Muncie

now you're making me give away secrets hobbies in OC - I knew somebody was going to ask that because I know where they are but not what they are called... glad you got the name for Coyote Hobbies. I believe the other one is called Farm Toys and Hobbies. They were heavy into the die cast Ertl tractors, Breyer horses, and trains with some models. They used to be right on the corner of the main drag in downtown Oregon City right at the bridge, then they moved north a block, now they are about two blocks south of the bridge. As they downsized, the tractors and horses went away and the model car section became a larger part of their business. Not much paint but lots of kits. Nice people. and the '70's are still alive in Eugene

The hobby shop in Beaverton is Tammies Here's the set-up for another event if your trip happens sometime in June though September... Beaches Cruise-in, every Wednesday evening from the first week in June to the last week in September at Portland International Raceway. 1973 and earlier and Corvettes. 600 to 2,200 cars depending on weather and other factors - biggest events are in September when people who haven't made the show realize that summer is almost over and bring out their cars. So here's how it goes at Beaches Cruise-in. Drive in and park - look at cars and talk to old friends and new friends - walk around the Wednesday drag racing pits - go watch 1/8th mile drag racing time trials, brackets and grudge racing - look at the motorcycles (about 150) - time for a burger and a beer - watch the music - look at cars and talk to people - repeat. $5.00 per car. There is some outside parking available for spectators, also $5 to walk in. There are also a couple of Hobbytown USAs that are pretty good. No Hobby Lobby, several Michael's, no sales tax Portlanders are very proud of the local microbreweries which are also good places to get a good meal at a fair price even if you're not interested in the beer. McMenamins has converted several intersting old buidings from neighborhood taverns to schools into interesting brew pubs but there are many others.

If you're in Portland, Saturday, May 10 - the Saturday before Mother's day... it's getting close The Portland Transmission Warehouse Cruise-in in SE Portland - basically the first outdoor show around Portland and probably the best. It's held near SE 10th and Hawthorne about 7:00 AM - it's done and gone by 11:00. FREE! They close off several blocks and fill the streets and parking lots in a major chunk of this older eastside industrial neighborhood. Can't miss it if you get close. (should see the puzzled looks on the local bike riders) Mostly Street rods and muscle cars but a bit of everything. 600 cars if it's good weather. It's where everybody brings out what they've been working on all winter. Last year - walked by this Bugatti five times and thought kit car VW - really looked again and it was the real deal and it was driven in. In the same blcok they were firing up a vintage dragster and one of MickeyThompson's old cars was on a hauler... Al Drake was selling his hot rod history books. SABA has a small model car display inside the warehouse. Coin Corner in Oregon City has turned into basicaly a junk shop - but there are two small Hobby Shops in Oregon City - one has a limited supply of older kits at non-collector prices. If you're on the other side of town, Hillsboro Hobbies is a good well stocked shop with nice people. There's not much selection in town for aftermarket stuff but we're fortunate that we have several shops to choose from.

thanks for the link - i like it. three days - probably missed more than I saw

I would use Mark's' answer for a car that doesn't see mag chloride or other winter road de-icers. Can't beat a good polish on bare aluminum - my favorite color. Keeping up with the damage done by de-icing chemicals may be a full time job - they never sleep. here's a clear coat option - There may be better things out there including companies that restore factory wheels but Duplicolor makes a clear for wheels - it may be more durable than other rattle can products - I'm going to try it to fix some light curb rash on some clear coated wheels. I've heard of people going to the effort and expense to have polished wheels clear coated by an authorized Accuride wheel refinisher - that's heavy truck stuff so that would be top end and most durable. Hope that's better news than my last post.

Harry, You've got some bad corrosion going on there and it looks like the clear coat is failing - as they say, that's not going to buff out.. Sanding (very fine) and polishing will remove the corrosion but it's going to come back unless the clear coat is repaired or redone. Your car is too new to have this problem - can Ford do anything for you? factory service bulletins? anything on the Mustang forums? You can't be the only one with this problem. it may have been mentioned - try a little bit of polish on a spot where the wheel is still good - if the rag turns black the wheel is not coated - if the rag doesn't change color, the wheel is clear coated. Corrosion like that at the wheel centers can actually start at the wheel mounitng surface (contact between dis-similar metals) and spread to the outer surface. It may look worse inside the cap... sorry - hate to see that happen

lots on the web of course, but a trip to an aviation museum is a more enjoyable way to do research on Allison engines - many have an engine on display. Hydroplane and thunder boat museums are also a good source.

Wow, ordered two last week with a money order and they arrived today - awesomely quick service. very well packed - good first impression - I like that. The castings are absolutely gorgeous and will fit the chassis that I'm going to use - it's a good day and these will be fun to build. highly recommended without hesitation

'70's and 80's Freightliner COE cab lengths... 63" was the "standard" day cab length. Also available as a 51" (shares some structure with the conventional) and extremely rare 48" which was manufactured primarily for a company that hauled large empty tanks. The 48" cab was pretty tight for most drivers. COE Sleeper sizes - 75", 81", 86", 96" and 104". The 72" cab had a very narrow bunk but probably best not to call it a sleeper. Conventional - FLC (aluminum) 120", 115" and 113" Sleeper box sizes - 34", 40", and 60" Some of the cab lengths were available, but not published options.

