MitchP

Wow, that silver does stand out! I've got some relatively cheap Testors "One Coat" Diamond Coat silver and I just might try it on my Firebird pro-mod. I won't be striping like you though!

Off the hizzy as usual Tyrone! Tech question on the Koni controller. I just found out where to get the decals and fashioned a styrene piece to resemble yours. I assumed (wrongly perhaps) that the controller would have some bottle also for a gas or some hydraulic pump to affect the shocks/struts; this would be to raise or lower the car for traction and track conditions. Can you clue me in as to how you use it? That build is pure eye candy; I just want to scroll back and forth at the pictures. Every look reveals something I hadn't noticed before!

Unflipping real bro! Too late to do anything different (other than digger style headers), but I intend to use your tutorial in the future to try my own headers so they exit the same way. Mods forever!

Holy moly! I understand opening up the trunk, but brass as well? You definitely like the "metal" my friend . Bang your head, bro!

Bill: I have an article in Model Car Magazine as I can't make the races anymore and have to be content building models. They had a pretty nice spread on the history of funny car models and one of the tricks used to get certain colors or effects (at least for funny car model replicas) was spraying a gold base coat, a red coat and then a red clear coat of paints to achieve the desired tones. Not sure if this was done back then or not. Just a thought.

Hakan: Sorry I didn't see your post first. Thanks for the confirmation. It'll help in building my model.

Norm - so was I right in saying the front upright tank fed the fuel pump? I'd like to know for sure as well as I intend to build this as close to original as possible. Something I've seen in later years is the rubber hoses running from either the heads or the 'charger down and clamped to fittings on the bottom chassis rail. I'd guess it had some sort of drain for it; not sure what it contained or if it could have been flammable. Makes me wonder why the NHRA was so down on Garlits' uni-winged rail storing fuel in the chassis. Thanks.

Bummer. Thanks guys.

Good job Ace - not being familiar with the kit other than a passing glance in the hobby store due to the twin blower, am I to understand this comes with some pre-molded form of metallic orange? What an excellent idea for a break in models with intense detailing and styrene building involved. Congrats! BTW, any idea how many diff. colors this came pre-molded in and what they were?

Gene: if you look at the top left pic in the collage with the "ASP" ad, you'll see the rubber line going into the fuel pump. It appears to come from forward and below of the adjacent frame rails, so I'd guess fuel tank is the upright standing tank. The side tank further back might be a puke tank or part of a dry sump oiling system. Anybody else think this is correct? I'll check my opened box of the model later today and see what the instructions label them.

Tim: I'm not laughing... I think I hear the paramedics now...

Thanks Norm! This is a great find. I've been trying to assemble parts to be as accurate as possible for the new release and the plug wires looked a bit orangish in several ref. pics. Hope this helps!

Tim: You and I have a lot in common. Pretty much the 4th and about 1/2 the 5th sentence of your opening post! This pretty much the most insane thing I've seen here in my short membership. The only thing in common will be I have an unopened Henry J kit in the closet for a build next year. I have acquired quite a few skills from am73grand (Ron) and bookmarked a LOT of Tyrone's work. You have destroyed the bar instead of raising it. Congrats. I'd say this could go for $2-3k on Ebay to an astute collector. Build on my friend!

Tyrone: Man I love that fuel distribution block on the engine front. That nails the 1:1 look if I've ever seen it. I'd hate to try and keep up with your budget just on fittings LOL! Great job on bodywork!

Tyrone: forgot to ask - I've seen a lot of the electronics and KONI boxes on builds that you're using. Are they homemade or where do you get them? I like the water pump too and would like to know the same. You've got that down perfectly. I've used Futurattraction's crank trigger kit and I like it alot. I'm sure you know all the tricks, but I've picked up tiny hex styrene rods from Hobbylinc to use as bolt heads and 10 rods are only $3.00! Enjoy your builds bro and always like to see more! BTW, here's a Willys street rod turned promod I'm looking at possibly building next year:

Tyrone: This is beautiful. I seem to notice components of both stock kit and home fashioned roll cage tubes; is this true? I just completed my 1st total roll cage build thanks to am73grand's tutorial and it turned out o.k. for a first try. I'll be bookmarking this page for your excellent detailing techniques and the answer to my prayers - a nice tutorial on those pro-mod headers that exit through the body! I just have to find a body that allows enough room between the edge of the front fenderwell and the front door jamb. I heard through the grapevine about your successful sale on Ebay and I wanted to offer congrats. I don't know if I could let go of any piece of artwork worth that much For us amateurs, you offer a lot of inspiration and desire to catch up to that raised bar!

