turbo nova

SWEET, sure wish they had sidewall detail but I get why they dont

I like posts where I learn things or see a different perspective, Im not going to comment on the same step that is taken in every kit and as someone posted earlier, state that you are looking for feedback as some dont want it and some can be WAY to sensitive. If you are looking for someone to stroke your ego and add meaning to your life, Im not your guy.

what has curbed me is the kits in HL and the like have steadly crept from 16-22 to 19-29 for standard 1/25 scale, kits I bought there in the last bit seem to be rising sharply. Not a ton of choices though as there isnt much of a scale community around me so second hand kits are scarce. I know I should stop but I just cant, It got's me man, it be call'n me lol.

Ive slowed down a good bit

Ive been pulled several times in my street strip car and have never had an officer question the removal of the door beams, bumper supports, inner dash, factory column, etc. etc. never had one take issue with the lack of factory seat belts either. You cant see most of the weight reductions but its obviously very modified, most cops are cool with it and are curious. It isnt smart to have a cage on the street but it's a necessary evil for the track, a cage is far more concerning to me than the removal of door and bumper supports.

I feel the same way

sounds like most here are not into hot rods and customs but prefer stock stuff?

just different folks enjoying different aspects of the hobby is all, so long as its fun. same as modeling IMO

I cant speak for fastback but in my shop it always starts with several sit downs and planning and in that stage many things are discussed and how they will effect everything else both from a looks and function standpoint. I have no issue with putting 14 or 15 wheels on a car but I will point out that brake selection is limited as well as tire selection as they are just not common sizes any more. I dont have many customers so it makes it easy for me to know what each one prefers and I cant tell you how much easier it is than when I was working at other shops that would take on any job just to get it. As far as the idea of ruing cars by changing them I feel those people may be under the impression there all nice to begin with and that simply isnt the case, most of my work involves replacing 30 to 50% of the body on every build, the years of abuse, neglect, wear and tear, and frankly poor crafstmanship by people that didnt know better or just didnt care make finding nice survivors harder by the day. I can appreciate everyones point of view on what they prefer but many things just have to change as a result of what the car is being asked to do, N5015's and factory disc/drums with 1000rwhp is just not logical at all. It's all in what you want the car to do and bee.

because driveable 200 hp flatheads are rare, 300hp flatheads are unicorns

although some are far better than others and they have some great subjects but all MPC kits are old tool reissue's so they are not going to be near the quality or ease of build of the newer stuff. The revell 69 goat is decent and builds ok even though it appear's a touch small to me, the MPC funny car version is cool but again detail and fit arent the greatest. There are some detail issues with a few of them but as a series the revell special edition kits build really well. All that said I am sooooo happy they repoped a bunch of the vintage MPC funny cars

its the kit, I have have a couple in the closet of no return, it can be built decent but wasnt worth the effort to me, besides I'm more a 66 fan and the revell 66 kit is light years ahead of the mpc67. Just an old tool of a great subject.

thats why I love plastic, you can do anything and it doesnt matter and you dont need to take out a second mortgage to do it, I feel about the same way in 1:1, if its fun do it, theyr just metal glass and rubber.

if its an investment, stock is where its at, personally I want FAR more power than anything ever offerd

another vote for the DTM kits

for me its just a practicality thing, I own a bunch of cars from finished to projects and the 29 is like a go kart but not comfortable at all and Im not that big. The vast majority of my stuff in the shop is muscle cars, full updated suspensions, air, efi, and as of late big power. I am keeping an eye open for a 32 5w though, thats why I kept the cad engine's

as a shop owner I havent had anyone want a true vintage build in years, they are even more impractical and frankly not as much fun. I also havent had much intrest in anything prior to 55 in years. The term restored is the most misunderstood/misused words in the industry, if it isnt factory correct it isnt restored would also like to add I love vintage hot rods and have a stash of flatties and a couple 331 cad's and a nailhead but I just dont fit in early iron that well, my 29 rpu has had a ton of work done just to get room without stretching it and ruining the lines and proportions.

are you going to use al the side trim or shave it?

happy to help, I love first gens, they are an awful choice for a race car but they have style

as you can see in this one, there is a ton of wasted space between the spring and the inner tower this is a front view to give ya an idea on how deep the cut was on this front

I'll try to get some good ones in the morning, anything else want pics of? Ill go pillage my photobucket to see if I have any on there before we put the new front end on it EDIT: everything on there is when we switched front ends and power adders, Ill get some tomorrow.

I googled slapping a big block into a first Gen Nova and it looks like the shock towers need to be moved. I'm going to try and work around that so I can keep the awesome detailed front end. For now I've got to let some glue dry. More to come! they dont need to be moved but notched, the top of the tower is the same but yo cut the inner side out that faces the engine and re-plate it further outboard, the cut/plate goes from the top of the tower to the bottom directly above the upper control arm mount. The engine will fit without this being done but you wont get a real set of headers on the car and changing plugs is harder than winning the powerball. Its also common to cut out the vertical rear inner panels between the firewall and the shock tower for headers to exit, It is darn near i,possible to fit a good BB header between the frame rails on a first gen nova as the rails are narrow the steering box is right in the way. I still have one of the front ends that is modified as described I may could get pictures of if you want, Ive built a few and still race a 64 nova. Im still hunting a trumpeter hard top to make a replica of the race car.

I agree on the 71 mustang as I am yet to find a good kit of the whale body mustangs, The new revell 67 camaro and the fox body are on the list as well, I had such hi hopes for them. I have posted this before but will again to explain my feelings on these kits, I dont build many stock type builds, I enjoy modifying cars and trucks and starting with kits that are so out of proportion is about as much fun as starting with a rotten/rusted to death car in a 1:1 build. It isnt because Im lazy or cant fix em, its because it isnt fun

honestly the kit looks better in person lol. the horizontal seam down the side of the body seperates the top from the bottom, the top half and add on scoop on the lower quarter are all coyote, everything chassis pan down is GT40 kit.