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CHAPTER

3

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR MUSCLE CARS

The Pre–Supercar Era

Put yourself in the place of a new car buyer during 1949 to 1963; that is to say, before the introduction of supercars, as they are known today.

If you were looking for a new car that prioritized rapid acceleration and a higher top speed than most cars of the era, what would you have purchased? Oh yeah, let’s add a few more qualifiers. You needed space for a family or friends, so that ruled out a sports car. Whether your wallet allowed it or not, the idea of driving a big, heavy, chrome-festooned luxury barge was also out of the question. Moreover, you wanted a car that was eye-catching, while still in good taste. If that car had a successful competition record in sanctioned automotive racing, it was also a big plus. What, then?

Most automotive historians consider the 1949 Oldsmobile 88 to be the first car that meets the broad definition of a muscle car as I’ve adopted it for this book. The power of the new Rocket V-8, developed for the larger 98-series Olds, delivered a very powerful performance envelope when placed in the lighter GM A-Body normally used in the lower 76-series Oldsmobile. The result was called the Oldsmobile 88, and it quickly developed a reputation as a hot car. This was followed by the 1951–1954 Hudson Hornet with its Twin-H-Power High-Compression 6, fast cars on the street and winners at the racetrack. Then came the legendary Chrysler 300, and on a more accessible level, the 1955 Chevy with its small-block 265 Power Pack V-8.

As the 1950s progressed, Chevys with a fuel-injected V-8, 1957 Fords with a factory-supercharged V-8, and even a 1958 Mercury with a 400-hp rating were tops for any factory-assembled car that year. Desoto, Dodge, and Plymouth followed the Chrysler 300 recipe to varying degrees on a more affordable scale with the Adventurer, D500, and Fury/Sport Fury, respectively. Some would claim that the 1957 Rambler Rebel also fit in this category.

Things quieted down with the recession of 1958 and the holdover impact in 1959, plus the return of fuel economy and practicality as prime buyer motivations, combined with the excitement surrounding the introduction of domestically produced compacts from the big three. But with the new decade, Chrysler was back in the muscle market with its ram induction V-8s: 1961 brought out the 409 Chevy, 1962 the 406 FE Ford and the hot (if questionably styled) Chrysler B-Bodies with its Max V-8s, and so on. The trend only gained further steam in 1963 and 1964.

So, which of these cars actually found themselves the subject of a 1/24th-1/25th–scale model car kit? Evenly as recent as 10 to 15 years ago, the answer would have been very different. But today, thanks in no small measure to both a longtime model kit industry stalwart (Revell) and a totally new entry in the hobby kit marketplace (Moebius), the answer is that nearly all of the cars listed above have at one point or another seen a popular scale model car kit.

This collage just hints at the wide range of scale replicas of influential post–World War II performance-themed cars that helped set the stage for the muscle car era that began in earnest with the 1964 model year.

Oldsmobile 88

Starting with the 1949–1950 Oldsmobile 88, there were at least two, and perhaps three, attempts to bring a model of this car to market before the final product appeared in 2013. In the mid-1960s, Revell had started development of a 1949–1950 Olds kit, but then heard that Monogram had a kit of the exact same car underway, so Revell killed that project. (Little evidence has subsequently surfaced that Monogram actually had such a kit under development).

More than three decades later, the AMT-Ertl brand, then under the ownership of Racing Champions (a pre-assembled die-cast replica maker) announced to the hobby trade its plans for 1950 Olds 88 and 1949 Studebaker kits. Later, it was discovered that these were nothing more than trial balloons. With kit topics being dictated by the buyers of the large discount chains and big-box stores back then (instead of the core model car hobbyist), both ideas flopped, and the kits never appeared.

Meanwhile, throughout the first decade of the 21st century, a 1950 Olds was on Revell’s list of potential kit topics, and it finally made its way to the top in time for a 2013 introduction of a superb 1/25th-scale kit. Revell pulled out all the stops to accurately replicate the intricate body shape of this car, including some very expensive die work to achieve the correct underbody roll of the rear fenders. A second Olds custom kit added typical period upgrades including a J2-style tri-power V-8 with headers and dual exhaust, and modestly lowered front and rear suspension. Revell’s late VP of Engineering, a 57-year employee of the company, owned a 1950 Olds 88 coupe as a young adult. Maybe that is one reason why the kit came out so well.

It’s taken nearly 50 years, and the possible involvement of up to four different kitmakers (counting Revell under two different ownerships), but now an absolutely first-class kit series of the 1950 Oldsmobile 88 (Wave 4/*) is available. The Olds Custom kit is really outfitted like an early to mid-1950s mild street coupe and is typical of what performance enthusiasts might have driven back then.

Hudson Hornet

The Olds 88 was a very successful product in the early NASCAR years. However, the Hudson Hornet soon replaced its position at the front of the oval racetracks. It seems strange to think of a six-cylinder–powered car as being a performance leader in the early 1950s, but that’s what happened.

