Wickersham Humble

Great fun! You and I could have worked for Roth, or Mouse Studios? I always told my art students to use the very best paper they can afford... Most of my old drawings from the 'fifties are on newsprint, and rapidly disintegrating. Wait, maybe that's to my benefit? Wick

Tasty: I love it! I have two books of cutaways and his usual brilliant stuff by Yoshihiro Inomoto; lots of comment and history too, but all in Japanese! He sent them to me in hopes I could sell them to American publishers back in the '80s, but I had no luck at the time, even with my publisher HPBooks (Fisher Books, CA Bill's Automotive Handbooks, etc.) which is just sad. They're small, home-market format, but would have made beautiful coffee-table books -- what am I saying: still would! He wanted me to be his American editor, and oc I wanted the job. Inomoto-san was a Japanese national treasure, and a great person; sort of a Japanese Dave Kimbell. He was going to furnish me with a rough English translation (he wasn't monoglot; had okay English, judged at Pebble Beach, etc.) and I was doing the final draft. As Ziggy once said: "When my ship came in, I was waiting at the airport!" Wick

Me again: sorry, the BOIO art is the rough one from Canva graphics; my bad. Also, fans of the Brewster Buffalo will note that in the rush, I forgot it had a three-bladed prop! Wick

Okay, these are aircraft paintings, and not cars, but these are cover illustrations by me for my two-novel set (on Kindle), Bird of Ill Omen and Bird of New Hope. Adventure historical fiction of the American aviation from before WW I until the end of WW II. Shameless promotion department: available in eBook or paperback, and as cheap as I can sell them, as an introductory offer. The kind of action/romance (well, some romance) that I like to read. Try the free sample read. Lots of carefully researched history, and echoing many events in the 'Golden Age of Aviation' -- and lots of cars, too! Wick Humble BOIO was done thirty years ago, in a school fair T-shirt painting contest, BONH just last month. Both hope for comic book style.

Dan, hope the 1/1 was as sharp as your model!! What a great first car! What year was that you got it? One of my college roomies Dad bought him his first car, another Impala bubble-top, but no SS. He called it the '2-2-1' because it had a two-barrel carburetor (283) , two-speed transmission (PG), and single exhaust -- half of the Olds muscle car! Quiet, comfortable, and ultra-reliable -- cheap to keep! His was mint green with the aqua interior, and withstood a lot of gaff; only mods were baby-moons and a contact-paper 'wood dash' we inflicted on it. Kept the stock muffler! Another roomie had a '60 Studebaker Lark two-door hardtop, with 259 and B-W A/T; a lot more fun than you might expect, and a durable little bomb. If it had a 4-speed, I might have bought it when he became a family man. By this time, I'd gone back to a '55 Chevy I'd picked up for $475; 265 and three-on-the-tree, which quickly became another Mystery Shifter -- Chevy column shifts were the pits when wear set in; got stuck between first and second if you weren't careful. Oddly, I owned two other '55s with 265 V-8s, both converted from 235 sixes by previous owners! No 'vee' bowtie emblems under the tail-lites, like my first car. Wick -- again.

The model of my '51 didn't upload, here it is. Converting the AMT '49 coupe to a '51 isn't as easy as it might seem; fabbing the chrome '51 tail-light housings was a challenge I didn't quite meet, obviously. Luckily, my 1/1 car had lost it's grille, so that part was easy, and changing the dash/steering wheel wasn't bad. Anyone remember those cylindrical accessory headrests that were all the fad in the mid-sixties? Best accessory was my gennie Hurst 'Mystery Shifter' kit; really let me swap gears; beat all Corvairs but the Spyders, and most Chevy sixes -- and Volvos! My Ford was a budget car, and kept it's single 2-bbl. carb and stock heads. The Crestliner, for some reason, was based on the '51 Tudor sedan, not the coupe body; same length roof as the Fordor; note roll-down quarter windows, not flip-out like the Club Coupe (as I recall, the Business Coupe had fixed quarter windows), and wasn't as sporty in profile, but more foot room. Ford, oc, belatedly came out with the true pillarless hard-top Victoria in mid-1951, so the Crestliners were only sold in 1950-51, and discontinued in that crazy two-tone form when the Vickies hit the showrooms. All hardtops were based on convertible doors/windows, etc. A '51 Vick has all the mounting holes for a folding top, vestigially. Also, many had a special custom steering wheel, which had probably been glombed off my black/yeller car by the '80s when it was restored. It's a real highway cruiser, with 3+OD, front and rear Fatman sway bar kits, new springs, etc. I lowered the front about 1-1/2-in. after that pic was taken, put on Porta-A-Wall whitewalls and some new stock dog-dish caps that came with the car (the nifty full wheel-covers, the first for Ford, keep popping off with the R205-15 Michelin radials it has. This car also had Red's Headers, dual Smitty's, and a 12V system with alternator, and H-4 headlights. A flattie always sounds a bit offended when 12V hits the starter motor, but boy does it fire right up! "Purrs like a kitten..." but no lakes pipes to roar! Yep, putting in a new idler-arm saved the steering system. Former owner drove it to V-8 Club meet in NB, also to N OR. Re-upholstery showing it's age, and some dubious body repairs, but fun for all, if hard to park! Wick Sorry the photos aren't better; I'm learning.

