ChrisBcritter

Though I was too young to remember it, first influence was my dad's junior executive hot rod - a '57 Buick Century. Thanks to product placement, Imperials - in the 1960s, a lot of them showed up on TV programs; the fact that I saw very few on the street made me long to own one that much more - so I had the red Corgi convertible. Loved how a luxury car could look so aggressive, more so than Lincolns or Cadillacs. Probably would have bought the AMT "Hero" kit if it weren't for all the cowboy junk tacked onto it. As to real-life cars, there was a '58 Chevy Biscayne coupe in my neighborhood that was painted gold, had the front end jacked up, no front bumper, radiused rear wheel wells, mags all around and '59 Pontiac Catalina taillights. No idea what was under the hood but it looked and sounded badass. (Doesn't some resin caster make a '58 Biscayne?) Another local street rod was a '26-'27 Model T tudor that was primered, had no covering on the roof, and was channeled with chrome kidney-bean wheels and zoomie pipes on (IIRC) a small-block Chevy. I only saw it maybe twice but the memory always stuck with me. Later on I got hooked on first-gen FWD Eldorados - again, a tough looking luxury car - drew 'em on my third-grade notebooks.

I think he means the MPC flip-nose Ford pickup.

I'll throw in a third possibility - Team Tinyvette's LeMons racer: (Images from Team Tinyvette on the 24 Hours of LeMons forum)

Bravo Al! As a fellow Lincoln builder you make me want to get back to mine. It's not easy to make that trim on the fender edges look good, but you nailed it. One question: Did you have any issues with the fit of the front bumper/grille? The opening on mine had to be filed out a bit on either side for it to fit.

Leo Carrillo, who gave us Leo Carrillo State Beach and owned a Chrysler Town and Country convertible with cow horns on the hood.

Nobody too famous sang this (the best version was on a Scopitone); it's a movie title song: She'll turn your head, though she might use a judo hold And on her shoulder's a chip made of solid gold If you're a master of the underworld you'll be accepted in her queue She is the perfect mistress of her art She is the perfect mistress, too Again a movie song (not a title song), this time sung by somebody famous; not a hit but should have been: She makes love without a smile Ooh hot dog it drives me wild

A Gene Winfield face-painting booth would be an interesting idea... or Ed Roth or Von Dutch? Thanks to both of you for all the photos - Tom Piagari's replica stocks are amazing.

That is one VERY helpful bit of information, Steve - thanks!

It'll be cool to see those outdoor photos - it really takes sunlight to do those purplish shades justice. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the interior as well. I'm still plugging away at my mild custom '60 - got the roof chrome and New Yorker emblems removed, cowl seams cut and door/hood/trunk seams scribed. Have to add another layer of putty to fair in the grille at the bottom; got the grille frame cut out and ground out from behind, and some Eduard mesh for the Windsor grille is on its way from Australia. Measured the space between the chassis and the bottom of the interior and found the bucket could be made about 5/16 deeper without hitting the chassis... One thing I'm debating whether to mess with is the lack of a license plate indentation in the front bumper, but I may just leave that as is.

And the instructions were just as funny part, if you can find a copy - I'd like to see them posted on that Fotki page. (I wonder if the person who thought up this promotional item saw that "$257 Ford" model kit piece from National Lampoon? )

Compare the Revell drip rail (from A to C pillar) to the AMT and notice how much flatter/straighter the Revell one is than the AMT, which is gently curved like the 1/1.

OK - I might have you covered on the interior tub - PM me after you go through the parts.

Congrats on that find, Steven - looking forward to the build threads on them! What do you need for the '63? I have some '62 bits left.

From another estate sale over in Glenview: The Granada's missing one taillight, most of its chrome has faded down to the clear plastic underneath; the T's box got wet at some point and the decals got messed up: I'll take a whack at scanning and restoring them. Both of these may be trading material...

I'm interested - I've been thinking along those lines with my '64 Chevelle to make a set of clear backup light lenses from the ones molded into the panel. Of course if you have a funny car body, it has a more correctly contoured roof as well... hmm...

My favorite Great American Jukebox dashboard: 1956 Packard.

Didn't the AMT '62 Tempest kit have one as well?

Now that the '53 Studebaker is back on the shelves, how about a '57-'61 Silver Hawk conversion?

Saw a very sharp '64 or so Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III (the older body with quad headlights) pulling out of a gas station at Lake Avenue and Green Bay Road in Wilmette; two-tone metallic gray over silver.

No, huh? Gas station scene in Duel. How about this one? "I'd like you to check my motor - it whistles." "I don't blame it."

That's something I noticed too; AMT left that trim as part of the grille, since it was based on the promo tool. (Thank goodness for photoetch saw blades.) Frankly I don't mind the trim being molded to the hood, if only for the fact there'd probably be fit/alignment issues if it were molded separately.

OK, thanks - yes, I'm using the '60 Ford engine from the 2 in 1 kit, but with the single four-barrel setup - my uncle got a complete sfb 406 and 4-speed from a wrecking yard and converted it to a floor shift when he put it in his '57 Fairlane 500; that's the car I'm building.

I have the Thunderbolt kit; would the transmission from that be correct behind a '62 Galaxie 406, or should I be looking elsewhere? As always, thanks for your help!

Thanks to member PARTSMARTY, I finally have the '60 Ford double kit - so now I have the engine for my uncle's '57 Fairlane. Now to figure out some 406 decals for the valve covers - and how to make it into a four-door neatly.

Or maybe you could mate it to an XKE to build the hearse from Harold and Maude?