Harold

Wowohwowohwow . You got some great stuff there. The Stude, the '58 Plymouth, the 'after' truck. the '60 Starliner. Criminy! And you call yourself an amateur.....

Really clean build, even though the basic kit has a few accuracy issues. I like the color and the wheels. Revell seemed to be out of touch in the 80's- witness that disguised Dodge Ramcharger they tried to pass off as a Ford Bronco (even O.J. wouldn't want that one). Great job.

Thanks a bunch, guys. I would have responded sooner, but I've been kinda nursing my dog. She's been ill since someone gave her a piece of a taco from the place down the street (I've noticed that there's no slow moving cats in my neighborhood...). She started doing a lot better Saturday, and yesterday we were able to visit the neighbors down the street. I worry about her, though, since she's 11 1/2 (that's 80 in people years).

Veddy interesting...I'll have to give it a try.

Interesting setup, Jairus. Myself, I use ID/OD brass tube and wire (the wire is .032"). I find it easier to toss a piece of tubing in my miter box and cutting three pieces- a long one for my hood application and the other two usually 3/16 (.1875") long for my attachment points. But yours looks good also.

Welcome, Ed. My history professor this past semester grew up in Pittsburgh, and he said anyone that spelled it without the 'h' on a test would automatically fail. Here's to hoping you find it fun here.

Several years ago, I bought a pint can of Bondo for $5 at Whale- Mart and I still have enough to last me for several months. Probably the most bang for the buck of any of my modeling supplies.

That's a nice Chevy there, evilone. I like the clean look you got going on it- a really subtle build, and that turquiose color is sweet. Great work.

OK, I've been putzing around on this thing since late April and I've finally got it done. Quick recap: AMT '65 Lincoln with front and rear chassis sections and engine compartment from the '62 T-Bird. Color is Duplicolor Nissan Cherry Red Pearl topped with Duplicolor clear. Wheels are two sets of Prowler trailer with tires from the AMT '67 Impala street machine. Hope you enjoy looking at it, because for me, even though it was a struggle for the last few weeks (funny how that happens), it was fun to push my skills (such as they are) that much further. Thanks for looking. this is the pic I used for most of my engine detailing.....

That looks natural, to say the least. Here's a few pics of the Starlift top Ford created for the convertible to make them more aerodynamic for NASCAR racing. Lorenzon won at Atlanta at the Starlift's only event before Bill France said no to the idea, since it wasn't really a production piece. Your Ford looks great- I especially like the hood scoop.

The other day while watching the IRL race at Watkins Glen, I saw a great Firestone ad. The grizzled old captain of a merchant marine ship is in his quarters finishing up a '68 'Vette model when someone rushes in to tell him the seas are getting rough. He leaves, and as the ship is tossed about, everything goes flying off the captain's desk- except the 'Vette, which, because of it's scale Firestones, grips the table and doesn't move an inch.

So, I'm almost finishied with the Lincoln, all I need to do is finish up the chrome beading on the front seat and install the armrest (I relocated it to the down position, 'cause, hey- I gotta be comfortable when I'm driving) and polish the hood, so what do I do? I grab up a Monogram '90 Mustang kit from my stash, install a hood hinge, create a poseable steering setup, use some ID/OD aluminum to install a trick set of Pegasus wheels, start massaging the body and find a supercharged Mod motor for it, and all the while, my Lincoln sits, giving me baleful looks and sending me on a guilt trip. Granted, the last few weeks were a pain in the rear getting to the final assembly stage and finally epoxying the body to the chassis, so maybe I needed a breather, 'cause it was tooth and nail the weekend before last trying to fit everything together. The sticking point was the windshield was too thick, so after a brainstorming session (I'm being charitable on the 'brain' part of it...) I made a pattern of the windshield out of masking tape, attached it to the upper section of a Faygo 2- liter bottle and made my own ^%$#&^* windshield. Then it started to fall together. Now, if I can just finish the seat and the hood....

This is a favorite of mine from a couple years ago- it's the AMT '66 Mercury on a stretched '65 Ford chassis.

