Ace-Garageguy

With a little measuring and simple arithmetic, you can scale quite accurately from the light blue side shot posted above. Assume 15" wheels and go from there. Easy.

Non of mine run at the moment... Great old car, by the way. I'm genuinely envious.

Yup. There's lotza "obsolete" NOS electronics available to keep most anything running indefinitely...unless one has the throw-it-away mentality, and has to have the latest BS-hyped-and-gots-all-the-useless-bells-and-whistles Chinese-made version. I bought a couple 4.1 megapixel Nikons @ about $15 each for my model and real-car build records, and they're perfectly adequate for that. I bought a sweet-sounding 1990's vintage stereo amp as a backup for one I bought back then that's still going strong, and sounds better than units costing ten times as much. A pair of NIB chargers for my old flip-phone for $5 each, CB radios, long-range walkie-talkie pairs, etc. etc. etc. Cheap, functional tech that does the job.

That's the way I look at it. A gallon of gas could be had in 1971 for $.35 (that's 35 cents for the math-impaired). Or a beer. In a bar. Whatza gallon of gas today? $2.80- $3.50. Somewhere around ten times as much. Howza bout a beer in a bar? Maybe $3.50 for the average stuff most people drink? Again about ten times as much. So...if your earning power has kept pace with inflation, you're really not paying any more for anything (as in: if you were making $100 per week in '71 and make $1000 now).

Or forgive...

It's marked 1/24, but it looks OK alongside 1/25 models. I haven't measured it, but there's a possibility the scaling isn't entirely accurate, as the engine is close to the size of 1/25 Ford flatheads.

Last time I was in AZ I decided to stop by a swap-meet that usually has mostly junk. Found an operating early '50s Thor Model 100 valve grinder, and a late '50s Craftsman radial arm saw, also, oddly, a Model 100. The saw even came with the original manual, a stand-cabinet, lotsa accessories...and a reprint of the valve grinder manual is available (and on the way). Also picked up a gorgeous vintage wood plane, a new-in-box heat gun, several vintage valve spring compressors, and a couple of vintage and functional hand valve-lapping tools. All for less than $200.00.

My solution to similar circumstances has been to make my own copies of the "rare" kit body and do my hacking on that...thus saving the priceless original kit for my mindless heirs to put in a landfill when I'm dead.

I betcha common-core grads think this is a helluva deal...

The V-12 aircraft engines from WW II were indeed huge. The Merlin was 1650 cu.in, the Allison 1710. So roughly 3 to 4 times the swept volume of a typical big-block automotive V8. Add the superchargers, speed-reduction gearbox for the prop, and the accessory drives...huge.

Definitely not an Allison. And not 1/25 either. This is the AMT 1/25 Allison. Sorta similar, but actually entirely different. Judging by the sump and the angled cylinder head tops (relative to the exhaust ports), your engine appears to be a Rolls Royce Merlin, in perhaps 1/32 scale.

I would posit that anyone who develops a skill that requires good eye-hand coordination, visual judgement, and a self-critical feedback loop (including PhotoShop etc.) would find some cross-benefit to every physical activity they engage in, particularly any kind of "making".

A new Winters or Frankland QC was around $2500 - $3500 complete (center, axles, tubes, brakes, etc.) last time I checked.. A genuine "Culver City" vintage Halibrand in perfect condition can run over 10 grand. Last time we bought a complete, functional Columbia (back in about 2011) it was around $1500, but needed complete cosmetic restoration.

Hard to say, and in all honesty, the only real-world experience I have with these units is under '32 and '40 Fords. I did some research though, and found the Columbia was offered under the '37-'41 Lincoln V12 Zephyr (among other vehicles), which lists a nominal weight of 3800 pounds. Nominal weight of a '50 Ford is roughly 3,000 pounds. I do not know if the Zephyr unit was the same as used under lighter cars, but there's a good chance nobody you ever encounter will know either. Just say it's a Lincoln unit and go for it. EDIT: Ford had a factory overdrive gearbox available for the "shoebox" and later cars, so using junkyard parts to accomplish the same job as the Columbia would be one jell of a lot easier.

Gee. I'm so flattered. The box-art car is identical in appearance to my 1:1.