FASTBACK340

Just booked my room & flight to SEMA this year….. I PROMISE more pictures than you'll want.

You all just KNEW I'd be here for this old school, bare knuckle beat-down. DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!! There is no such thing as a DODGE Barracuda. It's a NEW NAME. Please continue to do so and name it as a NEW muscle car!!!!! Signed Barracuda owner

Hmmm…. if I can't mention Ellen, Kathy, Laura, Eileen, Donna, or Diane I guess I'll mention the Porsche incident….. I used to work for DOR Porsche/Audi in Port Washington as a technician. Our long road test loop took me up into Port Washington to the water and we would hook back down along side of Bar Beach, a commercial area that was 2 lanes in each direction with a 200' wide center island. Wide open, plenty of visibility, perfect area for "high speed" testing. Safe. Except for the rise in the road……. visibly to the end of the road. A friend worked for a private telecommunications outfit and he was walking to his van across the street from my dealership, located on Northern Blvd. I beep and wave him over, as I always promised him a ride in a Porsche if I ever saw him in the area. I saw him and I was driving a (then) new 928. He got in and off we went on the "long loop" as we called it. After sedately cruising up to the water, we turn south along the beach headed back to Northern Blvd. and I stand on it. I start reading off our speed as we accelerate: 90-100-110-120-and as I say 130 we crest the rise in the road and there's a Nassau County cruiser with radar in the median. In a momentary decision to have dinner with my family and with not in jail, I kept my foot in it, proceeded to the Northern Blvd. merge and ran back to the dealership, where I parked the car waaaaaaaay in the back of the dealers lot, my friend got out of the car with rubbery legs. Fun indeed.

The correct term for the medical condition that has afflicted Chris is called "GAS". Guitar Acquisition Syndrome __________________________________________________________ My bad for not complimenting you on your stash. Only 14?

Looks like I may have 1 build to knock out before I stuff everything in boxes and move. I need to finish a Christmas present early and I have almost everything except the license plates. Who'e the go-to source for nice scale plates? TIA…..

I had CUDA 2GO on my car for over 10 years. Too often it was confused with Cuda 260, which makes no sense. I had enough and did a search for a new plate. This is too cool. Can't believe it was available !

Isn't this like the third time in as many years as we've had this change?

Nah…. I want to move closer to my job! Besides, I already did Pa. for 5 yrs.

Thanks Harry. I affectionately call the `Cuda My Mistress and Amy is OK with it. No jealousy…..

I found a how-to on swapping out the resistor in a standard flasher, but for $6……. It works like a champ! http://www.ebay.com/itm/111121307667?item=111121307667&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME:X:AAQ:MOTORS:1123&vxp=mtr

Yeah, I know we have some work ahead of us. But the thought of a real backyard and a better house is nice. My Wife (bless her….) is showing me houses with 4 car garages. The problem with that is the property taxes are insane….. like $14K a year or higher! Yikes!!!! If we shop for a modest house, 2 car garage, deep driveway, and a hobby room/basement space where I can stretch out it would be nice. And as for introducing the neighbors to the `Cuda, I may yank the engine when we move in (rear main & pan is leaking….) and make friends. Once we know each other and have shared a BBQ or two, I'll put it back together and rattle their windows. Just want out of Queens. The last parking space was taken last week. It's full.

Although the modeling will be on hold for a while, I'm still always looking to fabricate and create stuff (my job is a great outlet) so I finally finished my LED tail lights I made for my car. I did the research on circuits and material, made a few failed attempts, and built a set. I have the dual filament function for brake/signals and I also made LED's for my reverse lights. I also found a higher resistance flasher relay for LED use. Check it out! With reverse lights Without reverse lights

We're getting the house ready to sell so we have to store 3/4's of our stuff until we can sell/buy the house. It's kind of exciting since the 2 stipulations I made was a 2 car garage (electricity, detached, deep driveway) and a hobby room big enough for both me AND the dog. My current situation is more than most have, but severely compromised as it is. Tiny doesn't begin to describe it….. the room is about 10' X 10'. Amy has her list of demands too, but they are reasonable. Namely 2 baths and a finished basement with a second kitchen for holiday baking. Otherwise 2 bedrooms, yard entrance from back of house, and some other much less important details. The new accommodations require: A/C - Day Light - SPACE ! And of course music, maybe a TV, small `fridge. A bathroom close by would be nice too….. But mostly space. To be able to roll my chair back further than 11" without hitting something would be a nice experience. And a display cabinet. All my stuff is in boxes and cases now. We've only been here about 5 years but it's time for change. Packing up sucks, but staying here would suck worst. Actually I will contact you. I know your always looking for materials, kits, and supplies. I'll be in touch….. ;-)

So starts the process of sorting and packing up a household. My family has owned this house since 1969 so there's a few things to go through…… Throwing out un-needed stuff, pairing down necessities, and boxing and storing. One of the first casualties is the model room. Talk about a daunting task! I'll pop in occasionally to say hi, but my building is on hold until, well…. until i un-pack wherever we end up. Later guys, build on…..

I use Apple/MAC and I have them pop up occasionally…….

