SfanGoch

It's scheduled for two weeks ago. Don't be late.

Ugh! No disrespect intended; but, what is it with you guys? In the past month, I made two separate postings about the '57 Nomad. I even included Peter's reply to my email about its status; yet, nobody seems to pay attention or read previous comments because the same question keeps popping up. I guess his own words aren't good enough for some members.

Read my previous post. It's already an established fact.

The Skip's Fiesta Nomad is nothing more than a rebox of the original 1969 H-1260. All of the parts are the same in every reissue.

Reply to an email I sent regarding the '57 Nomad:

Brooklynese, as in the original Greenpernt form, soitenly! Sorta like a feline version of Leo Gorcey.

I dunno. Fmeep was fluent in English, Polish an Pig Latin.

Cats respond, and are attracted to, odd and unique sounds. That's why choosing a name is important. When Raven was a kitten, I had a debate with my ex about this subject. I told her I could come up with an unusual nickname to which he would answer because the way it sounded would get his attention. She didn't believe me; so, I told her to think of a word and see what happens. She tried about a dozen or so words without any response from him. "O.K. big shot, let's see what you can do." I said, "Watch this" and said, "Hey, Fmeep!" He turned to me and stared. I walked into another room and repeated. He walked into the room and sat there staring again. I told her to try it herself. She said, "Hey, Fmeep!" and he trotted back into the living room and stopped in front of her. "Smart_ass" was her response. From then, his official nickname was Fmeep. When we were at the ASPCA in the process of adopting him for my son in 2008, Joseph, who was six, asked, "Why is his name Raven?" Mom replies, "That's because he's black." I looked at her and said, "You're black (actually Spanish on her father's side, West Indian and Irish on her mother's); but, I don't hear anyone calling you Raven." The ASPCA volunteer with us had a nervous expression on his face. His eyeballs darted back and forth to my ex and me, not knowing whether he should laugh or keep a straight face. She comes back with, "Ha ha. That's funny. Wanna know what else is funny?" and whacked my neck brace (I broke my neck in a trucking accident the year before). I hope nobody gets their shorts twisted by this anecdote. My ex and I had, and still do have, a great relationship where we would always bust each other's chops in good fun and not take anything said personally. We're weird like that.

My son and I sincerely thank everyone for your kind words and reactions. The vet called me at 9:06 A.M. with the results of Raven's blood work. It was very bad. Liver cancer, reduced kidney functions and other terminal problems. He said that he needed to be euthanized as soon as possible. I asked him if we could still hold out hope to have him with us for another day; but, he said that Raven could die at any moment and his suffering would be over. I'm morally against this but we didn't want our baby to endure any further pain. As we prepared to take Raven to the clinic, I held him and he looked at me, opened his little mouth as if he wanted to say something and went limp. Watching our little pal pass away in my arms was one of the most difficult and saddest things I've ever experienced. An animal's love is unconditional and we saw that in his eyes as his soul passed into God's hands. Raven always knew how much we loved him and he returned that love a thousandfold every single day. Raven was a tough, yet lovable, guy and he went out on his own terms, being with those who loved him so much. Playing by his own rules, that is Raven.

Thanks, John. He's going to have great company. That's my son when he was eight years old in 2010.

A very sad day. Raven, aka Fmeep, our beloved cat pal, passed away peacefully in our arms at 9:40 A.M. this morning. He was much more than a pet. Raven was a true member of our family for 14 wonderful years. He was the swellest little buddy one could ever ask for. God made sure that he wouldn't suffer anymore and he'll have a grand time in Heaven. Our baby will always be with us in spirit.

