Vince Nemanic

Nice work, guys. I wouldn't even tru to make one from a kit, let alone by scratch. I just buy Martins and Guilds...

I remember the 911 speedster from Road & Track magazine in the 1970s. It had a 356 Speedster deck molded on and the windshield frame was made from two speedster frames. Unthinkable now!

Snake, if you look At the H.A.M.B and other websites or magazines, it seems tht the majority of the members/readers consider anything with a straight axle as a gasser. That is the definition that I was using. Of course, you are right (and I agree with you), but also consider that people build models and 1:1s out of cars that have altered wheelbases and refer to these as "gassers". Furthermore, gas class cars such as the later Opel GTs, Montgomery's Multi Maverick and Fred Hurst's Barracuda were more closely related to a Logghe funny car or Grumpy's Vega than they were to the SWC Willys. So the "gasser" term is open to many interpretations.

All of the AMT altered wheelbase funny cars ('63 Tempest, '65 Nova, '58 Edsel, etc.) could be included since they started out as annuals.

I don't think Albert was on this site, but he was very active on the Spotlight board, and was known by many. He was a true model car and 1-1 car guy, and had a huge personality and sense of humor. He travelled to many car and model shows in California and attended NNL East once or twice. He always had his trusty camera along and posted thousands of car guy pics. His great friend David Dale announced his passing from cancer. I'm sure allof you that knew him will never forget him I know tht I won't.

Shortly after Le Mans "66, Ken Miles was killed testing the Ford J car.

My brother in law went to the Garlits museum when the Pihrana was being "restored". He told me that they aren't too careful about historical accuracy. Notice that there is no bronze fogged along th bottom of the pearl yellow, as Gene Winfield did in the original paint job.

madhorseman (or anyone else) : A friend of mine wants to build the mustang from "Starman" . could someone scan the Cobra II decals and post them? He knows how to change the color if they are not in black. Thanks.

Thanks. You were missed at the Los Banos show today, but I got a good chance to visit with Steve. Pretty sure I'll see you in Sept.

There's more to the Villa Riviera than just using the kit parts. The front and rear fenders need to be lengthened, the hood lengthened at the center peak, chrome inserts made for the hood and taillights scratch built. The front and rear fenders were lengthened by different amounts, but I don't remember by how much. These mods are needed on top of the aforementioned reshaping and flaring the wheel wells. For the model that I had in the Oakland Roadster Show diorama, I used two kits and referred to a magazine called 'Super Customs and Hot Rods" from the publishers of "Collectible Automobile. It was only out for 2 or 3 issues in the mid 1980s. The car was painted candy burgundy at the time. Someone then bought it and restored it to candy red with all the Barris stuff that came along with the car. I recently saw a picture of it in black and with a new owner. I hope the Barris parts were once again retained when they were removed.

I think Bertone built it on a pre-production Stratos chassis provided by Lancia.

I seem to recall that the Stratos Zero used the windshield for access to the interior and vaguely remember seeing a picture in a magazine with the windshield open and the driver's head sticking out over the roof. Not practical, but it sure was a beauty. And yes, it had a Stratos HF chassis with a Ferrari Dino engine. I think it was shown before the Stratos HF rally car debuted.

You are very welcome. I love good karma.

Not the gold on the cover of Hot Rod. Way more subtle than in the later shots.

I can set you up with one. Send me a PM