foghorn62

Thought you folks might be interested in this one. TS

Hi Mike! This thing just keeps getting more and more awesome!!! The body looks gorgeous! I will be interested in seeing how the HOC candy takes to the bare brass. I’ve never tried that before. Your engine looks killer sitting in the frame too! I noticed your statement about reluctance to using solder as a filler, because you don’t want to risk undoing work that you have already put so much time into. Have you ever tried TIX Solder?. It melts at 275 degrees F. I don’t know what you normally use, but the stuff that I usually use melts at more like 360 degrees F or higher. I have a variable temp soldering iron, that I turn down to 275 degrees when I want to use solder as a filler, and I don’t have any problem with melting other solder points. Just a thought. https://www.micromark.com/Tix-Solder-Pkg-of-20-Three-Inch-Sticks Regards, Tim Slesak

Looking good Francis! You mention using aluminum nuts on the brass carriage bolts. Do the nuts just slip over the bolts and then glue in place, or are they smaller so the softer aluminum threads while twisting over the bolts? TCOTTC

YES YES YES! Roy, I am excited to see that you are reaching out to this extremely talented builder!! If you like this build, you will be amazed at what he is working on now!! Francis, I don’t know if you are familiar with Roy, or his fine magazine yet, but if not, you owe it to yourself to order a few copies. Roy is one talented builder himself, and he obviously puts the same passion into his magazine. Bravo to all!!! Tim Slesak

Forty pages and counting, and no end in sight! I am thoroughly convinced that there is literally no part, however small that you are not capable of duplicating to perfection in scale. I’ll be honest, the D100 is not my favorite subject to build to this level of intricacy, yet anyone who appreciates the fine precision of a Swiss watch will be mesmerized when examining your accomplishments here! I do look forward to seeing the completed model, but in some ways, I hope it never ends. Every time I think you couldn’t possibly amaze me more, you prove me wrong! So I do have one technical question. How did you create the rod ends on the clutch linkage? I know RB Motion sells them, and I have made some of my own, but somehow I suspect that once again you have taken the smallest parts to another level. tcottc

So come to think of it, I believe we could add both Richard Carroll, and Bruce Owen to this list as well.

Another name that comes to mind is Dave Berry. Last time I saw Dave was at NNL #5? In about 1985 where he was showing his latest build, the amazing 90% brass Indy car which he went on to win best engineered, and Best In Show at GSL with soon after. I totally lost contact with Dave after that, but one day I happened to notice an issue of Kit Car Magazine with a pic of a gorgeous silver Porsche Speedster on the cover. When I open to the full center spread, there was Dave’s smiling face as the owner builder. If anyone has any idea how to contact Dave Berry, I sure would love to hear it. Dave was an inspiration for me just as much as Richard Carroll when it comes to building with brass!

I’d like to add Alan Cozby to the list. One of the early founders of the NNL (or at least part of the responsibility), Alan has for years been an owner and builder of very fine 1/1s, and is also a very prolific builder and collector of scale autos as well. I believe Alan currently has a very nice 58 Impala, and a tasty 32 3 window in his garage.

I have seen some very nicely built versions of this kit in some of the FB groups, but I can’t remember by who. Also, there is this very nicely painted ant built custom version that was displayed at GSL a few years ago. Again, I don’t know who the builder is. Maybe someone here will recognize it and chime in. I’d love to give credit, where credit is due. TS

Glad to see you at it Mike! Progress is fantastic! The paints look awesome! Very real! TS

Thanks Tim! I learned it from you.

I just don’t know how you do it Francis. Your scratch built parts always look so perfectly precise whether milled on your super machines, or glued up from pieces cut with an X-Acto0 knife and sanded. I can understand using precision tools like you have, why the parts look so fabulous, but even the hand shaped parts look just as good.. Well done! TCOTTC

Francis, these hinges are pure jewelry, but then so is everything else that you have made. I know a little about making hinges like these, because recently I tried and failed several times before giving up. Now I see yours, and I wonder if you are actually only three inches tall. And scratch made rivets!!! So let me ask, what thickness brass stock did you use, and what tool did you use to cut out the various parts. There are compound curves there that are beyond my own comprehension, and I can’t envision a Sherline tool that would make them so precisely, without CNC. Thanks, TCOTTC

Well, I see some awesome concepts here, so I guess I’ll throw mine in, even though it heads in a somewhat different direction. Starting with the AMT 59 ElCamino, it features scratch built brass chassis and suspensions, and mid mounted 3D printed LS3.