Hey, I was just happy when Gordon tried to hold off Edwards and went from second to thirty- first. Had it not been for the final caution, Carl may have been in Victory Lane. Mark is right, though- the car Martin will be stepping into next year is not destined for greatness anytime soon. Remember, since Tim Richmond, nobody at Hendrick was able to do anything with the #25 team, and they had some decent pilots- Craven, Schrader, Nemechek, Busch. The #5 hasn't done anything since Terry Labonte was in it, and I'm sure Hendrick hasn't given Mears the attention he needs to win because everything in terms of money and resources over the last few years went to Johnson and Gordon.

D'oh!

You betcha- when you can take a disparate bunch of kits and throw them together into a cohesive whole, that's art. Look at some of the customs and street rods on this board.

Dang- I'm gonna have to find some really obscure stuff to fool you guys.......

Let's see if anyone knows their orphans.....

Jairus, we're also going to see scammers and fast- buck artists trying to sell all manner of 'fuel- saving devices'. Remember the Fish carbeurator? An alleged 100 mpg from a regular V-8. He took the money and drank himself to death. What people fail to grasp when they're being bamboozled is how things work. Gas engines need a mixture of 14 parts air to one part gas. Too lean, and you'll burn holes in the top of your pistons. Somehow he became lionized as an example of a "Big Oil Conspiracy". Yeah, right. He was a flim- flam artist, just like the drag queen with the Dale (remember that one?). A non- auto related example of how people can be sucked into scams is the tale of the guy who started Photomat. He convinced people that he had a process, using magnets, that could pull gold dust out of dirt. Many allegedly smart folks fell for it, neglecting the fact that gold is a non-ferrous metal. So when some yutz has an infomercial at 3:00 in the morning telling you some gadget will turn your 11 mpg behemoth into a fuel miser that will make a Smart car green with envy, don't fall for it.

You are correct, sir! It's a 1961 model, designed by Virgil Exner.

I remember in the seventies when the death knell was being sounded for the V-8, but with generous does of technology (better machining processes, electronic controls) and generous amounts of cash, engines today are cleaner and more efficient. It's not that an engine has eight cylinders, but it's what the engine is put into. A three ton vehicle is not going to produce any kind of mpg numbers worth writing home about. The auto industry should have seen the writing on the wall concerning world events five years ago and benn ready with a whole crop of more efficient vehicles now. Instead, they've acted the ostrich, and continued to produce (to quote the late Ken Purdy), "a turgid sea of jelly-bodied clunkers". So, the chickens have come home to roost, and the banshee is in the front yard, screaming all night for blood. I have no sympathy for them at all, and even less for those that drive Detroit's behemoths. What to do? Smaller V-8's (three to five liters in displacement) and a return to rationally sized automobiles- nothing greater than 3500# need apply, and fer cryin' out loud, make them look like something other than children's toys (Smart, Prius) or tremen-induced nightmares (CTS, G6,- hey, how are they naming cars now? Do they just drop a bowl of Alpha-Bits on the floor, pick up random handfuls and call it a day?, Edge [looks like a suppository with wheels and a chrome sewer grate slung across the front]). As for hybrids, I might buy one if I could afford it, but my income level relegates me to whatever used bargains I can find in the classifieds. And where shall I plug in my electric car, how many kw/h does it take to charge, can I go further than Saginaw and back? Electrics still have a long way to go- the batteries weigh so much and the range is iffy to the point where you end up with a vehicle so compromised you wouldn't want it if it had an internal combustion engine. For now, rational size and smaller engines are the ticket.

Let's see about this one......

Nice Caddy there, Jesse. I was always inspired by your work in the old SAE, and I've probably stolen more than one of your techniques. Glad to see you're still around.

Sweet Falcon you got going there. While you robbed the Comet of it's engine compartment, you should just shorten the Comet chassis, There's a bit of a step behind the seats- shorten the area between that and the diff 8mm and you're there. Nice Pickup, too- I've always heard them referred to as 'unisides'.

Bingo! You answered correctly. You have won the opportunity to help the Chairman of Nigeria help unlock $22,000,000 in frozen accounts. All he needs is your bank account number.