W Humble

I would like to ask for some help. I got the new 1:12 die-cast (yeah, boo-hiss!) Pontiac Tempest Super Duty 421 racer for Xmas (from self) and it came with a stock LeMans interior, nothing like one would expect/be required for USAC/NASCAR racing. Fool that I am, I'm thinking about besides detailing the engine compartment, re-doing the inside too. Roll cage, instruments, etc. like Paul Goldsmith's Daytona Challenge 250 winning '63 from Ray Nichels garage. Can anyone assist in finding some good photos of the inside of that car? Again, figuring on some configuration of a roll cage from Plastruct rod, fire extinguisher, safety harness, etc. I don't even know if it ran the stock bench with a kidney pad, or a bucket seat. Sure didn't have carpet, etc.! I figure my task won't be too bad if it is gutted, minimalistic, and I'll have some surplus large-scale interior if any one could put it to good use? Any help would be appreciated, I wrote the first Tempest driveReport (for SPECIAL INTEREST AUTOS) on the Pontiac Tempest, including about 4K words on the '61-61 racing program which I was paid for but didn't see print, back in 1978 or 9. I interviewed Mickey Thompson, Bill Collins of PMD (who built the SD 421 LeMans 'in-house', believe it or not) and a number of other Pontiac movers and shakers. Hemmings, owner of SIA, later published a Tempest article that was based on mine, even to using the same photos of a '51 sedan, without credit to me. Well, it was their property, but... ! Oh, the Goldsmith car outran some GS BB Corvettes, Ferrari GTO's, and Jags, and immediately after was bought by Mercedes and taken to Stutgart Unterurkheim to analyze; never seen again!! Wick Humble

I understand legendary customizer and restorer Joe Cruces lost his entire collection at his place in Butte Creek canyon from the Camp Fire... hope this isn't so. I would say it was a terrible loss, but compared to the almost 100 casualties that might be over-stating: still.... !!! Wick Humble, Chico Ca

Looks super, Greg. I'm eventually going to build my big scale ZG as an N.American car (LHD, stock front bumper/h-lites, etc.) I've had the kit for over thrirty five years, anticipating. I'm going to paint it 907 green, like my '70 Z, which I restored for my book HOW TO RESTORE YOUR DATSUN Z-CAR, originally done in the late '80s, now coming out in a revised edtion (which it needed!), later sold back to Nissan. I need some 8-spoke alloy rims, and maybe wider tires, if you have any good leads? My friend Steve P. has a 432 project in the oven (long process, as he is building another '70 to replace the restomod L-28 5-speed one burned in the Camp Fire in Paradise/Magalia CA last month) and he has some exotic bits, like a direct port FI setup.. Luckily, his resto shop isn't located there, only his 'best of show' 240Z that was crisped! He has a Tamaiya 1.16 kit, and would prob be interested in buying a copy of your 432 engine, if for sale! Pls let me know! I'm 73 years old, and trying to finish up my collection of very old kits -- most early '60s -- before arthritis and peripheral neuropathy stop my ability to do small work! Luckily, I finished my '71 restomod Z two years ago. Wick Humble

The Paradise (not Pleasure, POTUS!) Camp Fire was shocking, even from Chico, ten miles away! My friend Steve lost his home (his wife's parent's 'ancestral' home in Magalia), and his restomod 1970 Datsun 240Z, which had at least on Best of Show award, and was a real rocket. All his wife saved was the cat and some photos/papers. Some shops/garages did survive, however, with 1;1 cars intact, even when homes burned! I am not in contact with modeler (former owner of Paradise Hobbies; excellent model and RC shop) Roger England, who lived on the ridge. I sure hope he and his were not hurt, and his huge collection of beautifully crafted models and unbuilt kits survived. He had sold out, and was selling on eBay. I wish him luck! From our friends accounts, the blaze spread so rapidly through the built up sections that it was unstoppable. Most fire-fighters (used to be one, in the 'sixties; five seasons) were trying to establish a perimeter, and not committed to the interior of the town, so building protection per se was not adequate. Initial attack crews for wildfires are not extensively trained or experienced in urban fire fighting, nor are they really equipped for that, a specialized application. Being in Paradise/Magalia during the first day of the blaze was just about suicidal, according to survivors, whether you had a tanker truck or not. Residents of the ridge towns were probably the most aware of their vulnerability, in reality: my daughter who had sold and moved out to Chico 15 years ago said that neighbors talked about 'their BIG ONE' fatalistically, knocking on wood. Both her and my son's old digs burned completely; glad they had come down to the valley. CalFire has been letting residents return for the last week or so. Not much good news! Getting an insurance settlement on your house/shop is not like selling it; you don't get compensated for the dirt it sat on! Very tough times! Wick

