iBorg

Only one word.....SWEET! Mike

Tis the season to buy school supplies. I've used these for four or five years. Every August I look at them and decide whether or not to replace them. I get about two years use out of them. I put sanding tools in one and cutting tools in another. They pack very easily. Mike

I'm trying to reproduce this car or something similar. http://streetrodder.automotive.com/118269/0910sr-brian-vanzant-1950-chevy-woody/photos0-0.html I have a AMT 1951 Chevy and a Wagon Rod. I've tried to merge them but I'm just not able to figure out where to cut. The 1:1 used a four door 1950 Chevy. The AMT is a 1951 Fleetline. It seems like it ought to work. Any suggestions? Mike

Shane: I haven't tried this yet, but I hope to soon. Take a look at: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Cold-Heat-soldering-iron/ This is a resistance unit. I like this design as several I've seen use a car battery charger which I'm leery to try. Mike

Shane: I'll admit your building is getting better all the time. This build is inspiring in so many ways. I do look forward to see this one finished. Hat's off to you! Mike

This is the same chassis as the Bug-a-boo VW and the Infiniti-Model T. Overall a reasonably clean build of one of AMT's less stellar efforts. I stand by my question of shelf or contest model. Obviously for a contest model there's a lot wrong with it. Many of these have been mentioned. My first suggestion is dump the kit and start over. It's not a good base to start from. If its a shelf model and you're happy with it and your building experience, enjoy it. Remember there are those who build for contests and those who build for fun. Hopefully you can have fun doing both. Mike

First a question for you, is this a shelf model or a contest model? That answer determines a lot about my answer. This is a bit of an unfair question. You see the problem is if you apply the standards of a drag race car, the beginning kit lacks. The frame would weigh a ton and there is no class where such a car could realistically compete. Its too long for a funny car or an altered and would weigh significantly too much for a dragster. For a show car, it's obviously missing the angel hair. Back to the original question..... You could argue it needs more detail but did you enjoy building it? If so, then the model served its purpose. Remember its a hobby. Mike

The McEwen kit is a replica of Tom's '57 exhibition car on the late Monogram funny car chassis. The Plum Crazy dates back to the 70's. It has a variation of the Snake/Mongoose chassis (I think) and the body looks more stock (still far from stock) than the McEwen body. I think you could make a pretty good body from the Plum Crazy but it requires some modification to reduce its bulk for example around the blower. Mike

This is one of those cars that I keep on hoping that either Round 2 or Revell re-issues. Maybe they could take the best of the Jo-han kit (body and engine) and scan it for reproduction and create a new interior and chassis. I do know that Oakey Spaulding, the current caretaker of the Jo-han brand will never reissue the Maverick. This is due to a combination of mold damage and/or missing molds as well as licensing fees. Now if I could only find a grill for the Maverick, I have one I could restore. Mike

I highly recommend modelexpress.net. There's also modelroundup.com Mike

Email specialappearancedecals@yahoo.com with your wants. He has several of the Gooche decals. Mike

I pulled it right up in Firefox. Last update in February 2010. Mike

You need to resize it. When I click on it it's so huge I can't really see the composition of the picture. Mike

Larry Watson was a trendsetter with a career that spanned from the 50's until the present. He will be missed. Mike

The question is whether such a car would be carbed (doubtful) fuel injected or supercharged/turbocharged. If you choose carbed, I go with a Nascar kit. What you may want to do is combine the dry sump and maybe the headers from a Nascar kit to the stock motor and dechrome what's there. I'd either flat black or carbon fiber the valve covers. Mike

This is a great show. If my life was going better, I'd love to make it. Very good vendor set-up with everything from overpriced junk to great builders to restorable classics. I found a Pink Panther or another Eldon/Dihatusa show car and a Flying Dutchman built up and like a complete moron passed on both. Ughhhhhh. As for the show, there's some great models. If you want to show your work, its a good show. If you want to compete for trophies, bring your A game. Mike

