. Many people couldn't believe this car had been built over 40 years ago. It's still that good." 

The rest of the detailed article is worth reading and seems pretty accurate:

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/05/unique-1965-dodge-deora-concept-going-up-for-auction/

[Tom Geiger]

Moorestown is in South Jersey, and NJ isn't all that large so that would be within a 2 hr drive from my home in Central NJ.  The name "Al Davis" rings a bell, as I believe he's the same guy who restored the Fireball 500 car.  I just did a quick Google search and couldn't find much reference about that car.  All the links were about the movie.   The Fireball was used as a sales prop for a NJ Dodge dealer,  I believe it was Dodgeland.  When they were done with it, they just pushed it off the back of the lot.   It was rumored that there  was an old custom car there, and Davis managed to buy it.  I was told the car was in horrible shape, an open car left to the elements.  The car was restored in the 1980s and was shown locally.  I saw it at an Asbury Park car show, and later at one of the Englishtown Raceway Park car shows.  It was then sold to a car museum in Hays, Kansas until that museum was seized for back taxes.  Then it was in the Washington state area until it was again sold at Barrett Jackson.   One of the few pages I found on the car was on the Barris site, which said the car had a hemi in it.  Ha! I was under the hood on the car and it had a stock 273 automatic.