That leads me to the topic of a Hudson Hornet model kit. It was a topic frequently seen in model car magazine reader polls of new kit ideas, but I never, ever dreamed such a kit would materialize. Eventually it was produced as a kit, but it took a new model car company to get it done (with perhaps a touch of help from the Cars movie franchise). In 2011, Frank Winspur’s Moebius Models introduced the 1953 Hudson Hornet as its first model car kit (its first 1/25th-scale automotive kit of any kind was the International Lonestar Class 8 Truck, which preceded the Hudson by a year or two).

Just when longtime modelers thought they’d seen everything in 1/25th-scale kits, Moebius Models completely redefined what constitutes top-end model car offerings. Starting in 2011, it has produced a whole series of early to mid-1950s Hudsons, all with the famous Twin H Power engine. More derivatives of this kit (not shown here) include Tim Flock and Marshal Teague race cars, along with Matty Winspur’s Stock class drag racer (all: Wave 4/*).

This was a kit unlike any other 1/25th-scale kit to date. The instruction/assembly manual was a sight in and of itself: printed in full color, with photos of assembled sub-components and multiple views of the completed car, along with instructional callouts, and highly detailed painting information. The kit tool was designed for additional derivatives, which have included 1952 convertible and 1954 coupe and sedan kits.

1953 Studebaker

The 1953 Studebaker Starliner hardtop is a highly regarded early 1950s automotive design, but it is seldom cited as a precursor to the muscle car movement. Nevertheless, despite the modest output of its OHV V-8, the Starliner was revolutionary in that it telegraphed the potential market appeal of a car designed for optimum proportions and visual impact, rather than practical considerations like interior space. In this way, it was a predecessor to the stylish, smaller-sized 1960s intermediates that anchored the supercar movement, as well as the entire pony car segment. For that reason, I’m including it here, even though it admittedly lies on the fringes of our subject topic.

This car was only 10 years old when it first appeared on lists of future Trophy Series kit topics at AMT. The final execution included not only a finely detailed showroom stock replica, but also a very tasteful custom version, and a wild Bonneville racer with a dual-blower 392 Hemi and components to help the builder modify the body with a chopped top.

One would be hard pressed to find a more appealing set of box art than the one that AMT debuted in 1965 for its 1953 Studebaker Starliner 3-in-1 Trophy Series kit (Wave 1/*). After at least 10 reissues, Round 2 returned to the original box art theme for this 2014 release. Note the larger box, brighter colors, and other slight tweaks of the new box art on the right.

Revell also had a showroom stock 1953 Studebaker kit under development, only to cancel the project when AMT announced its 1953 Studebaker Starliner kit. Here is Revell’s actual 1/10th-scale wood master. It was to be a two-door Starlight coupe; you can clearly see the coupe’s B-pillar here. AMT’s kit was the Starliner hardtop. This artifact can be seen at the International Model Car Builder’s Museum (themodelcarmuseum.org) located near Salt Lake City, Utah.

1955–1957 Chevrolet

AMT was first out of the gate with a full detail kit of a 1/25th-scale Tri-Five Chevy. It chose a 1957 Bel Air as the subject; this was its first Trophy Series kit of a Chevy product. Revell followed a year later with its own 1957 Bel Air kit, upping the game with the addition of working doors and trunk. All these years later, the AMT Trophy Series kit is still considered to be tied with one other kit as the best overall proportioned 1957 Chevy hardtop ever produced as a kit. Both these AMT and Revell kits have been reissued numerous times.

Both the Revell and (especially) the AMT Bel Air kits were top sellers from the word go, so more Tri-Five Chevy kits were inevitable. The next two came from Revell in 1964: a drag-themed 1955 Bel Air two-door hardtop and a custom car show–flavored 1956 two-door sedan. Per the contemporary Revell “design brief” of the day, both kits featured opening doors and trunks as well as fully detailed engine compartments and chassis assemblies. Of note, the 1956 kit featured a two-door sedan (today, called a two-door post) body style instead of the expected two-door hardtop. Both of these kits saw frequent reissues through the end of the last century.

Monogram also entered the Tri-Five kit fray in 1964 with what was, at the time, one of its finest kits ever. The 1/24th-scale 1955 Chevy Bel Air could be built in showroom stock form as a hardtop or convertible or in one of several custom versions credited to Monogram consultant Darryl Starbird. The stock and custom versions of this kit were irretrievably lost when Monogram retooled the kit into the Bad-Man “wild, wheelin’ drag machine.”

These two were the first of seemingly countless 1/25th-scale 1957 Chevy Bel Air kits to come in future years. Tom Daniel is the artist credited with the box top image on Revell’s kit. Note the detailed parts callout lists on the lower side panels of both the AMT and Revell kits (both: Wave 1/**).

Revell’s 1955 and 1956 Chevy kits (above) offered fully detailed showroom stock versions, plus plenty of optional “show and go” parts (both: Wave 1/**). The 1955 kit included both stock 265 and blown 409 drag racing engines; note the Winternationals drag race banner across the box top art. The 1956 kit featured a choice of plated exterior trim for the 150, 210, and Bel Air series, and a wild full-custom interior option to complement optional restyled front and rear treatments.

