> MPC 1980 Road Runner

[MrObsessive]

One more reason I keep a normal computer.

Charlie Larkin

Same here. Phones and tablets are nice, but when it comes to typing (especially email) nothing beats a good 'ole fashioned keyboard!

As far as the Volare...............I dunno. I wasn't that crazy about the car when they were new. They were part of everything that was wrong with Detroit during the "malaise era". Looking back at 'em today, they'd probably make an interesting kit. If nothing else, they'd could always be my slump buster not if, but when the time comes!

 

[Can-Con]

I like Volare Road Runners. 

Hey, ya gotta like a car that gets ya on a magazine cover, right? 

[MrObsessive]

Now Steve, I gotta say.................That IS nice!!  

Hmmm.............

[Luc Janssens]

I like Volare Road Runners. 

Hey, ya gotta like a car that gets ya on a magazine cover, right? 

As bad as I always hear they were, one can't say they're ugly, in fact for an American car of that period they're prettig and clean, just as your model Steve!

 

[Mark]

The four-door rear window might be tricky; I can't think of anything out there that you could use as a starting point.  The four-door and wagon are 4" longer also, both in wheelbase and length.

[Junkman]

 

As bad as I always hear they were, one can't say they're ugly, in fact for an American car of that period they're prettig and clean, just as your model Steve!

 

I frequently used Plymouth Volare motor pool cars when I was working for HQ AAFES Europe in the early Eighties.
Those were lowest spec fleet purchase cars, most of them painted no-sale-blue-metallic and packing a Slant Six.
Despite they were used by many drivers, each of whom making it his mission to break them in the shortest possible time,
they gave sterling service and were actually quite nice to drive. If you were lucky enough to get one of the few 318 powered ones,
you could give the odd quite surprised BMW and Mercedes driver a rather good run for his money.
My favourite was a beige one with brown interior and the 318 Lean Spark in combination with the Police/Taxi/Export 2.41/1
diff and a triple core radiator. I pushed it to over 140 mph once, clocked by a passenger with a stopwatch using the signs posted
every half kilometer on German Autobahns. We had to do it that way, because the speedometer ended at 85 mph.
But I drove it regularly in the 120 mph region over extended periods of time and at that speed, it didn't even sound stressed,
let alone felt like it was.

They weren't bad cars at all. Especially if you like your cars to be dull, because that was really the only seriously bad point about them.
That and that you always had to wait six weeks for new tyres. Nobody in Europe stocked 14 inch 75 profile tyres back then,
they always had to get shipped over from the States.
However, the styling went down well with Europeans and was often the start of a conversation. They were perceived as being
rather elegant considering they were American cars. Yes, of course they suffered from the typical quality problems associated
with US cars, like the clearcoat not surviving the first Winter, windscreens delaminating at the edges, dash pads warping in Summer,
locks and keys being crudely made, instruments looking like they were purchased at the Pound shop, switchgear having no
quality feel whatsoever, but most Europeans do indeed consider these things "The American Way" and live with them if they
decide to buy American.
Sadly at the time Chrysler-Talbot Europe was in free fall, so the Aspens/Volares were never marketed here.
I bet they would have sold quite a few.

 

Edited July 15, 2016 by Junkman

[drodg]

You know to get more accurate wheels like that came standard on the 80 Roadrunner you could use the wheels off of the AMT Ford Courier step side pickup.  The wheels that were standard that year had color inserts the same as the Road Runner decals.  So with the new decal sheet you would probably want to use red as an offset color.  

[drodg]

You also need a few red stripes to make the car correct....

[stavanzer]

Just picked one of these up. Looks great in the box. Molding is clean and sharp. Tires look good, especially the GT Radial printing.

I may just have to start on this one. Vintage 'Late' MPC at it's finest! This build gets all the 79/80 Flairs & Spoilers and maybe some flame decals. I may try to shoehorn in a Slant-6 just for the proper Malaise Era "All Show and no Go" feel.

[Casey]

 apparently , there were some anodised,  stylled aluminimum wheels available as well (?) .

While this RR is a '79, it's wearing the 14" aluminum wheels you mention:

[Casey]

Ok all you serious car builders, what roof should I use to transform this (and the Chevy Nova hatchback) into a 4 door?

I drove 4 door versions of both in my career.

You might try the roof from a Motormax Dodge Diplomat, but not sure how accurate those are. At least the '80 Volare can supply the hood, fenders, and bumpers you need. Also, be aware the F-body coupe and sedan/wagon windshields (and the angle of the A-pillars) is different, too.

