Straightliner59

I've been considering some of their other stuff. I bought their rivets for a Peterbilt 352 day cab conversion. The letters sound intriguing, too. I may have a look and see what I can find. Thank you, my friend! Oh, "and something that looks like I did it LOL" gave me a good laugh!

Thanks, Marcos! I needed it to be a Donovan 417, based on the rules I was using, when I started it (ANRA). This one's a late-model, from the '90s. The early 417s had the "DONOVAN 417" lettering in the girdle. I made one of those, too!? I have an ancient mold for a JP-1, around here, somewhere.

It's all about the journey, my friend! I mean, sometimes it would be nice if the road didn't get bumpy, but, I can't imagine how much less fun this would be, for me, if I felt like every project was a race. Usually, once a year (this weekend, in fact), I participate in a 24 Hour build, on Facebook. That allows me all the "hurry" in modeling, that I need! ?I begged off, this year, because I am really into my dragster, right now, and didn't feel as if I would enjoy that, as much as working on the dragster. I like your approach, Joe!

Very cool, Bernard! I have always appreciated your work, because it always captures the essence of the subject, if that makes sense. Keep up the great work!

This is looking great, Ian! What are you going to use for the weld beads on the floorboards? Have you decided, yet?

Thank you, Marcos. I found a blower manifold that will work, nicely, with a little modification, detail-wise. It fits the heads, great, though. It's not quite straight, in these photos, but, all the angles fit together. I also added some copper head gaskets. I'm having a good time, with this thing! Comments are always welcomed. Thanks for looking!

Thank you, kindly! Those really are beautiful heads. Mark did an excellent job with the castings!

You're so right about the people! I've met a whole bunch of awesome people through modeling! We are certainly interested in most of the same aspects of the hobby--scratchbuilding and detailing are the things that really get us going.

I didn't like my original heads--they really didn't look like Donovan heads. I used a set of heads cast by my late friend, Mark Brown, from a Miss Deal kit. They're very nicely done--as would be expected, knowing Mark's attention to detail. I also started working on the valley cover. It's made of flashing. The oil filler is turned from a dollar store aluminum knitting needle--a great source for cheap stock! Blower manifolds for early hemis don't seem to be exactly plentiful! Those with any detail, even fewer (obviously!?). I found one in my parts box, but have no idea where it came from. It'll still need plenty of work! I'm sticking with the blower case and front cover, but will be looking for a new rear cover, or filing the one I have, now, thinner. That's a bit down the road. I am building the valley cover to match the one in the reference photo, which, oddly enough, has an early-'80s Portland Trailblazers poster, in the background. I think that might be Fat Lever!? Anyway, there's a lot to go, but, here's the start. Questions and comments are always welcome. Thanks for looking

Thanks, Bob! I'm pretty happy with the progress I've been making. I'm kinda messing around with the motor, now.

Yep! Good, old pickling solution! Probably acetic acid, which is just a stronger vinegar solution. Vinegar should work fine. The first time I painted it, it was simply washed with an old toothbrush and Soft Scrub liquid cleanser. If I hadn't had to make the repairs, it wouldn't have needed to be stripped! Maybe that'll teach me not to wait 25 years on a project, again!?

Not yet, but the bones are there! I don't draw plans, either. When I am soldering up a dragster chassis, I mark a centerline down the length of a 1/2"X4"X12" piece of balsa (depending on length needed), and lines for the motor plate and wheelbase, and build off of that. I pin the tube to it, and solder, right on the board. I would say that all our projects are a labor of love, but, some are a bit more special, and we've known for an extended time that we'd have to build them. I always enjoy your work, Francis. Your results are something to aspire to

I can confidently say that Super Clean won't hurt brass, or solder joints! This has now been in and out of the pond several times, for a total of five or six hours, and neither shows any ill- effects. The joints aren't quite as shiny, but they aren't brittle or soft. That said, I think this is ready to add any missing pieces back on, then it can be repainted. It will be a bare-metal color from what I have left over of Testors Metalizers. I'll probably go with stainless steel. That may be what it was, the first time, too.

It doesn't seem to affect brass or solder, at all. Don't ever put aluminum into it, though! It will turn that to jelly!

That is excellent work, Francis! That's a great way to create a grille. Superb, my friend!

I haven't posted any updates, lately, because I haven't been working on anything that's "photogenic"! Therefore, these photos are kinda boring! In them, you can see areas and items marked with red Sharpie. The marked items (body tabs, mainly) will be removed. The red-marked areas are places that need some sort of attention. I did a little bit of cleanup with the Dremel, then decided to put the chassis in the purple lake. I also replaced an upright that was missing from the left side of the chassis. Now, I'll finish the cleanup, and add back a couple of pieces that inadvertently left the chassis. After all that's done, I should be able to repaint the chassis, and begin installing some parts! As always, your comments are welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

This is really coming along, nicely, Ian! I don't think I mentioned it before--The floorboards look very nice!

Looking great, Marcos! Nice progress, too.

Yep, that's the ticket!

Nice! Looks much better, with it!

Sometimes Joseph can take a little time getting back, but, his products are worth the wait. Everything I've bought from him is top notch!

Thanks for checking in, Tim! Thank you for the kind words, as well. Sorry about your health issues. It's especially difficult, when our hands are causing us problems. Hope they're able to get you fixed up, my friend.

I've been pondering one, as well!

Hi, Carl. Here's a thread I found.

Thank you, Joe. That's very kind of you, to say, my friend! I'll see if I can keep it coming along!