charlie8575

The pearl white is an interesting twist on the Hurst/Olds' classic white/gold scheme. It looks good. Good work on both of them for "express" builds. Charlie Larkin

Nice video and some really good builds, Chris. Charlie Larkin

Actually, Art, I was referring to the colorant leaching out of the plastic, not the primer. I've tried the block-coat method and have had reasonable success with it. I brought it up as I noticed Oscar's car was molded in red. Charlie Larkin

6-10" tomorrow afternoon/evening.....yuck. Charlie Larkin

Mmmmm....Heritage Burgundy/Palomino interior. The 1965-66 big Fords were such nice looking cars. Thanks, Mike. Charlie Larkin

David, You've now got me wondering! I've been purposely searching out 312s online because I know a lot of the details were different between them and the 272/292. All the 312s I've seen have red valve covers unless they have the dress-up package or some type of aftermarket valve cover, and the black ones were on the smaller engines. Have the wrong covers been installed on these engines? Charlie Larkin

I'm thinking the factory two-tone Dusk and Driftwood Gray would be a nice combination. http://www.tcpglobal.com/aclchip.aspx?image=1953-Chevrolet-pg01.jpg Dusk Gray on the '52 chip set: http://www.tcpglobal.com/aclchip.aspx?image=1952-Chevrolet-pg01.jpg Be sure to seal that red plastic thoroughly. Uusually, I recommend silver paint over gray sealer-primer for the best results, as the paint will block the leeching colorant and not show too much discoloration. Top-coat that with white primer to be sure you're getting a good base color-wise to start with, given how light the Driftwood Gray is. Charlie Larkin

This is probably the best reference site (at least from what I've found) for 1960s Mopars. http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/dealerships/1968PlymouthColorAndTrim-01.shtml Good luck. Charlie Larkin

Nice job on that, Terry. Charlie Larkin

Aside from the battery (should've added a 12-volt), an interesting idea and a very creative build. Charlie Larkin

That, Niko, is an auxillary oil passage. Ford Y-Blocks had problems with their internal oil galleries sludging up, and as a result, the upper part of the engine would lose lubrication. Ford added that extra gallery around 1955-56 from what I understand to help maintain oil pressure. From the pictures I've seen, they generally seem to be red along with the rest of the engine. The bellhousing should be oxide red primer. Hull red, or a mix of flat red and flat brown to simulate that color, would be a good approximation. The transmission is cast iron. I like Tamiya X-10 Gunmetal for simulating that. Charlie Larkin

$24? Boy, you got lucky. I guess I'll have to keep trying. Charlie Larkin

Any word from anyone if they're going to make some effort to correct this for future runs and/or offer replacement bodies to those desiring them? After the Mustang, they really can't afford this; while this is nowhere near as egregious, this is still a fairly serious lapse in quality audit. On the main subject- Randy, I have to agree with everyone else, that interior is killer. Great job on it. Charlie Larkin

I grabbed one yesterday, too. That was absolutely the TIGHTEST-fitting model box I've ever encountered, and re-packing it was something else. What a lovely kit, though. The only goober I could find in it was the 1955 paint chart, which doesn't have the correct '56-specific colors listed, although mixing up that Reginmental Red is going to be a challenge to say the least. No matter, I'm doing mine in Mediterranean Blue. There is documentation of one car special-ordered in it, and it's a pretty color. Charlie Larkin

I always wondered why planes never seemed to taxi in a straight line- I always thought it was wind resistance or something- that explains it. I couldn't see that was an Avenger- looked like a Wildcat to me from the nacelle. I didn't realize those were that big- or was the other plane that small? Actually, what was the other one? Charlie Larkin

Barnum said it all, and while I've been that desperate, I never gave in, largely because lack of income made me that desperate. It's very simple- if I can't pay existing loans or other expenses, how on Earth am I going to pay one more, especially one that expensive? If you do toss those offers (and I hope you do)- be sure to rip or shred them first. Last thing you need is a crook going through your trash and then trashing you financially. Buy-here/pay-here lots- I guess it depends on where you are. We have a couple around here that are reasonable with their prices and have decent reputations. I've never heard of those guys using Lo-Jack, although I suspect where Massachusetts tends to be rather consumer/debtor-friendly, they might not be allowed, nor are they allowed to keep a key for the car, they have to show up with a sheriff's deputy and either collect payment in full or as otherwise agreed (and accept it), or repossess the car. Like everything else, do your research and use caution. Given my situation the last few years, the buy-here/pay-here is my only option short of a cash deal for something, and with used cars having gone into orbit, that's becoming less and less of an option. It all comes down to protecting yourself and knowing what you're buying. Charlie Larkin

Jesse, Unless the communities is southern California have no other options for halls (which is what it sounds like may be the problem you're running into with expense, which, from MassCar's experience, is usually the major cost), try checking into places like churches, VFW/Legion/AMVETS halls, fraternal orders (Masons, Odd Fellows, Eagles, Elks, etc.,) and see if they'll let you rent their dining rooms or function halls. You can usually get those at pretty reasonable rates, and it'll cut costs substantially. Charlie Larkin

Nice job on the drum. Charlie Larkin

Suggestion: Place the plans on a piece of cork, and place a piece of wax paper over them, then pin the corners using some push-pins. This will allow you to line up everything exactly with the plans. Simply assemble the frame on top of the wax paper. The glue won't stick to it, and you can move the pieces around as you need to. This is how Dad and I build stick-and-tissue airplanes, and it would translate well to building framing. Charlie Larkin

