FASTBACK340

Here's a few quick phone pictures from this morning. The Blue `36 behind my tool chest is getting the new steering column & gauges. In the background behind the Corvette chassis is the Red `79 `Vette that needs a harness after a fire. This is just one of nine shops the same size as the one pictured above. Looking at the pictures, to the right out of the picture frame is a full mandrel exhaust bender. In another room there was this project going together. `56 Chevy Pro Touring I have to find out what's spinning THESE monsters…… Usually they keep all the parts with the shell. These were next the the about `56…… Yeah…. I'll be sharing some of the toys at work. We have a freshly restored `70 `Cuda 440-6 Bbl. genuine V-code, numbers matching car in Yellow. The then there's the pro-street `62 Falcon, or the numerous mid-60's Mustangs everywhere, or the Z11 `69 Camaro Pace Car that just came in. Yeah…. I'll be sharing….

I moved my tool chest yesterday and today I set everything up for Monday morning. I met most of the crew and the same question I was asked was "Are you a Car Guy"? And everyone is showing me pictures of their Camaro's & a `33 Plymouth street rod and I'm showing them the `Cuda. Then I find out 2 of the guys play guitar and one drums. I mentioned I play Bass…..I think we have a band. And did I mention there are model cars and die-casts in my new Bosses office on shelves and counters? My first two jobs I've been assigned is installing a new harness in a mid-70's Corvette and changing the steering column and gauges in a `36 Ford street rod. The pace is so relaxed compared to the dealership. And the absolutely BEST PART?!?!?!?!? They play rock-n-roll in the various depts. No babble-rhymes and hand clapping…. No robots mating over synths…. no pedal steel guitars….. no Boots-n-Pants. Just rock and roll. I've died and gone to heaven…...

I agree. I'm just out some duplicate parts I trusted him to cast. For $500 I'd be Googling his address and buying a plane ticket. Lying is one thing, but that's just outright robbery. Contact the Post Office and file a fraud complaint. Don't let this parasite feed off of others.

I sent a bunch of vintage Mopar parts for him to cast over a year ago without any further contact. I know he had a family tragedy, but don't BS people for over a year. The last time I heard from him he promised to return my parts. I would never recommend doing ANY sort of transaction with this person. Can't trust his word. And I'm still waiting…….

Why do I do this to myself….. Here's the Holley fuel pump I made complete with harness and connector. Yes…. I'm nuts. Here's the fuel filter added to the braided feed line And here's two shots of the tnk straps and the J hooks. More later…. dinner time.

Flashcubes….. wow, there's a word I haven't seen, said, or thought about in 25 yrs. Very cool tip, but flashcubes……

Good News: Toolbox made it to my new employer Bad News: I have to be at work tomorrow…. Nah, just kidding about the shocked-smiley, but I do have to go in for a few hours. Although I met almost everyone today, tomorrow the owner wants to formally introduce me to the "family", situate my work bay, and do the paperwork thing. Awesome group of people. Compared to the old job, this looks like early retirement! But enough of that…. Today we are going to finish the fuel pump & filter, install the straps w/J-hooks, and weld in, er…glue in the sub-frame connectors. The chassis is just about done. The wheels and suspension I'll fiddle with on final assembly. I don't want to hack something apart, and then together, because it didn't have to be there. I'll be back……

Good MORNING ! Since I'm technically "un-employeed" until Monday (yesterday was my last day w/Infiniti, Monday I start the new job…) I'm going to have some quality time to build. I'll run out for a few hours this afternoon moving my tool chest, which requires a flatbed. And opening the wallet wide….. But, I did get something done last night and this morning. I was so embarrassed by those pictures of the HORRIBLE finish on the fuel tank I had to fix, prime, & re-paint it. While it's not as nice as I'd like, at least it's not as bad as it was. I also painted the AN fittings and made the fuel tank straps. The plate behind the R/R wheel well is the shield for my yet to be fabricated fuel pump. That was the only sensible place to mount the fuel pump & pre-pump filter, but it had to be protected. Happy to report that after many miles, years, and burn-outs all is well. More to come…..

Wow…. way cool! Nice to see a new take on an old idea. The overhead cam is a nice contemporary update even though the engine is as basic & generic as can be. This is a good instructional aid. Nice find, thanks for sharing!

I'm awake 20 minutes. So far the day is just fine by me…..

Nice work Bob! Both cars look good despite being builds #1 & 2! What's next?

