StevenGuthmiller

You're right about it not being up to us to determine, but my point is that not only is the styling of the vast majority of cars today, and stretching back all of the way to the late 70s, completely uninteresting and monotonous, but I can't imagine that the restoration of a modern car is going to be task that many are going to want to, or be able to undertake. The tangle of electronic equipment, the overwhelming dominance of plastic parts, etc, is going to make the restoration of a lot of these cars a nightmare on earth. In the end, my hunch is that 50 years from now, you're still going to see a lot of garages containing '69 Camaros, '67 Mustangs, '69 Roadrunners, '57 Chevies and '32 Fords, but you're probably not going to see many with shiny new, freshly restored Chevy Equinox's. By the way, You're correct about the station wagons and minivans being uncool at one point, and while old examples of station wagons are becoming much more popular today, mini vans are still about as uncool as you're ever going to get. I don't think you're going to see many people spending $40,000.00 to restore an '84 Dodge Caravan.......but I could be wrong. People do a lot of stupid things. It's my opinion that it's not so much the age of an item that determines how collectible it is, but more so the items individual appeal, or what it's time in history represents. Some things will fascinate and carry value forever, and some will not. Steve

And the OP’s original intent was to analyze new trends and to discuss our likes and dislikes of them. It appears that the true “get off of my lawn” curmudgeons are those that think the discussion isn’t pertinent, or to their liking, and therefore should be quashed. apparently “their lawn” is the entire board. ? Steve

And invariably, every time a discussion such as this arises, you always get people who don't want to participate in the conversation, piping up to slam the thread and make sure that everybody knows how stupid they think it is. For the life of me, I can't understand why, if the discussion is such a turn off, why get involved? I pass by conversations that I think are stupid or pointless all of the time because I don't find them particularly useful and I have no point of view to add. If your point of view is that you think the conversation is dumb, there's really no point in participating. It's not really all that hard. Steve

I've never attended either of these shows before, but being as we seem to be in such a "model show desert" in my area, I thought that I would throw them out there to possibly drum up a little interest around here. Likely to be pretty small shows, but if any of you are from the central Minnesota (including the Twin Cities) area, the more the merrier! Steve

There's a lot to be said about what you're putting the color on, isn't there. Put lip stick on a pig, and you just wind up with a pig with lip stick on it. Steve

We used to call this "trying to put lip stick on a pig". Steve

That's a dare that I'll never take. Steve

No accounting for taste I guess. The real test will be to see how many 2020 Hyundai Elantras are being restored 50 years from now. Steve

I agree. In my opinion, it gave the older cars, (especially muscle cars from the mid to late 60s an "all business" appeal. Granted, If you bought a new Roadrunner in '69 with dog dish caps, they were likely headed to the parts box very soon after the car got home, and I do agree that they've been a little over done in recent years, but I like them depending on the application. In some cases, there weren't a lot of factory options back then. For instance, the Hemi equipped Dodges in 1968 were either equipped with steelies and poverty caps, or the "Charger 15" caps". Those were your choices from the factory. Steve

I wonder if the guy in that car knows how he looks? Steve

Could be worse. Could be giant plastic eye lashes on a Volkswagen Beetle! ? Steve

Great description! Steve

Oh c'mon. This looks nice........no? Steve

I can agree to a point, as long as it's not a glossy black. I can do these wheels all day long! (Is my age showing?) Steve

For me, it's not just black either. The "monochromatic" faze that cars have been going through for the past several decades, holds no interest for me. Variations in colors and finishes are what make a car interesting to me. A huge, entirely red blob just accentuates the obligatory "jelly bean" look that loses all of the styling appeal of a car in my opinion. But again, as I stated in my last post, when the styling is as dull as a butter knife to start with, why would you want to accentuate anything I suppose. Steve

I agree with the black rim thing. Just heinous! Non-metallic colors are okay with me, but I believe what you are referring to are colors like the clear coated primer gray that seems to be becoming somewhat popular. I'll agree in that instance. Not attractive in the least! But then again, the unattractive colors go along with the unattractive styling of most cars today, so it's a great match! Steve

That's hilarious! I love it! Steve

Fireball Modelworks carbs have taken engine detailing to a WHOLE different level! Detailing a carbureted engine to this degree was hardly worth the effort until these carbs came along! A whole new ball game! Steve

If the windshields don't contain any compound curves, it's very simple to replace the kit glass with a thin clear sheet plastic as Bill suggested. You don't need a 3-D printer or a vacu-former. All you need is clear 2-part epoxy, and .010" or thinner sheet plastic. Steve

Great looking Buick! Almost looks good enough to leave alone........Almost. ? Steve

The Ranchero looks pretty good, but the Buick “Everything in the Boxer” is going to take a little work. ? Steve

Be careful! His stuff is SOOOOOO good that you’ll probably wind up dropping at least a C-note before you leave the site. The best scale carburetors on the planet.....hands down!!! Steve

Or you can find sets of Cragars in numerous different kits. Just off of the top of my head, the AMT 1965 El Camino, '65 Ford Galaxie, '70 Impala and '37 Chevy all had them, just to name a few. Steve

Today I spent some time scratch building some inner fender well parts to add some detail to the fender lip and the mounting area for the hood springs. Now the springs won't look like they're floating in space. Before. After. Steve

Thanks Andrew. When I reference “grinding” I’m generally speaking of removing and shaping material with a variety of tools that includes files and sand paper, but for the most part, I’m usually talking about working with a Dremel tool. I use a rechargeable, variable speed, mini Dremel with various reamer bits and grinding wheels for the heavier work, followed by filing and sanding in the majority of these types of modifications. Steve