The only body style available for the Corvair in 1960 was the 4-door sedan, from what I remember. I've been keeping an eye open for one of those and a 1960 Comet, which has a lot of nice styling queues. Corvairs also had a somewhat more restricted color palette than the big Chevy, so with that in mind... A few years ago when I sort of had a little disposable income, I almost bought a 1960 Corvair. It was Royal Blue with the blue interior. It's a color that doesn't have a good match in any of the store touch-up or hobby paint, although the Tamiya Dark Blue Metallic spray will get you in the ballpark. The blue interior can be best simulated using Model Master Chrysler Engine Blue. Another scheme that I've seen on a couple of these is a Tasco Turquoise roof over Ermine White. Only the very top panel is a different color. A turquoise interior is what goes with this. Charlie Larkin

That's really gorgeous, Alan. Several years ago, I won a restorable '60 curbside (yes, the original issue), on fee-pay and have been trying to decide what to do with it color-wise. I'm leaning towards two-tone blue, but finding the interior reference pictures for that car is a bit challenging, so I'm not sure what to do with it color-wise inside. That said, looking at yours gives me inspiration to get something done with that one. Charlie Larkin

Actually, Ed, this one is still OBD-I, as I can decode it with a paperclip! (Well, they did one thing right...) My car doesn't appear to have a crank sensor- I think that was mostly used with the distributor-less ignitions on the EFI V/6s and some of the Cadillac V/8s. Coil....you did remind me. I did change the coil and the ignition control module, too. Thanks for the memory jog! I'll edit that now above to make sure it doesn't get missed. Charlie Larkin

Timing had crossed my mind, but where it runs very smoothly and without hesitation when it's running (and still has plenty of power for high-speed merges), I'm leaning towards "no," but it stays in the back of my mind. The cats, from what I can tell, are good. I haven't done a vacuum pull, but the exhaust seems to flow freely, so I would think they're not clogged. Fuel filter was changed with the pump. I've seen no evidence of blown head gaskets on the radiator or oil cap. Doesn't mean it didn't happen, but I haven't see it. Since changing the thermostat, the car is running considerably cooler, so I'm tending to think they're okay. Charlie Larkin Not yet, Oscar. Occasionally after stalling, the Service Engine Soon light will come on for a minute or two, but it doesn't seem to be storing anything. Charlie Larkin

Friends of mine have had good luck with peppermint tea bags (the whole box of 20), mothballs, cedar, and one other thing that escapes me. Charlie Larkin

I'm about at the end of my rope. Since the summer, I must've dumped nearly $700 into my car, and it's still not running right, and now that it's getting cold and miserable, and dark early, I don't feel like having it up and die on me in the middle of nowhere. The car in question is a 1994 Buick Roadmaster, which has an LT-1 in it. There are about 145,000 miles on it. After changing the distributor cap, it ran like a champ for most of the first part of the year, then it started to get warm. Since roughly late June/early July, I've done (or had done) the following, all in an attempt to isolate random stalling, usually as the car comes to full operating temperature, and then would still continue to stall sporadically. -Coolant temperature sensor. -Thermostat (found to be sticking- also found to be one installed at the factory!). -Throttle position sensor. -MAP sensor -Mass Air Flow sensor. - Three starters because of all the re-starting I've had to do, which killed two of them. -A battery (all the stalling did in the other one). -Coil and ignition control module. -The fuel pump. So far, replacing the fuel pump has helped the most. I've been able to drive the car for nearly two hours without trouble, before that, in two hours, I'd probably have had to let it sit for at least 45 minutes and have 15-20 attempts to restart it. Now, if it stalls out, 95% of the time, it re-starts quickly, might die once or twice more, and then continue running. Prior to the pump replacement, the stalling/restart would also produce variously, or all at once, backfiring, an odor almost like exhaust and coolant mixed with raw gasoline, the smell of straight raw gas, and restart-and-stall after one or two revolutions of the engine. After two mechanics, a lot of searching to try and isolate what might be going on, and a bunch of other stuff, I've come to the following conclusion, as has my father, who's been a computer engineer for 40+ years: Dad is thinking the computer might be on the way out. Evidence: 1. All the problems occur about when the computer should be getting warm. Last night, driving home in cold weather, it took a very long time for problems to develop, and the car was well up to operating temperature. I had the defroster on full, and no heat to the floor. About when the computer probably started getting hot, the problems happened. 2. The difficult re-starting, as Dad described it, is either the computer not reading input from the senors correctly, or the sensors malfunctioning. Well...all the logical sensors have been replaced. 3. The backfire/flooding/strange scents that seem to result from a badly-timed engine or badly-timed electronic components point to the computer not working well. 4. The failure would tend to take a while longer in extreme heat because I'd have the air conditioner on, on days I was operating on the vents alone in warm weather, problems came much sooner. 5. Frequently, the car wouldn't start for 2-3 hours after parking. We're thinking the computer needed time to dissapate the heat. So....does anyone think we might be on to something- or does anyone have any ideas? The main question is- is there a way to test the computer to see if it is actually functioning right? I discovered that changing the computer, while simple from a physical R&R standpoint, is a pain because even a rebuilt needs to be programmed and such, something I didn't realize, so it looks like I might have to let a garage do it, but if it doesn't need to be done, I don't want to do it, preferring instead to fix the problem. Any ideas appreciated. Charlie Larkin