[unclescott58]

Over the weekend there was a little Mopar show going on at a local drive-in. I was working, so I couldn't go. But, the drive-in is near our local O'Reillys warehouse, so I ended up driving buy it on the way to pick up parts. Naturally I had to look and see what I could see as I passed by. Sitting in the group, was a 1980 Volare. It looked really good. It was black. And it looked like it was a Road Runner. But, I'm not 100% sure on that. It also had t tops like the kit. I've never been a fan of t tops. But, after seeing what I could of the car, I thought they looked okay. Now do I put the t tops on my model or not? I'm still leaning towards not.

"drought" above, indicated the kit needs red stripes to be correct. Are you sure your talking about 1980 Road Runners? Other than the wheels (which are incorrect), the spoiler,black gas cap, and "road runner" name decals, I really can not recall anything else to distinguish the Road Runner from other Volare coupes in 1980.

 

[Can-Con]

Over the weekend there was a little Mopar show going on at a local drive-in. I was working, so I couldn't go. But, the drive-in is near our local O'Reillys warehouse, so I ended up driving buy it on the way to pick up parts. Naturally I had to look and see what I could see as I passed by. Sitting in the group, was a 1980 Volare. It looked really good. It was black. And it looked like it was a Road Runner. But, I'm not 100% sure on that. It also had t tops like the kit. I've never been a fan of t tops. But, after seeing what I could of the car, I thought they looked okay. Now do I put the t tops on my model or not? I'm still leaning towards not.

"drought" above, indicated the kit needs red stripes to be correct. Are you sure your talking about 1980 Road Runners? Other than the wheels (which are incorrect), the spoiler,black gas cap, and "road runner" name decals, I really can not recall anything else to distinguish the Road Runner from other Volare coupes in 1980.

 

The strips were pinstrips over the wheel openings, around the glass and a couple other areas. The color of the strips would be the same as the lettering but there's only red lettering in the kit so,,,

[unclescott58]

I debate on the stripes being factory. Like the wheels on both cars, they could have been added later. I maybe wrong on this. But, my Chrysler-Plymouth facts book from 1980 makes no mention of the stripes being part of the Road Runner package. And your photos above are the first time I've ever seen striping like the window striping on any Volare. I have seen the striping around the wheel wells once before.

Again I could be wrong. And sometimes things could be added or taken away, in any given model year. But I'd like to see some proof of some sort that these stripes were put into on by the factory.

Could they be a dealer add on? That too was somewhat common still in the 70's and 80's. For example, we had a local dealer in the late 80's who offered a "Road Runner" package for the Plymouth Sundance (remember those?). This threw me for a loop the first time I saw one! Even had the Warner Brothers cartoon bird on it. Something not found on the last factory built Road Runners.

[unclescott58]

Okay Steve. You are right about the stripes. The one picture of a Road Runner in a sales brochure from 1980 shows and mentions the stripes. Also I see the black Road Runner you show above comes from a photo used by Phoenix Graphics. Who make replacement factory stripes for many cars. And I have found to be a very good and correct source for information on factory striping. Between Phoenix Graphic and the 1980 Plymouth brochure, I concede I am wrong, and you are right.

Not the first time I've made this kind of mistake. And I'm sure it will not be the last one.

 

[Agent G]

You might try the roof from a Motormax Dodge Diplomat, but not sure how accurate those are. At least the '80 Volare can supply the hood, fenders, and bumpers you need. Also, be aware the F-body coupe and sedan/wagon windshields (and the angle of the A-pillars) is different, too.

Geez, might as well build a whole new model. Thank goodness I didn't drive but one. 

Thank you all who gave advice!

G

 

[unclescott58]

Can somebody please do a review of the kit and show us what's in the box now?

[unclescott58]

Can somebody please do a review of the kit and show us what's in the box now?

Another mistake on my part. Don Sikora II, a couple of pages back, did show us what is in the box of the latest release. I don't know why. But, I thought he was showing us an original kit, and not the reissue. Looking at my comments at the time, I seem to understand he was reviewing the latest kit. Man! It sucks getting old. Though I've been making these same type of mistakes since I was a kid. I need to pay better attention...... Squirrel!

 

 

Edited August 18, 2016 by unclescott58

[horsepower]

Two words regarding police vehicles --and vehicles in general-- in California , 1975 & later : Jerry Brown .

Hmm, and I always thought the cars came from Detroit.. But I guess there could be exceptions.

