SSNJim

No need to start a new topic:

Crown gas stations are still around. I'm in Prince Georges County, Maryland and there are some here and there. I would guess that's because we're much less than a half hour away from Baltimore.

That's one thing I miss. I had a Kawasaki Concours for a couple of years. You'd hit the gas, and about 6000 rpm the power would kick in to the redline (11000 rpm). With the Goldwing, when you crank on the throttle, it would hit 6000 rpm or so and start choking. The redline on the Wing is about 6000 rpm. It still moves pretty good, but doesn't have the kick in the butt the Concours did.

When I was in the Navy, we called them disposa-cars. Buy it for a song (generally from someone being discharged, transferred or in dire need of cash). and drive it until the wheels fall off. When they do, off it goes to the junkyard and acquire the next one.

I've got a 2007 Honda Goldwing Premium Audio (the base model) bought new. This is an older picture. The bike shows a bit of wear at this point - it now has about 115,000 miles on it. What a bike.

I like the Pontiadillac better - I love the flow of the roof. Both are beautiful cars.

Great looking car!

Granted, you do some incredible detailing on all facets of a model, and I do look at, and admire, all your builds. You obviously take care to present an accurate model. Not everyone is, or strives to be, at your level. Here's where I'm coming from: after all the showing off of a build, and the model is "retired" on the shelf along with the trophies and the next project is in progress, how often do you look at it? Please don't misconstrue my comments - detail a model all you want to the level you want. That's great. I wouldn't have it any other way. All I care about is a recognizable car on the shelf. Aunt Matilda isn't going to be able to tell the difference between a 289 Hi-Po and a 302 even if I pointed it out, or care that this Mustang has an IRS, and that one doesn't. She probably will be able to say "I saw one on the way over here", or "Your cousin Cletus had one of those". It's just the way I prefer to build.

There are several states in the US that require the use of hazards on the Interstates/freeways at speeds of less than 40 mph (45mph minimum speed) or in poor visibility conditions.

I don't normally build with an engine, even if it's included. I'm of the opinion that if you can't see it when it's parked on the street/shelf, it doesn't matter. I've built kits with multiple piece detailed suspensions using metal axles instead. I do build engines and suspensions as instructed every so often, but it's rare. All these detailed engines don't look like much to me. A set of spark plug wires (often oversized), battery cables, and sometimes a fuel line to the carburetor doesn't a fully detailed engine make. Modern engines are a rat's nest of wiring and tubing, and even older engines have several tubes and cables that aren't often depicted. I guess I could call it the "Aunt Matilda rule" for mechanical pieces . If your Aunt Matilda doesn't understand/recognize it, you don't need it. I rarely carefully scrutinize my models after being placed on the shelf and don't see the value in going crazy on unseen details.

Most definitely. I too had a 79 Ghia with a 302 and auto.

Beautiful job. It looks like the one I saw in 1977 at a San Diego naval base.

I wish I had seen your build before starting on mine. It would have solved a lot of problems. That is a beautiful build.

They were pretty common in DC. A lot of them were used as handicapped and medical transports. The first time or two I saw one, I thought they were Hondas. It looked like an oversized Element to me.

A few years back, there was a recent Camaro with red headlights and turn signals. Very discomforting to see that coming at you. They weren't halo lights, they were full red. I only saw it once, so maybe he did get ticketed.

Good advice there. I have some Rustoleum Painter's Touch I want to use on the interior of a B-24 bomber. I sprayed some primer on a plastic spoon, then the Rustoleum. Beautiful color and finish, but it was a bit shiny being Satin finish. I picked up some Tamiya Flat Clear today and sprayed the spoon. It came out dead flat, but the finish crackled fairly badly. It turns out I had bought the Rustoleum Matte Clear earlier and sprayed another spoon. The finish is still good, but flatter than the Satin finish and not as flat as the Tamiya. I can live with it. Test on a cheap plastic spoon or scrap plastic! It won't always go well.

Two things I would try before replacing it. One would be to try a headlight cleaning kit from the autoparts store. Currently plastic headlights fade due to age and UV; those kits clean it up. The second thing is to take some sandpaper to the windows. Fairly coarse at first (100-200 grit may not be too coarse but I would try 600-800 to start with), then increasely finer until you hit the polishing kits. By the time you get to 12000 grit, things ought to be pretty clear and smooth. OK, taking sandpaper to the windows is pretty nerve-wracking, but it can pay off with a bit of care. The third of the two things to try would be to have someone vacuum form a new windshield. Plunge molding may work also. Be sure to support the windshield fully whatever method is being used. Clear styrene plastic is not "impact resistant" and is quite susceptible to cracking under light loads. I think I would try the vinegar method that Stavanzer suggested (he posted while I was typing - I always forget what a good cleaner vinegar is), and then work my through mine. I've got several, but they are allocated to 67-69 tbird bodies - no spares. It's probably sun damage. I've got a few promos like that, but haven't done anything with them. I may have one or two where the car sat in a shop window for a while, and the sunny side is fading badly, but the other side is perfect.

I kind of like the Studebaker/Corvette hybrid.

Tamiya has a Titanium Silver and Titanium Gold in both bottles and cans. You might want to try Titanium Silver over a base of Aluminum. I've never been happy with Titanium Silver without a base coat. It may take a couple of tries with different metallic base coats.

I've been idly turning this over in my mind for quite a while now, but haven't done anything with it so far. I'm considering doll house door hinges. They're pretty widely available at places that deal with doll houses (Hobby Lobby for one). Find the appropriate size, and figure out how to attach them to the car. There are two options: bend the metal plates of the hinge at a 90 degree angle at a distance so the hinge protrudes past the door and superglue directly to the body, or glue styrene blocks to the door and the jamb and superglue the hinges to the blocks without bending them. The trick is to make sure they are vertical and aligned. As I said, this is just a hypothesis right now. I don't build many cars with external hinges but I do have a few. I also don't have many with opening doors.

Try firehouses and veteran groups (American Legion, VFW and so on). They generally have a decent size room to rent. This is a bit of a long shot, but check to see if the veterans groups have a car show. The one near me has one annually. You may be able to hold a contest in conjunction with their show.

And now my friend, the first-a rule of Italian driving. What's-a behind me is not important.

It's called the Family Jalopy or Family Truck version. After a quick look at the instructions, it looks like the only things the jalopy and hot rod share are the chassis, body tub, and fenders. Engine, hood, grille, truck bed and driveline/suspension are different parts.

The Granny's Hot Rod contains all the parts to build the Beverly Hillbillies truck. Of course, they don't call it that in the instructions, which do include basic weathering painting for the truck.

That's my understanding. Oftentimes they don't have a chassis - just a sheet of plastic or the wheels glued to the body. A slammer primarily shows off the body/styling. Curbsides are focused on what you see of a car when it's parked on the street.