Jantrix Posted December 4, 2013 Posted December 4, 2013 Although it's among my favorite muscle cars I've never gotten my hands on a kit of the MPC/AMT '69 Barracuda. Before I go out and buy one, can anyone tell me about this kit? How detailed? Chassis/suspension one piece? What engine? Engine decent or got a big axle hole through it? Any major fitment issues? And, assuming the chassis/engine/suspension are not good would the Revell '69 Dart be a good donor for any of it? Sorry to ask so much, but I know someone has already been though this, and has the know how.
Fabrux Posted December 4, 2013 Posted December 4, 2013 I haven't looked through my copy of the kit in a while (and I'm at work at the moment) but I seem to recall it being a rather old, crude kit. The chassis pan is typical promo-style. I can take pictures when I get home.
Art Anderson Posted December 4, 2013 Posted December 4, 2013 The kit is a repop of the MPC kit, which was originally produced circa 1967-69 as an annual series kit. So yes, it does have a one-piece chassis pan, which was very typical of model car kits of that era, but it really is far from what I would call "crude". Just that it was made for hands far younger than the age range of model car builders of today. Art
LoneWolf15 Posted December 4, 2013 Posted December 4, 2013 Rob , As Art indicated , it's a basic 3 piece , body , tub , chassis . However , combined with the Revell Dart Chassis , now it becomes something to be reckoned with . It's a nice kit to begin with and becomes so much more with a bit of kit bashing .
Guest Posted December 4, 2013 Posted December 4, 2013 I've also heard of people swapping in the AMT Duster chassis. Which would be best, the Duster or the Dart?
LoneWolf15 Posted December 5, 2013 Posted December 5, 2013 I would say the Dart due to it being more detailed oriented .
1972coronet Posted December 5, 2013 Posted December 5, 2013 It's fraught with inaccuracies (redundant back-up lamps , chiefly among them) . It's representative of a 383 Formula-S with 4 speed and 8.75" rear . Its best feature is its rare (in "1:1") Kelsey-Hayes wheels (colloq. , "Recall Wheels") . It looks presentable with some work . I wouldn't fret it too much
slusher Posted December 5, 2013 Posted December 5, 2013 Rob l built the kit when it was repoped. no problems but l am a box stock builder.
Jantrix Posted December 5, 2013 Author Posted December 5, 2013 Thanks everyone. Much appreciated. I know what to put on my wish list to Mobius now.
buffalobill Posted December 5, 2013 Posted December 5, 2013 The '68-'69 Dart has a 3" longer wheelbase than the '68-'69 Barracuda, but that should be an easy fix. I'm planning on building a '69 'Cuda 340 using the chassis from Revell's Dart and the 340/trans from AMT's Duster. The Barracuda's body looks okay to me & the interior shouldn't be that difficult to improve on. . . 1
Jantrix Posted December 5, 2013 Author Posted December 5, 2013 True, but the both the Duster and the '69 Barracuda shared a 108" wheelbase, which might make the Duster chassis.a better choice. Not to mention the 340 the Duster comes with would be perfect.
br67 Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 Hi, how accurate is this kit? Is it a fair representation of the real car?
gtx6970 Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 Yes, the chassis leaves a little to be desired if your after a true replica ,,but it builds up nice and I think its flat hood or hemi scoop only ( Its been some time since I've looked at the kit though,,,, ) you can modify the Revell Dart chassis to fit with some work I have one in the works ,,,,but its been like this for nearly 10 years
Snake45 Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 What he said. Accurate representation of the car, builds a nice shelf model, but if you want it detailed to today's standards, you'll have to do some work.
Monty Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 AFAIK, it's the only game in town when it comes to the fastback 1st generation Barracudas, and as has been said, the chassis's nothing to write home about & there are better engines. If memory serves, in the last five years or so one of our members did a build that incorporated several "fixes" to various aspects of this kit, such as correcting a number of things in the grille. For some reason I can't seem to find the thread, but if one of the mods could help you chase it down, you'd have a much better idea of how it goes together and what could be improved.
1972coronet Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 Its best feature is its wheels : the notorious "Recall" wheels (14x6" with small lugs for the A-Body line ; 15x7" for the B-Body line). 1
br67 Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 Thx for all the input. Glad it's a good starting point. Now I'm just trying to decide on wheel and engine options. Was looking for the twin scoop hood but can't find one from the usual resin suspects
gtx6970 Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 Someone was / is making the hood scoops. I've seen them recently. Just cant remember who or where
unclescott58 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Its best feature is its wheels : the notorious "Recall" wheels (14x6" with small lugs for the A-Body line ; 15x7" for the B-Body line). W23_wheels.jpg RecallWheelDocumentSmall.JPG Isn't there a company now that is making copies of the recall wheels that now don't crack? So if someone likes the looks of these wheels (which I do), you can now put them on your real car. Scott
Jon Haigwood Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Is that 1st gen or 2nd gen ? I was under they impression that 64-66 was first generation.
Snake45 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Is that 1st gen or 2nd gen ? I was under they impression that 64-66 was first generation. Me too, but maybe they're the same underneath, I dunno. I've always thought of the '64.5-'66 as 1st Gen and '67-'69 as 2nd Gen but maybe we're wrong.
Jon Haigwood Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 The 64 and 65 are basically a Valiant with a "Sport Roof" . The 66 was still built on the Valiant platform but had a specific stylized logo. 67 went with a longer wheelbase and different body style used only for the Barracuda. Not sure how much of the underneath was changed in 67. I call the 64-66 the Red Headed step-child of the Barracuda family
Snake45 Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 I call the 64-66 the Red Headed step-child of the Barracuda family Sounds like it should be more the Red-Headed Granddaddy of the family.
Jon Haigwood Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Well this is mine, since it's white I could be the Granddaddy
Tom Geiger Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) and here's mine! The 64-66 Barracudas were all the same A body car. The 64-65 looked alike and the 66 had new squarer sheet metal and the new fish logo. The doors, trunk lid and glass would be common to all 3 years. The differences you could see to identify a 64 from a 65... the 64 had "Valiant" on the back panel below the trunk lid on the right side. Some folks had taken this off during restoration. The 64 automatics had push buttons on the dash. Due to the change in laws, the 65 had the standard PRNDL1 pattern shifter. The 64 heater controls were pull knobs. The 65 heater controls were slides. Edited February 10, 2015 by Tom Geiger
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now