Whee; nostalgia-is-us! This is my third car, 1951 Ford Club Coupe; it has the flathead from my second ride, a $50 rust-bucket from MI, which drove to CA under it's own steam, so to speak; it was so decrepit that the very fact that some one would attempt that in 1963 is amazing! This is also a $50 car, bought with dead engine -- my wife's cousin Jerry had been commuting to our town to work on the Sothern Pacific, and usually considered anything under top speed to be wasting time, BUT he had the wrong dipstick in the flattie, and burned it up for lack of oil! After a year of driving it at Jr. College, the replacement mill burned a piston, so I got a reman flathead from a wholesale out fit Dave Beck Inc. in L.A. (same guy who was busted for racketeering with the Teamsters?) who mostly sold truck parts. My step-dad had trucks up in Modoc Co., and let me borrow his Beck catalog; the total for the 239-cu.in. V-8 (exchange) was $98.00 plus shipping! It ran like Jack the Bear, and was flathead motoring at it's best; we all loved the car and I improved it as budget permitted: new interior and full-body job with new Hondouras Maroon enamel from a Redding CA ?$#9,95" shop called Marcum Bros. -- cost me $100 total. It came to grief a year later against a '59 Dodge; no-fault accident in a blinding snow storm! I put in new A-arms and front fender (from one of my parts-cars!) and got most of my dough out of it. I now own a '51 Crestliner (very old restoration) with a new flattie (now costing $6,000.00!) just for fun. It's named "The Wanderer II" in memory of the original one -- and with the loose Ford steering, it did wander! Ole' Wick

Wick again: I didn't search this topic, but I'll bet this is the umpteenth time 'my first car' has been floated to the clan. If I can find the snapshots of my '55, I'll do a decent scan and my bro says he can clean the images up for better definition; sorry they were both roatated badly! I guess now I'll dig up my second, third, and so forth... Thx for the interest! Let's see more!

Everyone has a first ride, but I'll bet not too many are closer to Fred Flintstone's than this one! Boy, I loved it -- and it hated me! Live and learn, says the man alomost eighty! 1961: my '55 Chevy Delray two-door 'post' in all it's glory: lowered front and rear, red rims with 'Hollywood Moons,' lakes pipes, nosed & decked, all vertical bars removed from grille, 'Refrigerator White' with blue pinstriping by local genius 'Coop'. Also, built 265 Power-Pak, three on the floor (with 'Vette shifter, plate with ash tray, and all. Once one of the fastest cars in our rural county (in N CA) but slipping down when all the 390 Fords,413 MoPars, 6.5-Litre Ponchos, and 409 Chevys became numerous. No, I didn't build it, but I made payments on it ($26.60/mo., plus insurance, license, and gasoline) on an income of about $45.00 a month! Still, I never raced a car that I knew I could beat, and got trimmed a lot. It held Robert Hight's '62 Sport Fury through first gear, and then he said bye-bye (the Force funny-car's uncle and namesake) but we agreed the mouse motor played a superior tune at max rpm's. Last time I saw it, after selling in '63, was in the Shasta County Sheriff's impound yard: like an old girlfriend, it can be painful to see the last of your first ride! Outlaw to the last! What was yours, and are your photos as poor as these survivors? Wick Humble

