smhardesty

I've been doing a lot of my business with Hobbylinc.com and I'm pretty happy with them. Never takes too awfully long to get my order.

Very nicely done, Keith. The color works really well on this car. I'm not a gray or silver fan, but it sure does look good here. Nice, clean engine compartment too. Is that silver Sharpie or Molotow?

His dad was the grade school principal. And this was in a town of 1600 people, so you know that everybody in town knew it. As kids we couldn't do ANYTHING without the whole town knowing it.

I may be a MOPAR guy, but the Fords from that time frame are tough. Looking forward to seeing your builds.

Coming along really nicely, Jeff. Hood striping looks great! Did you do all the chrome around the windows with the Molotow pen? If so,,,, NICE JOB.

I guess there are still a few advantages to living in the rural Midwest. I can honestly say I've never seen one of those TVs either on a gas pump or in the mens' room. Some of you guys will find this amusing, but there are several gas stations around this area that still have the non-computerized gas pumps from the 1970s. No kidding. A couple that I go to regularly have instructions taped to them explaining that the price shown actually needs multiplied by 10 to be correct.

In high school a kid that was a year older than me slept in a coffin. No kidding! The REAL creepy part was that he closed the lid to sleep. He always claimed he was going to become a mortician. What he actually became was a drug dealing factory worker that finally got caught with some serious weight on his 4th or 5th arrest and caught a 40 or 50 year federal charge. Haven't seen much of old Tom lately.

I'm all for the gasser. Go for it.

I get all my meds from the VA. Co-pay of $8 per month, per prescription. Otherwise I'd never be able to afford it all. Taking 16 prescriptions right now. At $8 per it still adds up. I feel for guys I hear that have to pay out of pocket for all their meds. I don't know how some do it. Yeah, side effects for some of this stuff can be worse than what they're meant to cure, or treat. I get some serious muscle cramps with the Simvastatin. Kinda hoping the cardioligist decides to switch it out.

Yeah, you're right, of course. I have to somehow retrain myself to doing things differently. I can't keep passing out every time I take on some project. It's not the passing out that is the problem. It's what I'm doing at the time I pass out. If I happen to be on a ladder, running a saw, or lifting something heavy over my head, I could hurt myself pretty badly if I zonked out. It's just hard to work for a half hour, then take a half hour break. Hadn't had any changes recently that would be the cause. The cardiologist just thought the Indapamide might be causing problems since it's a water pill. He was concerned I might be getting a little dehydrated when I do some work. Yeah, this shortness of breath thing is really kind of scary. I was always really active and it took a lot for me to get winded, but any more it takes so little that it kinda scares me. Just squatting down doing something causes it to happen. The cardiologist said that's because when you get in a squatted position your heart has to pump harder to move the blood down to your legs. Any time the heart works harder the lungs have to work harder. Man, the things I've learned in the past few years amazes me.

Well. Now that's kind of discouraging. Guess what the cardiologist just prescribed for me. Yep, Metoprolol. And at 100mg per day, 50 in the morning and 50 at night. I had been taking Lisinopril and Indapamide. He took me off the Indapamide when I saw him, and plans on taking me off the Lisinopril if the Metoprolol works out for me. The other prescription he is concerned with is Simvastatin. Might have to change it too. Sure hate to hear that about the Metoprolol.

OK. I'm learning. Today was the first time since seeing the cardiologist that I followed his instructions to the letter. I started doing some work in the bathroom and was bent over and in a tight squatted position. Just as I finished what I had been doing I realized I was breathing a little hard and had a little "swimmy" feeling going on in the head. So I stopped, grabbed my mug of ice water, and hit the lazy boy. First off, taking a break after only working for 45 - 60 minutes just felt wrong. Then taking a full 25 minute break after that little work just goes against every fiber in my body. But I forced myself to sit there quietly, drinking water, for a full 25 minutes. Hey, the doc said to take a 25 to 30 minute break. I just couldn't make it for 30. 25 had to do. And I continued doing that the entire day. Every time something felt wrong, I took a break of at least 25 minutes. I figure I got about half as much done as I think I should have, but the work that got done is done right and looks good, and I didn't pass out or even get wobbly on my feet. I guess I'll EVENTUALLY get used to this. Still doesn't feel right though.

That is a pretty slick trick. I've got to add that to my growing list of useful tips. Thanks!

Beautiful car, Tulio. Detail and paint are exceptional.

Ben, I keep forgetting to ask you. How did you do the wood on the door panels? Looks pretty good.

Kinda like Texas Pride.

There is still a full 6 pack in my parents' basement.

As a newbie just getting back into the hobby, I'm really surprised to see how many guys either don't give much effort on the engine, or omit it entirely. I knew when I got back into the hobby that I wouldn't be placing much emphasis on the engine because of the way I'll be displaying my builds. I'm not sure why, but I just assumed all you more experienced builders always did super detailing under the hood. Yeah, I know I should never assume, and it looks like this is one of those times when it turned out I shouldn't have. Interesting to learn.

Hah! Thanks. After I posted about picking up the extra 330 kits I popped onto eBay to do a quick check. Found another 330 kit with a "Best Offer" and free shipping. It's going to be delivered to the front door for 12 bucks. Another gasser or street freak candidate.

Thanks for your thoughts. The toughest thing I'm having to do right now is learning to go SLOWLY on every task I tackle. It's a complete reprogramming of the brain to NOT jump right in and "get 'er done". Did some organizing work in the garage yesterday. The wife kept telling me to slow down and take breaks, but I kinda ignored her and sure enough, before I realized it I felt that dizzy, swimming head, feeling sneaking up on me. Managed to sit down before I passed out. I honestly didn't think I was doing too much, or going too fast, but obviously my body said otherwise. I'll eventually be able to retrain myself into working at a different pace. It's just hard right now. Thanks again, guys.

I just recently picked up a couple extra '64 Dodge 330 kits. As I gain some modeling skills and knowledge I plan to turn both of them into gassers. That's down the road a ways for me, and the reason I follow good builds like yours so closely. I can pick up a lot watching the builds of you guys. Your seatbelt trick is one I've filed for future use. I still think that's pretty slick and it looked great!

I keep forgetting to ask about the wash. Can you describe what, and how, you did the wash? This is something I need to learn to do.

Big ditto on that. The only builds that get engine detailing will be "special" projects.

I've got a stash of around 150 kits now. I'm heavy on MOPARs, gassers, early F/X cars, and 60s & 70s muscle cars. Haven't made an exact count, but I'm guessing between 20 and 25 gasser kits. I won't build any reproductions of specific cars from the past. Instead, I'll build the gassers as generic type cars from periods.

Nice work on the seatbelt. I would never have guessed how you made it. Pretty slick.