Steve Jahnke
Reviews By Author
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1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Snap-TitePublished:
The 1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was the 3rdgeneration of this up-scale marketed Chevy before its eventual downsizing in 1978. At the time, all of the Big 3 had a version of a “personal luxury coupe” in their lineup. The General had a full house mix of PLC’s with the Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix, Olds Toronado, Buick Riviera, and the Cadillac Eldorado. Vehicles of this era were an odd mix of early 70’s flash, style and inferred performance but with the 5mph bumpers imposed in 1973 and ‘74 as well as increased engine emission controls, performance became a shadow of its former self. The standard engine was Chevy’s infamous 305-2 CID design or optionally a 350-4 CID (California only). This offering by Revell is a modified reissue of their original “Hopper” Snap-Tite… more |
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1985 Ford Mustang SVOPublished:
The Ford Motor company unleashed the Mustang SVO (Special Vehicle Operations) in 1984, continuing the marque through 1986. The goal was to produce a sporty and fast Mustang while delivering relatively good gas mileage for the era. Powered by a 2.3 Litre 4 cylinder “Lima” engine originally found under the hood of Pintos, Ford put their money where their claims were. The little Lima was given its muscle (205 HP) with the help of an intercooled turbo-charger; other interesting goodies found on the SVO were a Hurst shifted close ratio 5-speed gear box, Koni designed and supplied suspension, Recaro seats and a bi-plane rear wing unique to the little Mustang that could and did. The Kit: Our subject kit from Revell comes packaged in their ‘Street Burner… more |
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Kurtis Midget Racer with Offenhauser Engine and TrailerPublished:
In this review, we have the sister kit to Revell’s other Kurtis Kraft Midget racer, the V8-60. The Ford V8-60 Kurtis Kraft model and trailer is reviewed by Jim Stratton elsewhere on the IPMS website. This subject review is the same Kurtis Kraft race car fitted with an Offenhauser 4 slug motor. Jim did a great job telling the history of Frank Kurtis and the racing success of his Kurtis Kraft cars. I will give you a little background on the Offenhauser engine part of the story. History and ResearchThe Offenhauser engine, often referred to an "Offy", was developed by Fred Offenhauserand his employer at the time… more |
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Dodge Viper SRT10 ACRPublished:
The Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR (which stands for American Club Racer) is the latest Viper from the Dodge Boys built for hard core street and race enthusiasts. The ACR comes equiped fron the factory with a built for racing aluminum 8.4 litre V10 rated at 600 horse power. Additionally it comes equipped with Brembo discs brakes all around the size of pizza pans; creature comforts include a 310 watt 7 speaker sound system and a 220 MPH speedometer…all for a MSRP of $110,055. This Viper ACR is no longer in production but it is certain to be a collector’s item in the future. This offering by Revell is a modified reissue of their second generation Viper kit with many newly added parts specific to the new ACR. True to Revell kit tradition our Viper is cleanly molded and well engineered so it… more |