John, Mott was a brilliant cartoonist/illustrator, per R&T stuff he contributed. Very distinctive style! I'm still planning the scan and submit on those photos, and yes a number of them have been published before, including by me in several articles for Street Rodder, Old Cars Weekly Car Exchange, and Special Interest Autos magazines. I have several showing the '58 Impala coupe mock-up posed with '57 Ford and Plymouth, btw. Life is complicated right now, and I've had a crummy attack of sciatica that slows me down horribly! Many car mags consider photos submitted with articles their property, which was prevalent before the ability to scan and copy that we have now came online; I let SIA, etc. have a huge amount of material I'd researched simply for the reason that the articles didn't really pay enough to let me make film-photographic copies. I recall taping GM b&w glossies to my 'fridge door, and shooting them with my old Nikomat on a tripod just to get some to keep! Wick

Them's the same. I got the engine from one of the old AMT Trophy kits; '36 Ford coupe, I think. Let me know if you find any? Story: In about 1986, I needed some sheet metal welding done on a '55 Nomad we'd adopted, and didn't feel I was up to the risk, so engaged a crazy old professional welder to section in a rocker/part fender (Nomad's rust!) and was trying to get a price guesstimate out of him. He said he'd heard that I also built models, and was finishing a '41 Chevy coupe as a replica of one he'd drag-raced 'back in the day' -- and that if I had a 1/25 Buick Nailhead engine to make it accurate, he'd just swap his work for that -- and I did! He did beautiful work, and went away chortling about his Buick mill, so we were both happy! Thanks, Wick

Not actually the original 'stock' type, but could do. Sorry to put you through all this hassle! My original is just the unpainted 'tin' version, with the lateral cross-grooves. Looks distinctly Buick Nailhead, for sure. Thx! Wick

Marty, thanks, that's cool! Be aware, I don't need the entire sheet, just the two 'hornet' decals. I'm building a resin 1/24 scale of my step-dad's 1952 White 3000 tilt-cab (bought new back then, as a semi-tractor) as a ramp truck using a Ford C-series cab-over chassis, and he always called the two-tone green rig 'The Green Hornet'. If I have anything you might need in trade...? My decals are mostly 60 years old now, but some fresher! Wick

Les, thanks, I'll follow up on that suggestion! OC, I have no printing capabilites, and not very adept at resin casting! The earlier cab with the late bed would get'r done! My little bro had to pick up a train crew at their coffee shop the first day he worked for the old Southenr Pacific, and his wet boot slipped off the'crummy' clutch as he parked it, running right into the exterior wall! Our USFS didn't use crew-cabs, but the local RR and loggers in N CA did. Wick

The resin I'll need, it seems, is this obsolete Modelhaus Dodge long-wide bed pickup, but if this doesn't get results, I'm giving up after three tries. I want to convert it into a 3/4 Ton 4x4 to replicate the last USFS Class IV fire tanker I was foreman on, in 1968. (Actually, ours was earlier, I think, more like '61.) It had bold 'Power Wagon' chrome letters on both hood sides, and tall, skinny stock steel wheels, a 318-cu.in. V-8, 100-gallon water tank (as I recall) with 'lunger engine/pump and one 2.4" rubber-hose live reel. Motorola radio, took box and Handyman jack, with Barden bumper. Any hopes, out there? Ole' Wick, age 79 and counting....

Had high hopes for these requests; thanks for viewing, at least! Still want them. Wick

Post WWII: clearly the superfine Studebaker 1953-54 Coupes! I've loved these cars since the 'fifties, and always get a thrill when I see them today. Not that they were great mechanically, but the Bourke/Loewy body and interior are not only far ahead of their time, but still 'look so right' today. Followed closely by the ever-classic '55 Chevrolets, and the 1961 Pontiac 'bubble-top' coupes. Imports: Early Datsun 240Z without a doubt, Porsche 911, and the European exotics from the 1950's-60's. Oh, and the Scarab racers! Pre WWII: Coffin-nose 1936 Cord, again ahead of it's time, and so bold! 1933-34 Ford (esp coupes/roadsters) and the Lincolns that inspired them. I put a lot of weight on style, because the mechanical shortcomings -- they all had 'em, even the '55 Chevy (my first car, and one of many including a Nomad) has lots of room for improvement. But, improving a car (the 240Z also comes to mind, and I wrote the book on restoration for that one) is enjoyable and rewarding. Ole' Wick

Tom, et al: think the kitbashing issue already has manifested itself. I recall the MoPar kits c. 1962 with JoHan and Revell both releasing promo type kits, and the latter had severly underscale B-blocks (still have some) that were wierd. As you note, it progresses. Wick

