ClayK

I think redoing valve covers is going around Tyrone! Looks great man. Can't wait to see it in paint.

Thank you for the other replies. Never had a Darth Vader reply before! All I see when I look at this car is the stuff I screw up, so it is nice to hear that you guys like this project so much. I'm finally starting to gain some momentum on it. A few more body mods and it should be ready for primer, then eventually paint! Clay

Thanks Ted. Teh suspention links are actual stainless steel tubing. I just held them with pliers, and held a lighter under each end for a short time until they discolored. That was it. The plate on the blower was machined on my Sherline mill. I first drilled 12 holes with the metal on my rotary table, then split the degrees, and machined a spot between those 12 holes. In the end it was overkill. It was too much. I should have just drilled the 12 holes and moved on. Now you can't see any of it because of the spacer and the blanket! The MSD was painted with Tamiya clear red. It is easy to touch up if it gets knicked. Thanks again! Clay

Thank you guys....it means a lot!

I wish I had half your patience and dedication Chris. Great work.

I've also been working on the engine some more. I wasn't happy with how my valve covers were looking. So I took the plunge, and popped them off. I sanded them back down, and repainted them with Tamiya TS gold. I also made up some gaskets from sheet plastic and put those on the heads before reinstalling the valve covers. I think it looks a little sharper and cleaner now. I also made a blower blanket from medical tape, painted with acrylic flat black. I wrapped it around the blower, and glued the straps down. The decals are from the Slixx 1/16 goody sheet. I've got a pretty tall to-do list planned for this thing this weekend. Hopefully I can knock some more big things off the list. Thanks for looking! Clay

Thank you guys...you are too kind. Trying to pick up the pace and complete some of the big areas that have been bogging me down. I got the rear tubs/filler panel cleared with DuPont 2 part clear. Technically, the underside of the tubs themselves should be matte, but I hate to cover up shiny clear. So I may leave it all shiny. I still need to add PE bolts to all of the flanges yet. And I need to redo my top filler panel I showed before because the clear got under the edge of the CF film on it, and kinda messed it up. So I will do a new one of those. I really like the look of it against all the metal parts of the rear suspension. And I'm really happy with how well it still seals off the body.

Um, what? You built that and are thanking me?? Holy cow man. That is unreal!! I love engines, and I love machining.....this blows me away. Fantastic!

I love your work Scott. You have such patience and dedication. Fantastic stuff!

Moving to the rear of the car, I cleared a few more hurdles. The rear tubs, filler pieces were all painted black, and decaled with Scale Motorsport 1/12 CF film. Big thanks to DT for hooking me up. I needed a lot of it!! These pieces are all covered, just waiting for 2 part clear. One of the last hang ups was the rear sway bar. I machined the arms from brass. Then slit the ends to hold the DM rod ends. I was really happy with how these turned out, even though the slicks will completely hide them! LOL Whew! That's it for now.....I'm going back to work!! Clay

I started out getting back to machining some parts for the engine. I machined a new blower pulley and spacer for the front of the PSI blower. There is also a brass rod running through all of it into the resin blower to keep it all straight, and not pulled down once the belt goes on. With my confidence up, I started in on some parts. New lower pulley, idler pulley and pin, as well as the brace that goes from the idler across to the stand off. Everything lines up pretty well. I also machined the fuel pump extended mount. I always gotta get a few "mock ups" in as well. This thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger!

Thank you very much fellas. I appreciate the comments! I've finally got the rear slicks close to being done. I drew and printed the Good Year logos on the Alps, and applied two layers to each side. Once dry I dull coated the entire tire and hand painted the white markings with lacquer, then dirtied them up slightly with the Tamiya weathering sponge. the bar code decal came from a Powerslide goody sheet. wheels and bead locks are from Micro Nitro obviously! The front tires are semi hard black resin rubber. No matter how much I sanded them or cleaned them up, they just didn't look right. So finally I painted them completely with some AK black acrylic paint to get a nice uniform shade of black. it felt good to get all of these more/less done and get the thing mocked up. And mocked up. Starting to look like something finally.

Thank you very much guys! John, the brake lines are from Detail Master fitting line. And I usually use black thread to tie off the lines and hold them to the chassis. Pull it tight, a small dot of super glue, and trim the excess thread. Works great. Got some work done over the weekend. I need to make more progress on the engine, so I went out and machined a new oil pan. I made it a bit too deep, but it should work. Once it was glued on I added some .040 Pro Tech nuts to hold it down. I also machined a smaller piece to simulate the "boss" where the oil line will go. The distributor is from Micro Nitro and is installed and ready for plug wires. I used Slixx 1/16 MSD decals on it. I also started figuring out the idler pulley bracket. Front brakes are finally installed and ready for brake lines. Thanks for lookin! Clay

As you can see, I also got all of the rear suspension installed for good. I still need to add the sway bar and links, and hook up the brake lines. The puke tank and hoses are installed, and I added the filler panels at the back of the cage too. And a few with it all mocked up. Now I can get the tubs painted black and start decaling them thanks to my man DaveT! I've also been working on the inner door skins. CK

I've spend the last week or so working on the wheel tubs and filler panel. I wanted to match the way R2B2 does theirs as much as possible. I tried using the Shapeways 3D printed tubs I had, but they weren't big enough, so I went the brass route. I started bending up one and fitting it in place, then I made the filler panel pieces, then I added the second remaining tub. It all fits in there pretty well, and seals off the body pretty decent. I still need add some more plastic pieces to show the junctions of where the pieces connect, but I'll get there eventually. Once I did the tubs, I found out my rear tree didn't fit anymore. So I made a new one from brass rod. It all works together now, even though it will barely be seen once all together.

