Alan Barton 2

I love this thing - you have captured the spirit of the salt by designing a unique car to just enjoy the thrill of going flat out. Bonneville must be one of the last places where you can build whatever you like, safety obligations considered, of course. You could just imagine this creation pulling up to the starter - and can you imagine the noise! And best of all - the name!!! Genius! Cheers Alan

Wow, that brings back memories! When I was a kid there was a racing team that we passed on the way to school each morning. Three bright red and white Mini Coopers sat on the front lawn of an old house. Pretty sure it was the Terry Lemay Race team here in Perth Western Australia. I imagine they included many of the features of your blue model Phil. Very cool! Cheers Alan

I have one of these in primer just waiting for inspiration - this might just do it! What a cool model from an unlikely source! Cheers Alan

That roadster is to die for! The aluminium hood is such a great detail - it really adds to the raw image of the car! Cheers Alan

I have one of these kits still sealed in the shrink wrap but when my friend Tom from Pennsylvania sent me a gently gluebombed example I decided I had to rescue it! After doing a bunch of complex builds this year I needed to do something simple. The temptation to super detail the model was huge but I held firm and just added a few visual tricks to wrap it up. I didn't like the open hole in the top of the fin so I added an extended radar dome thingie with two protective covers from the probes off a multi meter. It also needed a jet motor so I fabricated an exhaust cone using the compression fitting from a garden hose and a piece of an old rusty cake icing tool! Finally I cut away the sides of the interior to put a fit a slightly undersized driver albeit substantially larger and more to scale than the one that came with the model. Comments and critiques welcome. Cheers Alan

I just finished one of these earlier in the year! They are a great piece of modelling history, especially with their connection to the GM concept cars. I love the lowdown photo you took - so many feature articles on Bonneville cars used this angle and yours is a perfect example. Cheers Alan

You had my attention at Salt! This is such a nice rendition of an early salt car. I have also tried flour to create a salty tire look - it looks a little closer to scale, even though it doesn't sparkle as well as the real thing! Cheers Alan

No worries, Dave, happy to help. Trust me, any firewall you glue to the outside of the body will be too thick. The only solution is to go back inside the cowl to give the engine the clearance that it needs. My water pump pulley on a short water pump is bare;y and inch or so from the radiator and the back of the engine is still under the cowl. Cheers Alan

Lee, this is a fantastic project to pay homage to not only a great guy and a great model but a great period in the model car hobby. Like so many i was mesmerised by the details in this model. A high school friend of mine duplicated it from an MPC Torino ( I think) and it looked pretty cool to us back then. Keep up the good work! Cheers Alan

I never thought of chopping a chopped top before - you might be onto something! Cheers Alan

David, as the owner of a real Model A Roadster hot rod I can tell you that they have an incredibly tight engine bay. And as it turns out, there is not a huge amount of difference in the dimensions of a modern V8 motor - Ford Windsor engines are on the small size and big block Chevies and Hemis are on the large size but that is not really the problem - the problem is the firewall. If it is not too late, I would remove the white plastic firewall shown here and build a new one that is recessed about 3/16" behind the edge of the firewall opening. This will make the world of difference to your project. Referring back to my real rod, with a small block Chevy, I had to recess the lower half of the stock firewall by four inches to clear the trans and rear of the block and heads. Even then, I had to cut an opening into the top half of the firewall to allow removal of the distributor (which I found out the first time I went to remove the distributor!) The last thing you want to do is move the radiator and grille shell forward - this totally destroys the tight compact proportions that a Model A is famous for. I like where your project is going - recess that firewall and a lot of your pain will disappear! Cheers Alan

One of the most well-scaled fade-aways I've ever seen painted! Bravo! Cheers Alan

Congratulations on your award, Scott. I built a replica of this car about 25 years ago using the skills and knowledge I had then - which is a sneaky way of saying I need to build a new one to a much higher standard today! Your coupe is just the inspiration I need. Looks like you were amongst some stiff competition so the win is award is even more significant! Cheers Alan

Thank you, Les, I really do appreciate that. I don't know what caused me to be locked out in the first place but the problem was definitely compounded by having Hotmail freeze my primary account as well. Looking forward to getting back to normal as soon as possible! Cheers Alan

Wow, I see a Matchbox Anglia 105E parked in the street! One of my first Matchbox cars and turned out to be my first real car way back in 1973. Nice work Ron, your diorama has great atmosphere. Cheers Alan