Harold

I love it- the steel wheels and no trim screams badness. Wanna race my '71 Satellite (LOL)?

Killer Caddy. The '67-68 Eldos were always my favorites, and yours does them justice. Wow.

Wow, that's quite a collection you've got going there. I really like the '56 Ford with the Stude grilles. Great stuff.

I think our society doesn't even give a rat's #@^ about what's going on in the world, let alone their own back yard. I work as an election inspector for the city, and the precinct I work (40) shares a school gymnasium with precinct 39. Last week there was an election for the school board and for the First Ward Councilman. Precinct 39 had three voters all day and we had the grand sum of zero. Yup, zero freakin' people in our precinct were unable to drag their fat butts away from the TV and vote on their kid's futures. They have no idea who, for instance, our State Senators are (Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow) but can tell you chapter and verse what the hell happened on "Dancing With The Has-Been Stars". Is it any wonder, then, that they couldn't see the geopolitical trends over the last five years (Irag, Hugo Chavez) and are short sighted to the point that they buy these glorified parade floats that get 15 gallons to the mile? As I've said before- the next time I see some jackass on the news whining about the price of gas while he's filling up his Hummscaldeplorer, I'm going to find out where he lives and smack him upside his head. These idiots are the ones I hold responsible for a major portion of these usurous gas prices.

Here's mine- it's been down the last few months with an electrical glitch- she'll run fine, but won't idle properly and the shift points are all wonky. I bought it in the fall of '04 for $350, and every year I do about $200 worth of maintenance on it. Over the years, it's received coil springs, I've done the shocks and struts, rotors, pads, alternator, water and power steering pumps and the front seal (the last three being done all at once). Hey- I'm not tied to a three or four year note, so I figure I'm getting off cheap. Until I get it figured out though, I'm stuck with MTA (More Time A'wastin'), our third world el lame-o excuse for mass transit.

Actually, when William Crapo Durant took over the Little Motor Car Co. of Flint (in an attempt to regain control of GM), he brought Louis Chevrolet along as a partner and Chief Engineer. He needed a Model T competitor and Louis Chevrolet wanted to build upper medium priced cars. Durant won out, and Chevrolet (who was a major shareholder in the enterprise) stormed into Durant's office, and told him he could take his stock and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. That was the last contact Chevrolet had with the company that bore his name.

I re-registered yesterday with no real problem. but I agree there is no real 'improvement'. I'm reminded of a story from when Edsel Ford finally convinced his recalcitrant father into offering the Model T in something other than black in the early twenties. Replied a Pennsylvania Ford dealer, "You can paint up a barn, but it will still be a barn and not a parlor". A weeks downtime for what amounts to window dressing. I won't bash them, because there's builders exclusive to that site that do some jaw-dropping work, and I post there frequently, but their rework amounts to a whole bag of nothing.

Hey Bazs- for a first time job it looks great. I like the color combination, and your work seems to be top notch.

Well, the fourth time is apparently the charm with the hood hinge. It now lines up with the underhood bracing. I cut the tubing at 1 5/16, slid the rod in and bent the ends at 90 degree angles. This added another 1/8 to the width (making it 1 7/16). Holding this assembly tight against a piece of 7/32 aluminum tubing and bending the rod ends gave me the arc I needed to clear the catwalk area. I then marked the center of the core support and went 23/32 in either direction and cut slots with a carbide cutting wheel in my Dremel (I now have to repair the previous slots). After installing the hinge with epoxy, I slid two 1/4" pices of tubing over the ends and epoxied the hood to them. I can now slide the hood off for now and attach it during final assembly.The body is primed and almost ready for paint. The scripts and trunk emblem are foiled, and all that needs to be done now is to finesse the hood (there's a small sink on the passenger side leading edge). Finally, the chassis pic as promised

One thing I keep in my arsenal of stuff are emery boards, nail sanding sticks (I get weird looks when I'm in the cosmetics section at Meijer's, but screw 'em), Q-Tips and toothpicks for foil work (the toothpicks are also great glue applicators and for holding parts during painting), masking tape (I throw a fresh piece on my cutting mat for mixing bondo and epoxy) and a box of straight pins (for making things like poseable steering).

Latest update: I finally finished the chassis- running gear, exhaust, gas tank and drive shaft over the weekend. Finally, after three tries, it now has a hood hinge that works (sometimes, the easiest tasks can become hurdles) and I'm now getting the body ready for paint. I'll have some pics up in the next few days.

That's one sharp looking Marlin. Funny story- the fastback and taillight treatment was originally slated for the American platform, but new AMC pres Roy Abernathy decreed that a larger car be used. Talk about missing the boat completely- the Tarpon, as it was called) would have put AMC in the ponycar race right at the same time as the Mustang. Oops.

All I can say is.....WOW! Your work knocks me to the floor- especially converting the Ford to a '55 (you'd think the only car made between '55- '57 were Chevies judging from the selection on the shelves). The color combo is true '50's pastel craziness. Finish it soon, please.

Amen, MrObsessive. AMC cars were unique and kept the US auto scene interesting. I was driving through North Branch yesterday and almost drove off the road when I spotted a '70 Javelin in Big Bad Blue. I've owned two AMC's over the years (a '75 Matador coupe and a '67 Marlin) and I was always pleased with the service I got out of them (still wish I had the Marlin- red with a white top , leather and a 343). By the way, novadose, your Javelin is simply gorgeous.

Amen, MrObsessive. AMC cars were unique and kept the US auto scene interesting. I was driving through North Branch yesterday and almost drove off the road when I spotted a '70 Javelin in Big Bad Blue. I've owned two AMC's over the years (a '75 Matador coupe and a '67 Marlin) and I was always pleased with the service I got out of them (still wish I had the Marlin- red with a white top , leather and a 343). By the way, novadose, your Javelin is simply gorgeous.

