At first glance this looks like quite a nice example of the #343 Pontiac Firebird. Things look a little dark in the back, though . . .
Yes, somehow the rear seat and part of the floor, as well as the tiny little gearstick had disappeared from this model.
At first I was just going to put it in the box of models that may be useful for spares one day. Then I remembered that Corgi had saved themselves a few shillings by using almost the same casting and what might be very similar interiors for both the Chevrolet Camaro and the Pontiac Firebird. This had always struck me as a little odd as presumably there would not have been any matching of the real cars but now this could be to my advantage.
I found someone selling a wreck of a Camaro for £10 and he or she accepted my offer of £8.50 which was all the more surprising as they included *postage! This arrived in the usual thinly-protected jiffy bag and the package even fitted through my letterbox but I was not too worried on this occasion. I had assumed that I would have to extract the rear section and a seat back and try to cut the new piece so that the join was not too obvious. The driver's seat backrest I was a bit unsure about as the passenger one seemed unwilling to angle back from its rather upright stance but I would look at that later.
I was pleased to discover that the Camaro and Firebird interiors were, indeed, the same colour too. So I set about drilling out the two rivets retaining the Camaro base. I may not have needed to bother as I discovered then that the interior did not seem to be attached to anything. I was able to lift the back and, with a bit of a tug, the whole unit came out in one piece!
Logic then informed me, a little belatedly but nonetheless pleasingly, that what comes out might go back in in this particular case and I fiddled around with the remnants of the Firebird interior and got them out pretty smartly. The Camaro interior just slipped in and made a reassuring connection of sorts with the chassis such that it did not seem likely to come adrift or fall out should the model overturn at some point in the future. All, indeed, seemed very well. And I didn't have to worry about the seat backs or wondering how the gearstick could be fitted so that it still moved.
So there we are. The Pontiac is close enough to being all original and a lot more likely to find an interested collector one day.
The seat backrests appear slightly differently angled and move easily. That may or may not be a difference, merely the old ones having become stuck perhaps.
So, if you have either of these models and the interior is not all it should be, you should be able to fix it without using anything other than a similar vintage part from a wreck.
*I mentioned postage above and, in this case, the seller used Royal Mail's Tracked 48 service with a price of £3.75. This has recently increased from £3.65 but is still, in my opinion, good value and reliable. This price applies for those of us who can purchase the postage online and print the label so I guess it will not suit everyone. It is quite a saving on the price you'd pay by queueing at a Post Office counter. Incidentally, that is another benefit - You spend a mere few seconds at the counter and may often be able to persuade the lady with a dozen identical packages for which she needs stamps or labels, or the earnest-sounding gentleman who needs to be provided with every option prior to deciding which of half a dozen services to use, or even the youngster sending a parcel to France who needs to fill out a Customs Form and tell us all what is inside, any of whom can take ten minutes or more, to allow you to pop in front and be out of the door before they can say Customs Declaration.
There are, of course, other services that advertise cheaper prices but my experience of deliveries from the cheapest has not been that great. I am also quite happy with just the tracking and it is only on the more valuable items that I need a signature. Even that service, though, is significantly less expensive if you are able to purchase online rather than at the counter. Royal Mail comes in for a lot of criticism but I have had a good experience over the years. Yes, some parcels have gone astray but, from recollection, these have only been in Brazil and Belgium and that can hardly be the fault of Royal Mail. In each case I have received a prompt payment of the insured value and refund of postage paid.
Using the 'Signed For' service, which adds a fair bit to the price, does not, I found when that seemed to be the default service for many of us, necessarily mean that your customer got the package. In one memorable incident, someone in France wanted a refund for his purchase despite my showing him evidence that the package had been signed for. He claimed that a baby-sitter had signed for it. I was unable to determine whether the baby-sitter was a fan of the 7 litre Iso Grifo or not but I suggested the buyer seek recompense in her direction , not mine.
On the subject of postage, however, I am concerned that some new and pretty incomprehensible regulations may impact on my deliveries to anywhere outside the UK. It is already a pain for most European customers to have to add not only 20% but also a fat handling charge and then a tax on that to an already quite expensive purchase. A £100 Corgi Toy may well cost them about £150 now. Whereas once most of my customers were collectors in Italy and Germany, now these people are very few and far between and it is usually someone who is buying a model that is very hard to find and for whom the additional duty is manageable within what might be a more flexible budget. Now, though, I am told that I have to specify a whole load of stuff about the product, whether it is suitable for children of a certain age, provide some link to where it was sold so the price or value can be checked and some data which has initials that I honestly don't understand. The system for the USA has been quite reasonable with recent requirements that I pay the duty when purchasing the postage. I can declare the value and advise the customer if I need some extra funds. It is quite a modest 10% rate and one can take a view on 'value' too. Now I believe fresh changes and requirements to declare a lot more information may jeopardise that trade too, which has held up well over the years since Brexit.
At least there's still Canada, Australia and New Zealand . . . I think. Maybe there will be forms for them too as government interferes more and more in small businesses.
I will, of course, find my way through this quagmire of regulation and continue to supply anyone, almost anywhere. I may complain and get a bit annoyed but I will live to fight another day and, hopefully, get a more helpful government.
