Motivating early '60s wagons

So digging around in the stash, I came across a complete AMT Corvette ('93 LT1 convertible) that will serve as donor, along with the Ross Gibson twin turbo small block Chevy, for motivating the '61 Olds F85 wagon. At a quick glance the track is almost the same so the entire drivetrain should all fit without major bodywork to clear the tires, or major narrowing of the 'Vette chassis. The main issue will be lengthening things but this is a lot simpler than narrowing a 'Vette rear end.



Thinking through the same problem with the '60 Fury wagon, I couldn't find any decent Hemis in the parts bin, at least none without a blower. So I dropped by the local hobby shop on my way home and picked up a Revell Viper ('93 GTS Coupe) which will donate not just the chassis but also the V10. No need for blowers or turbos when you've got 8 litres of V10 lurking under your right foot ... and again the track looks like the Viper tires will fit under the Fury fenders with little or no modifications to the body or chassis.



The Jo-Han chassis will likely get sacrificed in both scenarios but since these are vintage, one-piece chassis with molded-in suspension bits and exhaust pipes, it's no big loss. (No angry letters from the Jo-Han club, please.) And the objective is for these to be sleepers: two-tone pastel paint jobs, all the chrome intact, three rows of bench seats in the Fury, nothing to hint at the drivetrain and chassis except the tires stuffed up inside the wheel wells, and the view under the hood.



And wrapping up the '60s wagons, there is the Jimmy Flintstone Ford Starliner 2-door wagon body, shown here next to the Porsche 908 which is also not progressing, and at least one if not two AMT kits to serve as donors. I am all set for some vintage wagon bashing.



While in the hobby shop, Revell's new Porsche 914/6 sort of made its way into my shopping basket ... I am not sure how that happened. The completion rate has now dropped from 36.5% to 36.2%. And I am not counting either the 'Vette or the Viper as 'new' kits since they will both be seriously cannibalized before I am done. Time to get out the hacksaw... but first I will make a concerted push to complete the BRE Datsuns, and maybe the Mazda 787B that just needs glass and finishing.

PS none of the usual online model kit supply stores (Model Roundup, Strada Sports, Red Frog Hobbies) seem to have any Ross Gibson motors in stock ... are they out of business? If so, that would be a shame, and one wonders what happened to the molds. The few motors I have appear to be very well detailed although I haven't built any up yet.