Claude Thibodeau

Hi Chris! Very impressive work. Your sense of colors is obvious, not to mention the precision of your masking technique. World class. Bravo! CT

Hi Tim! Happy you stopped by, and reacted to my yearly salt car. I was at a show this last weekend, and I'm always amused to see the large amount of people who have no idea what kind of race car this is. Granted, SCTA does not have the same media attention as, say, Nascar, but fellow modelers mostly end up telling me "I'll look it up". On a different note, I follow your current built, and I was impressed by your Autolite in-line scratchbuilt carb. I can't wait to see the whole car! Regards, CT

Thank you Mike for the great pictures. Next best thing to being there! CT

Hi Scott! Thanks for the enthusiastic review. I can tell that you are into details, and I share your passion for LSR vehicles. That's why I "founded" the Flat Earth Society after all, and I hope to be chair for the rest of my life! LOL. Now, I have to come up with another annual salt car... What will it be? CT

Hi Chris! Thank you. Please, go ahed, and "steal" as much as you please! LOL. CT

Hi Gary! Thank you so much. I know what you mean: I find myself in the same situation when I look closely at our fellow modelers posts on this forum. Good source of inspiration! CT

Hi Francis! Great work. But now, I'm puzzled... You say the odo reads a smidge over 36K... Do we understand that you waited for the manufacturer's powertrain warranty to expire BEFORE the drag racer makeover? Or is-it just a coincidence? Come to think of it, your friendly Mopar dealer would have refused any warrantyy repair once he realized you actually raced this truck... Keep at it, really impressive! CT

Hi David! Thanks for the compliments. I always try to build-in some kind of "feasibility". This one was a real "packaging" challenge! CT

Hi Dave! Thanks for the comments. I had to make some research, since my Italian is not very impressive. On the other hand, you are very good at French, obviously! CT

Hi Tom! Thanks for stopping by. Hope all is good in your neck of the woods. I know you have built a few "steampunk" school vehicles those last few years. I might borrow from your playbook, and build my next Bonneville car in that style... Who knows, it may surprise a few fellow modelers! Keep at it! CT

Thank you Wayne! I try to alternate between the varieties of salt cars. This year, it was time to go for a second streamliner. It was long overdue, my Sosium Glider going back a few years...(See pix below). CT

Hi Bill! Thanks for the comments. I know you build 1/1 cars, among other things, and so do I. It's sometimes easier to create your vision in styrene. Certainly much cheaper. Ferrari engine are quite hard to come by in my neck of the woods, so... CT

Thank you Kurt. Much appreciated! CT

Hi John! Thanks for the comments. To your point about Ferrari logos... look on top of the body, right in front of the canopy: the yellow triangle is there! I know it is very discrete, but for the record, it's there! LOL. CT

Thank you Ed! CT

Hi Phil! Thank you so much. Let's just say it was a "packaging job". As my late father said: "pouring a gallon in a quart"... CT

Hi Daniel! Thank you. Coming from a guy whose handle is "Straightliner", its certainly quite a compliment! CT

Hi Sir! Verrrrrry impressive. I can only join my voice to the fellow modelers above, and praise you for building this. I feel it's going to be a masterclass! Such great work is good for the soul. That's the best way I can express my feeling at the moment. Long live craftmanship! CT

Hi Mike! Thanks for the kind comments. To your point about the single horizontal air shock in the IFS: I did it once on a 1/1 33 Ford street rod I built, and it worked very well, enven on the potholes riddled roads of the Great White Noth. It goes to show... My rear cantelivered suspension uses an engine/bellhousing/quick-change unit that pivots at the front (mounted on a transversal shaft), and pushes up on a rocker arm which, in turn, compresses an air shock. The air pressure in the shock therefore determines the static height of the rear combo, and ground clearance. It was the easiest solution with such extreme space constraints. Packaging, packaging... CT

Hello my friend! Thanks for the kind words. It is a fantasy. Those last few years, we have seen our share of stremliners at Bonneville, such as Speed Demon, and it certainly tickled me. The light went on when I found that junk battleship hull in the bins at the last Quebec model show. Filling the damn thing took a while, but mostly because it is so narrow and shallow. On the salt, as in drag, wind resistance and small frontal area are a concern, so I had to make do. I was concerned that the front end would be a bit light at speed (weight distribution), therefore, I integrated "wings" at the bottom of the wheel pods, to push it down while the speed increases. Well... I follow your D100, and I know it's coming on strong. Keep at it! See you soon. CT

Thank you Larry, I'm flattered. CT

Hi Andrew! Thanks for the comments. The wheelbase, at 1/24, would be 144 inches. The OEM Ferrari California V8 is claimed to produce 460hp. With the Paxton supercharger that I added, I would guess 550 to 600 HP at peak. With the quick-change rear end, it should be good for 300 MPH. As you can tell, it has a very small frontal area, so... But, all fantasies of course! CT

Thanks Steve, happy you like it! CT

Thank you Rob! CT

Thanks Bruce! CT