AMT struck back with its second Tri-Five kit in 1965, a new 1955 Nomad kit addition for its Trophy Series catalog. In addition to the showroom stock version, the kit offered a custom version that yielded a tasteful El Camino–type car pickup, and a fuel-injected straight-axle Gasser version patterned loosely after the well-known Wompin’ Wagon that was campaigned in the mid-1960s in the Gasser and Modified Production classes.

Monogram’s 1955 Chevy Bel Air box art (above) was perhaps not as stylistic as AMT’s or Revell’s. However, the kit’s selling features were clearly explained on all box panels (Wave 1/***). The tool underwent numerous revisions in 1969 to create the Tom Daniel–designed Bad-Man pseudo-Gasser (Wave 1/*). It’s been a best seller for Monogram ever since.

The first three issues of AMT’s 1955 Nomad Trophy Series kit start here in the front center with the original 1965 release, followed by the 1967 Elegance Series (left background) and 1968 Portrait Series (right background) issues (all: Wave 1/**). The Elegance kit omitted the stock and custom parts, but added a small can of AMT Pearl Lacquer to topcoat the light blue styrene, and deeply blue-tinted transparent styrene for the clear parts sprue.

Revell’s retooled 1957 Bel Air and new Nomad kits reflect late 1960s street sensibilities (both: Wave 1/*). A heavily revised engine (sourced from Revell’s earlier Parts Pack offering) and a raised front axle Gasser suspension were found in the updated Bel Air kit (Wave 1/*). Its 1957 Nomad kit is shown here in its second release dating from 1973.

Revell once again revisited the Tri-Five genre in the very late 1960s with a major redo of its original 1957 Chevy Bel Air hardtop kit, along with a newly tooled 1957 Chevy Nomad kit. The first issue box art of the Nomad famously used outtakes from the beachside Rod and Custom cover shoot of the Sam Hollingsworth Nomad, with the kit’s chromed reverse wheels stripped in to replace the real car’s Dayton-style wire wheels. Both of these kits have seen many subsequent reissues.

Skipping ahead nearly a decade, Monogram’s then-new president, having previously served in the same role for AMT (and with his knowledge of the continued sales success of AMT’s Tri-Five kits), directed his new product development staff to create a new series of Tri-Five kits. These kits were to offer both showroom stock and late 1970s street machine versions, along with the slightly simplified kit content and building style that Monogram had developed during the Tom Daniels–inspired Show Rod kit era. Starting in 1977, Monogram introduced 1/24th-scale kits of the 1956 Bel Air, 1957 Bel Air, and 1957 Nomad Wagon. Many modelers largely dismiss these due to accuracy and proportion errors in the bodies. These kits are still reissued from time to time; avoid them unless you are looking for a good project to allow a new modeler to gain some kit assembly experience.

AMT-Ertl surprised the modeling world in 1989 with a new 1955 Bel Air two-door (“post”) sedan kit. Mostly derived from its mid-1960s Nomad Trophy Series kit, the kit included a new body, updated engine speed parts, and fresh decals. The kit was generally well received, other than the carryover Nomad hood that was slightly too small to exactly fit the new sedan body shell.

Monogram’s new series of 1/24th-scale Tri-Five kits from the late 1970s were an excellent source of then-current aftermarket parts and accessories but compromised by unrealistic body proportions (which can even be seen in the box art built-up models seen here). The 1956 Bel Air and 1957 Nomad are shown in their original 1978 release box art, while the 1957 Bel Air is shown is the 1995 reissue (all: Wave 2/*).

The Monogram product development team, operating under the Revell-Monogram corporate umbrella in the 1990s, more than redeemed itself by starting a series of all-new 1/25th-scale Tri-Five kits. First out the door were replicas of the 1955 Bel Air convertible (in both showroom stock and Indy Pace Car kits) and a 1956 Nomad. Eventually, a new 1955 Bel Air hardtop kit, based on this convertible kit tool, also joined the Revell-Monogram catalog.

AMT-Ertl extended the productive life of its 1955 Nomad kit tool with this kit featuring a Bel Air two-door sedan body (Wave 1/*). Beyond the fresh body casting, the revised kit included a Bel-Air sedan interior, a Carter AFB 4-barrel carb with Lynx low-restriction air cleaner, and non-plated Centerline wheels. Building versions were showroom stock and mild street machine.

This 1995 Revell/Monogram all-new tool of the 1955 Bel Air convertible was considered the best-ever 1/25th-scale kit of this vintage yet committed to scale. The first-ever 1956 Nomad kit in the popular scales was released by Revell-Monogram in 1997, using the Bel Air tooling as the basis. The 1955 Bel Air hardtop followed later; it’s shown here in its 2007 Revell release (all: Wave 3/*).

AMT-Ertl’s all-new 1957 Chevy Bel Air kit series (Wave 3/*) was introduced in 1998, and included many upgrades not seen in the original 1962 Trophy Series kit. The Pro-Shop kit added a photo-etched metal fret with the Bel Air rear-quarter-panel inserts, grille insert, rocker panel moldings, front-fender louver trim, windshield wipers, and Chevrolet badging, along with vinyl radiator and heater hoses and a sheet of adhesive foil trim.

