2002p51

Ha ha, I get asked that all the time. Those were sent to me years and years ago, by a reader of my old column. He was making them for himself and a few friends. They are cast in white metal and, unfortunately were never offered for sale.

To be more precise, Norm built what later became known as the "Kookie T". That car is considered to be the first ever T-bucket. It used a '22 T body and a shortened Model A pick-up bed. When Tommy Ivo saw it at the drags he wanted one too and took several measurements from it to build his own. Both cars became famous. It was later that Norm's T was used in the opening scene for the TV show "77 Sunset Strip" driven by the show's character named "Kookie". And that's how the car got it's name. So yet another hot rodding icon is gone.

Just got done with the foil and decals. I wasn't sure how the foil was going to work around the compound curve on that lower rear fender trim. I thought it might end up looking like a baked potato, but it came out okay. There are a couple of tiny little wrinkles that are hardly noticeable. The paint is Testors Model Master "Radome Tan" which is a flat military color. So after the color I shot on two coats of Testors clear gloss. I started a thread on the 1:1 scale car here: http://www.modelcars...showtopic=64970

Since buying the new Revell '50 Oldsmobile I've been doing a little digging around for photos of the Hershell McGriff driven La Carrara Panamericana version. Here's what I found. This looks very "pre-race" to me and the things to notice here are the hub caps; I'm surprised they are there but more about that in a minute. The numbers on the door look to be on a piece pf paper taped to the door or even a layer of masking tape with the number stenciled over it. Also strange is the missing left headlight. Seems to me you'll need all the light you can get for a 2100 mile race through the back country of Mexico in the fifties. Here's a photo shot during the race. Notice that the hub caps are now gone and the wheels appear to be a darker color than the body. Certainly there were tire and wheel changes made over the course of the race. These next photos are all of what appears to be a restored or recreated car as it looks today. I have no idea if this is the real thing or a clone and I'm always skeptical of using modern restorations for model reference, but this one does seem pretty close. Notice the hubcaps, once again, are not on the car. Hub caps are back again! Something else to note here; Revell's instructions call for the steering wheel and column to painted "body color" but on this car the wheel is clearly darker than the body. Makes more sense to me that the wheel would match the rest of the interior not the outside. I wish Revell had included the driver's names on the decal sheet; Hershell McGriff and Ray Elliot, that you can see on the door just below the window. Anyway, this is what I've found so far.

Well, I know the trend is to bias plies (that's what I have on my 1:1 too) but I actually like those tires for this car. I think they lend a more aggressive tone that goes with the hunkered down look of the chopped top.

Well, if I were building it in 1:1 scale I might consider a modern 5-speed, but never an automatic! In 1/25 scale it really doesn't matter 'cause nobody ever looks underneath my models anyway.

But don't think about this as a car built back in the '50s or even the '60s. Hot rods like this are the hottest thing TODAY! It's very common these days for guys to look beyond the ubiquitous small block Chevy and Ford or modern EFI power plants and engines like this Olds and Cadillacs and nail head Buicks are seeing a resurgence in popularity. No, this is a model of the type of car that would be built today!

Thanks, I just hope I can pull it off. I'm lousy at that sort of work.

I think I found a good home for this engine. Here's a mock up: Whatta y'all think?

I'll take that as a compliment! Yes, got my credentials the other day. I'll be there on Sunday only.

One of my wife's favorite sayings is; "Life is a reading test." In my initial post I wrote: ". . . the intake, carbs, and alternator came from my parts box."

Quite a challenge, good looking start.

Sure, why not? I have an alternator on both of my flathead powered 1:1 cars. This model engine is destined for a street rod so the alternator is appropriate.

I just got the Revell '50 Oldsmobile and I really can't use that engine! Not in the car that is. It would be a shame to hide this beautiful engine under a closed up hood. So the '50 Olds will be built curbside with the hood glued shut and this engine will go into some sort of hoodless hot rod so it can be seen. I'm thinking maybe a '32 5-window coupe. The color is Model Master British Green Metallic and the intake, carbs, and alternator came from my parts box.

Read my original post again.

Ha ha! My mom was a stripper when I was in high school! Same thing. Drew

The decals arrived in yesterday's mail and it was a simple to job to get this thing done. I'm glad I waited because these decals were so much better than the kit decals it was worth it. Of course, the fit of the body and hood was near perfect in mock-up, but not so much after final assembly. Story of my life.

Race photographer and copywriter. Up until a year or two ago I wrote copy for a high performance parts web site similar to Summit and Jegs. Now I work free-lance from home writing web site copy. I'm also the official photographer for the UARA-STARS late model race series. This is a touring race series that holds races all over Tennessee, Virginia, North and South Carolina. http://www.motorsportsphoto.com/ http://www.uara-stars.com/

The black is Testors Model Master "Classic Black", Glenn, applied with an airbrush. The top, bed cover, and seat are bare plastic and the red insert in the seat is Model Master Flat Insignia Red.

I know exactly what you mean, Nick. I think I spent no more than about 2 hours, over the course of two days, on this kit. And it was fun!

I, and I hope several of you, have fond memories of some of the kits I built back in the '50s when I first started in this wacky hobby. And of course, nostalgia makes the those kits seem better than they really were, but we still think of them kindly today. That's certainly the case with this Monogram "Black Widow" '27 Model T hot rod. This was a very exciting kit when I was 10 or 12 years old so when the SSP reissue became available not too long ago I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. Not sure why I didn't build it right away but I have now so it's all good. I did resist the urge to "fix" things and "improve" on the details, or lack thereof. For instance, this model has no transmission at all, no drive shaft or differential. The engine lacks detail and really should be completely replaced with a better one from a more modern kit. Most of the suspension pieces that should be round are flat on one side. No, I wanted to build this model pretty much like I would've back then, just as it came out of the box. The one concession to current skills and abilities is that I did paint it with an airbrush! Those parts that are painted anyway. The ivory color you see on the top and upholstery is the bare plastic. So let's call it a box art model, for I guess that's really what it is. Now this model will take it's rightful place next to the Monogram "Green Hornet" that I have also built straight out of the box and I will continue my quest for a '32 Ford Sport Coupe kit from the same era. (One will turn up on eBay from time to time but go for big money, really big money!) Comment and critiques are always welcomed and encouraged.

I use sewing thread like Steven suggested. Either black or an off-white nylon color. Just tie in a simple knot, put a dab of CA on the knot, and trim the ends once it dries.

You know, I've thought of that but then I'd have two models of the same car, so I don't know. . . .

I remember doing that too! My parents were heavy smokers (in the '50s, who wasn't?) and the cardboard that cigarette cartons were made of was an ideal material. In fact, the interior panels of that '63 Ford above is made from that stuff!

I've had this debate with my friends several times. On the one hand, as my skills have gotten better I have the urge to upgrade some of that old low quality work 'cause I relly don't like the way they look. The other side of the argument is that poorly done model sitting there is a physical example of that improvement in skills. I have rebuilt some and have some that I will leave alone. As for the hand lettering, for those of you really young guys, (like under 40) back in the '70s if you wanted to build a race car model other than what came from the box you had no choice but to hand letter it. There was no Fred Cady, Slixx, Yesterdays, or any of the other aftermarket decal companies. This wasn't all that big a deal for me because I was doing pinstriping and lettering 1:1 scale race cars in those days. And just like vinyl killed the lettering business, aftermarket decals have made hand lettering models unnecessary. I still have a dozen or so models in my collection that are hand lettered. Here are a few: And this last one is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. I have a decal sheet to re-do this car and it's very tempting to do so. Anyway, I apologize for taking this thread off on a sidetrack.