Speed City Resin has some nice fuel injection manifolds - no Crower, but a good selection of nicely detailed Hilborn and Enderle manifolds

That’s a good find - better than most that are out there. I wish AMT would reissue these old CanAm kits - they make good looking models.

no problem, as I've gotten older, the smaller package is probably healthier for me absolutley addicted to thin mints with no self control - if the package is open, it means they are gone... Besides the fundraiser part - the kids are learinng how to do sales and handle money.

I'm kind of liking the subject matter - is it OK if I build them, too... This is a good thing - something the kids can build without much supervision and some subjects that we will like.

exactly - there are two parts to buying a car. The emotional - that's excatly the car that I want and the financial arrangements. They have to be kept separate and if one doesn't work, it's not the right deal. I also agree with the comment about using a credit union. Much more pleasant people to work with than the dealer. Around here, the sales person's first question is always how much do I want to pay. I answer honestly and say "nothing". Seems to trip them up when they have to give the first number. However, over the last 20 years I've only dealt with 2 dealers that had good, smart salespeople and didn't play games so it was a pleasant experience. hope this helps

check the web sites for the component manufacurers - there are some diagrams there. Moroso's dry sump plumbing schematic is an example - it seems to be timeless - was a good reference diagram in the 70's, still is.

never tried - got a start on one A-arm and it didn't go well - at that point, realized that making one should be easy but making the second to match was a bigger challenge... I think it would take some serious fixturing to pull it off. I don't think there was much change in the front suspension between the 1980 and 1984 in pro-stock. Would it be possible to get the suspension parts that you need from the 1984 Rehr-Morrison Camaro? just $.02 (or less)

yeah, the original part is also kinda sorta sometimes fits as well.

I've only seen the tonneau cover in black plastic which means it was a very early issue - sorry, don't know which one. Somebody reproduces it in resin.

did they let you keep the little tray and tools - picked up a plastic tray with a some hospital grade scissors, tweezers and a sugical clamp last summer... no need for details on how they were obtained...

Bernard, Most drill chucks are simply threaded onto the shaft of the drill. Disassemble the drill enoough to hold the shaft and with a little effort, the chuck will come off. Some drills even have a provision in the housing to insert a pin (or drill bit) to hold the shaft. The bonus here is that most chucks are a standard thread so it gives you a headstart toward adding a handle. oops posting at the same time again.. yep, forgot about the screw inside the chuck... removing the screw makes it easier to take the chuck off the drill...

a spare chuck from an old electric drill works perfectly - hardware stores used to sell replacement chucks but the last time I looked, they have become expensive. a handle could be added but the chuck by itself gives enough to hold on to. it also makes a great weight for holding things together when the glue dries.

more possibilities... It could be used to build a Chevrolet. The main body unit on GM staion wagons from the firewall back is basically the same for both Oldsmobile and Chevrolet. I've seen a Chevy wagon donate it's body for an Oldsmobile project.

hope I'm OK stepping into the middle of this... Have some guys in the area with salt in their blood - it's uncurable. Decades of Bonneville experience among them. They've been building an incredible streamliner - two KB's, 4WD - a work of mechanical art - water in the blocks that's circulated to a seperate tank for each engine. Make that polished stainless steel tanks. The reservoirs provide some cooling for the engines and a bit of ballast - Although Bonneville is like a long drag race, the weight helps more than it hurts. www.target550.com There is a lot of good construction information for many other salt flat cars in the build diaries at www.landracing.com

Casey, thank you for bringing back some good memories. About 4th grade - remember the folks took us four kids to the '62 World's Fair - can't magine herding four kids like my parents did... Typical drizzly Seattle day - rode the monorail, toured some pavilions, saw the space needle, and watched the logging show in the rain. Saw the AMT display with the Silhouette but wouldn't have recognized who was there. In 1962, it looked like we'd all be driving bubble tops by now. Mom and Dad would always buy us souvenirs when we went on trips and I brought home an AMT kit of the Space Needle. Brush painted it Testors orange per the instructions and gluebombed it in about an hour... maybe it was 30 minutes.

OK, first car - 1956 210 Handyman - Revell's 1956 Del Ray is where you want to start for the body. The Del Ray is simply a regualr 210 series two-door sedan with a "family duty" intereior if I remember the GM brochures correctly and Del Ray is a really cool name. The sedans and the regular wagons share the same windshield and doors - identical! As noted in the earlier posts, the Nomads/hardtops/convertibles have a two inch shorter windshield as well as the hardtop window openings. Model Haus gets it right (again) - the roof height on their 55-57 wagons and sedan deliveries is correct. I've seen another 1956 2-door wagon resin body that was mastered off the Nomad and that roof is little low - but nice if you're looking for a chopped top. In all cases, the two door door is longer than the front door on a four door. On the wagons, the rear curved quarter glass on a four door wagon is longer then the rear curved quarter glass on a two door - note the position of the glass divider/end of the rear door. The roof on the regluar wagon is longer than a Nomad, and the tailgate is a different shape - not just the trim. As mentioned above, a lot of work to do a conversion. A Nomad kit is also required... The wagon and Nomad chassis are the same - The sedan/hardtops have a differernt fuel tank shape and location than the wagons. Wagons and Nomads use the same rear bumpers with the license plate on the bumper. hope this helps