Some of my best repair/rebuld/restore kits are early JoHan MoPars. Sometimes the styrene was very brittle, tho. Used to find them (curbside promos, oc) at the local 88-Cent Store! Cheaper than AMT/MPC, back -- c. 1960 -- when pennies were worth something! Wish I'd bought more, or saved more of 'em. Wick

Gees, and I'm 1/4 Palmer! Not the kit mal-practicer family, tho. Maybe Dave Deal or even Big Daddy should have put their stamp on this one? Wick

Darn; sold out! Thanks anyway, John. I'll check again later with ebay. Wick

THE highlight of my days at Velocity 2024 last September was seeing the GG and Hildebrand snatch third away from one of the plethora (Jefe!) of Moostangs in the Trans Am final; picked it off from the final hairpin in a drag-race to the finish line; wonderful racing! And H. said it was without his #1 engine! I talked with him and the affable Harry at length, afterwards, and snapped a few pics. I had taken notice of the car back in it's heyday from magazine coverage, but never saw it 'in the tin.' The spurious GTO id's were/are silly; nothing wrong with being a Tempest! Versus the T-A pack, it looks like a misplaced Grand National car. It ran high in the pack all weekend, and led the T-A final for a while. Speaking of FIA approval: you've seen the photo of the 389-powered '62 "Tempest GT" in Thomas's book, with it's massive hood scoop? It has some unique trim call-outs (unreadable in the shot) but otherwise appears as a stock LeMans for the most part. The FIA application shows three VIN reserved for the 'series' but this shot is the only one I know of. What could they have been thinking, with the drive train as stock -- unless it was a prototype for the '63 'Powershift' or 'Super-Duty' Tempests that were built (in-house, perhaps a dozen) that worked so well at NHRA 'Super Factory Experimental' racing, or the one-shot with the Nichels/Goldsmith road-racer that won the Daytona Challenge Cup, vs Ferrari GTO and Corvette Grand Sport-- Rodriguez and Foyt up. Beautiful work on the Ghost model; love to see more! I did a 'version' of he '63-421 drag cars (ragtop; the only kits I could source at the time) using the 2X4 intake and Royal Pontiac decals from the AMT '62 Bonneville kit. Also, a close replica of the '61 Tempest 'Monte Carlo' roadster that I first saw in MT that year -- both of which I began in 1962, when I was a 'lot-bot' at the local Pontiac dealership, and got to drive a few new ones! Working on a replica of my '62 convertible and two other Y-bodied LeMans kits now. Need a Buick 215 V-8 to replicate my '61 Tempest V-8 coupe (small window) that I'm finishing up presently. Age 79. Wick PS/ I wrote the first Tempest history in 1978 for Special Interest Autos Magazine (Hemmings pub.) and interview a lot of PMD luminaries (except John D. !) back then: Mac MacKellar, Bill Collins, Fred Timpner, Hulki Aldikachti, Bunkie Knudsen, Mickey Thompson, Smokey Yunick, etc. Also John Bond of R&T. The competition piece was an adjunct to the regular article, and never got published, darn it! I shared it with some POCI guys, tho. What photos I had became property of Hemmings, I guess. Now all those mags are gone, with a few exceptions. The A-body GM 'intermediates' are great cars, but don't disparage the Y-body rides!

I like UPOL clear, it seems to give good results, and dries hard enough to color-sand, if necessary. My retirement job was with the local PPG paint store, and we kept UPOL (a British firm, maybe?) on hand, along with SEM in rattle-cans. It was used by many body shops, so I assumed it was a good material -- and it isn't cheap! More usually, however, I use PPG 660 catalyzed clear, since I have it on hand for 1/1 car stuff anyhow. It's super-premium, and never yellows. Remember the old automotive clears, and how they changed the base color! Almost like hardware store stuff, especially if exposed to the sun. Great instant gloss, tho. Wick

Tim, et al, All my years teaching little kids, one hope I had was to make them love the printed word (especially on paper!) with good story-times, well told. Learning was a side benefit, at least! Wish I could have interested more than a few on modeling... Wick PS/ Check my name [ Wick Humble ] on Amazon for my fiction stuff; mostly adventures, the kind I like to read! :-<)

Spent ten minutes searching; any tips on source? WIck