AmericanMuscleFan

Thanks for your sentiments Daniel, I really appreciate it! Take care, Francis Thanks for the comment Al! Take care, Francis

Hello everyone! I was on a short vacation this week and the temperature was not the nicest so I had a little bit more bench time. I'm still in the process of making all the drivetrain in order to make all the last adjustments to the chassis and the cabin floor so I went to machining the bellhousing. I wanted to make this part from brass but my inventory is very limited and I didn't have a rod big enough so I made it from T6 aluminum. I decided to make a Lenco planetary transmission so it will be the next thing on the bench. I hope to be able to post some pics next week, I already have the ideas how to proceed with this one. As usual, comments and suggestions are welcome! Take care, Francis Beginning of the machining of the clutch bellhousing from a 0.750’’ aluminum rod. Machining in progress. Holes drilled all around the flange matching those on the back of the engine block. Starter housing roughy shaped to fit the bellhousing wall. Bellhousing cut to receive the starter housing pocket. I made the starter housing from a 0.250’’ aluminum rod and glued the part using 2 part epoxy. I went back on the lathe to shave the excess and came back to the milling to drill the bolting holes, the clutch fork opening and the hole for the clutch pedal linkage pivot. Back to the lathe to separate the part from the rod. Final part inside view. Final part outside view.

Thanks for your visit and comment Dave, I really appreciate it! Hope you'll be back again... this thing is not done yet... Take care, Francis

Thanks Dave! I'm very honored by your comments, your reputation precedes you as a great machinist so your kind words are a good way to keep me fully motivated. Take care, Francis

That's FANTASTIC Tim! A resourceful person never gets caught off guard and your technique for securing the part is a good example. Sexy or not, this technique works wonderfully and you got your first piece of the carburetors and that's the ultimate goal... The piece is great by the way and I can't wait to see the rest. Thank you for sharing your technique! ?

Thanks for the compliments Joseph! Of course, everyone take the hobby at a different level and it's not necessary to push it at the extreme all the time. Many builders make very nice and accurate out of the box builds and it's perfect that way too. This forum is the right place to find all the informations or parts you looking for and I'm always surprised by the knowledges of the enthusiasts members on this one. I do have others interests too and don't build much during summer so I mainly spend some bench time during the cold season (as others, I do have more build time recently caused by the pandemic situation and the slow spring start). Take care, Francis Thanks Brian, take the time to check and you will see all the good work done everywhere on this forum! Take care, Francis

Yes, and not counting that I bought the lathe when our heavily devalued Canadian dollar was at its historical lowest exchange rate back then (1 CND = 0.60 USD). I wanted one so badly that I paid a high price but my Sherline equipments are my pride and joy and I don't regret for a second the investment, I know they will last and the pleasure working with is priceless!

I agree Peter, I bought my Sherline lathe around 14 years ago with just the accessories included in the package back then and I bought the needed accessories and cutting tools when they were necessary based on my new needs. Few years later, I bought the milling base and the milling column separately and shared the head stock and motor unit on both equipments for several years before finally buy another one a get two complete machines. I think it's still a good way to spread the expense over time if you're not too hurry of course...

Goooooood job Kari!!! I'm always happy to see someone take the bull by the horns and make its own custom parts! PS: I'm so sorry, I just realise that I put the wrong name in my previous post... I'm not proud of me!

It's got a HEMI so it sure I love it... just kidding, nice little FORD John! Did you glue 2 tires together to get the whitewall rear tires wider than normal?

I did check your Trans Am build Joe and it looks great! I totally undestand that you need a break of the Maverick, this kind of project requires a lot of juice and time. It's normal to hit «the wall» a couple of times during a long term project and a short break will bring back the motivation to resume the build. Take care, Francis

Welcome to the forum Brian! No matter what your building field is, you will find plenty of nice subjects and members to help in your endeavours.

Welcome back to the hobby Joseph! No matter the reason, model car building is a pleasant hobby and may help to overcome these hard times. Speaking glue and paint, I really think that things have change for the better...

That's the kind of story that give me chills in the back, thinking that somebody is loose enough to steal by the blink of an eye the hard work of another person that have spent countless hours to make... unbelivable!

So this is where you were hiding my friend! There's nothing wrong to have a side project to relax a little bit from a very demanding project like your Maverick. You made great and fast progress on this build Joe and this bird will look good I have no doubt about it!!!

You made a real good job on the hood Ray! I do not think I would have had the idea of recovering a piece of radiator to make the vents. It's exactly what scratch build is all about... Well done sir!!!

I recognize you in me, never satisfied with a piece and always wanting to improve it! However, an automatic transmission is not an easy part to work with but you made some good modifications to make it look like to the 64 Pontiac transmission. Well done!

Welcome to the forum E.J.! Its never too late to be back to this wonderful hobby. I will look forward to see your current project.

Superb paint job Jason! Yellow is perfect for this car. Nice job too with the Bare Metal. I love everything you have done so far!!!

Thanks Tim, Glad you liked the detailed descriptions I invested myself into because I started wondering if it was still relevant to do so... Take care, Francis Thanks Ray, I really appreciate you sentiments for my build so far! Take care, Francis

Great start on the carbs Tim! Not a standard design and a lot of operations in front of you but I have no doubt that the finished product will be sensational... no pressure here sir, just my full trust in your potential!!!

Nice rendition of the original funny car! Certainly a pain to make all the masking for the graphics but it looks very good. Well done sir!!!

Good trick for the hood vents, you nailed it Ray! Personally, I would have taken the hardest way by stacking thin Evergreen styrene strips with shorter ones in between as spacer and used liquid cement at ends to connect them with the hood. Well done so far and nice project in the making!!!

You say it's an improvement Jim! For the grille, the chrome is a classic and the details on it will be more visible but both options would fit perfectly with your concept... I'm not helpful...LOL

The only problem I see with scratch building is the addiction, when you tasted it you won't build box stock anymore (at least for me...)! Personally it's my main source of motivation and the best way to make a reproduce a non existing body or parts. I do have a Sherline Lathe and the Milling but I started making parts from scratch long before with just a Dremel and some hand tools. In my opinion, you must be able or have the idea how to make the part, the fancy tooling will just help you to make it with more accuracy or with other material (aluminum or brass in my case). Scratch building also require a good inventory of resources like styrene of all sizes and shapes and several kind of glues so it is somewhat pricey but worth the investment if you can afford it. However, many very skillful builders can make parts by using everyday material or by recycling overlooked items around the house and creates real gems. As other said, the satisfaction of making its own parts and contempling them when done is priceless...