Description
This odd Classic Manta Ray has been deemed to be an original from the 1960’s, because the seal over the box has aged in a comparable manner to those of other genuine Classic items.
It is odd in many ways, as not only is the body green,but parts on the car are not proprietary to the Classic company. Indeed the factory painted green bodies, as well as red and blue ones, were strictly sold as replacement.
The motor is not a Mabuchi-built Classic CM360 but an identical model marketed by AMT and their Dynamic subsidiary and painted in purple. The wheels and tires are by BuzCo. The racing number on the body is also a Dynamic item, found on their Bandit and Renegade models.
To confirm that such models have actually been built, the LASCM has another similar model, painted in red with the same Dynamic racing number and an AMT motor. The model is new and unused, and we believe that it is more than a coincidence.
So what is going on here?
From the LASCM research, only one of two answers to these bizarre models:
-Either Classic ran out of parts and “borrowed” motors, decals and wheels from nearby Dynamic and BuzCo companies, both located in North Hollywood, mere minutes from Culver city, or…
-After Classic sold their parts inventory to REH in the first quarter of 1968, REH assembled a number of Manta Ray models using whatever was available.
Hard to tell at this time, which is correct.
