roadhawg

Probably kinda hard to get orders out when the Government is coming in busting up all your stuff and all.....

I'm no Corvette expert, but I'm guessing the real ones are the same.

That's pretty cool!

Paint it flat black first, then go from there with primer/paint.

While you're there, grab a can of "cast iron" color too, from the same rack as the engine colors. It comes in handy for bare engine blocks, heads, and suspension components.

Oh, man, I'm sorry. That stuff is nasty. I would try Roger's suggestion with the alcohol.

Rub your finger against the side of your nose and buff with that. The natural skin oils will take that glue residue right off.

I just slice it about the same thickness bolts should be in that scale. It's not exactly rocket science, so if it looks close enough, it probably is.

Take the hardware store nylon washer and mark off where the lugs go. I use a template, as shown. The washers came from Ace Hardware and cost about 15 cents each. You can print out this template to use if you want. Now, cut 5 pieces of the .060 hex rod and glue on the washer as shown, to represent lug bolts. If you want to add more detail, you can drill a hole in the center of the bolts and add a stud...or use model railroad nut/bolt/washer castings. Now, glue the open wheel back to the washer and paint the color of your choice, in this case, white. You can also paint the lugs steel. Add valve stems too if you like. Now, center your completed hub assembly from the rear and glue in place. And there you have it, a basic wide-5 wheel/hub assembly. Once you get the hang of it, this takes about 5 minutes per wheel and costs less than $1 for a set of 4. Now go build some short track cars!

I've seen several people who are building short track race cars ask about "wide 5" wheels. There's several different sources for these, but if you don't want to order them and have a few tools and supplies, it's easy to make a basic set. Here's what you need: Materials needed: .010 sheet styrene 3/8" styrene tubing .060 and .030 Plastruct hex rod 5/8 nylon washers from the hardware store Deep open wheel backs from parts box Tools needed: Hobby knife ruler tweezers Micro mark punch set Start by finding some suitable open wheel backs from your parts box. An alternative would be to cut away the centers from a set of deep wheels, as shown. Next, cut a 3/8" long piece of the styrene tubing. This will become your hub. Cut a disc from the .010 styrene sheet slightly larger than the inside diameter of the wheel. As you can see, it doesn't have to be perfect. Glue the piece of tubing to the center of the disc, as shown. Next, punch out some discs from the .010 sheet using the punch set. I have no idea what the sizes are, but the biggest holes on each side of the punch set look good to me. Glue the larger disc to the top of the hub, then glue the smaller disc on top of that in the center. If you don't have a punch set, an alternative way would be to slice off pieces of appropriately sized styrene rod. Next, slice off some pieces of the .030 hex rod and glue them evenly spaced around the top of the hub plate. For the front hubs, use 4. For the rear hubs, use 8. This completes the hub assembly. Paint it the color of your choice, in this case aluminum. Now we move on to the rim itself.

Very nice! What a unique paint scheme!

Now that's pretty cool! Where'd you get those fenderwell headers?

Waterslide decals are all I use anymore. The best procedure I have found is first, scuff the sidewall with sandpaper enough to take off the gloss. Then brush on a coat of Future. When that is dry, apply the decals. After the decals and whatever solvent you use is dry, spray the sidewall with Dullcote. For what it's worth, the Shabo BFG lettering was wrong anyway. The letters are too big and it said "T/A Radial" instead of "Radial T/A".

Thank, y'all, I appreciate the kind words. Yes, that's Alclad.I think it looks more like the real polished aluminum than having them chromed.

Absolutely! The Revell ASA kit is a little fiddley, but goes together ok. Just take your time and test fit everything.

