1/25 AMT '62 Pontiac Catalina Polyglas Gasser II

[Snake45]

Does the new kit still have all the Super Duty parts, including the slicks? I like the retro box and whatnot but would be mainly interested in building a drag stocker or FX.

[Casey]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

Does the new kit still have all the Super Duty parts, including the slicks? I like the retro box and whatnot but would be mainly interested in building a drag stocker or FX.

That's a good question, as there's no explicit mention of what the second set of tires actually is. The use of "stock" in quotation marks indicates they at least know the original kit wasn't truly a factory stock vehicle, and the original custom version included BF Goodrich Silvertown tires with separate styrene whitewall inserts, so maybe slicks and the BFGs?

[Rob Hall]

8 hours ago, Casey said:

That's a good question, as there's no explicit mention of what the second set of tires actually is. The use of "stock" in quotation marks indicates they at least know the original kit wasn't truly a factory stock vehicle, and the original custom version included BF Goodrich Silvertown tires with separate styrene whitewall inserts, so maybe slicks and the BFGs?

The wording of the ad seems to imply 3 sets of tires---the same 2 sets from the previous release, and the 'bonus' Polyglas with redline tires (the same tires from the last '68 Road Runner release?) .    The previous release (blue drag version on the box art) included all the custom parts and 2 sets of tires..

This would fit the Round 2 script: previous release+new set of tires+new decals +new box art = profit.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Rob Hall

[Junkman]

So it's safe to say that the original '62 Bonneville tooling, last seen in 1969, is no longer with us.

[Rob Hall]

4 minutes ago, Junkman said:

So it's safe to say that the original '62 Bonneville tooling, last seen in 1969, is no longer with us.

Considering it hasn't been reissued since then, that would be safe to assume.  It is odd it existed in '69, I would have assumed the tooling would have evolved to the '63 and '64 annuals. 

[Junkman]

I think this notion about tools being updated from one year to the next is vastly exaggerated.
It might have happened in a few cases, when the differences were miniscule, but a '62 Pontiac tool has never ever morphed into a '63 one.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Junkman

[Snake45]

2 minutes ago, Junkman said:

I think this story about tools being updated from one year to the other is vastly exaggerated.
It might have happened in a few cases, when the differences were miniscule, but a '62 Pontiac tool has never ever morphed into a '63 one.

I believe it happened whenever they could get away with it. And even in a few cases when they maybe shouldn't have, such as MPC poorly and incorrectly updating the '68 Camaro and Firebird molds into the '69s. 

Edited January 8, 2018 by Snake45

[Rob Hall]

1 minute ago, Snake45 said:

I believe it happened whenever they could get away with it. 

In the era of promos and annuals, that was the standard operating practice is my understanding.   Obviously, in years where the was a total redesign like 1965 GM full size, the tooling probably was all new.  

[Mike999]

We elderly people also remember when radial tires started to be standard equipment on American cars, in the 1970's.   If you bought a Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am back then, you got this nifty plaque on the instrument panel, reminding you that your chassis was set up especially for those new-fangled tires (pic stolen from the internet):

 

[Reegs]

Blob undercarriage or separate parts?

[SfanGoch]

I don't think the '62 Bonneville tooling could have been modified for the '63 and '64 annuals. There's nothing in common with the '62 and '63/'64 cars bodywise. The '63 would have been a newly tooled version which would have been easier to modify into a '64.

'62 Bonneville

'63 Bonneville

'64 Bonneville

[Rob Hall]

2 minutes ago, Reegs said:

Blob undercarriage or separate parts?

Separate frame and floorpan, same as the previous issues of the modern tool '62...

[Rob Hall]

7 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

I don't think the '62 Bonneville tooling could have been modified for the '63 and '64 annuals. There's nothing in common with the '62 and '63/'64 cars bodywise. The '63 would have been a newly tooled version which would have been easier to modify into a '64.

