Nitrozilla

Thanks for the reminder BUDDY !!!!! Tim, construction is my passion and I might do a little more on the nose. Here's what's up y'all. I just found out the house is close to closing. I should sign for everything on Monday or Tuesday, then get keys on Wednesday or Thursday. That being the case, it gives me time to try something I was considering on the nose. I'm going to fill it with a flat blank, like the Harrell Camaro. Then I'll grind off the back of the headlight assembly, leaving only the outer grill rings to reattach to the nose blank. I'll also make some headlight covers. In the recesses will be two script decals that say "Dodge Fever", again as a tribute to Jim Keeler's model of the same name. I guess you could say I'm closing the house and the nose. Might as well get to it this weekend before I have to start packing. Awwwwww maaaaaan, I gotta' start packing ??????? Thanks for the reminder BUDDY !!!!!!

Thanks a lot Paul. So, I woke up this morning to the pitter patter of little feet. Was it children? Nope. It was my Minion chasing around a bunch of monkeys holding "Thumbs Up" signs. Thanks as always Bob. That's a good recommendation Jason. I've got some Billy Gooche Stardust Charger decals from his daughter. They look great. However, if I changed from Charlie at this point, there would be several angry pm's in my box at the end of the day. I'm going to do a double check, but I think it's ready for putty slinging action. Going to try Evercoat for the first time after some Mad Scientist experiments with the hardener.

I'm on your side Ray. I'm liking this more and more. Especially in light of recent changes. Thanks for the pic Glenn. I never saw that one either. I need to get out more often. Surprised it didn't come up in my search. You all know I've been up to my uh-huh in alligators with this home buy, but I can see the end is near. It's been inspected and bug hunted, final price determined with one minor hiccup. Interest rates went up. My deal started at 3.75 and it just bumped up over 4 before my deal was locked. We should hopefully close next week. I'll post pics after; don't wanna' jinx it. Exciting stuff on the body mod front. And rear. I've reclaimed the rear fender wells and raised the rear stance. I sectioned the rear tinwork bulkhead where it hinges at the frame. Then I added a 5/16th strip that lowered the hinge brackets, ergo raising the rear end of the body. When I saw how much rear fender well clearance it gave me, that's when I decided to fill them and redo the original shape. The pics are fresh off the Dremel and I'll do final sand / shape next. Then maybe some putty; who knows? I know when we last spoke it was ready for putty, but if I've said it once, I've said it more than once, my builds take on a life of their own. As much as I would like to think I'm the Alpha Builder in my howse, it just ain't so. The Gods of Styrene are dominating my feeble attempts. Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the pics.

Thanks for thinking about me Chris. So far, so bueno on the house. I have a home in escrow after missing "The Perfect Home", due to a cash deal vs. my VA loan. The inspector and the bug guy came yesterday to do their thing. Should be another week or so before I close. If I have to give the finance people one more piece of ancient paperwork from the 80's I'll scream. It sure is slowing down production on the Super Bee body, but I should have an update today on it.

.....and THAT'S what makes all of the grief worth while Tim. That is knock down, drag out beautious my friend. That bracket makes the whole thing work. I take it the hand is fully recovered? It's working like one of these:

I'm dying here!!! Oxygen, I need oxygen. Tooooo Freaking Phunny. Normally I would ask why I didn't get included as like a mascot or sumthin'. However, I'm gonna' let it slide this time. Oh, right. The model. I should prolly say something nice about the model. HEY CHRIS!!! NICE MODEL!!!!!!!! Are we good now? (Breathe Zilla, breathe.)

Niko, glad to hear you're coming to the Colonies. I know you're looking for hobby shops, but don't forget to check out the NHRA Museum while you're here. I'll bet you American dollars that you'll see at least 5 cars you'll want to build when you get back home.

I like that color on that body. Best wishes for all to go well with the clear.

Impressive progress Rob. I'm behind you 100% on the shaker. It's a risky mod, but I think it will pay off big in the end. Also, I apologize for the motor mount comment. That was a poorly worded joke. I look forward to the next update.

Funny you should mention that Paul. As you already know from your research on your Dart build, the chute is mounted low I'm going to install a magnet there for interchangeable open and closed chute packs. .That's a Bobthehobbyguy brainchild from earlier in the build. He suggested it to Chris for the Vega and I "adopted" the idea. That means it will have a removable open chute, which is also an adopted idea from Darryl Raper aka Mr Twister. I noticed the Super Bee model above has a full plate on the front. With bumperettes. Ahhhhh, the good ol' daze. Thanks for looking out for me pal.