Shane: Great tutorial on the front end. As for a stock block 392 the three "obvious" choices are the Revell Stone, Woods and Cook/Big John Willys. Other possible choices include the Wild Willy Winged T or maybe the Piranha. Either of the last two are workable but not really in the same league as the Revell Willys. MIke

Your "unknown source" is Fred Cady. Mercy I miss having his decals commonly available. Mike

Nice set of three cars that should have had more success in Nascar. I also believe this is the type of sponsorship that Nascar desperately needs if it is to grow its fanbase. Mike

Speed has it moments both good and bad. Barrett-Jackson has ruined to collector car market. I remember looking at a '69 Mustang that thuded in the rockers and rear wheel arches with bondo. The under hood wiring would make you want to keep a fire extinguisher strapped to the transmission tunnel AND the fire department on speed dial. Asking price? $25,000. What? "Well I saw one on Barrett-Jackson that was a little nicer I think it was one of those Boss Mustangs for $125,000. This one has to be worth at least $25,000." I also almost cried when one of Lil' John's cars, the 1926 Ford sold for $42,000. How can a common production car be worth six figures and a hand built classic built by one of the leading craftsman of our times not be worth at least fifty grand? Speed had the audacity to air the Junior Earnhardt's stupid attempt to modify the classic Car and Track with Bud Lindemann. At one time Speed would run the originals which were great history lessons about racing in the last golden era. Now we have Daddy's Coattails trying to be cute in a way that belittles these individuals who did more to earn their place in history in a season than Little Talent has done in his career. Too many shows are informercials disguised as a TV show. Pinks (not all out) was an enjoyable show that sadly seems to have faded away. Dave Despain is one of the best motor racing journalists out there. His Sunday evening show is a great overview of the events in the racing world. The Nastrucks is currently the best Nascar racing. It beats the heck out of Disney, Disney XD, Nick and normally Animal Planet. Mike

I own a 2005 PT Cruiser Convertible with a five speed and a turbo. It was well equipped from the factory. It has had a few modifications to both the suspension and the engine. While stock may not be as quick as you'd desire, with a little work it can be a fairly fun car. One version of the turbo motor in the PT is the same basic motor as the NEON SRT-4. The SRT-4 is one of the best low cost performance cars that you can find. Like most cars, the PT has a few drawbacks. First is the fact that as a niche car, it really didn't offer the potential for major design changes a trait it shares with the new VW Bug or Austin(?) Mini. There is no way to really change the car without taking it out of its niche. Chevy (can I still say that?) is going to have the same problem with the HHR. While the engine can be made quite strong (I know several owners of 300 plus horsepower PTs), it is an older design that suffers from poor fuel mileage. The fuel mileage issue of the PT is part poor weight, a common Chrysler trait, poor gearing (I'm turning 3300 rpm at 80 mph) and fuel management. I do not believe the fuel mileage can be attributed to aerodynamics as the HHR has to have equal or worse aero numbers but gets much better gas mileage with similar performance. I know some will question my enjoyment of my PT. To each their own. For example, I don't understand people with four wheel drive who never use it, Cadillac Escalades for city driving or several other automobiles. I liked the original PT's styling but absolutely love the convertible's styling especially if the car is lowered. Plus where else can you get a four seat convertible excluding the BMW? Finally until this past year, the PT was one of the top three selling models in the Chrysler lineup. Will I miss the PT? Yes I will. But I know I'll have the last laugh. In ten to fifteen years there will be a new model announced by whoever owns Chrysler, a retro PT Cruiser.

I went looking and found these on the other forum. I'm looking forward to these. May even drive down the price of the Etzel's resin kits. Nahhhh. Mike

I was gung ho on this until the posting of the built up of this car. It really took the wind out of my sails. Now I'm trying to get inspiration for another ideal. Mike

Nice job..... I appreciate the effort and the decals. The motor looks very well done. If I had a good selection of affordable parts, I'd consider trying my hand at something like that. Mike

Sorry to say but you dropped your link. I don't know which guy you're talking about. Mike