 

Same roof, different A-pillars.it would have made sense that they modified the '62 into the '63...but I wasn't around then working for AMT, so who knows what they did...but since it was 56 years ago, a bit pointless to speculate now. 

Edited January 8, 2018 by Rob Hall

[Erik Smith]

AMT seems to have “lost” a few things in the late 60s. The 1962 Galaxy was reissued late in the decade and disappeared as well as the Bonnie. Neither were converted to next year models or, like many 60’s era models, converted to some form of race or drag car. So...maybe, just maybe, the tooling still survives someplace...

[Don Sikora II]

2 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

The wording of the ad seems to imply 3 sets of tires---the same 2 sets from the previous release, and the 'bonus' Polyglas with redline tires (the same tires from the last '68 Road Runner release?) .    The previous release (blue drag version on the box art) included all the custom parts and 2 sets of tires..

This would fit the Round 2 script: previous release+new set of tires+new decals +new box art = profit.

The flyer says the bonus redline tires are solid. I assume these are the old AMT Goodyears that were new when they were included in the original Polyglas Gasser kit.

[Robberbaron]

OK, this is a little weird:

http://www.collectormodel.com/round2-models/4174-coming-off-the-shelf-what-a-gasser/#sthash.w2hdEbbh.dpbs

Sounds like the "bonus" pad printed redlines won't work with either of the wheel types included with the kit? (or maybe they're too wide to fit an out of the box build?)

[Casey]

5 minutes ago, Robberbaron said:

OK, this is a little weird:

http://www.collectormodel.com/round2-models/4174-coming-off-the-shelf-what-a-gasser/#sthash.w2hdEbbh.dpbs

Sounds like the "bonus" pad printed redlines won't work with either of the wheel types included with the kit? (or maybe they're too wide to fit an out of the box build?)

"just not with this kit"   Something went awry between planning and packaging, it sounds like, and magnified a bit by the kit's name emphasizing that particular model of tire.

 

[Bob Ellis]

The original amt polyglass  tires were solid. Is that the problem?

[espo]

Being a solid tire is actually an advantage. This makes it easier to modify the center of the tire to fit other wheels from different kits.

[Chris in Berwyn]

I just saw this kit at my LHS this AM.  Had I seen this first I could have checked the parts layout on the bottom of the box.  

[Mark]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 8:42 AM, Mike999 said:

We elderly people also remember when radial tires started to be standard equipment on American cars, in the 1970's.   If you bought a Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am back then, you got this nifty plaque on the instrument panel, reminding you that your chassis was set up especially for those new-fangled tires (pic stolen from the internet):

 

Someone once told me that the Radial Tuned Suspension package consisted only of a medallion that was attached to the instrument panel...

[Mike999]

2 hours ago, Mark said:

Someone once told me that the Radial Tuned Suspension package consisted only of a medallion that was attached to the instrument panel...

That wouldn't surprise me.  Literal "badge engineering!" But I looked up a couple of Pontiac restorers online and there were some differences when RTS was first introduced in 1974: stiffer front/rear springs, heavy-duty shocks, different front/rear anti-roll bars and firmer suspension bushings.  And the GR-70-15 radial tires, of course.

 

[Dave Darby]

On 1/19/2018 at 7:56 PM, Casey said:

"just not with this kit"   Something went awry between planning and packaging, it sounds like, and magnified a bit by the kit's name emphasizing that particular model of tire.

 

These look like the old MPC tires. While they certainly wouldn't work with the chrome reversed wheels I would think you could make them work with the stock steelies. Other than maybe clearance issues?

[Vietnam Vet67]

The tires to use in the 1960's were "Atlas Bucrons" sold at Standard Gas stations. They were very soft butyl rubber with 2 grooves....................didn't last very long but they could really grip the asphalt. They were like having cheater slicks.

[Vietnam Vet67]

According to the brochure below you got springs, shocks, and front and rear stabilizers. Tires were G70-15 and or FR78-14 .