[Ralphthe3rd]

Hey Guys, I just acquired this body in a recent trade, and it's manufacturer eludes me. The body is molded in a slippery/soft Black plastic, similar to an aurora, but not as hard(it's NOT Resin). It's molded plastic and has no separate parts, sans the missing window glass. The Bumpers are molded on, and don't appear to have ever been painted, but it could have just worn off. The wheelbase is identical to Aurora short WB, and the screw posts line up perfectly as well, but the body CANNOT be fitted to an T-Jet, because the the front grill area is too close to the pick-up shoes and they hit, although an older Vibrator chassis would probably fit perfectly. Both screw posts have been hacked a bit, the rear is crudely notched to lower the body I presume, while the front seems to have been cut and filed more precisely. Inside the body are the Words- "Sting" and "Ray" with the number "2" separating them.
I created the following list of 1/87 scale HO manufacturers(from the past) and checked out several, and came up with the "NO" on the ones I found info/pix of. The list includes:
Aurora- NO
Tyco "S" - NO
Atlas - NO
Marx -
Eldon -
Lionel - NO
Bachmann -

*were there Sears or Monkey Wards sets made by Marx or Eldon ?
____________________________________________________
Anyway, here are the pix, (any clues) :

 

[sethndaddy]

American Line ?

 

[Ralphthe3rd]

American Line ?

Is that just a guess, or do you have info ? Don't forget, I said it Will NOT fit a T-Jet Chassis....

 

[alpink]

it certainly looks like the Lionel or Atlas, both of which were later released by American Line tooling. but I have no proof and the fact it doesn't clear pickup shoes would tend to rule American Line out.

 

[helivaguy]

american line,( lionel repop)they also made a thunderbird and they used to sell them with a thunderjet chassis for $12.00(we just bought them for the chassis alone and tossed the bodies).
this is how they came packaged..

 

[Ralphthe3rd]

ummmmmm...?

american line,they also made a thunderbird and they used to sell them with a thunderjet chassis for $12.00(we just bought them for the chassis alone and tossed the bodies).
this is how they came packaged..

Are you sure that THIS Vette was one ? I mean the pick-ups have a clearance issue up front. Can you confirm this was an AmL ?

 

[Ralphthe3rd]

Update, I just looked up the Lionel Stingray, and it WAS NOT a '63 Split Window, it was a '64 or later StingRay.- sans Split window
Lionel Stingray below

compare to my Black split window....

.....so, if the American Line Body was based on the Lionel molds, then My Black 63 is NOT an AmL ! Note the pointed ridge tip on the front of MY hood/body, that doesn't appear on the Lionel version, also, i think my side windows are slightly taller too ? I also note that the Lionel Vette has a checkered hood louver/grills, while my Split Window Vette has just straight line louver/grills on each side of the hood.

 

[helivaguy]

yes, i had a whole box load i purchased from new jersey nostalgia hobby back in 2000,in fact i still have 1 black stingray as you have shown.
i remember we had to glue the windshield in and trim the frontend to mount the t-jet chassis.
if you call joe correa at nj nostalgia hobby (scotch plains nj) he will confirm and probably still has them hanging up in his store,you could also ask bob beers(mr aurora) as he is friends with joe and share the same knowledge.

 

[Bill Hall]

Lindy

 

[Ralphthe3rd]

hmmmmmm....the mystery deepens, at least for me

yes, i had a whole box load i purchased from new jersey nostalgia hobby back in 2000,in fact i still have 1 black stingray as you have shown.
i remember we had to glue the windshield in and trim the frontend to mount the t-jet chassis.
if you call joe correa at nj nostalgia hobby (scotch plains nj) he will confirm and probably still has them hanging up in his store,you could also ask bob beers(mr aurora) as he is friends with joe and share the same knowledge.

Very interesting, and I'd like to see one of those AmL Vette's. But what puzzles me, is if they were based on the Lionel, why did they(AmL) go to ALL THE TROUBLE(retooling the mold) of making it a Split Window, and also changing the Hood Grills, on such a low cost body ?

 

[Ralphthe3rd]

another possibility I forgot about

Lindy

Got pix, Bill ?

 

[Ralphthe3rd]

Nope

Lindy

Just checked- Nope, not a Lindy...

 

[SplitPoster]

Looking for a picture of a Marx Vette. I have a set box from the mid 60's, everything except cars of course, but it came with a Thunderbird and what could be the right Corvette Sting Ray to match yours. Given the molded "2" underneath, I could speculate that the T Bird is number 1? Anybody got either of these to see?

 

[A/FX Nut]

It's an American Line for sure. I have two of the Vettes.

Randy.

 

[helivaguy]

believe what i am saying you dont have anything special,those are repops of the lionels whith cosmetic changes,i gave you 2 reputable names that will confirm everything i said.

 

[A/FX Nut]

Just looked at the two I have and yes, what you have is an American Line.

Randy.

 

[helivaguy]

nut, i dont think hes convinced,i just loaded my images of my aml vettes on my previous post.

 

[ajd350]

The AML is based on the Marx. I'll have to try to get a pic of mine. The Lionel looks like it was mastered by the same guy, but is not the same. They also did the 62 T-Bird and a couple of indy cars as well as a Rolls Royce.
Al

 

[Ralphthe3rd]

Helivaguy, Yep, thats it, Thanks for the confirmation. :thumbsup:
Btw- I have been working on it, and have lowered it, and fitted it perfectly to a standard Aurora T-Jet chassis, I'll post pix tomorrow. One thing left to change though, it needs a REAL Paint job, it looks horrible in Black !

 

[alpink]

takes a lot of convincing?