10thumbs

Great looking 1st effort there Keith. I've yet to build my 1st yet. What scale is it, which kit? I like!

That's a great looking collection Chuck. Makes me want to jump on the truck building theme ASAP. Good stuff.

Hi Ryan, what a great lucking model! I really like it. You mentioned you "cast" the model. Could you give some insight? I like casting parts in metal for my model cars, you too? Michael

Nicely done. The Cutlass was a nice car back in the day. The 442 motor was nice too, I had a 400" W-30 in a 57 Chevy Bel Air that really made that car a special piece. I had the air intakes coming in just over the front headlights, a nice feature. I added a Holley carb and a few other small tricks and the car rocked. The old Quadrajet did sound impressive though when I put my foot in it! My older brother had a dark green 70 Cutlass, loaded. A real nice car. My old 57 Chevy whooped on 454 Chevelles all day long. The W30 was a good motor, it was painted a gold color though. The Cutlass was a classy car. Well done.

What a beautiful model! You really do excellent work. Beautifully photographed too. Great job! Looks like you polished the front glass too, very nice. I like too that the red interior is not a bright shade, but toned down. Very classy.

Steven, you really are an excellent model builder. The car just looks gorgeous. The BMF work, the little golden ball up front on the fender, the trim, the whole deal is remarkable. Since the car is so perfect, let me just say something. To me it sticks out a tad, but I'm probably mistaken. Does the front bumper hang a degree or two down at the front? It's probably just a perception issue, anyway there is no way I can reach your level. A really excellent build.

5000 posts! Oh no! Clayton, I guess this means we have to listen now to all the junk you're telling us lately. LOL. Congrats, and a personal thanks from me for your help and presence. Guys like you, friendly, humorous and always helpful make this forum a good place to be. Keep up the good work. Michael

That's a nice looking piece. I don't mean to knock the scratch built stands, but they don't look like a motor could be built on one. I'm wondering if they're sturdy enough if you had to pry something off that's already been mounted, or having to press a distributor pin onto the block, something along these lines? That's why I like my ugly old slab of putty. I drilled holes in the block and heads with the block sitting in it. Just saying. Please let us know what you end up doing. Interesting topic.

Looking good Joe! LOL, a man's house. The kitchen looks clean too! No nick-knacks cluttering up the place.

Hi Mike, I've used some 2 component putty on motor builds. When the short block was done I'd just dip it in pile of putty, when hardened trim it into shape. Worked very well.

Looking good Joe. I like the 67-68 Barracudas, the notch backs were nice cars too, kind of understatement.

Hey, congrats upon your purchase. It looks purdy. New tools are cool.

Steve, got it! Finally I understand what the deal is. Good video. Michael

Thanks for the vids Steve. Hakan, to be honest, I still don't really understand the whole thing. Judging from what you just wrote, it's not that easy to desribe so I don't feel too stupid. lol. Thanks for your help though. I'll check out the vids very soon. Michael

Drill press guys. Get one! Until recently I've done all steps per hand. Drilling holes in metal for lug nuts is not fun. Doing these in styrene is even less fun, my opinion. The round burs I have smear up so much the hole ends up being twice as large. With lots of trial and error I've found a way to do it successfully. I can do milling, been doing it for a long time. I just personally want to keep things for my models as I do them now. Since we're doing metal, and lots of the assemblies are out of aluminum or brass sheet, there is no better way to drill holes than with a drill press. With the correct bits for drilling holes, not a round bur, the result overwhelms. Even styrene gets better results. Here's my drill press, recently acquired as I finally grasped that it has to get better; Here's the handpiece that fits in there; Foot pedal hooked up and you're set to go. Do it. Michael

OK. Thanks Joe, the link was helpful. So, the screws shown on the rims do not go into the tire itself. OK. There's an inner ring (not visible) that crimp the tire to the outer ring that's shown in the pics. My last info on this kind of rim work was when the racers had screws going through the rims into the tire itself. So, to change the slick, the air is let out, the outer rim is unscrewed and then the slick slides off. Change tire out, slip it on, screw the outer ring and apply air pressure. Right?

Lee, wow that was an eye opener for sure! Being from Florida, I've had quite a few rattlesnake encounters. If I'm in their terrain I won't bother them, just walk away. (Always wore boots out in the sticks!) On our property though they had to go, our dogs were more important. I only had to kill one though (dogs and children around). A big one too. Real easy to do. Get a long fishing pole and give it a rap on the head, it's a gone. No firearms needed.

My model work place is a mess. Heck, my work place period, is a mess. When the cleaning woman wants to do the place, I panic. I usually want a three day warning, just to bring everything to a safe haven. I've learned though a cool method. I tell her she'll die if she touches anything, just do the floors....and stay away from those compressed air pistols I have everywhere to otherwise blow the dust around. It's chaos. But I know where everything is (except half the micro nuts and bolts I let slip away). There gone later, she's thorough with the floors. I won't show any pics.

Hi guys, How do these wheels work? How are they attached to the slick? I don't understand what they are. Can someone explain the deal here? Also, I have several Revell Funny Car kits of more modern F/C's. I won't build the cars but I have them for parts only. The wheels are obviously these bead locks, but the walls of the dished part are ribbed, from the rim inward towards the hub. What brand wheels are these? When did they come out? Lots of questions, but I don't have a clue about these wheels. Here a pic of a smooth version; Thanks in advance, Michael

Brad, maybe he's working on shrinking these beautiful parts for us 1:25 guys. Excellent work! Michael

Now that's a sled! Good job.

Clayton, I'm sorry to hear that 55 is still law. 55 is slow. Period. My Vespa is quicker. I see it as the vehicle is longer in the same area, therefore more intensively emitting the junk that's supposed to be regulated. I had once an idiot neighbor who did 55 in his driveway. My wife drives 55, only on a good day though. I wouldn't mind if she'd only shift into a higher gear. 3 out of 5 is not a good choice for this speed. Next car she's getting will have an automatic.

Thanks guys. I remember my dad saying way back when, on longer type family trips he figured in 50 miles reached per hour's time. That was a long time ago. Today in Germany, some of the Autobahns still have no speed limit and the folks are pushing it. I still try to keep an average 60 to 65mph for good time and low fuel consumption. The juice is expensive here. I still average in about 50 mph., 60 though if I don't have to stop. I think it could be better though if only the wife wasn't wanting a bratwurst at ever dang pit stop...lol. Geez, we get in the car and 20 minutes later the nagging starts again. So, is 50 close, or do you manage more since your stops are probably far apart?

Joe, that's some very nice looking hardware you're mounting / building together. You've managed new territory very well and the metal bits and pieces really add quality in my opinion. Nice scratch building and keep up the good work.

Hi Dave, a Powerglide is a 2 speed automatic Chevy trans. Very robust. The Fuller deal I'm not sure about, but then again any truck-type trans would probably work, unless you're going for a perfect assembly. Google is your friend.