Muncie

OK, got it, thanks that helps The blue rotating email link has so little contrast with the black background that it is almost invisible for these old eyes I have some parts from altered states - off the web site - the parts look better than what's in the pictures here - customer service was very good as well.

so.... how does one get the super duper double top secret menu of the parts that are not on the web site??? no email address that I could find...

yes, a self -etching primer is required - NAPA also has a good on one in a rattle can. I've had regular primer just slide off.. after paint of course. Also best to have the temperature of the primer close to the temperature of the metal, air temperature should be the same. - warm paint on cold diecast will cause moisture on the diecast under the primer - also not so good.

Sorry, kinda getting picky here - The Black Widows were 1957 Chevrolet 150 sedans modified for NASCAR racing. The 1957 Chevrolet Stock Car Competition Guide published by Chevrolet (reprints are available) has all of the modifications and secrets including the 6-lug wheels, heavier suspension, and competition exhaust for NASCAR. There were about 6 Black Widows built by SEDCO for NASCAR However, There were a lot 150 sedans built and they were available with the optional fuel injected 283 so that combination would be legal or a junior stocker I like your plan - A little bit more on the Black Widows from the H.A.M.B. - http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1957-chevrolet-black-widow.137930/

I get 27-28 MPG on Oregon Ethanol gas (10%), it jumps to 30-32 in Montana - I like Montana

no... Ford knew when they wrote the manual that the EPA would be pushing and probably mandating gasoline blends with more ethanol. Ford knows the materials that your car was built with and 10% is the max - they kind of want happy customers and are telling you straight. Newer cars are built for the E15 when it becomes mandatory... Older classics/vintage cars are built for zero ethanol. Ethanol has less energy content than gasoline - so it takes more to go the same distance - so that is reduced fuel economy, It has higher octane (see Bill's good words on resistance to detonation) which has some benefit if you want to rebuild he engine to raise the compression ratio or add a supercharger... It attracts water which is why it can be so damaging in older fuels systems with material like aluminum, steel, zinc, and other materials that were not made for it... And it is a good solvent in an old fuel system so it loosens all the crud and corrosion.. The poor carburetor doesn't have a chance. I'm hoping additives are a benefit in an old fuels system, but no direct experience yet. I see there are 6 new replies since I started drafting this so it may be a repeat by now..

With respect to what is already posted, I'm going to add a different observation... The driver side head is even with the front of the block, the passenger side head is about an inch back from the front of the block - looks like the real thing - this makes the offset for the connecting rods on the crankshaft. All looks OK, throw the intake manifold on it an it should look a lot better and be ready to go. Neither head goes all of the way back to the mounting surface for the bell-housing. The configuration of the kit parts doesn't match the real thing in this area, but the back of the head isn't even with the back of the block either. When the Corvette ignition shielding is added, that part of the block behind the heads will not be seen.

not bashing Round 2 - I hope they are still working on the web-site. The old web-site was great - lots of information in the model cars section and easy to find what I was looking for. Information was readily at hand for the new releases and current kits. I could go right to what I was looking for. With the new web-site, I couldn't find anything worthwhile and gave up...

Unless it is totally smashed and mangled, stainless trim can be repaired and polished. There are shops that specialize in stainless repair and some chrome shops can do it. Small dents can be a do it yourself project with a small hammer, a very fine sharp file, and a buffing wheel on a bench grinder. There should be videos on the internet.

With a bit of luck, Chevrolet used the same part...

White, like the picture above with black and wood-grain trim... Back in high school, one of my buddy's dads sold his '57 Chevrolet hardtop (yes, the red one with the crossram 327, 4speed, mags...) and bought a new 1970 Charger - plum crazy with a white interior. Always clean and parked outside his service station. Somehow, my friend talked his dad into loaning him the car after school to give a couple of us a ride. Still torn to this day about that ride, OK, we're high school kids in a brand new 440 muscle car so that has to be cool, but at our high school, it was very uncool to be seen in anything with a white interior...

