AmericanMuscleFan

WOW, that's beautiful Jim! Only 2 months to deliver this construction caliber gives me pause for thought on my working methods. I can only marvel at what you have been able to do in such a short time my friend, Monsieur le Curé is very happy!!! 😊

Thanks for the kind words Marcos! Thanks Ron! I must admit that the imagesetter did most of the work, drawing the gauges was very easy for me because it was the kind of work I did every day at the time. Thanks Trevor! I'm pretty sure we weren't the only ones to see our collections slowly melt away without knowing where these precious items were going! Thanks Joe! I will install the floor pan permanently next as I need this operation done to go further with the most interesting updates... at least some that will show more concrete progress...! Thanks for your kind comments Claude! As you do so well and so often yourself, finding a second life in everyday objects is very pleasant. I found this material almost by accident because most of these old floppy disks have doors (if I can call them that) made of stainless steel but I have found others (few) with this very thin aluminum. I imagine it depended on the manufacturer but they have produced so many that you are sure to find some in the lot. Not a lot of material available by diskette but what we do is not very big either... Thanks again everyone, more updates soon, Francis

Thanks Joe! But I'm sure Michael J. Fox has already seen others as they say so well! Thanks for the kind words Jerry! I will start to assemble some engine components and install the floor permanently, so I will be able to offer you updates soon, let's say, a little more substantial... Thanks Lorne! I always had a weakness for speedometers when I was a child, in fact I had a few but my parents were not too keen on seeing me collect them! I retain the idea of the sticker on the dashboard, it makes a lot of sense for a drag racing truck! Sadly, I lost the original key but I don't think I can have another made at Mopar, I will have to manage with the means at hand... Thaks again to each of you guys! Francis

Thanks Ian! You are right and the other dark side of this low mileage odometer is that any other models where I use these gauges will have the same low total on the odometer. I haven't finished having angry people at my door... But maybe the truck is on its second lap, who knows? 😉 Francis

Superb job Marco! Very nice attention to detail, looks like we are looking at the picture of the real car. I would definitely take it in my parking lot! 😊

We are therefore equal, I am jealous of your talent with brass! It's one of the sad advantages of getting older if I may say so, I was able to work with devices from another era... I have worked in graphic arts and pre-printing for 32 years so this is pretty straightforward for me. You can be sure that if I had the space available I would have one of these dinausaurs in my workshop, I'm sure units of these old imagesetter that either sold out for a piece of bread or were scrapped... a shame! 😢 Take care, Francis

Thanks a lot Jason! Your comments are actually very inspiring to me and keep me going. It is not negligible and I really need it in order to keep my motivation on a build that is starting to stretch over time... Take care, Francis

Thank you very much Mike, these kind comments are greatly appreciated! I had this dashboard in mind for a long time and have to say I am very happy with the results but my fingers hurt for two days holding this little piece of aluminum. I had to use the traditional ways to achieve it because my beautiful machines were of no help. What I like about these old trucks is their simplicity, they were so crude and poorly equipped that it makes them look good. It's a bit of a paradox because I have a weakness for luxury vehicles with a lot of equipment. Don't worry about the seats, they will be fixed and not adjustable, we can talk to you again! By the way, did you read my last PM? I would be curious to know more about this mysterious product... Take care, Francis

It's superb Ian! You obviously have great skills and a real attention to detail! Keep doing the good work, it's remarkable my friend! 👍

Great progress on the truck Jim, monsieur le Curé is eager to park it in the garage of the presbytery! It's not unusual to see some tooling marks on a turned part but you can use 0000 steel wool, it will remove all thes marks. Be very careful and watch your fingers if you decide to do the polishing directly on the lathe, I recommend adjusting to a slower speed and not getting too close to the chuck jaws... they bite...!

Hello everyone, A lot of pics today... As I mentioned in my last post the next update will be the dashboard so here it is in its late stage I would say. I will probably have small details to add to it but the main elements are there. The bezel of the gauges was particularly tricky and delicate to make because I used very thin aluminum (0.006 ") that I salvaged from the door of an old computer diskette. The gauges are not perfect for the D100 because they were made for a '68 Dart but still look pretty similar, just a little bigger than the real ones, I'll live with that... They were designed using the same technique as for the RPM but I no longer have access to negative film production devices (analog) which are now obsolete or very difficult to find in this digital world... I particularly love the simplicity of the D100 dashboard and it brings back fond memories of my youth with my uncle during the hay season! Comments and suggestions are welcome. Take care, Francis Hand made gauge bezel with thin aluminum (0.006 "). Adjustment made to the edge of the dashboard. A quick test because I can't resist... Negative film made with Adobe Illustrator and printed on an AGFAimagesetter at high resolution. The needles are painted from behind and covered with white paint, the same technique as for RPM. Sorry for the blurry photo. Glove box button machined with black ABS plastic. All dash knobs are machined aluminum. Note that I added the cigaret lighter even if I am not a smoker... Different view. With the instrument gauges. Different view. The odometer reads 36132.8 miles Different view. These old imagesetters were very precise, not sure if I could find something so precise today as an alternative? Another quick test because I can't resist... again...

Thanks for the kind comments Ian! It's really fun to explore new territories... Even more small parts in the making so stay tuned my friend! Francis

Welcome on board John! Beautiful models sir! There is no doubt that you have great attention to detail. I look forward to your work on your current projects, there is always something to learn in this wonderful hobby!

Nice job Dan! It's always a nice gesture to save an old promo kit. Nice touch on the gauges by the way, printed on an inkjet printer I guess? 👍

Welcome to the forum Jerry, I can't wait to see your post on this subject! I also bought the Clearly Scale Dodge Challenger Hellcat Conversion Kit 2 weeks about ago and received it in 5 days. Very nice kit and exceptional customer service on top of that!!! 👌