How about considering a category in the forums specifically for Bonneville/dry lakes/LSR/beach, etc racers? The venues are hotter than ever (despite how the surface is) and I am considering building a few salt shakers from the apocryphal old days. I realize that the kit offerings are limited, but not barren. And, there are so many types and styles of cars in classes going for records, to say nothing of bikes! Endless possibilities! Easy dioramas, too! The biggest problem I have now is the availability of accurate scale high-speed tires, as are run on the salt -- my phantom twin Cad V-16 car* can use the original wires, since it's a period piece, but now I'm wishing I hadn't discarded all those old Indy and ?? tall, skinny rubber Firestone-type skins from Comet, Mono, and so on! We'd need lots of Halibrands in resin, and more belly tanks to work from, among other things. I'd like to build Tommy Milton's Stutz/Miller, or the Keech Triplex special (three Liberty V-12's!), or one of the Brit record holders; think how much fun it would be if those famous engines were released (3D printed?) for us. M/T's Challenger, the Goldenrod, and Breedlove's car(s) are okay; the Arfons Boys 'Monsters' would be nuttier! What do you think? Wick *Calling it "The Catholic Comet"... vs. Ab Jenkins' "Mormon Meteor"

I'm building a ZG as a US spec LHD car, poss to replicate my S-30 Sports (240Z) bought new in July of '70, restored for my book "How to Restore Your Datsun Z-Car" (released in1991, still in print), and sold back to Nissan USA for their collection in '96. I ran American 8-spoke 14's on it, and now have Konig 8-spoke 15's on my restomod '71. I'd love to have a set of the Rosso Watanabe's for my kit, when and if I finish it. Only 73, now. A friend and Z-car specialist has a brand new set of Wata's he had custom-cast from the original molds back in the late '80s in Japan; saving them for an ultimate Z build. Just lovely!!! Let me know source and price, if you would, PLEASE? Wick Humble

How long ago is 'long ago'? When one has been building long enough, that may be our best claim to fame! Here are two, all I have photos of right now, that are 're-built' from Revell MoPar kits I did in 1962, but were literally crushed while in storage (when I got drafted in '68), and now reborn. I have about twenty-plus from the very early (pre-Beatle) '60s that I am building or restoring, and MCM Wanted and Trade forums have been a miraculous help to me, esp since our local model shop closed it's doors! Very little contact with scale car modelers in our area, alas!! I use mostly PPG large-scale finishes and materials, as after retiring as a teacher, I worked as delivery boy for our local store -- where I'd been shopping for 1:1 refinishing supplies for decades. I'm trying to find someone locally who will tutor me in resin casting; I think I have all the stuff, and lots of parts to copy. The 2X4 manifold from the AMT '62 (?) Pontiac kit is crude, but could be basis for a better one, in resin. ETC! These cars were hard to rebuild, the Dodge required an extra glue-bomb for parts. It is my idea of a two-seater build for dragging, c. 1962, in the style of the new Demon and Hellkitty. The Plymouth got it's roof from a JoHan '60 Dodge back in '62, courtesy of lots of Duro Plastic Aluminum; it has the Lancer Hyper-Pak Slant-6 with ram 4-bbl and 3-into-1 headers that came with it, and the asymmetrical theme that Exner has intended the '62s to sport, before it lost him his job at Chrysler design staff! Wick OH HELP: my files wouldn't upload!

