Custom Mike

John, the braided lines are a creative "open water cooling system", a buddy gave me a link that showed different cooling systems for boats, I just modified it to look like it was right. As far as the water pump not going to the correct places on the engine...you're not supposed to notice that stuff! I'm no rivet counter, so as long as it doesn't look completely wrong, I go with it. You can find the link to the cooling systems somewhere prior to this post...

Gorgeous color combo, and great engine details, this is one of the nicest builds of this kit I've ever seen!

Last update for tonight, a bit more insanity as far as details go. I decided the winch on the trailer needed to be more than just a spool with nothing on it. So I grabbed a piece of stranded 18 gauge wire, and wrapped it up to look like rope. I'll either paint it white, or use some chemical blackener for it, I'm not sure which way I'll go yet. I started by drilling a hole in the reel for the winch... The "rope" was placed into the hole... And the pieces I will use to join the "rope" to the "hook", something from the jewelry section of Hobby Lobby...crimp tubes! I've got enough in this small package to last me a lifetime! The reel with the "rope" wrapped around it... And the hook end pulled off of the reel. I'll need to add a small loop at the top of the bow in the boat, but a small piece of 26 gauge wire should do the trick nicely for that!

Next, I glued the steps onto the trailer. A bit of reshaping was needed at the corners of the trailer to get all four of the steps to fit tightly. but that wasn't too hard. I also got the trailer hitch painted and installed on the truck's frame. I found I'm gonna have to add a bit of wight to the nose of the boat, otherwise, the trailer tips backwards due to the weight of the engine!

The fun part, getting the braided lines bent and glued down! The fittings are still loose at this point, so pay no attention to the fact they're really crooked! I tried to get the fittings straightened up as best I could...gotta grab some thin Superglue! I also added the air cleaners to the engine, so it's ready to go!

Next up was gluing the engine in place and getting the exhaust glued to the manifolds. This was not an easy task, trust me! I held the glued joint together for almost an hour, then jammed an X-Acto blade between the crossmember and exhaust to keep it straight...it seems to have finally worked! :banghead: After getting the chassis for the truck completed, I moved back to the boat's engine. I glued the thermostat housing in place, cut my braided lines to size, grabbed four fittings, and started getting them attached to the headers. Thermostat housing glued down... Lines and fittings ready to be glued in place.... First line glued to the header... And the second line in place. The next step will be getting the lines glued to the thermostat housing! After getting the chassis for the truck completed, I moved back to the boat's engine. I glued the thermostat housing in place, cut my braided lines to size, grabbed four fittings, and started getting them attached to the headers. Thermostat housing glued down... Lines and fittings ready to be glued in place.... First line glued to the header... And the second line in place. The next step will be getting the lines glued to the thermostat housing!

I got the fuel tank for the boat finished. I made a gas cap for it (Like the one I used on the '50 Chevy Pickup), drilled the tank, glued the cap on, and painted it with some Metalizer Aluminum Plate. It's all buffed out and ready to be installed! I got my exhaust pipe drilled out, painted with some Metalizer Stainless Steel, buffed and installed on the frame. I also got the exhaust manifolds painted (Stainless Steel & Burnt Iron), and installed on the engine!

I also got the tubes attached to the headers for the water lines coming from the top of the engine...those funky flat spots on the headers look like they were made for these things!

Some Metalizer Aluminum Plate was sprayed, then polished, and the new water pump was mocked up, this actually looks just like I pictured it in my crazy head!

A bit of superglue was laid into the groove, and the wire was placed into the groove... The "legs" were bent and cut to length, and the water pump was mocked up...I like it! A bit of putty was applied, then sanded down, she's ready for some paint!

