Review by George Crombie

You can learn more about the Piranha here: http://www.c-we.com/piranha/

Body:
It looks good, and captures the shape well, but there is a pretty serious dimensional issue. Both magazine articles state that the wheelbase is 120", but I measured the kit with my calipers and it specs out at 115". Just eyeballing it against the photos, it looks like they shortened the body by 2" between the cockpit & the front wheels, and 3" off the leading edge of the engine cover. This is why the kit looks "thicker" than the photos of the real car. I am considering stretching everything to the proper specification.

Chassis:
Other than the fact that it's too short, the chassis itself is outstanding - very accurate. The tinwork is all there, and correct. The kit actually contains chute release handles! I can't ever recall seeing these parts in another drag car kit. The front axle follows the prototype well, but I would drill lightening holes in the torsion bar arms, as the real car had them and they are missing from the kit. The Olds rear end is kind of hinky, it's a multi-piece assembly. Neither the carrier nor the back cover are very accurate--check the parts list elsewhere on this website for a replacement. The kit also includes decent disc brakes & calipers. All in all, I think this is probably the best racecar chassis AMT ever tooled.
Engine:
This is probably the weakest part of the kit. The rocker covers are especially poor, although they are typical for a kit from this era. I checked and the rocker covers and breathers from the Revell Maz/SWC Willys kits fit nicely and are a perfect match for the photos in most of the magazine articles. The build photo in November 66 Hot Rod shows M/T rocker covers but these don't appear in any of the other articles so I suspect they were used on a mock-up engine. The Enderle "shower head" style hat is also poorly executed but this seems to be a particularly difficult part to execute in scale. Most of the ones I have seen look pretty crappy. Altered States Models re-pops a Johan Enderle (part #AS00-008) that is not perfect but about as good as it's going to get. I would use that one and add the earlier "shower head" plumbing per the attached photos. The kit contains a Cirello "Frankenstein" style mag. Again, this piece has never been really well done in scale. The one in this kit is probably one of the better attempts but it could still use some help. There is a bunch of stuff on this mag in the Nitrogeezers albums on the Metalshapers website, (Click HERE). The headers will look OK once you clean up the parting lines and drill the ends out with a pin-vise.

Cockpit:
The cockpit, as well, is very nice, and quite accurate. I would use a pin vice to drill out the lightening holes in the clutch pedal arm and brake lever, as well as make a new gas pedal. You could just drill out the lightening holes in the face of the kit pedal, but it would be easy to make one that looks better. I would add a throttle cable, plumbing for the clutch and brake cylinders, and harness detail. You could also use a photo-etched butterfly steering wheel; the kit piece is a little heavy. The upholstery pattern on the kit seat is incorrect. The seat from the AMT Rat Packer Nova is the closest thing I could find.


Wheels/Tires:
Unfortunately, the recent re-issue did not include the correct American 15" twelve-spoke front wheels. These can be found in many kits: AMT AWB Falcons, the Double Dragster, MPC Winged Express/Bantam Blast, etc. But I would get the Replicas & Miniatures re-pops (part #P-76) of the ones from the Revell double kits. These ones are the nicest in my opinion. I bought a set for my Boudakian Bros. Fiat build and they are very nice. The rear wheels in the kit are Americans with no center caps per the real car and they are nice. Some people have complained about the lack of tread on the front tires, but I think this is more than made up for by the outstanding sidewall detail. The rear tires are also excellent. You will need to paint the tires, as they are cast in styrene but as far as I'm concerned, the tires in this kit are among the very best sixties era drag tires ever done.

Decals:
The decals that come in the re-issue are junk, totally useless. Fortunately, Jack Smith of Top End Decals has come up with replacements and they are excellent. They include markings for both drivers, as well as the stripes and Goodyear decals for the tires. The only possible complaint is that the "amt" letters that make up part of the stripes are a little distorted on the driver's side but I am really picking nits here. Jack's decals are excellent.

All in all, I really like this kit. In spite of the wheelbase issue, I think that in its original form, this is the best drag car replica AMT ever did. While this is somewhat subjective, it looks better than the "Ohio" George Montgomery Willys body with the issues around the windshield and the Garlits Wynnsjammer has issues with the toy like appearance of the front suspension. For my money, these three kits represent the high-water mark at AMT in the sixties.