At age 73, most of my kits (some still unfinished) were from 1959-65 era; about twenty five, of forty-some. I'm restoring a number of 'crushed' kits (I'll try to attach two), and more-or-less scratch-building some crazy old-school Bonneville and drag cars, incl. a twin Cad V-16 car, using rear of Monogram (I guess) Indy racer ostensibly from the pre-WWII era. I am building a series of replicas, mas o menos, of cars I have owned: '51 Ford club coupe, '55 Chevy DelRay, '65 Pontiac Tempest Custom 326, and '51 Chevy Styleline Deluxe 2-dr sedan, plus a White 3000 tilt-cab (resin) car hauler (Ford C-Series running gear.) I'll be posting more when I'm finished with them. I use mostly PPG professional finishes, as I also restore 1:1 cars. I've been driving since 1961; the '55 Chevy. Oh yes, and a number of early Datsun 240Z's, replicating ones I've owned; one repainted die-cast is autographed by John Morton, Peter Brock, and ... myself! Pictured are two Revell MoPars I built in '62-3, though both had to be 'restored' in 2014 because of being crushed in storage when I went into the Army in 1968. Plymouth 'Fury S-6' (Hyper-Pak Slant 6) with '60-1 'bubble' roof, a huge improvement on stock! Dodge 'Dragon' 413 two-seat roadster. Both cars were in horrible condition, but needed saving. Wick Humble, author of "How to Restore Your Datsun Z-Car", in print 27 years, and now coming back in a revised edition from California Bill's Automotive Handbooks, Tucson, AZ.

Apparently my photos didn't attach. "Problem loading this file" message. WH

These are two of my collection taken from storage in fairly crushed condition, back after I ETS'd from the Army in 1970; both had to be 'recreated' but one as I had origninally envisioned it, and one completely revamped. The Revell '62 Dodge kit was not the best kit the company ever produced; it must have been the first year they did promos, perhaps? I had JoHan kits of '60 and '61 Dodges and Plymouths, as I still have one in 'restored' condition. This 2-dr HT body got whacked and I lucked out in finding another glue-bomb to use for parts. I always thought the hard-top roof lines of the '62s were a crime against an otherwise decent style, so merely reconstructing a windshield frame was a good option, and calling it a roadster. I shortened the chassis and squared-off the passenger compartment to make a two-passenger car, foreshadowing the recent all-drag cars Chrysler makes (Hellcat, Demon, etc.) which I call the "Dragon". I fabricated a four-tail light trunk, ala '60 Pontiac, which accented the Exner long-hood, short deck look (two years before the Mustang, no less!) and copied the low-beam headlight air ducts from the Dodge turbine experimental cars of that year. I also made two hood versions, one with individual scoops, and one with a sort-of '63-4 style one. I photographed it against an advert picture shot from above. It is painted PPG "Hemi Orange" and black. The '62 Plymouth Fury likewise got a roof-transplant, from a '60 or '61 Dodge (JoHan) that I performed back in '63. The roof should have been narrowed to make the proportions better, but I was only sixteen, working with razor blades, hack-saw blades, Duro Plastic Aluminum and old school model cement! The '62 Plymouth rag-tops were very attractive cars, and the wagons not bad, but the hardtops, 2 or 4-door, were an eyesore to me! Both these models came with rather skimpy B-block V-8's (look more like SBC's!) so I put a Hyper-Pak slant-6 from a '62 Dodge Lancer kit in (save just for this project, I guess; it's not the Tex Smith roadster) and named it the "S-6 Fury". Virgil Exner's styling that year lost MoPar sales, and him his job as styling chief. Reportedly he'd planned to put asymmetrical hood scoops and deck 'finlets' on the cars, and it was halted at the last minute by management; I restored them in my version. This would have predated the well-known Pontiac "Sprint" OHC -6 options by four years. It was difficult rebuilding both these models, as they were very damaged; the latter roof had been crushed, and parts of the c-pillars were long gone, plus the earlier model 'glass' was hard to adapt. Thank goodness for BMF, two-part body filler, and epoxy! It is now DupliColor white lacquer, with PPG spot clear. I wish I still had my JoHan '61 Dodge Pheonix to rebuild; ugly fins, but killer grille and front clip Wick

