LOBBS

I almost forgot. There were a couple of guys that asked about exhaust manifolds and these from the Revell '10 Camaro SS I felt were the best option of all the various Revell LS motor-in-kit-form options. I cut them off at the flange to remove the cats and I think they will serve well to fit a lot of different configurations.

Very cool concept.

Good looking build. Love the black on black.

That's a great shade of blue for the Vette. It looks like it's coming along nicely.

I was just over at VCG's site finishing up the bits and pieces I want to add to my order and noticed they've added the LS7 to the top of their page. Manny is planning on sending me some more pics to post here but you guys can get a sneak peek there. http://vcgresin.atspace.com

Both great looking builds.

Absolutely no fault to that logic. As I said before, I think it's a brilliant design. Safety is the top priority and if you can eliminate the ignition risks and ensure that your system can keep the box cleared of fumes you are golden.

Masters for the T-56 six-speed manual. And the 6L80 six-speed auto. I just have to clean up a little flash and drop these in the mail.

That article by Klaus is the best. I've built a couple of booths following those guidelines. All of mine have been of the downdraft variety as they tend to be cleaner and more efficient.

VCG's website is here. I know that the crate motor with the manual tranny is ready to go as I have seen the test shots. The automatic will be ready soon. He had me post next Monday as the official release date so that he has this week to build inventory and be ready. http://vcgresin.atspace.com

I just got off the phone with VCG. They had sent me some pics of the first parts out over the weekend but the email never made it to my phone. Everything looks good in the pics he sent me and he wants to get some better ones to post here. They will be ready to take orders on Monday the 24th so that he has some time to build an inventory to fill the first rush of orders. After talking with him, they will be available as the full motor with a manual, full motor with the automatic as well as having the two trannies available as a stand alone item. I'll get the new pics up as soon as they hit my inbox.

I can only hope for your safety that the 100 CFM rating listed for your bilge pump is given at an extremely high static pressure and that it's airflow abilities within your system (possibly lower SP) are much higher. The flow rate for this application is not a cubic calculation or the "air changes" that you keep referring to. It is quite simply the square area (in your case 2' x 3' or 6 sq ft) by the desired face velocity or FPM. Because your booth is a downdraft booth you can safely maintain a minimum of 50 FPM which would require at least 300 cfm blower (6 sq ft x 50 FPM) at the static pressure of your total system. Again your bilge pump, given its original application, may be able to support 300 cfm at a relatively low static pressure. The biggest issue that I see with your setup is that your pump is already questionable and you are using, quite frankly, the worst possible solution for your ducting with those long sections of flexible 3" duct. 3" ducting is already fairly restrictive and the flexible type is around 3 times worse than that. That combination would produce an extremely high static pressure and it is very likely that your pump is not even producing anything close to the advertised 100 cfm. It is all in the article that I posted and Klaus has been a very respected member of the modeling community for a long, long time. With a sealed system like you've built, it is possible that you could be filling a confined space with an excess of volatile solvents (an explosion hazard) and your best warning device (the ole nose) is taken out of the equation. I've built three booths using Klaus' instructions and they have all served me well for years with no incidences. The only reason I've built as many as I have is to improve on the materials in which they were originally constructed in (spare wood->MDF->sheetmetal) or to tweak minor things that I wanted to add to the previous generation. Please give the article that Klaus published years ago a read and do the best that you can to verify that you have sufficient "oomph" in your system to safely exhaust the fumes.

While I can appreciate the design and execution of the box, the 100 CFM bilge pump is greatly underpowered to properly clear the space even with its downdraft layout. The industry standard is 100 CFM for every square foot of area that the fan has to clear. For your 2' x 3' box you would need a minimum of a 600 CFM blower even before you began adding the exhaust ductwork. The sheer length of flexible 3" hose you're using would add a great deal of airflow resistance. Not trying to step on any toes, it's about safety. I've attached an article that Klaus Raddatz released years ago about building your own booth and how to properly calculate which motor is required for the size of the box and the attached duct work. http://www.mediafire.com/?6wffygg65u98eo6

That's a whole lotta great looking Ferraris.

