Demon Sizzler

[lucas454]

When I was in the process of finishing my first Demon I noticed they included the stripes and emblem for the Sizzler version of the car. To make it even better, Hart's Parts makes the correct hood scoop for the car. So, I knew I had to make another at some point. The Demon kit isn't a bad kit at all. In fact, it may be one of my favorite Round 2 kits. The hardest part is painting the grill. The rest of the kit goes together quite nice.

SAM_1679 by Eric Lucas, on Flickr

SAM_1680 by Eric Lucas, on Flickr

SAM_1681 by Eric Lucas, on Flickr

SAM_1682 by Eric Lucas, on Flickr

[TJ]

Great build. I gotta get one of these

[kyledehart5]

Sweet!! Great stuff lucas. Love your resin hood too. That really completes the look. Great color choice as well. And I'm with TJ, I have to get myself one of these.

[406 Silverado]

That's a good lookin' build and I've heard a lot of good things about this kit Eric. I posted on this on another forum but I'll post 'er up here for you too.

These Sizzler variants were apparently an effort by Dodge to make a sporty looking Dart available that didn't have all of the "bells & whistles" and performance that the 340 powered Demon had. Here's an ad for it:

[kyledehart5]

Ha!! I love the old ads. That is awesome Joe.

[406 Silverado]

Jul 10, 2024 5:25:19 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Ha!! I love the old ads. That is awesome Joe.

 LOL!! Me too! A couple of things stuck out to me on the Sizzler and that was the Rallye Wheels without the chrome trim, a black center decor cap and whitewall tires. Most all of these appeared to have had either a 318 or 225 slant six. Definitely an attempt to cut insurance costs and still offer a sporty looking car. 

[tcoat]

Jul 10, 2024 6:15:59 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Jul 10, 2024 5:25:19 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Ha!! I love the old ads. That is awesome Joe.

 LOL!! Me too! A couple of things stuck out to me on the Sizzler and that was the Rallye Wheels without the chrome trim, a black center decor cap and whitewall tires. Most all of these appeared to have had either a 318 or 225 slant six. Definitely an attempt to cut insurance costs and still offer a sporty looking car. 

In 1971 insurance costs would not have been much of a consideration at all for the auto companies. Many (most?) drivers didn't even have any and there were very few laws requiring it. Even today you will find very few design features to appease insurance companies.

It however was the era of sporty looking "muscle" cars that had no actual muscle at all. It is fun to look at the old ads and see how many of these "faux" muscle cars were so obviously targeted at women as they were starting to take a larger market share. Cars like the small displacement Swingers, Mustangs and Chevelle/Malibu's (and all their other brand clones) were directly advertised as having the "look" of the performance versions to appeal to a different market.  Even the ad above would at least imply that the Sizzler belongs to the girl not the guy just by how they are posed. Today it is easy to be deceived into thinking that the performance models were the majority because those are what have survived, been restored or cloned out of a lesser model but the reality of it was that they actually made up less than 5% of the production back then. There were hundreds if not thousands of base cars with an appearance package slapped on them  (such as the Sizzler) for every one that actually had a drivetrain to back up the appearance.

Model companies really perpetuate the myth that all the versions had massive power since they tend to kit everything with the biggest engine that was an available option. The Chevelle SS is a great example since all the kits seem to have the top level 396 and not the 327 or very anemic 350 two barrel that the vast majority were made with. 

Was also the very beginning of people being concerned about mileage although that didn't become a huge factor until the mid '70s. 

[handiabled]

Great looking Mopar! I really like the color you put on this one

[tcoat]

Jul 10, 2024 8:12:05 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Great looking Mopar! I really like the color you put on this one

I always thought that the orangish colour was all they had in the Sizzler until out HR manager at work showed me a picture of her yellow one back in the day. 

[handiabled]

Jul 10, 2024 8:24:44 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Jul 10, 2024 8:12:05 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Great looking Mopar! I really like the color you put on this one

I always thought that the orangish colour was all they had in the Sizzler until out HR manager at work showed me a picture of her yellow one back in the day. 

I've seen a white one a while back at a local car show

[tcoat]

Jul 10, 2024 8:34:42 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Jul 10, 2024 8:24:44 GMT -5 tcoat said:

I always thought that the orangish colour was all they had in the Sizzler until out HR manager at work showed me a picture of her yellow one back in the day. 

I've seen a white one a while back at a local car show

I had seen only two and both (or the same one twice?) were the orange. These cars did not last long up here so seeing any around today is like spotting a unicorn. 

[moparman18064]

Really nice build. Looks great in EV2.There is a really nice resin grille available now from Few Sprues Loose on EBay. It is a nice kit, but I wish they would not have molded the console in, as a console with manual trans ended in 69. If you build another, look on my ongoing 72 Demon build, as I purchased both 71 & 72 grilles, along with 70 Duster.

[kyledehart5]

Jul 10, 2024 7:59:34 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Jul 10, 2024 6:15:59 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

 LOL!! Me too! A couple of things stuck out to me on the Sizzler and that was the Rallye Wheels without the chrome trim, a black center decor cap and whitewall tires. Most all of these appeared to have had either a 318 or 225 slant six. Definitely an attempt to cut insurance costs and still offer a sporty looking car. 

In 1971 insurance costs would not have been much of a consideration at all for the auto companies. Many (most?) drivers didn't even have any and there were very few laws requiring it. Even today you will find very few design features to appease insurance companies.

It however was the era of sporty looking "muscle" cars that had no actual muscle at all. It is fun to look at the old ads and see how many of these "faux" muscle cars were so obviously targeted at women as they were starting to take a larger market share. Cars like the small displacement Swingers, Mustangs and Chevelle/Malibu's (and all their other brand clones) were directly advertised as having the "look" of the performance versions to appeal to a different market.  Even the ad above would at least imply that the Sizzler belongs to the girl not the guy just by how they are posed. Today it is easy to be deceived into thinking that the performance models were the majority because those are what have survived, been restored or cloned out of a lesser model but the reality of it was that they actually made up less than 5% of the production back then. There were hundreds if not thousands of base cars with an appearance package slapped on them  (such as the Sizzler) for every one that actually had a drivetrain to back up the appearance.

Model companies really perpetuate the myth that all the versions had massive power since they tend to kit everything with the biggest engine that was an available option. The Chevelle SS is a great example since all the kits seem to have the top level 396 and not the 327 or very anemic 350 two barrel that the vast majority were made with. 

Was also the very beginning of people being concerned about mileage although that didn't become a huge factor until the mid '70s. 

This is very true. My Mom’s very first brand new car purchase was a Plymouth Duster with the Twister appearance pack. Bright blue, Nice bold white striping down the side with the twister logos, the nice rally wheels aaaaand a slant 6, 3 on the floor. I actually built her a replica for it for Christmas as it’s still her favorite car she’s ever owned. Lol. I’m not sure if it was the ads worked or if she just saw it on the lot and liked it.

[moparman18064]

Jul 10, 2024 8:38:54 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Jul 10, 2024 8:34:42 GMT -5 handiabled said:

I've seen a white one a while back at a local car show

I had seen only two and both (or the same one twice?) were the orange. These cars did not last long up here so seeing any around today is like spotting a unicorn. 

I also know a Basin St. ( Petty blue) one also