W-409

Now I got the alternator brackets scratchbuilt to the Hemi. I scratchbuilt them from beer can aluminum and then I made the belt from Pro Tech Blower Belt & Pulley Set (Picture #1). From the same set I used the Blower belt pulleys and the belt of course. The bracket for the idler pulley was made out of sheet styrene and then the belt was glued on. Tomorrow's project will be painting and installing the carburetors. Hopefully I can start working with the chassis too.

Thanks Guys! Glenn: Yep it's true, every time I get new parts it's like an early Christmas. Gene: That's true, most people don't understand it. Luckily some people do, though. No problem with the thoughts, it's always nice when I can help someone. Jay: It's a pleasure to do business with Ted. He has some good stuff in stock, ordering is really painless and shipping is fast too. Here's a minor update to keep you guys interested. The hood was sanded smooth and then it was time to shoot some Filler Spray on it (That's what it said in the can). Now it looks like it will be ready for Primer after a light sanding. Tomorrow I need to spray some filler on the top side too.

That's a good looking Pontiac. Great looking paint job and neat color choice. Something a bit rarely seen, but it works well. I like the stance and the engine detailing, too. Also the paint colors on the engine look very good as the parts look like they're real metal instead of just plastic. Very nice work.

This is an interesting project even though you're not using the 409. The stance looks pretty good to me and as far as the color choices go, I'd go with black exterior and red interior. That color combo is hard to beat on these X-Frame Chevys.

Thanks Guys! It really sucks when it happens and especially when working with a model that needs to be done before the race starts. But looks like I fixed it so it wasn't Mopar's fault. So I gave the body a light sanding so that it looked a bit better and shot some more paint on it from a new spray can. It's not perfect as there is some orange peel still visible, but it looks so much better now that I'm thinking a clear coat and polish will make it look good. Now I will let it dry properly though before shooting any clear on it. Of course I need to install the Bumble Bee stripe on place too. I also worked with the engine. My order from Ted's Modeling Marketplace arrived a couple of days ago and it contained Pro Tech's Blower belt & pulley set that will be used on this build. As this is a Road Racer though, I had to install an alternator to the engine. The pulleys were cut from kit's original part and the belt will be done tomorrow, just like the alternator mount so there will be no floating alternators! I also added an electric water pump motor and installed a its wire on place. Once the engine is glued in, I can continue wiring that water pump by running the wire to the firewall. My plan for tomorrow is to install the blower belt and the pulleys on place as well. We will see if I can make it or not...

There are three on Terry Sumner's Fotki page. Looks like all of them doesn't have all pages scanned though, but I've used them on a couple of my current projects. Great source. I think it would be a good idea to scan these older Rulebooks for us model builders. http://public.fotki.com/tsumner/nhra-rulebooks/

Great job Mike! That Wheelstander turned out great, smooth paint job with clean assembly makes it look like a winner. Good work turning a not-so-good kit into a neat model.

Thanks for the reply, Chris! That makes perfectly sense and now when you said it I think I remember reading it earlier as well. This project inspires me to build something super detailed, but I know if I started that kind of project it would never get done. I'm looking forward for more updates...

Well the Charger Daytona was smooth and ready for paint. So today I screwed up the paint job. There was something wrong with the spray can as there came a couple of big lumps of paint to the surface and there's a major orange peel too. It might be recoverable when I'm gonna sand it tomorrow and replaint it with a new can of paint. Stupid Mopars .

Looking great, those 3D Printed parts are fantastic! It is looking very good otherwise as well, I'm always hoping there is an update in your Army Vega thread when I open this forum. That fuel pump looks good, it would be very interesting in 1/25 scale to have on a couple of projects. I have a question though as I might have missed this before... I think the 3D Printed parts look very good, but I'm just curios why did you draw the 3D models and have them printed when you have the same parts in styrene/resin? Especially the Blower you worked on and put lots of effort in it, looks very good... Why did you print those, as they are quite expensive I believe. I think they are looking really good but as I'm modeling on a budget I'm just wondering this.

Mine wasn't quite ready for paint yet, but another coat of Bondo and some more sanding fixed that problem. Now the body is in Primer again and so far it looks smooth. Can't say it for sure though when it's not completely dry. I also sanded the Bondos from the rear spoiler and hood and shot some Filler Spray on them. Chassis was also primed. Getting closer to paint!

This is a very cool and creative build...As always from you. I haven't posted much as I've been speechless all the time because of your building skills and cool ideas. Thanks for sharing it with us, the mock up looks excellent and I like the new body lines too.