These are two of my collection taken from storage in fairly crushed condition, back after I ETS'd from the Army in 1970; both had to be 'recreated' but one as I had origninally envisioned it, and one completely revamped. The Revell '62 Dodge kit was not the best kit the company ever produced; it must have been the first year they did promos, perhaps? I had JoHan kits of '60 and '61 Dodges and Plymouths, as I still have one in 'restored' condition. This 2-dr HT body got whacked and I lucked out in finding another glue-bomb to use for parts. I always thought the hard-top roof lines of the '62s were a crime against an otherwise decent style, so merely reconstructing a windshield frame was a good option, and calling it a roadster. I shortened the chassis and squared-off the passenger compartment to make a two-passenger car, foreshadowing the recent all-drag cars Chrysler makes (Hellcat, Demon, etc.) which I call the "Dragon". I fabricated a four-tail light trunk, ala '60 Pontiac, which accented the Exner long-hood, short deck look (two years before the Mustang, no less!) and copied the low-beam headlight air ducts from the Dodge turbine experimental cars of that year. I also made two hood versions, one with individual scoops, and one with a sort-of '63-4 style one. I photographed it against an advert picture shot from above. It is painted PPG "Hemi Orange" and black. The '62 Plymouth Fury likewise got a roof-transplant, from a '60 or '61 Dodge (JoHan) that I performed back in '63. The roof should have been narrowed to make the proportions better, but I was only sixteen, working with razor blades, hack-saw blades, Duro Plastic Aluminum and old school model cement! The '62 Plymouth rag-tops were very attractive cars, and the wagons not bad, but the hardtops, 2 or 4-door, were an eyesore to me! Both these models came with rather skimpy B-block V-8's (look more like SBC's!) so I put a Hyper-Pak slant-6 from a '62 Dodge Lancer kit in (save just for this project, I guess; it's not the Tex Smith roadster) and named it the "S-6 Fury". Virgil Exner's styling that year lost MoPar sales, and him his job as styling chief. Reportedly he'd planned to put asymmetrical hood scoops and deck 'finlets' on the cars, and it was halted at the last minute by management; I restored them in my version. This would have predated the well-known Pontiac "Sprint" OHC -6 options by four years. It was difficult rebuilding both these models, as they were very damaged; the latter roof had been crushed, and parts of the c-pillars were long gone, plus the earlier model 'glass' was hard to adapt. Thank goodness for BMF, two-part body filler, and epoxy! It is now DupliColor white lacquer, with PPG spot clear. I wish I still had my JoHan '61 Dodge Pheonix to rebuild; ugly fins, but killer grille and front clip Wick

