Lindberg 1/24 'Maverick' 1964 Dodge 330 Super Stock, Previewed by Scott Van Aken

Born in Shawnee Township, Illinois, Golden joined the US Marines and first became interested in drag racing while at Camp Pendleton.

Golden was given his "Maverick" nickname in the late 1950s by an announcer at a Southern California dragstrip, because he chose to drive an unconventional 361 cu in (5,920 cc)-powered Dodge Custom Royal. He started racing in AHRA Super Stock, driving Dodges for several years. He was one of the first drivers in AHRA S/S to successfully run an automatic transmission. In 1960, Chrysler offered to provide him parts, when he was driving a Dodge Phoenix, powered by a 330 hp (250 kW) 330 cu in (5.4 L) with twin Carter carburetors and cross-ram intake manifold; the car was capable of quarter-mile times of 13.7 seconds.

By 1962, he was a factory driver, driving an S/SA Dodge. At the 1962 AHRA Winternationals, driving his bright yellow hemi "Taxi Cab" Dodge 330, he scored a "stunning" victory over "Dyno Don" Nicholson's 409 cu in (6,700 cc) factory Chevrolet at Fontana Drag City, to take the Stock Eliminator title, Chrysler's only Nationals win for 1962.

In 1963, Golden worked with Jim Nelson of Dragmasters to improve the car, and won seven Super Stock races out of eight events, taking the Midwest Championship. Many will notice that Bill Golden also drove the 'Little Red Wagon' wheelstanding pickup truck.

THE KIT

Lindberg has always released a car or two over their existence. Not really known as a car kit maker like AMT or even Revell or Monogram, early Lindberg car kits were generally in 1/32, built up from fairly flat panels and did not include clear parts or chrome. Later they ventured into more standardized kits and those were, for the most part, quite good and well received.

This 1964 Dodge 330 is one of those. It has been issued seven times by Lindberg, twice as 'Color Me Gone', twice as 'Ramchargers', twice as standard cars and once as this boxing. AMT (Round 2) has released it as 'Color Me Gone' and a standard car, the most recent in 2023 according to Scalemates.

The kit is fairly standard for modern US car kits. There is only one engine option and that is to use either short velocity stacks or air cleaners on the two carburetors. The kit is designed as a dragster so if you want to do a street car, you'll need to round up some standard wheels and tires. The engine s up to standards of the time and comes with headers. All of the front and rear suspension pieces along with the drive shaft are separate bits. Engine compartment walls and the firewall are also separate and are built up around the engine once that is installed.

Interior is stock save for the roll cage. There are separate side panels and one has a choice of adding arm rests or not. If not using them, then holes will need to be filled. Since this has a push button automatic, there are only two pedals and no center gear shifter. All four windows are separate pieces. The chrome is nicely done and the tail lights are on the clear sprue so will need to be painted. Wheels are not designed to turn and glue to separate plates that fit on the front and rear suspension.

Instructions are well done and provide generic paint references. Despite being sealed since purchased, the decals have started to yellow, though they are nicely printed. Not sure if there are aftermarket choices for these or not, but I will definitely look for them prior to building this kit.

So there you have it. A car kit that is frequently overlooked by car modelers, but one that should be fairly straight-forward when it comes to building it.

KIT #:	72174
PRICE:	$23.00 when new
DECALS:	One option
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	1997 release