Ohio George Malco Gasser

[Bob S]

I know what you're talking about Ron!    530 cubic inches - 700 HP !!!!   ...that's just plain CRAZY.

[Ronv]

Hey Bob, Have you ever watched the show on Youtube called Roadkill? They built a gasser called BLASPHEMI. Show is produced by the editors of Hot Rod Magazine. Pretty cool!
RonV

[Bob S]

Thank you Bill - I can't say enough about these retro-packaged AMT kits...they include all kinds of goodies- some of which have been missing since the original issues, and then they give us a new bonus of beautiful pad-printed tires in the box (which are also sold separately at about $12.00 per set.)
Next time you get the bug to build an auto, check out one of these kits -- they will take you right back to the thrill you felt as a kid opening the box.
Look for the kits boxes in their original art and the "Retro Deluxe" emblem on the front like the one pictured...

[Bill L2]

Very nice work! I love the Gasser drag cars. Outstanding build Bob.

[Bob S]

Great model, Bob!

Lee G.

Thank you Lee - If you get a hankering to build a car, try one of the AMT reissues for yourself - opening one of their boxes is like being 14 years old again,
all original parts have been restored, plus there's some nice goodies inside this time around that was never included before, like beautiful pad-printed tires, and sometimes a miniature box of the box you just opened, with the same artwork as the full-size model box. Also, better decals than before. I'm proud of AMT to do all of this for us modelers! (I'm hoping Revell will catch on soon and offer better tires at least...)

[lgriffin]

Great model, Bob!

Lee G.

[Ryan K]

Another great build!

[Bob S]

 One of the most colorful chapters in drag racing history is the AA/Gas Supercharged coupes that created some of NHRA's most intense rivalries from the late 1950s through the early 1970s.

The combination of supercharged engines in full-bodied cars presented a readily identifiable package for the race fans, and the AA/GS entries were, in essence, the forerunners of Funny Car and Pro Stock.

In its heyday, the class boasted such talent as "Big John" Mazmanian, Stone-Woods-Cook, K.S. Pittman, Jr. Thompson, the Kohler Bros., and, of course, "Ohio George" Montgomery.

No racer in the gasser ranks could match Montgomery's record in national event competition. The class winner on many occasions at the U.S. Nationals, Montgomery drove his AA/GS machines to victories in Indy on four different occasions and also claimed an additional three titles at other events.

Montgomery's domination of Indy was especially significant because it was the only national event on the NHRA schedule for many years - hence the biggest race in terms of bragging rights.

Montgomery quickly established his reputation as the top racer in his chosen area of competition by driving his injected A/Gas entry to strong 11-second times for back-to-back class and Little Eliminator victories at the U.S. Nationals in 1959 and 1960 when the event was held in Detroit. After the race relocated to its permanent home in Indianapolis in 1961, Montgomery won his third consecutive class trophy.

Soon after the establishment of the AA/Gas supercharged class, Montgomery switched to a blown small-block Chevy engine and won both class and Middle Eliminator honors at the 1963 Nationals with low 10-second performances, and he followed with still another class win in Indy in 1964.

Drag racing's booming popularity soon caught the eye of Detroit's big three automotive manufacturers, which soon began recruiting quarter-mile talent for their own factory race teams. Montgomery was quickly picked up by Ford as one of the racers selected to develop the company's new 427-cid SOHC hemi engine.

Montgomery quickly made good use of the engine's added horsepower, racking up class wins at the U.S. Nationals in 1966 and 1967, along with a class trophy at the 1967 Nationals.

This is the reissue of the ancient AMT kit, re-packaged this time with a beautiful photo reference booklet, pad-printed drag slicks, and a re-engineered decal sheet.
To replicate George's car, I used Krylon Baby Blue spray lacquer with a Tamiya clearcoat finish. The beastly Ford 427 engine parts have been molded so many times, many of the pieces are fairly poor and took a lot of carving and sanding to resemble their real-life counterparts. The chrome valve covers were given a fine spray of Tamiya Light Gunmetal, then sanded at the lower flanges and painted a combo of red primer and hull red to give a look of new gaskets. Tires were sanded and wheels were given a light flat black wash to punch the details. Wheelie bar mechanism was a nightmare to assemble and I had to break out the ol' 2-part JB Quick Weld to get the assembly to see things my way---after the weld dried, it was painted with gloss aluminum. The drag chute cable was made from braided line from Detail Master. The seatbelts were molded into the drivers seat--I painted those with Tamiya acrylic Khaki Drab, then painted a piece of masking tape the same color so I could later cover the molded-in belts, plus continue the seatbelts to their mounting points on the floor.

AMT included a super cool photo book in this kit that includes pictures of the real car at the model factory's offices as it had been striped with tape so that the engineers could take their measurements to make the molds for a scale model kit. HOW COOL IS THAT? ...this is how they did it before CADCAM digital programs!

AMT has done a fantastic job of resurrecting their historic moulds and bringing some old kits back to market for a whole new generation of modelers -- and even better this time >> not only have they gone back to their original box art, they also include some real tasty goodies in most of these kits. They've brought the fun back to modeling...  AWESOME work AMT!