These are two of my collection taken from storage in fairly crushed condition, back after I ETS'd from the Army in 1970; both had to be 'recreated' but one as I had origninally envisioned it, and one completely revamped. The Revell '62 Dodge kit was not the best kit the company ever produced; it must have been the first year they did promos, perhaps? I had JoHan kits of '60 and '61 Dodges and Plymouths, as I still have one in 'restored' condition. This 2-dr HT body got whacked and I lucked out in finding another glue-bomb to use for parts. I always thought the hard-top roof lines of the '62s were a crime against an otherwise decent style, so merely reconstructing a windshield frame was a good option, and calling it a roadster. I shortened the chassis and squared-off the passenger compartment to make a two-passenger car, foreshadowing the recent all-drag cars Chrysler makes (Hellcat, Demon, etc.) which I call the "Dragon". I fabricated a four-tail light trunk, ala '60 Pontiac, which accented the Exner long-hood, short deck look (two years before the Mustang, no less!) and copied the low-beam headlight air ducts from the Dodge turbine experimental cars of that year. I also made two hood versions, one with individual scoops, and one with a sort-of '63-4 style one. I photographed it against an advert picture shot from above. It is painted PPG "Hemi Orange" and black. The '62 Plymouth Fury likewise got a roof-transplant, from a '60 or '61 Dodge (JoHan) that I performed back in '63. The roof should have been narrowed to make the proportions better, but I was only sixteen, working with razor blades, hack-saw blades, Duro Plastic Aluminum and old school model cement! The '62 Plymouth rag-tops were very attractive cars, and the wagons not bad, but the hardtops, 2 or 4-door, were an eyesore to me! Both these models came with rather skimpy B-block V-8's (look more like SBC's!) so I put a Hyper-Pak slant-6 from a '62 Dodge Lancer kit in (save just for this project, I guess; it's not the Tex Smith roadster) and named it the "S-6 Fury". Virgil Exner's styling that year lost MoPar sales, and him his job as styling chief. Reportedly he'd planned to put asymmetrical hood scoops and deck 'finlets' on the cars, and it was halted at the last minute by management; I restored them in my version. This would have predated the well-known Pontiac "Sprint" OHC -6 options by four years. It was difficult rebuilding both these models, as they were very damaged; the latter roof had been crushed, and parts of the c-pillars were long gone, plus the earlier model 'glass' was hard to adapt. Thank goodness for BMF, two-part body filler, and epoxy! It is now DupliColor white lacquer, with PPG spot clear. I wish I still had my JoHan '61 Dodge Pheonix to rebuild; ugly fins, but killer grille and front clip Wick

There was a very common version that was simply the wheel cover without the lateral bar, and we called them "Hollywood Moons", to differentiate between them and the real competition Moon spun discs. My first car (1961) , a previously modified '55 Chevy DelRay 2-dr sedan (power-pak 265, three speed on floor with "vette shifter and plate, 4:11 gears, had 'em! It also had red rims, wide w/w's and was lowered two inches all around; this was going rapidly out of fashion, so I canned the wheel covers, painted the rims black, and put on the more trendy 'baby moons', as well as taking the two-inch lowering blocks out to give it more of a a 'dago' (Sic) and keep the body from slamming down so hard on the bump stop when I was racing! The old 265 was a good runner because the stick-shifted cars came standard with a solid-lifter cam and forged crank; mine got a 3/4 grind cam and a few other tweaks, with the old Carter 4GC four-barrel. Anyhow, I have no idea what became of the moons; nobody wanted them.

For me to sign in on MCM Forums, I have to reset my password every single time; if I don't I inevitably get an 'invalid password' message, check caps lock' etc. message -- and after a second try my account is locked for 15-min. Sometimes, folks, after the first try -- and my password IS entered correctly! This has been going on for a month or two, and when I report the problem via 'contact us' absolutely nothing happens. C'mon; I'm not doing all this wrong EVERY SINGLE TIME: something in this site is broken and not getting fixed. Help! When I do access the forums, mostly to trade old plastic parts, the other members respond and I get the email notifications, but then I can't log on and they think, I suppose, that I'm not interested, or am dissing them. Quite the contrary, I'm very interested in getting help to restore my 'collection' that goes back to the 'fifties, and am not progressing due to the lack of communication and contact, via MCM Forum. Does anyone else experience this frustration? I'll wager there are! Is there a solution? What's going on? Wick H.

