Straightliner59

Of course, they do, Walt! You're ready to match race the Cox Pinto. I've always liked Gremlins. Nice build, sir!

Excellent, Bernard! Love the rolling stock! The headlight location is great, too!

Thanks, Glenn! I like the stance of yours, as well. LOVE the tire/wheel combo! Here's one I built years, when I had a crappy camera! It would be fun to see how many ways this little gem of a kit could be interpreted!

Time for an update on the '34. The seat is covered and painted. The rollbar is assembled--it needs a bit of cleanup, then is ready for paint. Once the interior is buttoned up, I can paint the ceiling and install acetate windows, before closing up the body/floor pan unit. After that, I can finish making, and install the shocks, pittman arm and drag link and the radius rods, which will put this project very close to finished.

I love those old R&D Unique plugs! I still have a few left, but, probably not enough to do more than one eight cylinder engine, if that. Wish I'd bought more of them!

I am really enjoying this thread. Very nice work on a very interesting subject (old mechanical stuff!).

Here are a few shots of the interior, as it progresses. The seat has been padded with the last I had of those old, foam dryer sheets. Guess I;ll have to find something else to use, going forward! Also visible is the HydroStick shifter unit, and the holes drilled in the spokes of the steering wheel. Next, I'll cover the seat with kitchen parchment dipped in diluted white glue...

"Chassis" is the only way to describe this assembly, even though the majority of the chassis is molded to the floor section.grin I've always loved things that are utilitarian. That's probably why I gravitate so much toward dragsters--especially earlier ones. I much prefer paint to chrome. Given a choice between the "California Charger", and, "The Bug"...well, I built a replica of the latter! I actually raised this one, a couple of inches.

The finished wheels and tires are now permanently mounted to the "chassis" Just a few minor details left, on this, then, I can finish the interior.

Thanks, Bernard! I'm an admirer of your work, as well. I am just referring to this as a "slumpbuster". The Thursday before last, I went to a hobby shop, specifically seeking this kit, because it does lend itself, so well, to exercises like this one. It's the same with those very early Monogram kits. I've always enjoyed building curbside models. It's fun to create enough items of visual interest to make a simple model interesting. Modeling is truly an artform, and what is art without interest?grin I should be able to post a couple more photos, later, once the completed tires and wheels are mounted to the "chassis".

Agreed, Sam. It also illustrates why a scratchbuilt spring is a good idea, even on a curbside, sometimes. Thank you for the kind words.

Thanks, Mike. I love doing that stuff. For this application, I prefer to use contact cement to bond the aluminum to plastic, and to itself, because you don't have to create a huge surface area to achieve excellent adhesion--just a small flange. I've got it up on the wheels since my last post. I moved the front axle forward about three scale inches.

In mid-March, I will be leaving Minnesota after almost 14 years, and returning home to Colorado. As my time here dwindles, I picked up Revell's '34 coupe snapper, determined to finish something...anything, before I go. Just a few of the modifications I've made include a scratchbuilt rear spring, a front axle from Revell's old Model A Pickup kit, aluminum door panels, firewall, dash and seat made from .005" aluminum flashing (GREAT stuff! Especially after its been sanded free of its plastic coating, and annealed.). The spindles are scratched from Evergreen channel, strip and rod. Front wheels are from a Revell Thunderbolt kit, rears from an old AMT Deuce. Shocks are aluminum tubing with mounts (and tie rod ends) made of HO scale handrail stanchions. Orange paint is Krylon, directly from the can. It's not my best work, but, I am really burning it at both ends, trying to finish it before I am packed and on the road! Comments welcome. Oh, yeah--this complies with NHRA rules for a modified coupe in either 1959 or 1960.

When applying light colored paint over colored plastic, once body prep is finished, first, shoot it with a coat of Testor's metalizer, then primer over that. The attached model is over 20 years old, and it's still this yellow, in spite of being shot over red plastic. The metalizer kills any would-be bleed-through.

I scratchbuilt the body for this Junior Fueler from .005" aluminum flashing, just like Tom Hanna described it in a way old issue of Hot Rod Magazine. It's a lot of fun to push myself to try new techniques, and gives me a great deal of satisfaction when I (kind of) pull it off!

Springs and hangers are very easily scratchbuilt using strip stock. Use .010" for the springs and shackles, and small (.0325") tubing for the spring "eyes". Scratchbuilding provides the advantage of creating exactly what you need.

Thanks, guys!

Dan Himmel. All my stuff's been in storage for almost four years. I have a place to work, now, just need to rent a truck to get it here. Have a terrible jones to begin building again!