Dragline: like your signature, but... I've gotten a couple of snoot-fulls of nitro fumes during JFR's clutch seating procedures and it's no wonder most of the crew (including John) use masks now in the pits. I cried & choked like a baby on my first mouthful of solid food! I do love alky in the Comp classes though. Man, that is sweet! Btw, great progress as usual Ron. I'm still waiting for TDR to make a 1/25 scale MSD twin mag kit like their 1/16th. Yours are totally mint!

Billy - beautiful! Not sure what the original designation was for my friend's car, but I think it was called GNX. I think it was Lee Shepard who ran the 6 cyl turbo in prostock and got Glidden so scared they banned it in the NHRA! Scott: I would love to build a Fairmont after seeing some pics on the 'net. The stance is incredible and they look great with some big meats in back. I'll hunt around and find the article about models and future releases; if I find it I'll forward it to ya!

Mike: Awesome rendition of that build! I really like the way you painted the wheels in contrast to the body. I too had some issues with the final steps including getting the body over the chassis/cage. I left the passenger seat out and used the space for electronics and for a more authentic race car look. As I've learned the steps of building a cage, I've discovered I really like doing it myself. I plan to construct my own from now on pro street/pro mods.

Thanks Billy. It might still be worth the expense to save up for it; Lord knows I have enough kits to bash for the next 1-2 years! That's a long time to think and maybe come up with alternative that still might make pro mod doable with this chassis. Scott, if you pop back on, I read an internet article about our hobby and what missing kits might be contemplated and released. The Fairmont came up in conversation as one car seen at the local track often but never concentrated on as a 2-in-1 or a pro street build. What do you think about that One more thing Billy, unless I'm mistaken, your avatar is a rare option of the 6 cyl turbo Buick Grand National - done in a light metallic blue?! I had a friend who owned one and let it go. He's still kicking himself! Mitch

Hey Billy: I have a 71-72 Duster from Revell and a 69 Nova, both of which I think would be pretty short wheel-based. I wonder if just shopping around for a 1/24 would make any difference wheel-base wise. Good news is there are so many great builds here using TDR products and styrene is relatively inexpensive it's a good challenge to see how far you can get. I don't have much of a junkyard yet as I've only been building about a year and a half, but I've had a lot of good mentors! Thanks! BTW, did the doors come already hinged or have you done some basic prep work like that already yourself?

Billy: WOW! nice work so far on that tranny in the TDR! At first glance the difference looks huge, but depending on planning and how well the TDR material responds to cutting and gluing, it could be attempted considering the gain of all that TDR cage work and frame. I know Scott at Futurattraction has the parts necessary to assist in a Dr. Frankenstein surgery I might attempt For the price, I'm liking it and it just might be that project that eventually gets me into the "big boys" territory. Thanks bro!

Thanks Scalper - these kits and the '55 Chevy top sportsman from Revell are extremely flexible as far as fitting other bodies, or even building your own cage out of styrene plastic so your cage fits the height of a different body. Here's a URL link to instructions for doing just that: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72815 Great Build! Mitch

Billy: On the question of using this frame for other bodies, it looks like a lot of that extra frame ahead of the firewall is due the A-arm support frames and that huge boxed area in front for fuel cell, electronics, etc. I wonder if some of that might be removed or relocated/shortened. I did this as my first attempt at scratch framing today on my Hays "Pepto Pink" T-bird custom street kit. The kit's 351 c.i. dual blowers and radiators were located in front of the engine and had a weird frame piece in front of the A-arm location to hold them. With help from Ron (am73grand), I put a Hemi in place of the stock engine and beefed up the stock roll cage with my own styrene rod, including bending several pieces over a candle. I needed a place for the Futurattrations small fuel cell in front, kinda like that gold Camaro "Fastest Street Legal Car" and the stock frame where the old parts went wouldn't work. This what I ended up with after grinding off the original front frame: If that link doesn't work, try this: http://public.fotki.com/Mitchp/ford-drag-racing/hays-promod-street-car.html#media Thanks.

Billy: With all the new offerings from Futurattractions and the existing resin semi-hard slicks, any reason why you stick with the 2 piece Revell slicks? I have trouble getting a true rounded diameter after cutting them off the tire sprue and I dislike the two piece design. Just curious. I've had good and bad resin ones due to the two halves not lining up perfectly, but more often than not they are workable and quite large - just right for a pro mod. Mitch