In the late Fifties, Revell tooled up a quarter-scale small block Chevy engine kit complete down to the most minute details. Following a presentation to General Motors, the manufacturing giant turned down any interest in underwriting or promoting the kit, and the half-dozen parts sets, including the presentation boards, disappeared. Fast forward to September 2010 when I received a call from Colorado resident Don Hollensen who indicated that his modeling buddy, John Lunger, had chased down a puzzling note on their local Craig's List for a long-lost large scale Revell Chevy engine kit. Both Don and John went to see the parts – on sale by the son of Revell engineer Lonnie Flanders who had recently passed away. Don instantly knew what he was looking at having remembered a late Sixties article by former Revell employee Jim Keeler.

After some quick conversations between me, John and Don, and Jim Keeler, Don and John went back to the seller's home and bought everything in sight at considerable personal expense. Just a couple of weeks later, they took a long road trip to the Museum (suffering a mechanical breakdown in their van on the way), and dropped off a jaw-dropping collection of parts for the rarest kit in the history of our hobby.

The Museum expresses, again, its greatest appreciation to the incredible thoughtful generosity of Don and John. 


https://www.themodelcarmuseum.org/Acquisitions/chevy8/CHEVY1.jpg
Here's the earliest pic e-mailed to the Museum, showing John (L) and Don excitedly displaying the vintage GM display board as well the many dozens of engine parts in the foreground.