TarheelRick

Just recently drove by my local low-inventory Ford dealer and saw a really nice F-150 that was begging me to stop and look at it. Except for the factory steel wheels and no Sirius/XM radio it was pretty much what I wanted. I should be able to find a good set of aluminum wheels at a wrecking yard for a reasonable price (finger-crossed) and may consider changing out the radio. Anyway, I went back the next day with the title of my 2010 Ranger in hand and drove in in the 150. They are a local dealer and have been in business since before WWII, of course they have been almost closed by the super-dealers, but they still deal honestly and made what I thought was an excellent deal. As an aside, a friend of mine said he saw me in my Ranger driving through town a couple days after my trade; guess it didn't remain on the lot very long. IMHO the best deals on used cars are still made with local dealers, and yes I have heard the stories of the vast difference in trade-in and the gold standard at CARMAX.

Not really familiar with dirt racing, but from what I do know many drivers had their own "secret" design that worked for their driving style. So any design you cut should be an acceptable pattern. If anyone complains about the design, you can always blame the rookie team member that cut the tires for you.

Very nice 1-ton. I really like the color and the interior details set it of nicely. Good job.

Yeah, but at least you would be there when a new shipment comes in and would get first choice.

Very nice looking deuce coupe, would love to find something like that sitting in some little old ladies garage and she would be willing to sell it. Just wondering about the lack of taillights.

Except Gorilla Tape residue, the only thing that removes that residue is "Goo-be-Gone" and even then it requires quite a bit of elbow grease.

Excellent build, really like the hard work look. What scale is this and what company produced the kit?

I remember this very technique presented as a "How To" article in one of the model car magazines. They used a cookie tray for a mold. Some of those trays come with excellent diamond patterns and other designs. They can also be cut and flocked to make cushions, like the sleeper cushion in my Mack race car hauler.

That is some mighty fine artwork, but don't give up the models.

Two authors from my childhood that really remain with me through today 60+ years later are Henry Gregor Felsen with his series of Hot Rod, Street Rod, Crash Club, etc. books about teen-agers growing into the car culture that was so prevalent at that time in our country's history. The second one is Jim Kjelgaard a writer of stories of again teen-age boys growing up in a rural farm setting and most included a dog. However his book that impacted me most was "Wildlife Cameraman", a young man beginning a career camping in the wilderness photographing wildlife. I have added a few of these to my library today, they are quite simple reading, the plot line is thin, and it is fairly easy to detect the direction of the finish. But they do take me back to a time when life was not so stressful or complicated, and a teen-age boy could dream glorious dreams. Thanks for opening this thread.

This is a very well built tribute to a talented, underfunded driver. As a teen driver I used to cruise the streets of Elkin, at least until the "Big Uncle" tapped me for service. I have two chairs in my den I bought from Rumple furniture. They used to have one of J D's retired racers sitting in the parking lot.

Excellent build, that blue really looks nice. I have a red one I built for my late wife, she had always wanted a red convertible.

Really nice work and attention to detail. Just wondering if those bolt heads will interfere with the hood closing properly.

Very sweet Mustang and just shows you do not necessarily need an all-out BBF to have fun driving. I would love to cruise around in that one.

Very nice weathering and good build. I see the local dog is helping with the "weathering".

Definitely a different look, but oh so cool. I'm sure a whole lot of GI's would love to take it out on a 'secret mission'. Excellent work.

At least he is not trying to sell a pirate recast. ?

I've been following this build with great interest. I'm really impressed with the amount of detail you have put into such a small truck. Earlier there was discussion about the possibility of the red bleeding through; maybe it is my computer screen, but it seems the cab has a slight pink tone to it.

Got computer barf here also, except for the "test" shots, they came out alright. Would really like to watch this one come together.

Excellent build and a great concept. Really love Gassers.

Excellent use of leftover parts. Parts box builds are the opportunity to use our creative skills and your creativity is coming through beautifully on this build.

Sweet machine, however when they swing around the rear from 3/4 view to full on rear shot I think of a '59 Buick. Maybe it is just my bifocals playing tricks on me.

Excellent MOPAR, beautiful build work.

Going to be a sweet little altered, just love those Fiats. One suggestion would be to change the class designation on the scoop to AA/FA rather than AA/D since it is a fuel altered and not a dragster.

My prescriptions usually come from two different sources. One uses bottles which are made from a harder, clearer plastic whereas the other is a softer more foggy plastic. Anyone with an idea of whether either or both will work. Of course I guess I could test them and see, just fishing for information.