I can see why these would be a headache Mike. Getting one right, not so tough, but then seven more exactly the same... This is one (or eight) situation where larger scale is not necessarily in your favor. Looking good so far, as is the entire build!

Yes, we are!

I don’t agree Francis. The more I look at these jewels, the more I like the pleasing, and uncluttered simplicity of the rocker covers this way. The Ardun logo would typically be in between the two groups of plugs, but since there are three groups, there would have to be two logos in order to be balanced, and that would look too cluttered in my opinion. No, I am happy that the design flaw has been corrected, and I prefer to keep it this way. This build is meant to be a “speedster”, with a simple and uncluttered honest design. This engine fits the look, just the way it is. TS

You’re too kind Francis! I will make every attempt to live up to this new bar height though. Whether or not I actually achieve that level will remain to be seen. Now that I have my new valve covers, I have reignited my enthusiasm, reopened the box containing this project, and brought it out in the open for resumption of progress. I have a couple of details to finish on my distraction build, and then I am anxious to get back to this one.

That they are, but I’m afraid I can’t take credit for them. A very good friend to whom I will be forever indebted made them for me. The challenge for me now will be to up my game on the rest of the build enough so they don’t appear out of place. TS

Probably not, if I had created them, they would most certainly resemble more of the costume jewelry rather than the fine version that they are.

Trevor, after giving your remarks careful consideration, and a generous offer from a friend, I have decided to instal reworked valve covers to be more correct as you have pointed out. What do you think of these? The tradeoff of course is the loss of the Arden script, but these look soooo much better in my eyes, while being much more reflective of a real working engine. Of course, the Arden head on a Lincoln V-12 flathead is a fantasy configuration, since Arden never actually made heads for this engine, but one must consider the true feasibility even if it is fantasy. In my builds, I don’t build replicas of anything in particular, but rather prefer to focus on my own designs and engineering while striving to achieve believability. Thank you Trevor for your observations and support, in bringing this design flaw to my attention. TS

Thank you very much Chaz!

I found that the key for a nice finish is to have as perfect a piece as possible. One thing that I noticed is that even the tiniest imperfections or scratches will be highlighted once it is plated. Make your usual perfect piece, and buff it to a high shine, and you will be successful. It also helps to have a place on the piece that gets good electrical connection, but is hidden from view on the finished part once installed, to attach the alligator clip wile plating. If you have to contact the piece on your surface area, you can move the clip, and brush plate under where it was, but I think you will get a small smudge, or shadow that knowing you, you won’t be happy with. If you can hide the place where the clip was attached, you’ll be much better off. Professional platers use copper plate as a filler when prepping for chrome . They often will copper plate several times, and buff thoroughly each time until the surface is perfect. Then they plate with nickel, and finally Chrome. I think the copy chrome is actually a nickel product, and not really chrome at all, since in true chrome plating, it is the nickel plate that gives the bright shine, and the chrome is actually a clear product that gives it depth and protection. TCOTTC

What I actually have is the Plug N Plate Nickel kit like you have, but my wife bought me two bottles of the Copy Chrome solution, so I tried that using the power unit, and wand from the nickel kit. I was not successful at first, when I attempted to use the solution as a dip, but when I tried it using the electrode with a little gauze wrapped around it as wand to brush the chrome on, it worked. Just like a nice paint job, I found that preparation is the key. The cleaner, and shinier, and smoother your part is, the better it will look after playing. This was my third attempt on this bumper, but it was not difficult to strip and start over. It’s still not perfect, but better than the plastic one from the kit tree. TCOTTC

I totally agree with Joe’s comments. The word “precision” comes to mind in every aspect of this model. I have to believe there is not more than a couple thousandths tolerance anywhere in this build. BTW, those bolts are called “carriage bolts). TCOTTC