Revell continues to churn out further derivatives based on its new mid-1990s Tri-Five tooling. These include this 1956 Del Ray sedan from 2001, a 1957 Bel Air sedan and Black Widow 150 series sedan (both from 2009), and most recently a 1957 Bel Air convertible introduced in 2013 (all: Wave 3/*).

You won’t find engines or detailed chassis in these 1957 Chevy Bel Air hardtop Snap-Tite kits from Revell, but these 1999 and 2004 releases (both: Wave 3/*) are considered to have superb body proportions and accuracy. These kits assemble quickly and without drama, but they also respond well to minor detailing upgrades.

Later in the decade, AMT-Ertl scheduled an all-new 1957 Bel Air hardtop kit for a 1998 release, and to be available in two versions with photo-etched parts and wiring materials added to the premium Pro Shop version. This kit reflected the advances in kit design in the 35 years since AMT’s original 1957 Bel Air Trophy Series release, including an opening trunk with spare tire, engine spark plug wiring, and a fully detailed chassis with platform-style interior. Endless debates ensued as kit experts argued the plusses and minuses of these new releases versus AMT’s original Trophy Series kit.

Revell and Monogram have continued to produce additional Tri-Five variants based on its new 1990s era tool, including a 1956 Del Ray sedan, and 1957 Bel Airs in two-door sedan and convertible body styles. It also produced a nice replica of the 1957 150 Black Widow sedan. At this point, only a 1956 Bel Air hardtop and convertible and 1955–1957 Nomads are missing from a very complete catalog of highly regarded modern-era Revell Tri-Five kits.

Finally, Revell also produced a snap-kit version of the 1957 Bel Air hardtop. This kit was sold primarily in pre-finished form, and the body in this kit is ranked at the top, side by side along with the original AMT 1957 Bel Air kit, in terms of overall accuracy and proportions. This kit would be a fun parent/child or grandparent/grandchild project for those who wish to introduce future generations to the fun of model car building and collecting!

1955–1964 Chrysler 300 Letter Series

When the 1955 Chrysler 300 debuted, it was a sensation. It was to the 1950s automotive world, in many ways, what the 1964 GTO was to the decade that followed. Not surprisingly, it followed the earlier Olds 88 formula of a top-of-the-line, most-powerful engine inserted in the body of the smaller, lighter body of the nameplate’s entry-level series. In this case, however, the addition of the Imperial front grille and premium components throughout, including a real leather interior, added a sense of supreme exclusivity for anyone who had the good fortune to be able to purchase and drive the 300. Moreover, as you saw earlier with both the 88 and the Hudson Hornet, a successful competition record only added to the reputation.

The current state of the model car kit industry is well represented by these 1955 300 and 1956 300B kits (both: Wave 4/*) and 1957 300C (Wave 3/*) kits from Moebius Models and AMT-Ertl, respectively. Inside the boxes are intricately detailed engines even including draft tubes and transmission dipsticks. Separately molded frames and underbody floor pans enable easily executed detail painting.

Since the first Chrysler 300s debuted before the advent of the modern 1/25th-scale assembly kit, modelers went for decades without models of these influential pre–muscle car era icons. Fortunately, recent years have brought highly detailed kits of all three of the initial Chrysler 300 products. After years of customer requests, AMT-Ertl finally took the plunge and debuted a meticulously engineered 1957 Chrysler 300C kit in 1999. It soon added a Pro-Shop 300C kit with all the parts pre-painted, and overall the level of detail and execution of this painting effort was a sight to behold. However, the pre-painted body replicated 1957 Chrysler Code F Forest Green, whereas the regular production 300C was limited to just five factory colors, including the much lighter Code E Parade Green Metallic (the other 300 colors were Copper Brown Metallic, Gauguin Red, Cloud White, and Black). Moebius Models completed the early Chrysler 300 model family album with kits of the 1955 300 and 1956 300B, introduced in 2011 and 2013, respectively. The Moebius kits include comprehensive full-color assembly manuals with highly detailed photos of assembled kit components and the completed models.

A gap appears in 300 kit coverage stretching from the 1958 to 1961 model years. (JoHan produced annual kits of the 1960 and 1961 Chrysler products, but chose to base them on the top-line New Yorker series instead of the 300). JoHan moved its Chrysler annual kit offering to the downsized (shorter wheelbase) 300 H as part of its 1962 lineup, and produced it in both hardtop and convertible versions. These kits had the correct four-bucket-seat interior and a modestly detailed engine, along with a faintly engraved H in the rear deck alongside the 300 badging.

JoHan issued annual kits of the 1962–1964 Chrysler 300 letter series kits in both hardtop and convertible form. Shown here are the 1963 hardtop and convertible and 1964 convertible annual kits (all: Wave 1/***). The 1962 hardtop was reissued in the mid-1970s (Wave 1/**). Depending on the kit, builders found scale replicas of the single 4-barrel, dual inline 4-barrel, and/or ram induction dual 4-barrel ram letter-series 413 V-8.

