Scale-Master

I'm honored to hear you guys are using some of my techniques. I still use pins to aid in alignment, the magnets work well for replacing adhesives.

The magnets are utilized for mocking up the parts for measurements and test fitting and so they can be taken apart and painted (much later) knowing they will fit the same after painting. And in some cases to make moving parts align the same way repeatedly. Many parts have to be assembled at once to see how and where other parts will fit. Cementing them together with an adhesive strong enough to hold them without shifting creates other problems that I don't have to deal with using magnets and it wards off a stacked tolerance situation too. Most of the sub-assemblies with magnets will be permanently cemented after painting and final detailing.

Removable front engine cover for the interior. Since the engine I'm building is larger than the kit provided item, and I'm using a dual belt pulley set-up, I had to make room for the water pump pulley. Before: After:

Since the exhaust port spacing on my heads is different on than the Tamiya parts I had to modify the rear of the inboard tubes to meet the collectors. I used the header flanges I drew that were printed by Fraxional and fitted the tubes to them and the heads. And they are mounted into the heads with magnets…

I installed more magnets to attach the heads to the block. The four holes on each head where the valve train would be are to mount the valve covers. I got the bellhousing I designed back from Fraxional. They did an excellent job of 3D growing it. Other than removing the supports on the face that mounts to the engine, this is how it came to me. A tiny bit of clean up is in order as it is not the higher resolution they offer. (It was provided as a "test shot" but it is good enough to use.) It aligns to the block with two dowel pins like the real ones.

Thanks David! I made some washers and bolts and added the pump shaft and set up the mounting system for the pump pulley… Video: https://i.imgur.com/hpinOnZ.mp4

Here's the matching crank pulley. Both loosely sitting on the engine.

I machined a billet aluminum water pump pulley. It's dual & deep grooved so I can run the same belt set up I have on my real car and add an alternator to this car.

That's cool Steve! Did you consider extending the wheelbase between the back of the door and in front of the rear wheel well? It might add some balance. But I get the concept of keeping it on the same platform as the T-Bird.

Thanks Trevor! I started working over the Z/28 water pump I copied in resin, but I realized it wasn't the best choice for this application let alone an accurate piece even for what it is supposed to represent. The shorter Corvette pump with the over sized bearing was more appropriate even though in the end it will hardly be visible, and it will buy me more space since the engine I'm using is longer than the kit provided one. The Tamiya water pump actually was closer looking to the short style even though it didn't measure out or and has some "interesting" details. Here's the Lola kit part. Having a real pump at my feet made it a lot easier to modify the part into a more accurate rendition. It still needs the mounting hardware and heater hose fitting to be machined and the sand cast texture to be added. I also started reworking the harmonic balancer. I shaved it down to a proper 8" diameter and installed a brass sleeve. I also cut the timing mark into it.

Tamiya came through as always with a great batch too!

At the top of the original post the address is listed: Saturday 9-28-19 at the Costa Mesa Fairgrounds. 88 Fair Drive. Building 10. Costa Mesa CA, 92626 On the flyer which is distributed locally it clearly says Orange County Event Center. Everyone in the area knows where it is. But the main title has the wrong year, (may fault for copy/pasting the wrong one) it is 2019.

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New header flange also designed in SolidWorks. Heavy duty 3/8 inch thick flange for the 1- 7/8 diameter big tube headers to come.

Good to hear David. I used the Lola kit header tubes but had to make the ends that go into the head smaller diameter. Originally they were a constant diameter the same as the tubes. I made a tool from an old collet to uniformly cut those ends down to a 0.13 diameter.

The resin heads I cast have been reworked by removing all the molded on "bolts" and drilling out for the aluminum replacements I'll machine. The spark plug holes have been relocated to their proper locations too. The exhaust ports have been hogged out and the holes for the accessory mounting brackets added. (The white head is the stock Camaro one.)

Thanks Håkan. I drew up a new Hewland transaxle rear cover because there was a sink mark where some of the lettering was. Since the kit part had HEWLANG molded in with that sink mark, it only made sense to fix both issues this way. I planned ahead for the mounting of the part too.

I started building the transaxle so it might be ready when I get the bellhousing from Fraxional, (the 3D printing service I've been using). First up was to cut off and drill out all the bolts, studs, drain plugs… and fill some sink marks.

Just got the kits from one of our sponsors, Round 2. Killer selection and some really cool kits for the winners of the contest! Thank you Round 2!

There are some really well thought out perspectives in this thread, and some great examples of when open discussion is beneficial to all involved. I especially liked Bill Geary's example of the way things should go. I know I have been given undue heat for trying to help fellow builders when I've noticed a huge error while it was still easy to fix. It's too bad some people tend to be predisposed to read negativity into other people's comments. Things offered to be helpful are often mistaken for "attacks" and the person making the observation is too often incorrectly labeled a "hater" or "jealous". It doesn’t help when others pile on instead of thinking for themselves. It is not conducive to the betterment and growth of the hobby, and I hear continually that is one of the goals of these types of forums. You can't have it both ways. Another facet I didn't see discussed in this thread is the possibility the person(s) posting less than stellar work and receiving over the top praise for it isn't who they portray themselves to be, or they may be playing joke or trolling other members of the forum. (Don't dismiss the thought; it has happened several times just in this forum alone on some pretty significant levels.) And who knows, maybe some of the people offering the high praise are doing the same in return? Or maybe they genuinely feel sorry for the builder? If the latter I'm not sure how encouraging poor workmanship is helpful in any way. Either way, is it really what we want to do within the hobby to make it better? Do we want to encourage others to troll the forum, or on the other hand hinder the potential growth of a budding builder by telling them they are doing awesome work when they could be doing so much better with a little honest help? I can't see yes being to correct answer to either scenario, if that is what is happening.

Thanks Tim!

The bolt-on rear spoiler is made of brass. I hand cut two identical pieces from 0.010 sheet. Then drilled 19 holes in each and scored one side of both for the upper "tabs". The upper "tabs" were bent using an angle template for continuity. Then I soldered them together. This is the rear side. I acid cut a recess that will accept a clear spoiler element/window. This is the front side.

Sure Rich, I'd love to see more photos. Thanks David! I also made the bellhousing in SolidWorks since the kit item wasn't a fit or match for the new engine. Again Fraxional is my go-to 3D printer. This is will be a stand-in for mocking up the engine mounts and rear suspension and might get modified later.

I sent you a PM Trevor. Hopefully it went through. I drew the valve covers (copied from my real car) in SolidWorks. I'll have Fraxional "grow" them.