Dirkpitt289 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Davy Jones, The Monkees' lead singer and chief heartthrob of the '60s TV phenomenon, died Wednesday 28 Feb 12 of a massive heart attack at his home in Indiantown, Fla. He was 66. With his British accent and trademark long hair, Jones was the Justin Bieber of his day, selected as America's "dream prom date" for his TV appearances and singing lead on The Monkees' classics "Daydream Believer" and "I Wanna Be Free." Along with being The Cute One on "The Monkees" TV show, Jones was also The Content One. I remember coming home from grade school and watching reruns in the days before cable TV. As a young adult I had the pleasure of seeing the Monkees (Davy, Mickey, and Peter Tork) in concert. Even so many years after their fame had fallen into obscurity they still sounded great. Mickey Dolenz had come to live in New Jersey for a while and become something of an artist. His artwork hung in a small gallery not far from my home. As a tribute to Davy, The Monkees and my youth I will be placing all my current builds on hold and turning my attentions to the AMT Monkeemobile Kit info to follow Rest in piece Davy. Thanks for all the memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirkpitt289 Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) The Car The Monkeemobile's origins began in 1966 when Dean Jeffries was asked to design and build a car for a new TV show called "The Monkees". Jeffries, under contract with Model Products Corporation (MPC) at the time, told CEO George Toteff about the project. A make of vehicle had not yet been chosen for the project. Mr. Toteff then told his friend Jim Wangers of these developments. Mr. Wangers was working with Pontiac promotion and advertising at the time and saw the show as a huge promotional opportunity for Pontiac. After making the deal, Jim Wangers supplied two base 389 4-barrel 1966 GTO convertibles with automatic-transmissions to be converted into Monkeemobiles Two cars were contracted to be built: One as a main TV car, to be used on the television program, and one as a promotional show car, to tour hot rod and car shows around the United States. Both cars would be built in the span of four weeks. The first version originally sported a 6-71supercharged engine, a solid mounted rear axle (no springs) and extra rear end weight. This was to enable the car to "pop wheelies." Because the car had too much power and was difficult to drive, the original blower set up was removed and a dummy blower was fitted. The second car was used as a touring car for auto shows and promotional events. Both would be used on The Monkees TV series, one during the first season and both throughout the second season The Kit Edited March 1, 2012 by Dirkpitt289 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirkpitt289 Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I've never built this kit, but today I've been thinking about picking one up and having at it. Fun Urban Legend... Walter Koenig was chosen to play Pavel Chekov on Star Trek because of his resemblence to Davy, and it is a documented fact the producers made him wear a Davy Jones-styled wig until his own hair grew out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvairJim Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I know that The Monkees were a "Made-Up" band, thought up by Screen Gems as a Beatles take-off, to take advantager of the Fab Four's popularity, cueing off their two movies and how they hammed it up. I'm also unashamedly a fan of their music, and have downloaded two full CD's worth of their songs. I too had the pleasure of seeing The Monkees (minus Mike Nesmith) in concert about a decade ago - Herman's Hermits opened for them. Both bands were as good as they were back in the 60's, and seemed to have just as much fun then as they did in the 60's. I have this kit upstairs in my stash and I might just break it out soon too. Does anyone else remember the episode where Mickey raced the Monkeemobile against a Cobra Daytona coupe? It took me years to realize just how special THAT car was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cranky Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Dirk, I like this, I am looking forward to the tribute build. Keep it going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirkpitt289 Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 The episode was called "The Monkees Race Again" (aka "Leave the Driving to Us") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffreak Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I believe this is the one you are mentioning. Strangely enough, this episode was just on Antenna TV last weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draggon Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I had never seen that before! I guess back then a Sheby Daytona Coupe was just another old used race car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maindrian Pace Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 They sure didn't think it would someday be worth 10 million-plus when they filmed that! -MJS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartpix Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Did anyone else notice him shifting the automatic up into reverse/park territory whilst driving at break neck speed? Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffreak Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Did anyone else notice him shifting the automatic up into reverse/park territory whilst driving at break neck speed? Jeff Yep, and it was bottoming out and bouncing a lot too !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Handley Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Think I saw the right front tire off the ground a couple times too (same clip, just different portions of the "race")! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250 Testa Rossa Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Which Daytona Coupe was it? I have a feeling it is CSX2287, aka the Lost Cobra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffreak Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 This particular episode will be on Antenna TV sunday at 7 pm. titled " Monkees race again ". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirkpitt289 Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Chassis has been painted and set aside to dry The seats took some time to get rid of all the mold lines and then got some paint applied Interior painted and flocked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirkpitt289 Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 The seats were installed. The convertible top was painted the same time as the interior using the same color which I found to be incorrect as you can see in the second photo. The top was later repainted to a more accurate color. You can see here the top and interior are two different colors Work started on the instrument panel Getting closer A little flash Thanks for looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffreak Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Wow that's looking great !!! What paint and color names did you use for the interior and roof ?? I'm thinking about breaking open my only one left and building it. I had previously done a quick build years ago, but want to do it justice now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirkpitt289 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 I'm going for a deep red look so I Used Testors Dark Red for the body. The interior was done with Humbrol 63 Matt and then given a gloss cote using Future. The top was done with Humbrol 148 with just a touch or the 63 added in. I'm sorry I don't have the names of the Humbrol colors but for reasons beyond me they choose a number system to name their paints. AUGH!!! I hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Looks great so far. A nice tribute to Davy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RancheroSteve Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Which Daytona Coupe was it? I have a feeling it is CSX2287, aka the Lost Cobra. I seem to recall hearing that it is thought to be CSX2287. Most of this bit was shot in Griffith Park, around on the Valley side just up from Travel Town. Parts of that road are now closed to cars, but I ride my bike up there at least once a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvairJim Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I just watched the video. Funny, I thought it was Mickey that drove it in the race. I guess those Brits are just better road racers than us Yanks! As to the prior comment about (just another old, used race car" and it's value today, that's just what it was back then. The Daytona coupe was obsolete and nobody really held onto obsolete race cars back then. My brother-in-law used to be the pattern photographer for The Franklin Mint, and he's been to the Petty race shops in N.C. several times. When there, he noticed maybe 20 old #43 stock cars just parked out behind the shop in the weeds, slowly rotting away. We're talking cars dating back into the 60's, and this was in the 80's and 90's. (What am I bid for a "Rougn 'n' Rusty", but restorable, one-owner 1972 STP Charger ? ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirkpitt289 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Undercarriage of the Monkeemobile Because the hood isn't removable I'm not going to go crazy and detail the engine Paint applied Mock up of the fake blower assembly Thanks for looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirkpitt289 Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 After two cotes of red paint and 5 layers of clear here is where we stand. Its not perfect but its my best to date and that's something right? :roll: http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/ad104/dirkpitt5point0/AMT%20The%20Monkees%20Mobile/IMG_1420.jpg I'm fastltly becoming disheartened with this kit. Now the chrome is beaten and I have nothing to repair it with right now. :evil: However I am happy with the way the interior fits into the body. I like it. :razz: Oops I spoke to soon. :cry: The good thing is this is easly fixable. However I will need to touch up the dash afterward. Repainted the top with the lighter color. I was happy till I saw this. :cry: :evil: I think its time to go back to military aircraft. They are more forgiving. :ha: Thanks for looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RancheroSteve Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Here's a 'then & now" comparison of one of the key (and easily identifiable) corners used in that clip from the show. I did a quick screen grab from the YouTube video, then tried as closely as I could to replicate the angle. As you can see, it hasn't really changed much over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.