It seems that you only expect figurative pats on the back from members commenting on your WIP. I gave you that three pages ago. You're awfully thin-skinned if you equate building tips as ripping your work. I don't know how or why you arrived at the conclusion that I was criticizing your efforts. Can you point out anything I wrote disparaging your work? You can't because I didn't. I didn't post anything critical about your build. I stated from the outset that I was offering tips for a future build, if that would be in the books for you. I wouldn't be able to give detailed suggestions unless I actually did the work described. How would I know that deepening the floorpan notches would remedy the chassis fit problem, hollowing out the engine block mounting points to lower the engine so the hood would fit correctly or the correct construction of the rear suspension to avoid fitment conflicts with the gas tank, differential and rollbar supports if I didn't do it myself? One can't make up those kinds of fixes unless one did them in the first place. You didn't consider them. I'm not a know-it-all. I just happen to know what I'm talking about through practical experience. I built the AM GS kit # 5000 when it was initially released in 1995 and it was a mess because I didn't take the time to fully analyze the various issues which frustrate many who have tackled this particular kit and make it somewhat of an ordeal to build. I have built others since then and learned from previous construction mistakes; therefore, I have a 27 year head start in remedying the annoying quirks I found with this kit before you decided to build it; and, as I previously said, I offered you suggestions and tips to allow you to build it relatively problem-free by avoiding the same mistakes which I, and others, have made. It's your prerogative not to post any more updates on your progress. You'll just miss out on getting helpful suggestions from other members who could offer other construction tips which could reduce, or eliminate, any extra work you might consider.

A few things I have noted concerning problems you've encountered while constructing this kit: Granted, this kit requires extra care in assembling; however, the "fiddliness" is grossly overstated. Some tips for a future build of this kit: This is the simplest remedy to fix the chassis to floorpan problem: The rollbar supports need to be attached to the chassis so that the thick portion mounted on the lower rear crossmember is absolutely perpendicular when viewed from the rear of the chassis. If properly installed, the outer edges will be even with the outside edge of the door panels and there will be a 2mm gap between the topmost portion of the supports and the back edge of the door panel. Also, there will be a 1mm gap between the top of the support and the bottom of the shelf on the floorpan. You can make a small triangular bracket which is found on the actual support from 1mm styrene sheet. Also, there is very little clearance between the rollbar supports and the tire on the actual car. This kit was designed with very close tolerances, just as the real Grand Sports were. The reason you had to add that styrene to the lower portion of the headers to adjust the spacing is because you removed those "pegs" They are part of the headers and should not have been removed. The spacer you added between the headers and exhaust is equal to the length of those pegs. The HRM headers are exact copies of the kit parts with the addition of molded-on flanges. You should have used the PE flanges. Believe it or not, the tires are not oversized. I have the book "Corvette Grand Sport" by Dave Friedman. I have examined the photos, and every available one online. The sidewall height of the front and rear kit tires is spot on when compared to the period photos. The fender flare lips are accurately modeled. They do not require thinning. Period photos of Chassis 002, after which this kit (No. 5000) was designed, clearly show that the flare height is correct. Incidentally, Kit No. 5000 was the only GS kit which included the fuel line block (Part 3); although, its installation was not mentioned nor shown anywhere in the instruction sheet. The problem you encountered with the top of the differential is the way you assembled the rear chassis components. This is one kit which requires the builder to follow the assembly instructions to the letter. The radius arms should be slid, not glued, onto the halfshafts. Position and glue the rear suspension onto the rear crossmember and press, but do not glue, the radius arms into their respective locations on the lower crossmember. The reason for not gluing the radius arms to the halfshafts is that it will allow you to make horizontal adjustments to the ride height. The bottom of the differential should barely rest on the differential support located on the lower rear crossmember. If you properly install the suspension according to the instructions, only the front tip of the flange on the top of the differential makes contact with the gas tank and you wouldn't have to deal with all of that grinding. Location of the oil filter (Part 47) is described and indicated in Step 6 Body of the instructions. It's glued to the left front wheel well (Part 48). Location and attachment of the upper (Part 11) and lower (Part 12) coolant hoses is shown and described in Step 4 Engine installation. A couple of side notes. The Weber 58 DCO carbs look great; BUT, they're modeled incorrectly. The flange tips where the trumpets are mounted to the carb should be facing outward, not toward the center of the carb body. If you hollow out the mount locations on the engine block, the engine mounts will sit higher up, giving you enough clearance so the hood fits properly and not float. You've done a great job so far. I'm only offering my observations and tips for easier construction which I gained from building this kit myself.

It's considered the General Tso's Galaxy of Prawns of the automotive world.

Another home run, Steve.