Just finished up another All Pro car. This is the famous Dillon Chassis "carbon fiber" car that short track legend Gary Balough raced in the All-Pro and ASA series in 1986. The car was very innovative for it's time, for one..the entire interior was made from carbon fiber, which was both lightweight and made the car more rigid. They also used the new hub "top hats", which made changing the wide-5 wheels much quicker during pit stops. Balough won just about everything there was to win in this car that year. I've always liked Balough, even in spite of his personal issues, and I've always thought this was a beautiful race car. The model is a Revell ASA Camaro. The rear end and front A-arms were narrowed slightly (just like the real car) to get the tires under the fenders. The dash panel was made from styrene, and that tiny little kit steering wheel was swapped out for one from a Nascar kit. I also added simple seat belts made from masking tape. I made the hub top hats from styrene tubing and sheet, and the wheels are my own castings. Paint is Model Master Italian Red lacquer with their Ultra-Gloss clearcoat, and the decals are my own. It is built curbside style, so there is no engine wiring or plumbing...not sure my arthritic fingers could even do that kind of detail anymore! It's not perfect, but I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I'm hoping Balough will make it to Georgia for the World Crown 300 this year, so I can get him to sign it for me. Comment, criticism, complaints, or questions welcome! Thanks for looking.

Thanks again, everyone!

Oh, that's just awesome! It's great to keep memories alive like this, especially short track cars! And I haven't even bothered with fuel lines and such in awhile...I just leave the hood shut....so you're doing better than me! Keep it up, looking forward to seeing it finished!

Short track cars are my favorite thing in the whole world, and I think you're doing ok on this so far. I meant to comment back when you were talking about the master cylinder but never did....I just wanted to say that a lot of guys did indeed move the master cylinder to the firewall instead of leaving it chassis mounted, so if you put it on the firewall you'll be ok. I'm gathering reference to build a '34 Ford dirt track car that raced in '61, and it clearly shows the master cylinder on the firewall. Quite common back then. Fuel lines look ok but should come out of the carb into a junction fitting or "T" of some sort, then one line to the pump. Anyway....is this supposed to be a replica of a real car that raced way back when, or a more modern "vintage class" racer?

Now that's just plain ol' cool right there..... And so is this........ Good stuff, guys!

I really like this one, but I'm partial to '57s...my first car was a '57 Belair. Your hard work paid off, turned out great!

And more Cookeville: http://public.fotki.com/NWVMM/bobby-boggs/model-shows-2013/middle-tn-modelers-/

Thanks again for the kind words, everyone. Here is a picture with the body removed, and you can obviously see the curbside nature of this build. The interior is very simple, but so were the real cars so there's really not much to see. I used an AMT Nascar kit, and the entire roll cage and seat are moved back as far as possible. The shifter/pedals/seat/etc are from the Nascar kit, but I did add simple seat belts made from tape.

Thanks, guys! Glad you like it.

As far as I'm concerned, the late Buck Simmons of Baldwin GA was the best dirt late model driver in history. His first win was in 1960 at the age of 15. His last win was in 2009 at the age of 64. Between those two, he had 1022 other main even wins....yes, that's right, 1024 feature wins in a 50 year career. He is in both the National Dirt Racing Hall Of Fame, and the Georgia Auto Racing Hall Of Fame. He won just about everything there was to win on dirt at one time or another, and was one of my all time racing heroes. I've decided to build a few of Buck's most famous rides, starting with the black (Buck's trademark colors were black and gold) "Jig-A-Lo" Camaro, owned by Billy Thomas. Buck drove this car from 1979-1981, when he picked up his first NDRA National championship. This car also won the very last race at the historic Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta. I built the model up from an AMT Nascar chassis...totally inaccurate for a dirt late model, I know, but since this is meant as a curbside model it worked out just fine. I did have to build a new upper roll cage to match the body, and lower the suspension slightly. I also had to make a new rear frame section and fuel cell, along with the interior "tin". The actual body is one of Jackie Sims' vacuform Camaro bodies, my first time working with one...a little tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, it works out good. The wheels are some I cast myself and had chromed, but I'm not sure if I like them or not...this is one case where Alclad might have been a better choice, to look more like polished aluminum. Paint is plain ol' Model Master black, decals are my own. I have a few more of Buck's rides in the planning stages, but since this was probably my favorite, it's the first. Thanks for lookin'!