Well it looks like it's finally time to start hacking with the Fiat Topolino. The inspiration came from a Primer CBP on TRaK which means of course that the Fiat will be left in Grey Primer. My plan is to use the kit tires, but I will paint white walls to the rear slicks. Rear wheels will be used from the AMT kit but I'm not sure what to do with the fronts. The ones in Double Dragster kit look really good, but I'm not sure if I want to use them here. I will have to look what I can come up with. The engine will be an Early Hemi with Hilborn Fuel Injection, also from the kit. I'm building this at the same time as I'm building the '55 Chevy so the progress won't be super fast. I try to work on both of these builds as much as I can though. The reason why I hadn't started the Fiat earlier was that my kit was missing the Rear Engine Mount (Part F6 on the first picture). Rather than trying to locate one of those parts somewhere, I thought I should modify something similar from one I had in my parts boxes. I had to cut some material off from the engine to get it fit, but after cutting the piece that originally goes inside the clutch cover / rear engine mount, the new part fits perfectly. I must strip the chrome plating off though.

It looks really good! Great work as always. I like the color on it and paint job looks smooth too. Nicely detailed engine is always nice to see as well. Where did you get the Cherry Bomb mufflers? I need a set of those for my '60 Impala project.

Here are the pics I promised to post earlier. I filled the spare tire bulge hole with sheet styrene and put some Bondo on to smooth the seams. Once that are is smooth, I will be adding some more styrene to get this side look similar to the other side with its raised areas (I don't know what they're called in English...).

Thanks for the picture Brad! I will try to locate one of those from somewhere, it sounds like a good stuff. Meanwhile I was sanding the hood and then mixing up some more Bondo . Now I think after I have sanded the new coat of Bondo smooth it might be the time for the "spray filler". My order from Ted's Modeling Marketplace arrived today as well. Great Thank You to you, Ted, it's a pleasure to do business with you. The package came fast and it was even delivered straight to me on my front door. Usually I have to go to the Post Office to get the package, but this one came directly to home. The parts were super nice, too! My main item was the Blower Belt & Pulley set by Pro Tech for this build and another set for my '69 Dodge Charger Daytona in Cannonball Run CBP. For this one I can't install them until the engine and body are both glued on place. Otherwise I can't fit the engine on place as it is relatively tight fit.

Yep. That's another reason why it is so interesting as we could not build a OOB model with just a couple of added details or some speed parts. I don't know what car would be my entry, but a crusty and dusty '57 Chevy Bel Air might be a good basis for the project if this Sleeperball was next year's theme. It would be a good ultimate Sleeper with either a Turbocharged or Blown SBC...

Yep that '57 Ford is really interesting. I gotta get a couple of those. I'm thinking about doing one Factory Stock, another one as Police Car and I think I need the third kit too to build a Surf Wagon! Now everyone is really happy about the Ford. I bet once it comes out the complaining will begin. I gotta get my popcorns ready. Glad to see a '59 Cadillac HT also reissued. That is a perfect starting point for a Mild Custom project.

That's very nicely built Road Runner. Especially the paint job and detailing look spectacular. I know how hard gloss black is to get right but here it is done perfectly. Very nice work even though the wheels, tires and stance are way out of my taste.

Incredible work as always. Starting from a DieCast makes it even harder to build (IMO) and looks like you nailed it. Very high quality work and a good looking car too.

I agree! This would be very, very interesting.

Thanks Guys! James: I want to say thanks for pointing out my error. This is what happens when you just translate the word in your head without knowing if it is just that for sure. Gene: Model putty is much easier to sand which is a good thing. But I prefer Bondo because it doesn't shrink like some of the model putties do (For example Green Putty does shrink) so it will hide the seams etc much better. I think that's the main reason, otherwise it's just as easy to use even though the Bondo I'm using needs to be mixed up. That's really easy though and doesn't take much time either. Brad: Yep I'd like to see it too. That would be an interesting item to try, so a picture would help locating one tube of those from somewhere.

Welcome! As Rob said I wouldn't worry about your English skills and I'm sure they will get better as well in here. That's what happened when I joined here, too. Good looking builds you have there, too!

Hey Dan, could you in any way send the Super Stock rules for me, too? I have some older rules and today's rules of course but not anything from around 1968. I know something, but a complete Rulebook from the Super Stock section would be really helpful.

Thanks Guys! Yep it's true everyone has their own building techniques and for someone a technique that works for me might not work. Oh well, looks like I've hit a language barrier in here. We call it Spray Filler or Filler Primer here in Finland, but I guess there might be another word for it in English. A Small update. I just put the first coat of Bondo to the underside of the hood. Once it's dry, I will sand it smooth and it probably will need some more Bondo. I also shot some white Primer on the dashboard. Hopefully I can get it painted blue really soon.