JoHan followed with 300 series hardtop and convertible annual kits in 1963 and 1964. JoHan did not produce a kit of the 1965 300L, but it did manufacture non-letter series 1965–1968 Chrysler 300 kits. Coverage of these kits is found in Chapter 11.

In the mid-1970s, JoHan reissued the 1962 300 as part of its USA Oldies kit series, but an inaccurate, circa 1964 300 interior tub makes this kit considerably less desirable than the original annual series release. This version is fairly easy to locate, while the original 1962–1964 annual kits are difficult to find and very expensive.

1957 Ford Custom and Fairlane 500

For a brief period in the late 1950s, Ford developed an engine family that might have presaged the muscle car genre, but the Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA) racing ban in 1957 stopped it in its infancy. Of course, I am referencing the E-Code dual 4-barrel and the F-Code McCulloch supercharged 312 Y-Block V-8s offered in the 1957 Ford Custom and Fairlane car lines. Model builders now have all they need to replicate miniatures of both cars.

AMT’s 1957 Ford Fairlane kit was first introduced in 1963 as part of its Trophy Series (upper and lower left). The kit could be built in showroom stock, custom, and two different advanced custom versions. The 1966 Portrait Series (upper right) and the 1969 All American Show ‘n’ Go Series (lower right) were essentially identical to the original kit inside, except for the freshly updated decals in each reissue (all: Wave 1/**).

Revell’s all-new 1957 Ford kit series features the 111-inch Custom/Custom 300 wheelbase body and chassis (versus the 118-inch Fairlane/Fairlane 500 body and chassis in AMT’s original 1957 Ford kit). By choosing various parts found in these four kits (all: Wave 4/*) model builders can construct single 4-barrel Y-Block, dual 4-barrel E-Code, or McCulloch supercharged F-Code pre–muscle car era scale replicas.

Following the overwhelming success of AMT’s original 1957 Chevy Bel Air kit, AMT quickly added a companion kit of the top-of-the-line 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 to its Trophy Series premium kit catalog. Reflecting the rapidly advancing hobby, this kit added steerable wheels and opening doors to the content. A supercharger option for the kit’s Y-Block engine was of a custom configuration, not representative of the real factory option. This kit has been reissued many times, but only the pre-1973 releases include all the advanced customizing parts.

For several years, there were rumors of an all-new kit topic from Revell, and it was under development for several years, but in 2012 an all-new 1957 Ford Custom two-door sedan kit finally debuted. This highly detailed kit even included scale fuel lines running from the fuel pump to the single and dual 4-barrel carb options under the hood. Several unused parts in the kit broadly hinted at a future kit with an F-Code supercharged engine. That kit did indeed follow in 2013 as a Fireball Roberts NASCAR kit. Further versions of this kit tool included a Model King private-label Police Car and Revell’s Del Rio Ranch Wagon. Adult model hobbyists are still hoping for a future Ranchero kit based off the Del Rio kit tooling.

DeSoto Adventurer, Dodge D-500/Dart/440, and Plymouth Fury/Sport Fury

JoHan was the original source for annual assembly kits for most Chrysler products. Its 1959 kit lineup included the Dodge Custom Royal and Plymouth Fury, while the DeSoto Adventurer, Dodge Dart, and Plymouth Fury saw kits in 1960. The Dodge Dart and Plymouth Fury continued for 1961 and 1962. JoHan kits for 1963 replicated the midsized Dodge Polara and Plymouth Fury.

Meanwhile, Revell also produced 1/25th-scale annual kits of the 1962 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Fury; these were fairly well detailed for the time but still considered inferior to JoHan and AMT annual kits of the same period. These were reissued once, late in the 1962 calendar year, as Metalflake series products with a translucent, metallic-enhanced styrene.

Starting in the mid-1970s, JoHan reissued the hardtop versions of the 1960 DeSoto Adventurer, 1962 Dart and Fury, and 1963 Fury, as well as convertible versions of the 1962 Dart and Fury starting in the mid-1970s.

Before I move on, a bit of caution applies here. Unlike most of the highly detailed kits shown in this book, the 1959–1963 Mopar annual kits and its reissues referenced here were basic to the extreme. Some did not include engines, and the ones that did were basic in execution. Moreover, these kits generally did not replicate the performance versions of each car; it would be up to the builder to kit-bash the engines, chassis, and body trim to accurately produce a model of the applicable performance derivative of each car and model year.

Jumping several decades ahead, in 2002 AMT-Ertl introduced a new kit of the 1958 Plymouth Belvedere two-door hardtop. This kit was considered fairly undesirable, in part due its generic V-8 engine (neither a correct Polysphere V-8 nor the new-for-1958 B Wedge-head V-8). Instead of the mid-line Belvedere, ideally the kit should have replicated the sporty Fury equipped with the optional 350-ci version of Chrysler’s new V-8 engine family. AMT-Ertl’s kit also had various body inaccuracies, the most obvious being a strange, segmented execution of the Belvedere side trim engraving versus the smooth sweep of the original car. (To the car modeling community, these mistakes were interpreted as one of the negative outcomes of then-owner Racing Champion’s May 31, 2000, layoff of virtually all the remaining AMT-Ertl kit development staff.)