Now that's pretty slick Bob. Is the right shorter than the left? If so, is it because of the I-Beam set up? Or am I hallucinating?

Thanks for the thumbs up Bob. Unfortunately, mine will not be yellow. But it will, more than likely, have yellow pinstriping. Hey kiddies !! I did a Googlization for "Super Bee Funny Car" and lookie what I found. There were no 1:1 Funnies. Funny, right? I have never seen or heard of this. Anyone build it or have it stashed away?

Tim, Michael and Vince, thank you for your overwhelming support for the Super Bee. It's really growing on me. There is a hidden agenda on my choice here as well. I wanted to pay homage to Jim Keeler's Dodge Fever. Granted, his is a one-of-a-kind achievement that has been replicated and imitated and even caricatured using a Studebaker. I took the easy way out by channeling, not wedging the thing. Maybe it's not a coincidence that I accidentally met him at the San Jose NNL, only to actually get to talk to him at the GSL. But I digest. Let's get to today's progress, shall we? I started the fender wells by elongating them towards the front to accomodate the longer wheelbase. Next I used ultra thin sheet plastic as a backing for what will be the new inserts. After some trial and error, (I love grinding with my Dremel), the blanks were glued in place. My reason for this mod is two-fold because I brought the body down as far as it's going to go in front on the stance, but it's not low enough to look Evil, Wicked, Mean & Nasty. I'm creating the illusion by lowering the top of the fender well. In other words, the top of the tire was visible before. This will fix it. After it dries, I'll draw the shape of the original well, then get to final size with the aforementioned Dremel. Did I ever mention why I bought a Dremel? The salesman told me it was guaranteed not to rust, bust or collect dust nor would it leak, squeak, or creek for a week. I was sold man. It recently celebrated it's 15th birthday. Enjoy the pics

What an awesome ride Tyrone. NAILED IT !!!!!!!!! Also loving that last pic. Blow it up and frame that one.

I empathize with you on the bars. I have played with CF rod before and it is a total pain. They look great Tim. What really looks cool is the caster and the wheel you made for it. Top notch man. Any time you want to vent, we're here for you.

Everything is back together and the chrome is ready to strip. Next will come the front fender wells, then I'll be ready for putty and endless hours of boring, tedious, mind numbing, never ending, ceaseless, Dear Benevolent Spiritual Super Being Kill Me Now,..........sanding. Almost forgot, still need to make blank inserts to cover the grilles. Besides, they're just so deep that it can't be very aerodynamic. See y'all in a month or so. Or maybe tomorrow. Possibly later.

Well worth the wait for Jim's stuff Brad. Glad to see you back on this. Hope everything is okay with the Scout too.

The Challenger SHOULD have been the Charger and no amount of stripes is gonna fix that. Hmphhhhh, four door Charger. Kill me, kill me now........

Michael, Chris, Gene, my builds have always taken on a life of their own. Seriously, it's like the model is saying, "Hey, Dummy, wrong way. Let me show you how I'm supposed to be done. There, better, right?" So I cave in, and go back about my business. I still have some tweaks like narrowing the tinwork, getting the angle right on the headlight assembly, fitting the front roll pan and making sure the hood gap is right. I'm maintaining all panel lines as they were when the NHRA still cared that it looked stock enough to recognize for "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday." Pics soon.

Jason, I agree the headers are going to have you talking to yourself. So glad you decided to do it right. Is this what they mean by, "Going Commando?"

Tim, the glass is half full. That's usually about the time I knock it over. Bob & Gene, thank you much guys. I've put the body and all of the accessories back together. They need to dry overnight before final fitment and putty, but it's looking very promising. The large pieces you see on the trunk and roof are the inserts I was referring to earlier.

I dunno' Tim. This is at least three times you've mentioned these imaginary rods of yours without a single piece of evidence to back it up. Did you watch a YouTube video of somebody else drilling out rods??? HUH??? HMMmmm???? I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt for now because I've seen you post pics before. Please don't make me post a pic of a Minion drilling out that rod for you. Okay, done being silly. Can't wait for the next update my friend. Edit: Perfect. As soon as I posted this I got an ad for Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem at Universal Studios. Too funny.

Sweet looking decals Bernard. The rest of the build looks great too. I will be experimenting with printing decals soon too. Shudder

Chris, congratulations brother. This is the first working body latch I've ever seen. I coulda' sworn I saw a Minion hiding behind the fuel pump. Also kudos on the video. Veeeery nice.

Looking excellent Bob. Ya' gotta' roll before you can run.