Longbox55

You might consider checking out the paint selection at your local auto parts store, particularly the Duplicolor line. They have a line of vinyl interiro paints for resoring/refinishing vinyl interior parts that works very well on styrene. It comes in several colors, inclusing 2 different blacks. The sheen of these paints will get you the correct look for vinyl or leather interior.

Why not just simply paint the letters black? There's really no need to strip the chrome, hobby enaels and laquers will stick fine to the chrome, as will most acrylics.

Super Clean is faster. Simple Green, while slower, is not as rough on your skin and will safely strip die cast. Both strip chrome about the same. You will also want to consider 91% rubbing alcohol of you get into using hobby laquers. I also use alcohol to soak parts after being in the Superclean, especially chrome parts.

I had mine taken out back when I was 16. The doctor did it under a local, that started to wear off 1/2 way through. My younger sister had heres done the same day, but she got the local AND gas. We both got a prescription for pain meds, and both took one for the 45 mile ride home. The one pill I took was the only one I took. My sister on the other hand, took all of hers, AND ALL of MINE! I will admit to having an unnatrually high pain tolerance, though.

Yes, dual 4bbls were availabe on both the '56 265 and the '57 283 (RPO 411 for both years) on all Passenger models exept for 1508 Sedan Delivery, as well as the Corvette.

Henry Fords father, William Ford, was born in County Cork Ireland. However, you are correct about the family originally being from England. As for the Chevrolet Brothers, Gaston was the only one born in France. Louis and Arthur were both born in Switzerland. Sources vary about where the family is originally from, most say Swiss, some say Swiss/French decent.

Jason and Bill both have valid points. The Testors laquer is intended to be cearcoated to get the shine. It is also somewhat soft. However, having said that, I have left it without the clear to get a specific effect, mainly a satin/flat finish, with no issues with it drying or rubbing off. Also, even though it can be shot onto bare plastic without too many ill effects, priming is definetly reccomended. I have seen issues with some brands of plastic (mainly AMT) that will show the draft lines in the finish if not primed first. This is very noticable with the metallic colors.

Other than the bed and the grille, it's pretty much identical to the 4x4 Chevy Stepside, which was originally a Monogram kit. It shares no parts with either the Wrecker kit or the Revell '76 Chevy truck kits.

Me too! I've got Cherokee on my Great Grandmothers side. Rest is Prussian, German, and Scots-Irish. Wow, we're WAAAAYYYYY of topic now!

Trust me, Brian is 100% right on the TTB. Balljoints, radius arms bushings, and center pivots all waer out early on them. Aligning isn'st too bad, if you know what you're doing, but even then they can be tricky to get in spec for camber/caster. That's due to the way the adjustment is done, using an offset bushing in the upper balljoint. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice one to get the other in. The 2wd Twin I beam sufferes from the same problems. I do like it when they come in the shop, though, 'cause the $$$$$$ start dancing in my eyes! $85/hr @ 4.5 hrs to change the balljoints @ 24% commison rate (I can do the job in about 2) plus $89 for the alignment (not including alignment bushings if needed) really goes toward making my day!

Not trying to start an argument or anyhting, but Henry Ford was Irish, and the Chevrolet brothers were Swiss (though the village they were from is on the border).

That is an incorrect statement. Most of the profits from American sales of the American produced Japanese branded vehicles actually stays in the USA. Much of it goes to keeping the plants up to date and employee benefits/wages. I have inside information on that.

No.

Actually, the Subarus sold in the US are built in Lafeyette Indiana, in the same plant complex that the Camry is built. BTW, the correct US parts content on the Camry is closer to 99%.

I'll go you one better, try it in a heated ultrasonic cleaner! Yes, I'm that crazy to actually try it, and it works very well. I used it in the 2.5 liter cleaner from HF. It worked suprisingly well.

I did use a DA sander to smooth out a bedside for a tow truck I'm working on .

I forgot about the exhaust. The exhaust isn't a very accurate peice, either. A better split manifold can be found in either the AMT '53 Corvette or the '51 Fleetline, depending on whether you want a factory split manifold or Fentons. The intake can be made stock by simply swapping the "feul injection" parts for a single bbl carb. Also, the oil filter that's molded to the intake is incorrect. The correct style filter can be found in the AMT '55 Cameo/Stepside (the parts are also still present in the '57 versions) or the new tool Revell '55 Bel Air kits.

Yes, the custom one does have a custom intake. It's suppoed to be an "electronic feul injection intake". The rest of the engine is the same as the stock truck. It is a very accurate version of the late High Pressure/Low Pump 235, and is the only correct donor 6 cylinder for converting '55-'62 Chevrolets. With a few alterations, it can also be used as a '55-'63 261, which was used in Chevrolet 2 ton trucks '55-'62, Canadian Pontiacs (not sure of years), as well as a rare option in '61-'62 3/4 and 1 ton 2wd Chevrolet pickups, '61-'63 in 4x4s.

I gave LAs a try, so far, I'm not impressed with it's paint stripping ability. It did do very well at stripping chrome off a '90s issue AMT Sportside Chevy, though.

For the price, the HF double action airbrushes are a suprisingly well made and performing peice. I find myself using it as often as my Paasche V.

For all intents and purposes, a magneto does the same job as a distributor. The main difference is how the power for the spark is produced. With a standard distributor, the power for the spark is external, provided by the vehicles charging system/battery, and is increased to the required voltage (10k-85k volts for a street car) by the coil. This system is also commonly called "battery ignition". With a magneto, the power is generated withing the unit itself. The coil is generally contained within the housing as well, though this isn't always the case (Model T Ford for example). The main advantage to using a magneto is that a battery or external charging system is not required for them to operate, which is why they are common on racing applications, especially drag racing. They also see use on aircraft and some ag equipment. They can be used with a vehicle that has a separate charging system and battery, but the two systems are completely independant of each other. A magneto ignition is turned off by grounding it out. As mentioned, a magneto ignition can be used on a street car, but they would not be considered common, as in the 1:1 world, they are somewhat expensive and a regular distributor will do the same job.

I tend to get most of my kits from Slot & Wing Hobbies in Champaign IL. They are consistantly $10 LESS than Hobby Lobby/Micheals/Hobbytown. Then there's the Scratch and Dent section of the store that gets even cheaper. Best deal I found there was a Fujimi GTR full detail kit for $15. Only thing wrong was the box was a little bit damaged.

The Burger Chef in my area is still operating, though the owner, Butch Schroeder (ours was a franchise, rather than company owned) changed the name to Schroeder's. The menu is pretty much the same, with only a few items not offered. Funny part is that there's a Hardee's only a few blocks away that is now offering the old Burger Chef menu, namely the Big Shef sandwich. BTW, those of you that are into WW2 aircraft may recognize the name. Butch is the owner of Lil' Margaret, the only known P51 photo-recon plane. http://www.mustangsmustangs.net/p-51/p51survivors/pages/44-84786.php

Great site. They cover far more than just OEM automotive colors, too. You can find codes for Fleet vehicles (say, Coca-Cola delivery trucks for example) as well as Industrial, Construction, and Agricultural equipment as well.

That's the one I was talking about. It's commonly called the "Black Tractor", due to being painted black. David Brown manufactuered it for Ferguson.