FWIW: I know your calling this done, but for future reference on those thick vent windows…. Foil the frame, but black-out the edge where the glass would ride in the window channel. And the opposite side is the black rubber gasket for the vent window. After blacking out those two side's it turns the vent window trim into a real thin piece of chrome that would be impossible to cut to size. Plus blacking it out reduces the visual thickness of the glass too. Try it next time.

Nice progress! That slick black paint is BEGGING for a red tail stripe!

Nice Caddy Rich! Great colors for that car. My Father had a light blue w/dark blue interior Coupe deVille when I was in high school. I had the pleasure of borrowing it for certain occasions that are epic to a 17 yr. old…. Speaking of set-backs: I'm in the process of trying to strip the botched paint on the Barracuda's gas tank. The entire chassis is finished & detailed…. and I'm friggen `round with the gas tank. I feel your pain.

Congratulations!!! Sounds like you hit a sweet-spot as far as a job too. I hope everything works out for everyone.

Well, tomorrow is my last day. Several of my co-workers are kind of cool towards me, but it's just that I'm not only getting out of the dealership grind, but on MY terms! Kind of like a shelter animal going home with someone with no kids and a big yard. I am intimidated a bit looking at the work coming out of that shop, but I know I can do it.

They should have let some of the oily stuff leak a bit. It might have slowed down the rust….. Last summer I went to a show at Belmont Park and there was a beautiful, intact, and FUNCTIONING Vega in attendance. Stone stock. Had a crowd around it all day...

I'm with you Rich. As I'm impressed with you builders who can work on 3….6….almost a dozen builds at once, I had 2 going, hit a problem with one, and now BOTH are delayed. And I thought I was going good up to that point. I'll be up there tonight and tomorrow will be my final day at work so I'll be home Thursday & Friday. Let's see if any progress happens on ONE, never mind multiples…. ​Cameron, 10 builds at once? I could never do that…. I envy your focus and determination!

Bill beat me to that same observation. It would be rather rapid….. Great idea and a nice execution so far. Please, post more as it goes together. That is one sick ride I think we'd ALL like to see finished!

Bob, you mad at the vents windows? No BMF? Kidding aside, car has a nice stance and it looks really good. And thanks for the tip on the clamps, I'm going to try & add them to my existing plumbing. They look realistic on your chassis.

BTW: I dug out the compressor & air brush and got everything cleaned up and ready to go today. I thinned down and sprayed some Infiniti touch-up paint on my work-fridge. I don't remember where I got them, but I found a box of mini-mayanaise jars in the basement. Drilled a hole in the lid and I have a nice stash of large spray bottles. Remember, free and yes are GOOD words….

Sometimes the shortest path takes the longest to cross….. I spent 2 **** hours messing with the fuel line from the sump to the pump. I dropped, and found….the same fitting THREE TIMES!!! After getting as far as I did tonight I decided to take a break. I'm tired and in a generally lazy mood and it's showing in how I'm working. Maybe I just spend some time getting the next few steps in order. Braided steel lines can flatten and kink if not installed with some help. I run a thin piece of bendable wire close to the size of the hardline inside the braid. If you push it back like finger-cuffs you can see it's hollow. Now I carefully thread a fitting over the braided line before inserting the wire inside the braid. Once I get the fittings on I carefully slip in the wire By slipping it back & forth you can estimate how much braid you'll need. Slip it off the end of the wire JUST ENOUGH to trim the braid with a pair of sharp manicure scissors. Do this on both ends and carefully add the bends and test fit I cut down a RB Motion.062 bolt head to replicate the tank drain I have next to my fuel feed on my tank. The finish on the tank has to be addressed still, but here you can see by using the wire I have one continuous piece instead of several fiddly little pieces. A little Tamiya clear red & blue and these will look nice. This is all for tonight and I feel like such a slacker. The contractor never showed up. I was half-expecting to be involved and interrupted, so I held off on getting started but it never happened. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

I'll second that. I ordered several sets of his beautiful NYS registration & inspection window stickers. When they arrived I had almost twice as many as I ordered. I contacted Manny immediately to let him know and see if money was owed on my part. He said "Nah, no extra charge". I'm not saying he's going to do this repeatedly on every order, but if a mistake was made, he was a gentleman about it. Thank you!

Nice work Dan, really nice work. The paint, BMF, a grill wash really makes it pop. And the whitewalls are perfect! Really nice job!

Hey, it's all on-topic as far as I'm concerned! Although I am building a model, I'm also showing, explaining, and learning from the forum. At the moment I'm waiting on a contractor to show up. Once I'm done doing the dance with him I'm locking myself in the hobby room until I have enough material to make the next post worthwhile!! I've never seen so many things "pop-up" and kill my spare time lately. It almost seems deliberate…..