Claude Thibodeau

Hi Alan! Great project, and we can see that you paid close attention to the subject even before starting. Mr. Buttera's car were full of clever ideas, yet, so "smooth", you'd tought they were "simple". Quite the contrary. Great start, keep on. This thing was an icon. You will nail it, for certain! CT

HI! Having dealt with Mr. Coddington a couple of times, I can attest that he was a polite and reserved man. Having been in TV myself for many years, our conversations confirmed that he was not really at ease with all the convolutions of the "plot", but agreed to it anyway. A "devil's bargain", to get the TV exposure? I guess so... His body of work speaks volume to me. CT

Hi! As someone who owned three (!) Merkur XR4Ti and one Scorpio, i'm partial to those Sierras, as they have been born overseas. I traded an 85 Thunderbird Turbo coupe for an XR4Ti that was driven by the Ford district rep in my neck of the woods, and even if the powertrain was the same, the chassis/suspension was infinitely more smooth and agile. Seats were hard as rock, but you know, you can't have everything. Nostalgia... The Scorpio? One of the best cars I ever owned. A gentleman a few blocks from me has an old 88. He insist she still goes like new, and it looks like it does. Finally, I have the Tamya Sierra (85 vintage) in my stash, still untouched... Can't decide if I do it like mine was (transplanting the TurboCoupe 4 from Monogram's kit), or build an outrageaous mash-up of some kind. What do you gentlemen think? CT

Hi Steve! Great car, and impressive engine. The big cheese at Vintage Air AC in Texas has (or had...) one similar, in 1/1. Your's color is more "menacing". Bravo! CT

Hi Glen! Looks OEM, very good idea. Bravo! CT

Hi Grant! Bull's eye, bravo! The kind of car that would get any state trooper all worked up and foaming at the mouth. Good luck with the DMV! CT

Hi Snake! Nice. It looks like a "day 2" muscle car, as we used to say about the usual "immediate" mods performed upon returning from the dealership. Memories... CT

Hi! Having built my share of Johan kits in the 60's and in the last 5 years (nostalgia?), their bodies are so faithfull to the prototypes that it's sometimes hard to believe they were tooled in the 60's. Interior and platforms (chassis) were average, if not a bit less. Except their race cars and 30's classics, that were above average IMHO. I recently built 6 (68 Chrysler 300C, 70 Challenger Funny car, 72 Torino, 70 Eldorado. 64 Caddy convertible and a 68 Javelin), and for me it is either a simple curbside, or an ultra-detailed chassis/interior scratchbuilt to go along with the body shell. I'm happy in both circumstances. I never built them "box stock"! CT

Hi Nick! Very nice and clean. The insects on the road will never know what decapitated them... CT

Hi Nick! Perfect stance, and surgically clean. Bravo! Did-you make any update the the front & rear suspensions? Just curious... CT

Hi Luke! Great project, and clean workmanship! Your technique to blend the roof sections reminds me of the way we weld frames on 1/1 rods when we want to increase the strenght of the joint by having a longer weld. Clever! CT

Hi Tom! Very nice concept to begin with... and a GREAT salvage job! Bravo! CT

Hi again! Thanks for the progress report on the MT FC. I look forward to seeing it completed. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy your "warm-up" projects. Keep on! CT

Hi Sir! Impressive work, as usual. This full-bodied liner reminds me of the Barry Setzer monocoque fueler that you recreated a few years ago. Simply stunning! Keep On! CT PS: What happened to the monocoque Mickey Thompson FC you started last year? Just curious...

Hi Lee! Very nice, and the superb paint job is so "60's". Brings back memories... Bravo! CT

Salut Jean-Philippe! Wow, I missed this one, but what a restoration job, bravo! The real ones are hard to keep "straight", I can imagine a styrene one... CT

Hi Grant! Very clever mash-up. Exactly the kind of outrageous experimental dragster that excited the crowds in the late sixties. Bravo! CT

HI! Great build, and the accent color for the interior and engine is tops. I was in bike custom painting during the 90s, and we did countless customs with that HOK Tangelo. It really pops. You may also try using tangelo over Neon Orange (HOK)... It has so much luminosity, you'd swear it's a lightbulb bein turned on. CT

HI! Interesting projects. Your "butterscotch" fade paint is great, bravo! When I look at the front fender bulge from the side, I see a family ressemblance with the second generation Corvair. Even more so with the custom nose job "cap" that AMT provided back then for "advanced customizing". All those GM designers working in large open studios favored a cross-polination of ideas, I guess... Keep on! CT

HI Jeff! To conclude on the subject of "enthusiasm"... One of my late friends was so much in Caddies that he had a special tombstone made to mark his grave. It is made of granit, and has a 60's convertible "riding into the sunset". The tombstone artist said it was a first for him. To this day, it still makes a strong impression on the cemetary visitors! CT

Hi Jean-Philippe! Sacrebleu... You are the only person I know who masters the dimensions of funeral flower cars. That's passion for the Caddy! There was an interesting article a few months ago in the Hemmings' Classic Cars mag about a gentleman from NH who found and restored a flower car. Just like you, he was very versed on those special vehicles... CT

HI Jean-Philippe! Merci for the comments, and the pictures! According to my researchs, there were TWO coachbuilders that offered such cowboy Cadillacs in the late 60's. The Mirage had a more formal or "squarish" roof, streching a bit over the rear box (that's how I did mine), and the Caribou, with a flying buttress roof (à la Camino) mostly like on your pics. Many people confuse the remaining ones with so-called flower cars from the funeral industry. Different animals, completely! I agree: this Cad is missing white sidewalls... CT

Hi Jean-Philippe! Very nice conversion, bravo! I saw those cars up close when they were new: I was washing cars at my dad's favorite service-station, and a local gentleman had one, painted in Willow grey. It was a stunning car. Yours recreate the era perfectly. I know you are deep into Caddies... I'm finishing a 64 Johan convertible, that I've transformed in a Mirage (Camino-style custom) after I saw a few of them on a thread on this forum. Just need polishing and final assembly. The Johan bodies were great. CT

Hi! Great collection of parts, just like most 1/1 rods. The end result is superb, bravo! And as usual, your paint job is a mile deep... CT

Hi Grant! Well, what a conversion for a snap kit... Bravo! The salt even got inside the car: that tells me it ran like hell and the suicide doors were not perfectly sealed. Long live the salt! CT