Next, I got started on the water pump for the boat's motor. I figured on something simple, an intake tube for the water, and probably a piece of 16 or 18 gauge wire for the "legs" that will go into the block on either side of it. I'll also have to drill a hole in the timing cover for the shaft coming out of the back side of the water pump, but that will be the last part of it. I may just put the pump directly on top of the timing cover so I don't need a shaft, we'll see when I get to that point. I started with a piece of a parts tree, I used one of the huge rods at the ends of some of the trees. I drilled a series of progressively larger holes in one side until it was large enough to accept the tubing I'll use for the intake... The intake tube glued into the new water pump, and a piece of braided line shoved into it for good measure. Not a bad start, I'm getting pretty good at this scratch-building stuff for sure! And the water pump held up to the engine to see how it's gonna look once it's all done. This is about the angle I hope to have it at when it's finished...now to make the "legs" and get it painted! I got the boat's water pump completed, I started by cutting a groove in the back side to run a piece of wire through. I also drilled some holes in the block for the "legs" to go into, I'll try to add a small flange to each one to make it look bolted on.

Time for some more updates. let's start with the truck's engine. The pulleys, fan and alternator are all in place, not much left for this part, just the carb and exhaust and it'll be done! Next up was getting the spare tire done. I finally gave up and went with the kit whitewall, since nothing else would fit properly. I still needed to flatten one side of the tire and rim to get it to fit the way I wanted it to though, so I put the whitewall side on top, sanded it flat, painted it flat black, and glued the assembly in place on the frame!

Great colors TJ, I can't wait to see the rims you've picked out on it, that should be sweet!

Beautiful work Al, now I really want one! I wish some company would make a new-tool version of this one, but I'm not holding my breath!

Simply sick man, you'd have to have a huge set of nads to press the go pedal on this beast!

Please take your time with this Andy, it's just too cool to rush! For someone with no experience with a lathe, you're making it look too easy man, that's some awesome work! This one's just my opinion, I'd polish up the rings you made for the rims and dull-cote the centers, they've got a good color already, remove the shine and add some polished-up rings and they should look great!

I got a bit of interior stuff done for both the truck and boat. I started by adding a back to the truck's seat, since a small piece of it sticks up above the interior bucket.... And the seat sitting in place in the interior bucket, much better! Next up was a bit of flocking.... All the parts for the boat were also flocked, and the seat was painted with some Dupli-Color Fabric And Interior Paint Vinyl Silver. The last bit of work for tonight was some detail painting on the dash. Nothing fancy, just some semi-gloss black and silver dry-brushed to make it look good. I've got a bit of touch-up in a few spots, but not too bad for a few minutes of work!

I got the boat masked off and painted, now to let everything cure, hopefully I'll be able to throw some Clear on all this stuff in the next few days! And some better shots of the cab and hood, they're back at the bench, no issues in the paint at all!

The roof and dashboard are also wearing some beautiful Candy Apple Green! The boat is up next!

And the cab. Everything took a ride in the dehydrator for about last two hours, so I'm ready to mask off the cab, hood and boat so I can lay down some Candy Apple Green! I almost forgot, the dash will be Candy Apple Green too, so it got some Candy Silver!

The Boat....

Thanks guys, it's taking some work, but it's worth it! WE HAVE PAINT!!!! The first coats of Dupli-Color Candy Silver have been laid down, and so far, we're looking pretty good! I've got a bit of debris to clean out of the slots out front, but that's the biggest issue I've got so far!

I'd love to get my hands on one of these kits...way too pricey for my tastes though! If you had the urge, you could get another engine from any Jo-Han AMC kit, all of their V-8's were the same physical size, regardless of cubic inches!

The only modeling club I know of in Raleigh is an IPMS chapter, and they don't seem to be too into car guys. Fayetteville has a great club, but again, it's way more military than car guys, buy they begrudgingly accept me...sometimes! There's going to be a contest on June 6th in Fayetteville, it's an IPMS Regional, tell him to come on down, we do have a good showing as far as us 4-wheel types! https://lafayettescalemodelers.wordpress.com/

I grabbed some goodies for the braided lines I'm using for the boat's cooling system, this should clean it up nicely! That's all for tonight, we'll see ya again soon!