Kits of cars that never were

[Greg Myers]

Sometimes these cars appear in kits only as an aside, I.E. some of the station wagon versions.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Greg Myers

[Rob Hall]

MPC '76 Plymouth Road Runner. MPC repeated the '75 kit (which in 1:1 was based on the midsize Fury) when in reality, the '76 Road Runner trim moved down to the new compact Volare...

Edited September 11, 2013 by Rob Hall

[Greg Myers]

I.E.

[JS23U]

JoHan did a 68 Ambassador convertible. AMC did not ...

AMT and MPC each made a 76 Corvette convertible, Chevrolet didn't.

The 1961 Corvair annual had convertible/coupe building options. AFAIK Chevrolet brought a Corvair convertible starting in 62 or 63.

[1972coronet]

That 1971 Road Runner / phantom Superbird needs to be reissued in its original Annual guise (restore the tooling for the Cragar S/S wheels , etc.) but with the nice new tyres (how about some pad printed whitewall tyres for these pre-1974 MPC kits ?).

The 1973-1974 Charger annual is another one which needs to be restored / reissued , but with factory stock Rallye decals ! Go ahead an add the Zinger parts back into the reissue ; that station wagon phantom looks too cool !

[1972coronet]

The only phantom kit which I can think of wasn't a full kit , but rather its engine : the inclusion of the old Nash 287 / 327 V8 in the 1966 & later Jo-Han AMC kits !

[Fabrux]

Another phantom engine is the DOHC Hemi in the AMT pro-street Road Runner and Super Bee kits.

[Rob Hall]

Another phantom engine option example is the AMT '70 & '71 Torino Cobra annuals and the '70 Galaxie 4dr sedan. All 3 kits came w/ Boss 429s which weren't offered in the real cars.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Rob Hall

[Chuck Most]

Let's not forget the Renwal Revival series, such as the '66 Packard Twin Six

[Lunajammer]

Might need to clarify... cars that were never production vehicles or cars that never existed in any form? A google search shows most kitted cars existed in some form, whether movie cars, show cars or concepts. At least a one off.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Lunajammer

[Jantrix]

How about the wagon option for the AMT '65 Continental?

[Tom Geiger]

Might need to clarify... cars that were never production vehicles or cars that never existed in any form? A google search shows most kitted cars existed in some form, whether movie cars, show cars or concepts. At least a one off.

I have that kit. On the last day of a Toledo show many years ago, I moved a front stack of kits revealing what was on the bottom of the back stack that nobody saw. It was Chitty in a warped box. Started and glued badly, all the parts rolling around in the torn box, I thought it was parts for sure. So I offered the guy (who was selling mainly military models) $10 and he took it. Once I got it home I did inventory of the box and found that it was missing only the gas cap! Lucky break. I'll take it, I don't get many!

[lordairgtar]

JoHan did a 68 Ambassador convertible. AMC did not ...

AMT and MPC each made a 76 Corvette convertible, Chevrolet didn't.

The 1961 Corvair annual had convertible/coupe building options. AFAIK Chevrolet brought a Corvair convertible starting in 62 or 63.

Some have said there were a very small number made as convertibles. I recall a Rebel done as a ragtop at a show many years ago. I know the 1967 year only had 1700 or there abouts.

[lordairgtar]

The only phantom kit which I can think of wasn't a full kit , but rather its engine : the inclusion of the old Nash 287 / 327 V8 in the 1966 & later Jo-Han AMC kits !

I must have had an early 66 wagon. It had the old style 287 in it. I know the newer style 304s and others should up later in those cars after 67. I had a 76 Hornet with the 304...man that car was fast.

[zenrat]

Arrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh MIKE!

Did you have to post that picture? I've now got the bl##dy song firmly on repeat play on my cerebral juke box and it won't go away...

[ChrisBcritter]

The 1961 Corvair annual had convertible/coupe building options. AFAIK Chevrolet brought a Corvair convertible starting in 62 or 63.

Always wondered why that happened; since the separate roof doesn't fit all that well and neither do the B-pillars. I went ahead and built mine as a phantom convertible (the IMC '48 Ford top boot fits very nicely).

[Greg Myers]

clarify... cars that were never production vehicles or cars that never existed in any form

Ok, let's clarify... cars that were never production vehicles NOT cars that never existed in any form.

[Mark]

The only phantom kit which I can think of wasn't a full kit , but rather its engine : the inclusion of the old Nash 287 / 327 V8 in the 1966 & later Jo-Han AMC kits !

The big cars still used the early engine in '66. Jo-Han tooled it for the '66 Marlin, which turned out to be the only kit they did that was correct with it. The next-generation V8 was used in some of the smaller Americans in '66, because the older V8 was bigger and couldn't be installed on the assembly line. Jo-Han never did a 100% correct second-generation V8; most had later parts (valve covers, water pump, front cover) cobbed onto the old block. Jo-Han never did a late block, exhaust manifolds, or decent cylinder heads.

[Tom Geiger]

Arrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh MIKE!

Did you have to post that picture? I've now got the bl##dy song firmly on repeat play on my cerebral juke box and it won't go away...

Fred, you are lucky you are not in the US. There are several tv commercials that have me wanting to bang my head against a hard surface. Argh!

Edited September 17, 2013 by Tom Geiger

[ToyLvr]

I see that Fred is from Australia, Tom. It's a Small World, After All.....

[Tom Geiger]

I see that Fred is from Australia, Tom. It's a Small World, After All.....

No, not that song! Now it's stuck in my head!

A few years ago my two daughters decided to take a vacation to California to assert their independence. So both my wife and I were worried for them. One day at work (here in PA) I see my younger daughter's number flash up on my cell phone. Of course I'm thinking the worst, that it's a panic call from CA. Instead she says, "Daddy, listen....." and the next thing I heard was "It's a small world after all!" They were at Disney.

[Joe Handley]

You mean this one Tom?

[7000in5th]

Then, of course, there are the kits that were actually produced but the car they represented was not:

AMT T475 was a 1976 Corvette Convertible annual kit but Chevrolet stopped convertible production in 1975.

[Mark]

Then, of course, there are the kits that were actually produced but the car they represented was not:

AMT T475 was a 1976 Corvette Convertible annual kit but Chevrolet stopped convertible production in 1975.

MPC also offered a '76 convertible. Both companies' Corvette kits had big-block engines through 1977, though they were gone after '74. For '78, MPC created an all-new 'Vette with a small-block engine, while AMT walked away from the business of doing annual kits altogether...