moparlit.com

What I have found is that there is a dearth of information available regarding Mopar promos.  I'm going to attempt to collect as much information as I can on this site.  I welcome any input you might have.  It's my hope that when we're gone, future collectors will have access to everything we know about Mopar promo models.

The following information refers to musclecar promos only.  It is a work in progress.  Please help me make this more robust and complete!  Any information I have about specific years and models is accessed via the links to the left.

WHO MANUFACTURED THEM?

Dodge promos were manufactured by MPC.  

Plymouth promos were manufactured by Jo-Han and MPC.  1967 and 1968 Barracudas were made by MPC.  For 1969 and 1970,  GTX's were made by Jo-Han and Cuda's by MPC.  From '71 onward, all Mopar promos were made by MPC.

BOXES

Mopar promos have by far the coolest boxes of the Big 3.  Here's what I know:

All '67 and '68 Barracuda's came in a plain box.

For some reason, 1970 GTX's all have plain boxes.  This is odd given that the '69's came in such cool boxes, both made by Jo-Han.

Roughly half of all 1971 Cuda's I've seen have been in a plain box.  

I've seen several 1972 Roadrunners in plain boxes, in both Lemon Twist and Basin St. Blue.

Does anyone know who the guy is who felt compelled to write the year on the end flaps of the boxes of 80% of the promos out there?  Sort of like the old lady in the midwest who made up all the dirty jokes, I'd like to meet this guy.

PAINT INFORMATION AND ODDITIES

All metallic cars were painted, thus it is not uncommon to find imperfections.  My In-Violet Cuda,  Bronze '69 Charger, and Turquoise '69 Coronet all have blemishes.  I've had others in the past.

I've talked to several people with painted blue '70 -'74 Mopar promos who have had the cars shatter when handled.  The '71 Dark Blue metallic cars are said to be exceptionally brittle.  Something about the molding and painting of cars in this color resulted in the cars being like hand grenades.  Generally speaking, ALL painted MPC models are brittle.  Unscrew the chassis at your peril!

RESTORATION TIPS

Tips on Replacing Wheels:

Wheel replacement isn't as easy as it should be, and will often result in broken wheels.  If you must attempt replacement:

• It's recommended that the body and chassis be seperated first.  This will give you much more room to "operate", and decreases the chances of damaging the body.  On painted cars this separation can be disastrous, so proceed with great caution at your own peril.
• First try twisting the wheels in different directions, with a gentle "tug" apart.  Be sure to tug straight or the hubs might crack.
• If that doesn't work, try soaking the entire chassis in hot water.  NOT too hot, as this can deform the plastic.  After soaking, re-try above.
• If all else fails, grab the tires with channel lock pliers and attempt to remove them by pulling straight off with a gentle twisting motion.  The pliers likely won't damage the tires.
• Good luck!

How to remove the chassis screws from Johann promos ('69 and '70 GTX's):

This is from promo expert and all-around nice guy Roger Gilmore.  Roger claims to have successfully done this several times.  I, on the other hand, tried to twist them out with pliers and ruined a nice blue '69 GTX.  Here's Roger's method:

"I have a soldering iron with a rounded tip. For Johans, you carefully press it against the screw for several minutes while gently pulling up on the chassis till you see the screw coming out. If the iron is already fairly hot, it won’t take long. Usually by then, the post is warm enough to twist out with pliers. Same going in. Screw the screw/pin in a little with pliers, then hold iron against the flat top till it starts to gently slide in till it hits the chassis."  

Roger tells me that the screws were likely inserted into the posts at the factory using heat.  Hence this makes a lot of sense. 

Tips on removing paint (like when someone has painted the side-marker lenses or window trim):

I've never attempted this, but here are a couple of links that might be helpful:

Fine Scale Modeler tips on removing paint from plastic models

Hobby Talk tips on removing paint from plastic models