Helipilot16

That is exactly my point. It was a simple request to keep this a site about models, not religion.

As some of you know, I am an atheist. I'm sure there are many on here who are devout Christians, Moslems, or Jews. Everyone is welcome to his or her own beliefs. There are many religion oriented sites where your comments on these beliefs are welcome. I just hope this site is not one of them. A simple "God bless you" or other such aphorism is not inappropriate or harmful, but full on proselytizing is. I left the other site when I was made to feel unwelcome. My patriotism was questioned, and I was told to leave the country. The simple fact is that atheists can be just as patriotic as Christians. So please think about what you are posting and who might be offended.

I'm 66 years young.

My wife Nancy (who some of you will meet at NNL West) is the major reason I got back into the hobby. She goes with me to the hobby shop and helps me decide on colors, etc. She is a textile hobbyist with about $20,000 worth of equipment so money isn't an issue. My building is a form of therapy, and keeps me busy instead of just sitting around. I couldn't ask for a better wife. She is a big improvement over the first one.

Okay, that's it; I quit.

Actually I never said it was ZnCr04. I was talking about yellow zinc dichromate. It is used every day to color the pot metal used in both Holley and Rochester carburetors. The carb is hung on a copper rod in an acidic bath. This copper rod is hooked up to a low voltage high amperage source (a car battery works pretty well). A sacrificial zinc plate is lowered into the bath and hooked up to the negative side of the same power source. When power is applied the zinc travels to the carb and plates it. This can take a couple of hours or overnight, depending on the solution of the bath and the power used.

I used to rebuild carburetors and learned how to recoat Holleys and Rochesters. It requires a diode, anode, and bath with low voltage and high amperage. Not exactly the sort of thing one can do to a plastic or resin 1/25 carb

Those of you who have come over from the "other" forum know my views vis a vis paint well. I have been experimenting with various paints and methods. I have come to the conclusion that the best paint is either lacquer or Kustom Kolor hybrid paint. It goes on easier and dries faster than either water based acrylic or enamel. I prefer MCW, HOK (their lacquer, not their two part urethane) and Model Master lacquers. The latter I buy in aerosol, the rest in bottles for the airbrush. My method has evolved into the following: I first sand the model with 1200 grit sandpaper to remove all crud. I then paint with colorPlace equipment gray primer. Next comes completion of all body work, then another coat of primer. Be careful about build up of primer. My first coat of color is a light coat. Hold the airbrush close for all coats; if you pull back too far with lacquer it will dry before it reaches the body, resulting in a rough coat. The next coat is a heavier one, and with solids and metallics is usually enough. For translucent coats, quit when it looks dark enough. Lately I have been getting zero orange peel. If there are dust particles or other trash in the last coat, sand lightly just till it goes away. I Finish mine with Kustom Kolor clear coat. I don't believe in color sanding unless it is absolutely necessary. For a look at one of my paint jobs, check out my new project in the WIP section.

Sometime in the last few years, a private equity company bought Super Clean from Castrol. It is now called simply super Clean. While the formulation was changed slightly, it is still the same product wherever it is sold. I use it for all my paint removal with great success. I leave the parts in the SC for at least a week. It turns the paint into a powdery substance which washes off with water and a toothbrush. BTW, it nothing more than a strong detergent. It has a PH of over 12, so is very alkaline. Use gloves while using it, and not the cheap latex kind but more substantial ones.

I keep it simple. I paint them gold, then go over it with Testors tail light amber. The result is the mottled look of stock yellow zinc chromate.

Here is what the new one looks like so far: The rest are of a different version started before I had the latest pictures.