How does a particular state government become responsible for the failure of all three manufacturers to produce a reliable automobile? And don't say he was responsible for California's smog control laws, because when I bought my first of many Ford Pinto's in '72 the dealers were already talking about the stiffer restrictions that were going to be required in '76, and the first 2.3 motors in '74 were such a disgrace that I couldn't believe how gutless they were and when it started going south with less than 30k on the odometer I gave it away to some poor soul for just taking over the payments, and just a little while later got a recall notice from Ford saying that due to a design flaw in the rods (they didn't have a cylinder wall oiling hole in the rod for spraying oil on the cylinder walls) they were rebuilding EVERY 2.3 produced in '74. They were known to have been worn out by 48,000 miles, but when mine was using a quart an a half of oil between oil changes the dealer tried to tell me it was normal for four cylinder engines to do that since they worked harder. I asked him "then why doesn't my '71 Pinto with a 2000 cc motor use ANY oil between changes"? He suddenly had to answer a ringing telephone.  And the dealers name wasn't Brown either.

[horsepower]

Would LOVE to get my 3 Towers Back Up and working, but.....

This CRAPtop is BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH!!!!

BUT................................

It works AND Connects (SOMETIMES!!!)

 

I will NEVER have any of those "Pocket Toy" pieces!!!

If I want a Phone, I want a PHONE PERIOD!!

 

Question, I was given a "Pocket Toy"

Can I drill out the camera Lenses to kill the cameras?

or will that also kill the Toy??

It's easier to just put a good sized drop of black fingernail polish on the lense and forget about it (thanks to the Goth Girls for the high solids black polish).

[horsepower]

For those that don't want those Blue Streak Goodyear's you can send them ALL to me, especially the rear ones. Us builders of old dirt track racers are more than happy to use them. Thanks guys.

[horsepower]

It's hard to tell from the picture but are those Cyclone Header decals? I've searched forever for a pair but the only ones I've found are in the the extremely high priced AMT Wonder Pony Pinto kits.

[unclescott58]

Ordered mine this morning on line. I'm really looking forward to this one. As noted before, I dislike T tops, so I'll be avoiding using them. I plan on building a "stock" Road Runner as close as I can with what's in box. Other than paint. Speaking of paint, I'm not sure what color I want to paint it? Maybe a yellow exterior, with a black interior?

 

[unclescott58]

I got my Volare in the mail on Sarurday. But, this morning is the first time I've really had a chance to look at it. And I'm a little worried. There are raised lines for the t-tops on the roof. That's okay, they can be easily sanded away. But, on the underside of the roof, there are what looks like fairly deep lines for cutting the roof for the t-tops. They look deep enough, that I worry if I do to sand the raised lines on top, there will barely be enough plastic left to hold the main section of the roof in place.

What are your thoughts on this? What have you done? Do I need to fill the underside lines with putty before sanding the top? Or am I worrying too much about this?

Beyond the above concern, everything looks typical MPC from the time. Which is fine with me. I see the old plastic tires are still there. Though with beautiful tampo printed Goodyear Radial GT's, I don't see anybody wanting to use those today. But, since they are part of the mold, I appreciate Round 2 for still giving them to us.

As far as what to color to paint the car? I'm leaning very strongly towards Yellow. A few years ago I built the Daisy Duke's Yellow Road Runner. And I have a 1975 Road Runner promo in Yellow. So I'm thinking Yellow to keep the theme going. Though the only other Road Runner I've built. My '68, which I built over ten years ago is Orange. Maybe it's time to pickup another '68 and paint it Yellow?

 

[niteowl7710]

I got my Volare in the mail on Sarurday. But, this morning is the first time I've really had a chance to look at it. And I'm a little worried. There are raised lines for the t-tops on the roof. That's okay, they can be easily sanded away. But, on the underside of the roof, there are what looks like fairly deep lines for cutting the roof for the t-tops. They look deep enough, that I worry if I do to sand the raised lines on top, there will barely be enough plastic left to hold the main section of the roof in place.

What are your thoughts on this? What have you done? Do I need to fill the underside lines with putty before sanding the top? Or am I worrying too much about this?

Beyond the above concern, everything looks typical MPC from the time. Which is fine with me. I see the old plastic tires are still there. Though with beautiful tampo printed Goodyear Radial GT's, I don't see anybody wanting to use those today. But, since they are part of the mold, I appreciate Round 2 for still giving them to us.

As far as what to color to paint the car? I'm leaning very strongly towards Yellow. A few years ago I built the Daisy Duke's Yellow Road Runner. And I have a 1975 Road Runner promo in Yellow. So I'm thinking Yellow to keep the theme going. Though the only other Road Runner I've built. My '68, which I built over ten years ago is Orange. Maybe it's time to pickup another '68 and paint it Yellow?

 

I don't know in which of the two threads about this kit it lives in, but someone gave the advice to putty the underside of the roof first and then clean up the shiny side. Having one of them myself, that seems to be the most reasonable proposition for fixing (and affixing) the T-Tops.

Edited August 29, 2016 by niteowl7710