This image reveals several early 1960s JoHan Mopar annual kits, including its 1961 Dart and 1963 Polara customizing kits (Wave 1/***). During this period, JoHan also produced some showroom-stock-only versions of its annual kits (no customizing parts plus a lower suggested list price), including this 1963 Fury convertible kit (Wave 1/**). Revell kitted several 1962 Chrysler Corporation products, including the 1962 Fury (Wave 1/**).

JoHan definitely upped the effort for the box art of its reissued early 1960s Mopar kits. The USA Oldies kits date from 1975, while the 1963 Fury kit came later (all: Wave 1/**). Be aware that some of these reissued kits included inaccurate, later model year interior components.

There are few kits in this book that I absolutely recommend against purchasing, but this is one of them. AMT-Ertl’s 2002 tooling of a 1958 Plymouth Belvedere (Wave 4/*) has deformed side trim engraving and a generic engine that represents neither of the available V-8 engine families that year.

The Dodge and Plymouth performance cars’ story for 1964 and beyond picks up in Chapter 7.

1960–1963 Ford Galaxie 500

Given the aforementioned mid-1957 AMA ban on manufacturer involvement in racing and the economic recession stretching into 1958, the emphasis on power lessened in the Ford product range. Not until the 1960 model year, with the FE series 352-ci 4-barrel and Starliner hardtop body style, did performance start to inch back into the lineup. This escalated with the FE 390 of 1961, and grew with the mid-year 1962 introduction of the Galaxie 500 XL series with its bucket seats and console. The concurrent introduction of a new high-performance 406 version of its FE engine family fully signaled the return of performance to Ford’s product range.

AMT produced annual kits of the 1960–1962 Galaxie 500 in both hardtop and convertible forms, and a 1963 convertible. Most of these included basic engines and one-piece chassis assemblies, as did most annual kits of the time. AMT also produced a kit of the 1963½ Galaxie 500 XL fastback; that kit is covered in Chapter 11.

Many of these AMT annual kits saw reissues in the mid- to late 1960s and beyond. The 1960 Starliner hardtop was reissued as a simplified Craftsman Series kit in the mid-1960s, and the 1961 Sunliner convertible kit saw two reissues in the late 1960s. The 1961 Club Victoria (formal roof) hardtop was reissued in 1969 as part of AMT’s Flower Power Series kits, and again in the late 1990s as part of AMT-Ertl Buyer’s Choice program. The 1962 hardtop was reissued just once, also in 1969. As were the JoHan kits previously referenced. Most of these kits are relatively basic in their execution, and anyone who wants an accurate version of the performance-themed versions of these cars will have to modify the kits to various degrees.

AMT produced annual kits of the 1960 through 1963 Ford Galaxie 500; several are shown here (1960, 1961, 1963 kits: Wave 1/**; 1962 kit: Wave 1/***). With each subsequent year, the subject of each kit became more prominent on the box end, moving from a generic image with an ink stamped “1960 Ford” (far left) to a sticker with a 1961 Galaxie profile view (middle left), a corner snipe printed image (upper mid-right), and finally to fully personalized end panel treatments (lower center right and far right).

Several of AMT’s early 1960s Galaxie kits saw reissues, mostly later in the same decade. A more recent reissue was AMT-Ertl’s Buyer’s Choice rebop of the 1961 Galaxie 500 styline annual kit (Wave 1/*). There’s only been one modern-era tool of early 1960s Fords, but it’s a winner: AMT-Ertl’s 1960 Starliner kit debuted in 2000 (Wave 4/*). The 2008 Round 2 reissue of this kit sports gorgeous, newly created box art, plus extra parts trees yielding two complete “FE” Ford engines with three different induction options.

In the year 2000, AMT-Ertl introduced an all-new tool of the 1960 Ford Starliner. This was a highly accurate product, and the engine and chassis parts of this kit could be adapted to the AMT annual kits previously referenced for a far more accurate replica of the performance versions of the early 1960s big Fords.

1961–1963 Chevy Impala/Impala SS 327/409 and Bel Air 409

After increasing emphasis on performance with the 1955–1957 model run, Chevrolet placed performance largely on hiatus for the next three years. The larger, heavier 1958 Chevy emphasized room and luxury rather than more performance, and the 1959–1960 Impalas offered stunning styling with even larger bodies. Performance as a storyline began to return with the new, lighter 1961 Impala SS and the debut of the 409 version of the W-Block V-8. More powerful 409s followed for 1962, the fastback “bubbletop” persisted in the lighter and less expensive Bel Air series, while the Impala adopted a more formal roofline, and the revered Z-11 409 package debuted as the 1963 model year began.