Makes us all look like hacks….. what's being done with paper and skill is amazing!

Easy Ace…. Don't rattle the rat rod cage. Next thing you know, they'll band together with the negative camber guys and beat us down. We recently chased one of those things out of our shop. Scary stuff being built in the name of fashion.

Rich, my commute is brutal now. From Queens to Deer Park (27 miles….) can take an hour or better coming home at night. Mornings are 25-35 minutes now. If I add 15 minutes to my Wife's train ride, I can trim a 1/2 hour drive home at night. As for the taxes and expenses, me & my Wife are frugal at home. Besides, our expenses aren't going to be that much more after all things are considered Jim, never. My Sister lives in Winterhaven now (she used to live in Orlando & Homassassa) and she can't wait to move out. I've been there 4 times and with the distraction of Disney on the first visit, I never enjoyed being there. Besides, Long Island is closer to my people…..

…… house hunting has begun. After settling into this house we get to pack it all up. Again. (We just did this 5 yrs. ago!) But the up-side is I'm definitely getting a hobby room with heat-A/C- and ROOM! My cubby hole was useful, but not inviting. Kind of like an outhouse. Wife requires min. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths (at least one with a full size tub for soaking), and potential baking area in the basement. I require min. 1 1/2 car garage, better hobby room, finished basement with outside entrance. We want bigger yard, bigger driveway, and more room. Good-bye Queens, hello Nassau County.

I'm finding posting pictures a hassle right now. I'll figure it out….. Might be a MAC thing, might be me. And yes, the lack of a preview button. For someone like myself that (when he's building….) likes to post how-to / in-progress threads with photos and text the no preview feature is an inconvenience.

I'm getting to know one of these very intimately! Nice to know the kit is "workable" if the customer wants a replica!

The Acoustic Honer & the American Fender I still own. The others have all moved on….. The 8 string Schecter was a monster sound. My Ibanez BTB's I just sold. 18V active electronics too hot for my style. Being a huge fan of Jack Bruce from my childhood, I got a reproduction EB3-L. Mine is in Black, very rare. I also own a Warwick Double-buck Corvette. Horsepower is Gallien-Krueger 1001RB into a G-K SBX410. For big rooms, or outdoors, I add the Carvin single 18" for added depth. On the left is my newest addition: Schecter Stiletto Stealth. On the right is my Hot Rodded P-bass hybrid that I'll NEVER sell. I also use a Digi-tech Bass processor and a Volume pedal. I just added a Furman surge protector and a Korg digital tuner to my rack set-up. I also have a Line6 wireless unit that was having issues when these pictures were taken. Yeah, Hot Rods…. Models….and Rock-n-Roll. It's like a lifetime of being 17 yrs. old…..

First of all, thank you all for the comments. I appreciate the feedback and encouragement. Doing work like this full time is a dream come true and I'm always on the lookout for new details. The carbon fiber 4D wrap is really neat stuff. It's hard to "show" what it feels like, but it has an actual "weave" texture to the finish. And it's thin. Bump it with a heat gun and you can get it to pretty much follow any contour (within reason….). My air cleaner lid has one or two small imperfections, but I'm not complaining. The kid did a great job on both the air cleaner and steering wheel. Again, I wish I could better show the texture…… Bill, if your curious enough, you can find it on e-Bay in varying amounts and prices. You can gamble less than $20 and play with it. Last year I had bought a carbon fiber dash overlay for my car. When I ordered it I asked if they could delete the heater and radio openings. This is what I got. BTW: Look at the horn button done with 2D carbon fiber. It's basically printed on a glossy finish. VERY low-rent, but all that was available back then….. But the dash is from DMT (Detroit Muscle Technologies). Jim reproduces TONS of hard to find and one-off gasket and body seals for 1:1 muscle cars. The factory hood insert gaskets on my car are made of un-obtainium, so Jim sent me a set of prototype gaskets he made for me to try (I used to be a moderator over at a Mopar site….. and it had perks) for these impossible to find gaskets. Great guy, great product. So here's the steering wheel throwing down the next challenge: BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH thing is too close to the dash, I need a spacer/thicker mount. The directional stalk is about 3/8" from the rim, and the pistol grip shifter hits the wheel going into reverse. It's like a chess game. BTW: That's a Halon fire extinguisher on the trans tunnel. Halon is pricey, but so were those aluminum cylinder heads and 6 Bbl. set-up. Carry one guys. A simple fuel leak can cause enough heat to ruin stuff fast. The Halon won't corrode the aluminum or ruin your wiring harness like Home Depot $20 Kidde units. Keep those in the kitchen. Carry it and make it ACCESSIBLE, not in the trunk!

First order of business was to strip-out the grilles and lights. I also upgraded the headlights to H-4 Halogens. I spliced in the required relays and circuit breakers. And since I was adding the H-4's, I bought a set with the Halo's. Some #0000 steel wool, a piece of Wadding clothe, a spritz of argent here, some flat black there, a new set of parking light lenses…... And the Mistress gets a facelift.

I also decided to update the look under the hood…. Instead of body color for the 6Bbl. lid……. Again, 4D carbon fiber wrap.