Though I've never attempted dioramas, I'm now modeling cars from classic '50-60s sit coms; for instance: Bud Anderson's (not the Kat) '30 Model A beater from Father Knows Best, Clarence 'Lumpy' Rutherfords classy '40 Deluxe Convert from Leave it to Beaver, and maybe the '31 Chevy roadster rod (with deuce grille and 265) from Donna Reed. I have plenty of refernces for thise three, and afew more, from DVD's of those shows; but of course they are all black & white. I need to find some color photos, or at least color info (please) to proceed. Actually, June Cleaver mentions that da Lump's car is "that awful purple", and from the show I can tell it is lacquer, and not bad at that. The car is basically stock, but had the outside door handles shaved, and the sound track supports the rap of a true flathead set of steel-packs! James Anderson Jr.'s jalopy, on the other hand, has a very rudimentary flame job, very obviously done with a 1-in. brush and Rustoleum, it what is probably blue -- but I don't want to proceed without knowing for sure! The diorama I plan to begin with would be the episode where Wally Cleaver and Eddie Haskell pull a pay-back gag on Lumpy (he planted whiz-bangs on the engines of their old Chevy's) by chaining his rear axle to a tree next to the Rutherford driveway. This, of course, is ten years in advance of American Grafitti, and likewise would have been a disaster in real life! I want to show the '40 dead in the street, the rear axle rebounded on the chain, and perhaps Buds A-bone parked on the other side of the street. Figures: well, we will see! Can anyone hook me up to color pics, or at least supply accurate info regarding these media cars? For that matter, anyone know what became of them? You know, cars were such a big part of our kid culture, back in the late, lamented day, that it is probably hard for a Gen X'er or later to even comprhend. The streets were safer (despite all the rat rodders' depictions of punks, b----es, and rumbles!) and it was what we Boomer's LIVED, folks. It was analog, hands-on, and damned exciting; who needed 'Nam for spicy living? Or drugs -- beyond beer -- for that matter. Help out an elder modeler (Class of '63; as are Wally/Eddie -- except like that other alumni -- NY Military Academy -- I didn't dodge my military obligation!) to finish his life's builds. Wick

I've been building since about '55, and have driven Class A for a number of years, but never built a truck model. I'm doing a version of our family White 3000 tilt-cab (as a flatbed rod-hauler) now, and have ambition to build a small truck which I drove in the '60s: a '55-56 Chevy 1-1/2 or 2 Ton flatbed that the US Forest Service typically converted into a Class 3 fire tanker. I'd like to have some help in sourcing the parts (resin, etc) that would be helpful to re-create this very versatile fire truck, and wonder if anyone knows of any such model having been built? I don't have any pics, but have the layout -- including the fire-pump controls, which we truck operators had to memorize -- pretty well in mind. Also, though it didn't have much in the way of decals, the 'official use only' and USFS shield would be a blessing to discover ready-made. I also herded around a ''64 Dodge version of the same unit (larger tank) that would do to build, though the Chevy is closer to my heart! That 265 didn't have much excess torque, but it would rev when the road improved, whereas the Dodge was a better lugger with the old 318! Both got us to a lot of fires, which unlike now, we actually put out! No motelling in 1964, we slept in the duff, or on the tanker! Old Wick

I fire-crewed for the USFS in N. Cal. to put myself through college in the '60s (five summers): now I'd like to build a class 3 forest fire tanker. These were slip-on units mounted on regular flatbed trucks which were self-contained with tank, pump, hoses, tool boxes and crew seats (out in the open!) and painted the old gray over green colors. I'll need some decals for the doors; the Forest Service 'shield' and the 'for official use only' block, mostly. Does any one know of a supplier for such stickers? Also, the two trucks I was most involved with were a 1956 Chevy (265, but it tried harder!) and a 1964 Dodge (more torque, but not always reliable), and I wonder if anyone makes these as kits? Of course, '55 would work for the Chevy, and Dodge made similar cab designs for a number of years. It would be too much to hope that anyone had a slip-on class 3 unit to sell, but I think I can fab that; side tool boxes, B&S lunger motor and Gray Marine pump, etc. would be nice to locate. Also, I was foreman on a class 4 tanker, a LWB Dodge Power Wagon 4x4, which might be more available? Last season I worked was '68, then the draft got me! I'm 73, and trying to build all my collection; would like to add these. Any help would be appreciated!! I have some neat early '60s stuff to trade.