Paul Payne

Can a Columbia 2 speed rear axle be used on 49 and 50 Fords and Mercuries?

An important speed part that I had never realized had been offered in kit form was the centrifugal supercharger. The most famous application was for the Novi Indy race cars. A similar if not identical supercharger was offered as a custom option in the AMT 1963 Ford pickup, and is also available through Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland. These superchargers were mechanically driven as opposed to turbochargers which used a second impellor driven by scavenging exhaust gasses.

Welcome back! That's a great model, really represents the dry lakes and salt flats.

Had to rethink the hinges- didn't leave enough extra metal on the channel stock to bend a 90 degrees angle without distortion. For the other half of the hinge, the wire arms were too short and could not be secured to the inner door skin. Looking into the stash I discovered brass square tube that fit inside the channel, and some short copper tubes Betsy gave me from her jewelry stash. I will remove one side of the square and reduce its depth to match the inside depth of the channel. Now that I've thought out the process I just have to do it! Pix will follow when I have!

Is that hemi from the AMT 53 Studebaker?

That would make a great companion to the McGee roadster- excellent model!

The Life of Riley included a hot rod.

Filed out hinge pockets on the drivers door, fitted my one completed hinge into the upper pocket.

Just completed a great trade with RickyD- will trade with him again any time! He supplied me with a Columbia two speed rear axle for a period hot rod build and a very useful 48 Ford kit.

Maybe we should beachcomb for them???!!!???

Imagination, invention, and craftsmanship at their best! These bikes are outrageous in the same way as the Blastolene Special. Only question- are the gas tanks big enough to feed these beasts?

I too would like to know about the animated series version. Not visible in my photo is the license plate- NO JOK.

Charlie, I love to see projects like this, you can learn so much! Beautiful work! Question- how did you remove the wheels and tires from the power wagon? I would like to remove mine but do not want to break the axle ends.

Here's mine:

Zippi, thanks for following- I think you will enjoy this! The main and auxiliary power trains are an almost vinyl plastic which is quite flexible- need to test the paint I use- might just spray with diluted white glue and use weathering powders- in this case ground pastel sticks and old makeup my wife donated to the cause- we shall see! One thing I have not figured out is how to remove the wheels and tires from the main drive train without breaking off the axle ends- one thing I want to try is rubbing the tires with pastel to dull them down- treads are already sanded.

When I started the thread about the truck, boat, and trailer, I had no idea that the truck would become a project in and of itself- originally I thought I would do a little weathering on the winch spools and cables, and try to paint over the Havoline logo and lettering, as well as removing the towing winch from the bed. I had also considered fabricating stone guards for the headlights- and then the headlights and auxiliary lights needed a little help- at least new lenses or maybe outright replacement. And then- and then- I decided to weather it after looking at lots of heavily used but still very able power wagons on the internet. OK, all right, what now? First was a complete disassembly- lots of little screws, and a lot of carefully loosened glue joints, and a few minor broken parts- the front winch broke where it joined the bumper, the spare tire post, and the seat mounting posts- all very fixable. But- there were those klunky door hinges- had to go! Speaking of go, I decided to drop in a hemi, decided on the one from the 53 Studebaker- mated to the power wagon's transmission and fed by 2 4bbl carbs. Another feature I wanted was a push out windshield which meant removing the windshield and back glass without damage, then filing down the windshield glass to fit the opening. I discovered that the die casting alloy was very hard when I went to cut off the door hinges, and when I ground away the screw bosses (the screw holes will be filled before painting). One reason for a complete disassembly was to completely remove the paint, so I started with the frame and fender casting chucked into my usual bath of oven cleaner. Three days later- not much! another 3 days- more, but not enough. So, I tried stripping the door skins in acetone and that did it- fast! I am now working on the cab, then comes the fender and frame assembly as well as the grille, hood, and bed (the bed bottom is plastic, so no acetone!) I also began thinking about door hinge design and came up with one using straight pins with wire wrapping them and the tails to be glued inside the door skin. the other part was cut and filed from brass channel, the inside width of which determined how many coils to wrap around the pin. Here's some pix, more soon.

More, when you get a minute..........- please?

You mentioned an engine- how about a big block Ford, and maybe a heavier rear end? Looking forward to more.......

Looking better and better- will this be a weathered build?

Keeping an eye on this one.

Mike Wolfe on Pickers would love that car!

Could be mistaken for the real thing- excellent fit, alignment, and finishes- be proud! I particularly like the center camshaft drives on these engines.

The Bugatti Royales had a 775 cubic inch long stroke straight 8 with a single overhead camshaft. Low rpm, big torque. Pico, your build is immaculate!

If you want real scale roller chain look up fusee chain on the internet. Watchmaker supply houses carry it.

That Studebenz is nice!