Modelers looking to build performance-themed early 1960s Chevys enjoyed these 1961–1963 Impala annual kits (all: Wave 1/**). By 1963, the AMT hardtop annual kit included two versions of the 409 V-8, adhesive-backed upholstery panels, one mild custom and two “advanced custom” building versions (the latter two with then-trendy asymmetric styling), and a slew of display accessories such as chrome tools, a record player, and even a scale drive-in tray!

AMT produced Impala hardtop and convertible annual kits during this period. (The 1961 kits wore “SMP” branding while also mentioning the AMT Corporate name and business address on the lower side panel.) The degree of detail varied, but by 1963 the kits were well developed and included 409 V-8 with lots of optional engine hop-up parts.

Among the AMT 1961–1963 annual kits, only the 1963 Impala SS hardtop has seen periodic reissues. It was originally in an unassembled promotional style release in 1967 as part of AMT’s Craftsman Series. It started in the late 1980s in a mostly complete kit form, but was still missing many of the optional/customizing parts as well as the engine compartment firewall of the original 1963 annual kit release. The engine of this reissue was also less detailed than the original annual kit version (which migrated instead to the 1964 Impala kit).

AMT’s 1963 Impala SS annual kit saw a renewed place in AMT/Ertl’s kit rotation starting in 1987 with this Prestige Series release (bottom), followed by further releases in 1994, 1997 (shown), and 2002 (all: Wave 1/*). However, serious collectors strongly prefer the original 1963 annual kit because of the crisper molding and the deletion of some of the original kit parts for the reissue.

For years, model kit builders and collectors had pined for a 1962 Chevy Bel Air bubbletop 409 hardtop. Some advanced builders even created their own versions. Fast-forward to 1993, and AMT-Ertl finally granted our wishes with a nicely executed kit of a factory-stock 1962 Bel Air Bubbletop 409. (For more on this kit’s development, see the AMT-Ertl 1966 Nova SS kit sidebar in Chapter 10). Between this kit and the Super Stock spinoffs that followed, builders could construct a highly detailed factory stock dual-quad 409, a Z-11 version with its unique intake setup and tubular exhaust headers, and a period street machine type engine with a Mickey Thompson Power Ram intake manifold and Offenhauser ribbed valve covers. An Impala SS convertible based on this same kit tooling followed four years later.

Lest anyone think that the original 409 Chevy, the one installed in the 1961½ Impala SS, has been left off the list of newly developed model kits, Lindberg introduced a full detail 1961 Impala SS409 hardtop in 1997. An inaccurate windshield sweep/cowl assembly was quickly corrected. A Super Stock version followed a year later, and then a convertible version debuted in 1999. The Super Stock version substituted a cowl-induction air cleaner, tubular headers with exhaust dumps, open rims, and period Don Nicholson livery.

Revell eventually joined the early 1960s Impala kit fray with a 2000 introduction of a 1964 Impala and a 2003 introduction of a 1963 Impala SS, both offering factory stock versions along with lowrider versions. Unlike AMT’s original 1963 annual kit’s 409 engine, this kit featured a 327 4-barrel V-8 (for those that were yet to be born back then, the 327 was a high-winding mill that racked up many street victories of its own in the early 1960s). Revell developed all-new tooling for a 1962 Impala (not SS) hardtop that debuted in 2010, with an Impala SS derivative following in 2011.

The year 1993 brought the debut of a much-wanted 1962 Chevy Bel Air 409 “Bubbletop” kit from AMT-Ertl. A series of licensed drag racing properties quickly followed, all adding the late 1962 to early 1963 Z-11 engine parts. In 1997 and again in 2000, AMT-Ertl produced another spinoff of this tooling, this time a 1962 Impala SS convertible. The “Don Nicholson” Super Stock and the convertible kits are preferred for their redone, more accurate egg crate–style front grille texture engraving (all: Wave 3/*).

Lindberg’s series of 1961 Impala SS409 kits were a much-welcomed development in the hobby, as the rejuvenated Lindberg brand under the auspices of George Toteff and Craft House Corporation was turning out some of best 1/25th-scale model kits back in the 1990s. Round 2, who now owns the Lindberg tooling, developed fresh box art and a set of optional American five-spoke mags for an AMT-branded hardtop that debuted in 2016 (all: Wave 3/*).

Revell’s 1963 and 1964 Impala SS kits are full-detail models with slightly simplified assembly processes. Revell’s 1962 Impala hardtop and Impala SS kits are highly detailed models with dual-quad 409 engines; they’re slightly compromised by overly rigid wheelwell openings that don’t fully capture the subtle nuances of the original car’s design (all: Wave 4/*).

Pontiac Catalina and Ventura

From 1958 onward, Pontiac’s top range Bonneville series typically offered the make’s highest performance engine options available on order. Given the added length and weight of the Bonneville versus the shorter wheelbase Catalina and Ventura, not many of these luxury liners were ordered with street performance as the primary purchase criteria. Nevertheless, AMT produced annual kit replicas of the Bonneville from 1958 through 1964 (I cover the 1965 and later full-sized Pontiacs in Chapter 11).