I have begun building the car that is shown in my avatar. It's a 47 Ford convertible. It was built by dick Graese in Loveland, Colorado in 1958. It's the most important car out of my past; even more important than any car I ever owned. I watched it being built and saw it win the Denver Sabers best in show twice in 60 and 61. It is in Minnesota now and it was painted green many years ago, but I will be painting it the original candy apple red. I am now waiting for the Olds grill from Modelhaus. They say it takes them 6-8 weeks to ship them, so the car won't be ready for NNL West. I have the 58 Chevrolet headlight rims molded in now and have reshaped the front end for the grill. Pictures will follow soon.

Thanks Mike. I am already enjoying it here.

I always have to laugh when I hear people say such things as "It depends on your viewpoint" or "History is open to interpretation". No, history is a collection of facts, not interpretation. It is about what happened, not what we think happened. I have been a history buff since the age of eleven when I used to lay out under the limbs of a big oak tree and read "History of Civilization" by Will Durant. The sort of primary source research done by such brilliant historians as Will and Ariel Durant, Dumont Malone and Shelby Foote created a huge compendium of historical data that is available to anyone who is not too lazy to use it. This laziness leads many in the south to believe the ###### passed around the dinner table. Southern schools picked up on some of this misinformation and it became the accepted slant of their "history" courses. The story of the Civil war is complex, but revolves around one thing above all others; the issue of slavery. Without that issue, the south would not have felt the need to secede. Once that secession took place, Lincoln saw it as his sworn duty to hold the union together. No, he never used the slavery issue as a reason to go to war, but that doesn't mean it wasn't in his mind at all. Denying that the stars and bars is a racist symbol is ignoring the facts; it's that simple. The flag had pretty much disappeared into the dust bins of history until the pro segregation forces revived it all over the south in the 50s. It should be retired to that dust bin.

My story is much more complicated. I went into the Army after graduating from college in 1966. I learned to fly helicopters, then went to Vietnam, where I was an aeroscout platoon leader. I left active duty in 1973, then went into construction management. I also spent the next 14 years in The California National Guard and active reserves. I retired from construction as a contractor in 1991, then did what I had been dreaming of for years by opening a performance garage. I retired for good after a heart attack and 4 way bypass in 1998. I just sold two of my 1:1 projects (I am down to a 70 cutlass 455 and a 68 Datsun 2000 roadster). I build models full time now with the full support of my wife Nancy.

That is for sure a Tempest OHC six cylinder from 1967 or 68. These engines were basically a Chevy 6 cylinder with an overhead cam. I saw lots of them built into great engines back in the day.

I built my first model at the age of 11 in 1953. It was a Highway Pioneers Model T which I modified to look a little bit like a roadster I saw in Hot Rod Magazine. By 1960 I was building some pretty sophisticated models. I won my first show with a channeled full fender 32 Ford 5 window.

Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out. This is simply a load of southern BS that gets promulgated in households and schools all over the south.

I agree completely with Harry on this one. I spent my formative years in the south and I still have racist relatives living in Tennessee. I hear their ###### all the time stated as "facts" about the "inferiority" of other races. They fly the stars and bars with great pride.

I know there's a Reno club, but I don't have the time and dates of the meetings. If anyone on here could help, I'd appreciate it.

By inside the frame rail I mean outside of the frame but along the inside.

I would suggest you check detailmaster if you haven't already. As for where to run them, I believe correct is inside the frame rail on the passenger side. Run to the center just ahead of the differential. Go from there to the differential with flexible line, then out to the wheels above the housing with hard line. On the front, run to the front cross member inside the driver's side frame rail, then across the cross member to the other side. BTW, your paint is the best I've seen.

I just realized you put Mark IV heads and valve covers on a 409 block. That doesn't work. The 409 block is completely different The angle of the deck on a 409 is much shallower, as the combustion chamber is in the block. The Mark IV is commonly known as the big block or rat motor.

#2 stack should be taller (front passenger side). Good looking engine otherwise. I like the valve covers.

Hello from out in the desert. I came on here after experiencing too many locked topics on the "other" forum . I have recently returned to the hobby after not model building for a few years. I'm sure there many old friends on here.