Ray, Great find! - lots of info in that brochure pic

Starting with he excellent information from Bill, Pete, Steve - I'm not aware of wax being used on the top show cars - they live a charmed life.and most waxes will take the shine down a bit. Polish yes, Glaze yes, wax no - On a driver, wax provides a level of protection for the paint and is worthwhile. My go to's are Mequiers' cleaner wax very gently for Testors Model Master paints - that's about as strong abrasive as you want to go with Testor's. - Jsut like Bill said For automotive paints, it's Mother's California Gold Micro Polishing Glaze - it's step #2 in their three part system.- no wax For heavier cutting, it's Ditzler/PPG DRX25 polishing compound (finish and rub). It's a machine compound, but the finer abrasive works great on a model Two more points - The best paint jobs, and my results were due to good fortune rather than skill - were paint jobs that came out so good that they didn't need to be polished - polishing that paint would have introduced a chance for mistakes and would not have improved the shine. It's something to try for If you ask 20 model builders about paint or polishing, you'll get at least 25 different answers... Some will only work for one person, some won't work at all no matter how much effort goes into it... Best to try a couple different methods and see what works for you

Shoe Goo - not sure where I heard about it, but it works - very strong adhesive when dry - I just hold the tires together and start with a little inside the tire in a couple of places and add more over the next several days - give it some time to cure and good to go - any that gets on the outside of the tread can be sanded off pretty easily - might give it a try on a couple of tires that you don't care about to experiment a bit. 3M Plastic Emblem and Trim is also a good adhesive

The parts sellers have made my searches so long that I don't even look at ebay any more... I could really use a button on ebay that would allow searches to ignore sellers with over 1000 (pick a number) items.

don't think so, but some come closer than others - almost close enough to say yes... The 1/16 Aurora funny cars (except the bodies which were designed separately) Fujimi Enthusiast series full detail kits Some of the early 1960's Revell kits - a lot of the kit pieces were pantographed directly from the real parts, probably in a couple of stages - I wish that I had spent more time with Bob Paeth to get those stories

nice!

thanks for posting the pics - looks like a good sample of what was there (that I missed...) Did they announce the themes for next year?

"Roll tape" is a masking trick that helps control a fogged or blended line - stick the tape to the body above the orange area with the edge lifted where you want the fogged line. Spray from a direction that allows the paint to get under the raised edge but not up to where the tape is stuck. Experiment on something similar and the results will guide you to techniques to get the fade you want by varying how much the edge is raised, angle the paint is sprayed... it's an old technique Speed City Resin has a cogged blower belt.

carded - hey, I'd take that as a compliment

thanks Bill - saved me some time looking - NHTSA is involved as well - kind of going through it now - just a few more pages to go.... for those thinking about sending a comment to the EPA and NHTSA, the instructions are in the first couple of pages - shouldn't have to tell anybody here that calling the EPA idiots in your comments to them is not helpful, the EPA and their staff that read the comments are people too - keep it intelligent and to the facts - perhaps the best comment and all you need is that you support SEMA and the comments that they submitted about the proposed regulation. That kind of comment gets noticed - especially if significant numbers can be generated.

Bill, thanks, that helps, I can search the Federal Register with those numbers. yeah, it's going to take a couple cups of coffee still wondering about SEMA - it's good that they have responded to the EPA with comments on the proposed rule-making - they could advise us citizens to become informed and also send a response to the EPA, but you have to read the proposal in the Federal Register know how to make a comment to the EPA - it's part of the rule-making process to create an EPA regulation.

so... is SEMA crying wolf? That's usually not their style but this press release lacks substantial information and doesn't back up the headline with very many details. It would have been helpful to cite a reference to the Federal Register numbers where the text of the proposed regulation could be found.

A+B epoxy putty - sometimes called A+B plumbers putty but available in smaller packages in the paint department heavy duty stuff - sticks, I mean really sticks to the plastic or resin - won't affect the plastic later like some solvent based glues or putties - dries hard, takes power tools (Dremel) to shape it After mixing the two parts together, the secret trick is use a little water to mold it to shape before it sets. The water will also keep it from sticking to your fingers - don't worry, it will dry and the epoxy will still set

simply a neat little way to identify a Big Rig Buildoff participant in the subject line - I like it - easy to understand, easy to use, no drama guys