Chuck Most

That is a Ford prototype for the H-series. They were built in 1959 by Hendrickson to Ford's specs, and distributed to P I E and other carriers for evaluation. There is a picture similar to this in James K Wagner's Ford Trucks Since 1905 book, I'll see if I can dig it out and get more info.

Already planning one.

Closest is AMT's '36 Mod Stocker, which won't work because it's modified into a race car, and the '32 was a totally different design. Reworking a Ford body might be the way to go.

Besides, then you'd have Camel smoking doctors reccomending Lucky Strikes to their patients.

Yes! Guess I never said the project specifically had to be for this CBP, so I think I can allow it.

Whoever starts first. That's who starts first.

In triplicate. Then allow 4-6 weeks for processing. After that, expect to wait another 90 days for delivery, at that time you will be charged $95.99 for shipping and processing. And the worst part is, the watch isn't even gold, it's just an old Swatch spray-painted with Krylon by some guy in a shed.

Hard to go wrong with an Ertl Scout II kit. Even if you add detail and fix the little accuracy problems with it, it will be a pleasant experience.

What if you want to start with a 'conventional' car, say a '57 Chevy or something like that, and just build it in an unconventional manner? Maybe something along these lines-

I suppose it would depend on how accurate you wanted the chassis to be. If I remember, the Sniper's actual chassis was all custom fabbed, with the Viper components added to it. But, I'm thinking I'd just leave the hood sealed and use the provided chassis if I were building it. But I'd love to see somebody build this as a blow-by-blow replica with full detail!

Anybody want to give this a go? How about 'Argentina's Rambler', the IKA (1966-77) and Renault (78-'82) Torino? Might be a good way to fix that poorly molded SC/Rambler kit...

Do I detect just the slightest twinge of sarcasm in that remark?

No... Foose still had some degree of talent when he designed this... this was long before he started throwing his own wheels on two-tone, mirrorless GM midsize cars for TV. The 1:1 Sniper was built with a Viper drivetrain and suspensions- Troy had some buddies at Chrysler and managed to get an R&D mule that was slated to be crushed.

Should be cool! One little tip if you're interested- all 1994 and newer F-Series trucks had a driver's side airbag. AMT neglected to update the steering wheel for the '94 and '95 versions of their kits, but if you happen to have an AMT Taurus SHO kit made after 1991, that kit has a steering wheel that looks pretty close.

Good point.

Same here. Seems kind of weird they'd use the graphics from a now-defunct monster truck on a new Camaro. But then again, I guess so would using the livery from the Larson funny cars...

Alrightie. For a wrecker boom, you could rob one from the Lindberg '34 Ford closed-cab pickup kit. You can trim the upright supports to adjust the angle of the boom. You could also scratchbuild one from Plastruct or Evergreen styrene. You'll need a bed or platform for the boom to attach to- cut down an existing kit part to suit, or make one up. Since you said the grille is from a semi, you could make one to resemble the wrecker body on a heavy-duty wrecker. A smaller version of the body on AMT's Peterbilt 359, or something like that. Or you could make one to resemble a period (1930's) wrecker body. Look around online for images of original '30's wreckers, some of them came with pretty cool looking Art Deco-styled wrecker bodies, and you could try to duplicate something similar. Dual rear wheels and cab lights might be in order- they'd help tie the semi grille into the total theme. An air horn wouldn't be out of the question either. A shop name or some other type of artwork on the doors would be a nice touch as well. None of these are requirements, really, just suggestions. And since it's a rat rod, there's really no 'wrong' way to do it. Unless you plan to graft the back end of a Grand Am and the front of an Alero to your cab. A few 'visual aids' that might help...

What kind of truck will the end result be? Are you using a '20's/'30's cab? Or something a little newer, like from the '60's?

Best way to improve the looks? Liberate that R-series IH cab, part out the Pontiac and Olds stuff, and do something else... ANYTHING else with it. Make a truckster hot rod using the proceeds from selling the GM parts. Barring that, use the cab for a tree fort, or something.

The thread that wouldn't die! Thanks guys! I no longer own this one. My neighbor, not a modeler but a life-long IH truck guy, now has it in his collection. Should NOT have done that... now he's hounding me to do a model of the '80 Scout II Traveler he used to own!

If only half of the Grand Am remains... can it still be considered a Grand Am?

Wonder if it might be a tie-in somehow to Bruce Larson's series of Camaro Funny Cars.

Is anyone in this guy's area? I'm asking because I'd really like to know if this thing actually exists. It's a real listing, but I'm thinking it's some kind of joke. And no, I don't want to contact the guy. http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3091802234.html It looks like a well-played series of Photoshopped images to me, but it has been haunting me... if it is real, I don't know if I should hate the guy for ruining an IH truck, or love him for taking a red Grand Am GT off the road.

Welcome aboard!

Working on the splash apron.