Counterclockwise from the upper left, annual kits of the Pontiac Bonneville from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1964 are shown. As engines were added to the annual kits in the early 1960s, they typically replicated the top-line 421 in 4-barrel, tri-power, or dual-quad form (all: Wave 1/**).

During the last decade and a half, a new round of early 1960s big Pontiac kits have been introduced. Several of these replicate the shorter wheelbase Catalina and Ventura bodies, which, when equipped with the performance versions of the 389 or 421 engines, fall well within our pre–muscle car era operating definition.

Taking these new kits in model year order, first is the Trumpeter 1/25th-scale 1960 Pontiac, first introduced to the hobby trade in 2003. This one sticks with the longer wheelbase Bonneville configuration, and it was produced in hardtop and convertible versions. This kit has Asian kit development origins, and it builds somewhat differently as a result. The engine accuracy is very compromised, but the rest of the kit is fully presentable. Early production runs of the hardtop kit included incorrect, dull plating of the chrome tree parts. Trumpeter and its New Jersey–based importer Stevens International supplied properly plated replacements upon request, so check to see that your kit purchase has the correct parts.

In 2016, Moebius Models introduced a 1961 Pontiac Ventura hardtop kit, which is to be followed with a 1961 Catalina kit. Both these kits have excellent engines, chassis, interiors, and body castings, and Moebius’s full-color assembly manuals are the best in the business. Test fitting of the windshield to the body (prior to painting and assembly operations) is recommended.

The modern kit era has brought us several all-new kits of early 1960s performance Pontiacs. Trumpeter’s 1960 Pontiac Bonneville is light on engine accuracy but otherwise a relatively serviceable kit (Wave 4/*). The Moebius 1961 Ventura (Wave 4/*) and AMT-Ertl 1962 Catalina 421 SD (Wave 3/*) kits are highly detailed, and both sit firmly atop any ranking of 1960s big Pontiac kit accuracy.

In 1998, AMT-Ertl introduced an all-new tool of the 1962 Pontiac Catalina with a SuperDuty 421 engine under the hood. Round 2 reintroduced the kit in 2009 with fresh box art and a decal sheet featuring the Arnie Beswick Super Stock drag entry.

Epilogue

Virtually all of these family sedans with performance engines continued into the mid-1960s, with a few lasting all the way through the remaining decade. Clearly, the attention of muscle car buyers was quickly migrating to the intermediate-based supercars as typified by the GTO. Large muscle car volumes dropped abruptly after 1965, even as the manufacturers tried new, more focused large performance cars including the Catalina 2+2, Ford Seven Litre and GT, and so forth. This is a story unto itself, and thus, coverage of kits of large cars with muscle car engines continues in Chapter 11.

Missing in Action

Pre–supercar era cars yet to appear in a 1/24th-1/25th–scale kit

• 1956–1958 Plymouth Fury

• 1957–1958 Dodge Coronet Two-Door Sedan with D-500/Super D-500 Engines

• 1958 Mercury Two-Door Sedan with 400-hp MEL Marauder V-8

• 1959–1961 Chrysler 300 E, F, and G

• 1963 Pontiac Catalina with 421 Super Duty Engine

Pre–supercar era cars that need a new or modern kit offering

• 1962 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Fury with Max Wedge V-8

• 1962–1964 Chrysler 300 H, J, and K

• 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 XL with 406 FE V-8

• 1963 Dodge 330/440/Polara and Plymouth Fury/Sport Fury with 426 Max Wedge V-8

Muscle Car Model Kits Scale Showroom

The following models show how several of the kits mentioned earlier in this chapter look when assembled by experienced adult model car builders. (Photography and models are by the writer unless noted otherwise.)

The 1949–1950 1950 Oldsmobile 88 is considered by many to be the first muscle car. Revell’s all-new 1/25th-scale assembly kit is offered in two versions (stock or custom); this is the mild custom version.

The 1953 Studebaker Starliner proved the appeal of a car designed for eye-pleasing proportions and style rather than more practical considerations. AMT’s Trophy Series kit is shown here assembled in 100 percent showroom stock form. (Builder/Photographer: Rick Hanmore)

AMT (left) and Revell (right) were the first to offer full-detail Tri-Five Chevy assembly kits. These are built both showroom stock from the kits, except for the more contemporary wheel/tire fitment.

This AMT-Ertl 1962 Bel Air BubbleTop hardtop with 409 V-8 power was built box-stock except for the contemporary American five-spokes and wide boots.

Here AMT’s 1963 Impala SS annual kit has been converted to a Z-11 drag racer with the engine from AMT-Ertl’s 1962 Bel Air Super Stock kits. Note the diorama backdrop and hand-painted figures. (Builder: Bill Coulter)

Mid-year Code LL-1 Limelight paint distinguishes this Chrysler 300 Sport two-door hardtop built from JoHan’s USA Oldies series kit of the mid-1970s. (Builder: Dean Milano)

This 1963 Chrysler 300J was built from a restored JoHan annual kit; adding a lowered suspension and 1970s era mag wheels, it takes on an entirely different look than the showroom stock appearance.