Nicely done. Great color combo.

Just got word from Manny at VCG that the master for the LS7 has finally arrived at his shop. As soon as the molds are a go I'll get up some pics and they'll be ready to take orders. My wife's grandmother passed away this week so I've been tied up with family business. I will get the masters for the six-speed manual (T-56) and automatic trannies (6L80 from the '10 Camaro SS) out as soon as possible along with the exhaust manifolds. The trannies will be correct for not only the LS motors but also traditional SBCs and BBCs.

The thread police are probably going to come get me for dragging this one back out. One of the big projects I was working on before I stepped away for awhile was this booth. In the new house, my hobby room does not have a window. My plan to get around this was to use carbon filtration to trap the VOCs and odors. The big hangup back then was the fact that these activated-carbon filters were still a relative niche item and the only reliable source I was looking at would be Grainger. This carried a pretty healthy premium at around $30 a pop and you had to order a multi-pack to obtain them. That all changed tonight when I had to stop by the Walmart on the way home from work to pick up some filters for the house. Up on the top shelf, I found these: Carbon filtration has finally hit the mainstream and they aren't too expensive at around $16. As I illustrated in the OP this is the second stage in my stack of filters with primary filter above this one in the stream to capture the bulk of the overspray. That method should protect this one from having to do much more than just capture the nasty, dangerous stuff. I built in extra airflow capacity by going with the larger Dayton blower to account for the multiple stages of filtration and the expected resistance. I'm really excited now to get my booth finished up so that I can prove my concept correct.

Looks great. I've always had a thing for Montes and never understood why this kit doesn't get more love.

I'm not quite sure which way I'll go with the paint just yet but I may incorporate the matte black into it.

That is insanely nice work! One of the goals for my hobby room in the new house is to build a race shop diorama/display case for my builds. A modern rig with a Featherlite done up in my shop's livery is on the long-term projects list. I'll definitely have to bookmark this build for inspiration and guidance.

Funny you should mention recovering from hernia surgery as to what brought you back this time around. That was exactly the same thing that got me hooked again as an adult.

Time to start sizing this project up. As I mentioned in the OP, the C6 wheelbase is very close to the C1. Just a hair over 3 inches longer in 1:1. A pass on the Bridgeport at work with an 1/8" end mill would solve that in quick order and give me a nice clean, accurate cut to work with. And as mentioned above it is going to be a very tight fit getting that transaxle to slide in behind the interior. It doesn't look like it is a deal breaker just yet. Worst case scenario would be to use a similar setup as what I'm doing with my '69 Vette. That would entail transferring the C6 suspension to the '59 Vette's frame and using a traditional transmission up front layout with a standard driveshaft. I would have to track down another Dana 44 rearend assembly from the latest Revell Viper kit to perform that swap.

Ain't skeered. I'll just use a bigger hammer. Seriously though, thanks for the heads up. If I go the belly pan route, much of that portion of the frame will be hidden. I'll make it fit even if I have to rebuild the tranny tunnel and give up some trunk space. I'm not opposed to shaving some material from the body and running gear in the areas that won't be seen as well.

I'll be 34 here in a couple of hours. Just this weekend at the Heartland Nats someone remarked to me that it was good to see the "younger" being involved with the hobby. I guess I don't look my age, lol.

I've had a couple of PMs and emails inquiring about an automatic transmission. The most current GM automatic for the would be found in the Revell '10 Camaro SS. I've got one that I've never opened so I'll hack the tranny off that kit and send it along with the T-56 six speed. As far as exhaust manifolds go, the ones closest in layout to those of the 60s-70s with the four ports dumping into a common log that turns down near the firewall can be found in the Revell Silverado. One of the hands has a heat shield molded into it. I have not looked at the '10 Camaro SS manifolds to see if they are any better. The C5 and C6 mainfolds are kinda funky in where the flange turns down to meet the exhaust and I don't remember exactly what the 98-02 F-body manifolds look like exactly other than the didn't look right compared to the vintage manifolds. I'll do some digging and post pics for input from you guys.