Great resto job (pillars= pain in the &^%). Throw a black wash on the grill and the front will really come to life. You don't see the post sedan often enough.

Kind of reminds me of the Family Guy episode where Stewie and Brian were in Germany on the tour bus, and Brian mentions that the guidebook skips over the years 1939- 1945. When Brian presses the guide for details, he says "Ve ver on vacation". I always wondered when Mercedes showed their ad with all their history, they neglected to show Hitler riding triumphantly through the streets of Warsaw in his Mercedes touring car. Man, though, that kit is in bad taste. Was this an attempt to get neo-Nazis and skinheads into the hobby? Was it the result of extensive market research, or too much saki?

Looks like a really good job on your Lincoln, Steve. Your work on the intrior is great. Looks like you snagged the blower from the '64 Mercury. Granted, it's an ooooold kit, and technology has improved in the ensuing forty years, but you did a great job on it.

I can reply to this post in one word- gawjuss!

Love what you've got there so far. The color, stance and wheels are spot-on (gotta bring it kicking and screaming into the 21st century). Your WIP thread has been quite interesting.

When I got back into this hobby back in '87, I had all kinds of ideas that I thought that, well, this has got to work (think Sid Cesar in 'Mad World" then jamming two live wires together) and leaving behind a trail of mangled plastic. Success came slowly to me- my turning point was in '97 when I successfully combined a Revell Skyliner with an AMT '57 Ford. Still, tempering my enthusiasm was the fact that if I was going to do some decent stuff, there was still lots to learn. I would gaze in awe at the work of guys like Airo and Gustavson and believe they'd found a way to either shrink a real car or a real person down to 1/25 scale to get these amazing details. Then there was a turning point in my life. Some crackhead robbed me in my cab one night in '02, and I decided that I'd rather be getting some sort of edjimication than risking my butt on the mean streets of Flint every night. Since then, I've been an art major, recieving my associates from Mott in '05 and atending UM Flint, working towards my Bachelor's in Fine Arts. It dawned on me the other day when I viewed my work from even five years ago to what I'm doing now- all those drawing, painting, design and photog classes have taught me control of whatever tool I've got in my hand, be it a brush, X-Acto or cudgel. I've also developed an eye for what I'm doing (not to mention patience and following a process). Moral- it's never too late to go to school (I'll be [shhhhhhhh] 53 in a few weeks [how the &^%$ did I get this old?]).

Definitely this one is worth rebuilding. Think how great it will become using all the stuff you've learned since then.

Well, I didn't quite get the engine compartment finished, but we're getting close. The main points are I'll need to modify the shock tower braces, as they were located further out from center than the T-Bird. Also, the battery is re-oriented 90 degrees, as is the expansion tank. Also, the air cleaner wasn't even close to prototypical, so I made one using the air cleaners from the Monogram '58 T-Bird, the AMT Edsel and some Evergreen strip. The center was removed from the T-Bird (black) air cleaner, and the Edsel piece was trimmed to fit. I then added the twelve ribs to the T- Bird unit and after priming and sanding my work, added the center (Edsel) section. I painted it Polly S Steam Power Black (same as the rest of the engine) and sprayed it with Testors Metallizer Sealer. Here you can see the difference between the the new air cleaner and the kit piece. Before I installed the engine, I had taken some pics of it and they were, as you can see, well, really blurry. I vowed to take some more before I installed the engine in the chassis, but got so involved I didn't think about it until later, so, excuse the blur (and the kit air cleaner) Finally, here's the chassis so far. I just need to blend all the exhaust bits in place, install the gas tank, and do a few paint touch ups.

Thanks, guys. I got the engine done last night- well, almost- I need to grind down the top of the carb so the air cleaner will clear the hood. I'll be able to use the T-Bird heater and AC hoses, as well as all the other underhood bits. I plan on having the chassis and engine compartment together as a unit by the time the checkers fly at Talledega on Sunday. There's a real interesting story behind this generation of Lincoln. The Ford Production studio headed by George Oros was having trouble coming up with an acceptable theme for the '61 T-Bird. As they were working on a three year lead time, this would have been mid- 1958. Elwood Engel, who, along with Oros, was in charge of design under George Walker, requested an opportunity to create a proposal in competition with the Ford studio. Using the same dimensions as the Ford studio was working with, Engel and his hand-picked team created two clays- one formal, the other more radical looking. At the product planning session where the more formal proposal and the T-Bird from the Ford studio, Henry II chose the Ford design. At the same time, Ford President in charge of N. American operations, Robert McNamara (who would later become Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations) was ready to kill off the Lincoln due to poor sales and quality. He finally relented and agreed to one more styling cycle, using Engel's rejected T-Bird design if it could be made into a four door without making it much larger. The wheelbase was stretched 10" to123" (to become 126" in '64). The reason for the suicide doors? On the seating buck provided by styling, no on could get out of the back seat without getting their feet hung up on the doors, due to their width. The reverse opening doors solved the problem.

I'm actually further along with the chassis than these pics indicate. I have everything molded in place and primed, and I've converted the T-Bird's gas tank into the trunk floor and scratchbuilt a new fuel tank. In '64, the Lincoln gas tank was ahead of the trunk floor and behind the rear diff. I found out this is why the fuel filler is on the left quarter (it was behind the license plate for '61-'63; the stock T-Bird tank would be correct for those applications). The red on the engine compartment is the color the car will be- it's Dupli-Color Bright Cherry Red Pearl from their Import colors line. The only body mods will be just accurizing the rear deck and (maybe) omitting the hood ornament- Elwood Engel's original concept is, for me, too hard to try and improve upon.