Slowly poking away on this thing.... I ran the front fire bottle lines along the upper frame rails. DM #3 fitting line and combo fittings. I've also finally started working on the engine. I painted the block and heads with Alcald shades. The spark plug hole plates are exhaust flanges from the MCG No Bull sheet. They fit perfect. Slixx decals BAE logos, then I dull coated the valve covers. The blower and intake were also painted. I cut a blower hold down plate from black sheet plastic. The hold down belts are medical tape painted black. I still need to add some attachments on the heads before they can be hooked up. Should be no shortage of horsepower! The rear end is also ready to be installed. I had to make a puke tank first. Once it is installed and hooked up, then I can add the rear end. The puke tank is just sheet plastic and aluminum tubing. Nothing fancy. And the rear end with the lower X-Link on, and lower 4 bars. Thanks to my man Scrappy for the chrome plating on the X-Link. It looks awesome! Things are slowly starting to come together! Thanks for looking... CK

Mitch....Here's the complete album for my Blackbeard Pro Mod. You can see the headers towards the end of the album. I built them on the car, and actually painted them on the car. I misted very light coats of Alcald clear yellow, and Alcald Sepia and Violet to do the heat staining. http://public.fotki.com/ClayK/drag-racing-projects/705-camaro-pro-mod/ Jim....feel free man! Basically I wanted to make sure the hub fit the center opening of your wheel tight, and fit the axle stub. That was what I came up with. Thank you everyone! Clay

I don't reply very often, but I am watching Chris. I just don't know what to say most times. You have the patients of 100 modelers put together. How you've been able to get to a level this high, and stay at it for this long without distraction is amazing. Keep going, you're in the homestretch now! Clay

Up front I machined a new set of rotor hats/spindle caps. These will slide right over the strut axles, and also hold the rotors. And they fit Jim's wheels as well. I've also started on the front brake calipers. These are from Micro Nitro too. Thanks for looking!

Thank ya fellas! Finally making some good progress. I've been working on the rear end all week. Lot going on here. Of course, I've got the awesome Micro Nitro rotor hats and Lamb calipers. The rotors are also from Jim. I machined the front pinion plate, and made the front driveshaft containment from brass rod and some Dirt Modeler PE. The brake lines and oil line is from #2 Detail Master fittings, and Pro Tech line. This whole unit is pretty well ready to be installed. I've also been running the brake lines. Again DM #2 lines and fittings. Rear.... Front...

You do some very nice work Ron. I really like how clean you assemble and detail. And the mixing of the old and the new. Very cool project! CK

I've also been working on the body a lot. I cut off the A-Pillars and replaced them with plastic stock. I also added new window lips for the front widow from brass. As well as the lower edge. I soldered tabs to mount the hood to it as well. Gotta thank Joe for the tip on that. He had done the same thing on his '57 Chevy and it works very well. I've also started working on the door side window frames. Trying to get all this body work done once and for all! That's it for now. Thanks for looking! CK

My update isn't going to be as cool as what you other guys have been posting, but I have been getting some things accomplished. I gathered up all my front suspension pieces and finally got it all bolted together and working. The tie rods hook to a rod that slides back and forth in the rack, not exactly working, but it does allow the tires to turn left and right. The struts are from MicroNitro of course, and I machined the steering arms and painted them clear red. Everything is bolted with either Scale Hardware bolts or 00-90 brass nuts and bolts. I can't say enough how much I appreciate all the help I've been given on this project from Jim @ MicroNitro, Michael @ Dirtmodeler, Ted @ Ted's Modeling, and Terry @ Flashpoint, and all my other buddies that have helped along the way. I couldn't build this without them. I've also been working in the interior. I installed my headrest and back cage shield. I've also got the pedals painted and installed. Once those were in, I scratch built a simple master cylinder and bolted it in as well as the rod connected to the brake handle. I've also got the seat belts made. These are built up from medical tape painted black, and Futurattraction's 1/16 belt hardware. I had to bolt the lap belts in before I could install the seat. Even as big as this thing is, it is a pain to work down inside there! I need to run a few brake lines, then the seat can be installed for good. Speaking of the seat, it is complete and detailed as well! Now that I have the belts in, I can drop it in place.

Thank you guys for the nice comments. Chris, that texture looks better than it does in the pics. The camera couldn't really capture the real texture of it. It was kind of a screwed up method. I first primed the parts, then shot it with Krylon "Natural Stone" which is a spray can of texture. I think Scale Motorsport has something similar. Once that dried I painted it flat black. But it didn't have enough texture. So I painted it black again, then dropped it in a baggy filled with embossing powder from Michaels then shook it up like "shake a bake". The wet paint held the powder on. Then once that was dry, I painted it flat black again to seal in the powder and make sure the color was even. It is pretty durable one that last top coat dries. Clay

You already know what I think of them Dirk.....so glad to see you working on TWO pro mods!! That Corvette is just awesome. The Camaro is cool too, but that last shot of the Vette is money.