Mooneyzs

Shapeways makes their parts with a rapid prototype machine. It is basically a 3D printer. TDR is a company that does have some model parts drawn up and they sell thru Shapeways. If you go over to the Drag racing and big boys sections you will see many of us drag car builders using the TDR parts made by shapeways. There is a '69 Camaro Pro Mod body that they sell there to. Comp1839 who builds 1/8th scale drag cars worked very close with a designer and the guys at TDR to get the body produced. It is an awesome piece of work too. I have personally bought parts from them and have been happy with what I have got. I will be buying more in the future as well. I would say they probably aren't for the beginner modeler because they require a little work as far as cleaning up. the accuracy is just amazing on these. I could post some pics of some of the parts I have bought. just let me know. here is a link to TDR: https://sites.google.com/site/tdrinnovations/

Hey Fellas....thanks for all of the kind words on my progress. this has been fun doing the gaskets. it is one of these things that not everyone will see unless you take a good look when it's put together but I know its there. in my opinion its a very small detail to take it to that next level. John...I have some big shoes to fill and all of you guys have set the bar high. Jim you have read my mind on the copper head gaskets. I started making templates was even going to add the cylinder holes until i messed them up and have decided that i may leave that small detail out (the holes in the gasket) since you wont see them when the heads are on. But who knows, knowing me I will make a second set with the holes in them lol. these head gaskets will be made from some K&S Phosphorus Bronze 0.006" thick material and it looks just like the copper gaskets. I can't wait to get home from work and finish these up.

Hello All... Sorry I haven't posted much in the past week but I sat down at the bench last night and did a little work. Took pics but didn't have time to post last night. Made a little progress... not much but pretty cool what i worked on. Gonna get back on work on it more after posting these pics. I started out by drilling the oil pan for the RB Motion fitting, can't wait to get the fittings painted: I decided that I would start working on the oil pan gasket next. I started out with a 3x5 index card. I then laid the oil pan on it and traced the shape with a pencil. Then I took my xacto knife and cut it out: I then laid the oil pan back onto the gasket and took my pin vise and drilled the holes into the gasket: Next I cut the center section of the gasket out with my xacto: After that I decided to color it with a black Sharpie for a base before painting it a tan color: Once I painted the tan color on, I took flat black and did a little bit of a dry brush tap on it to try and create a cork looking pattern. I probably would of been better off if i would of misted flat black from a spray can from a distance to create this look, but happy with the outcome: I then had to set it on the oil pan to check it out:

Great looking bodies Mike! Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing more on these cars

Nice work on this build so far. It is looking great!!

Nice work John, it is coming along great.

Bill... looking killer man. you just keep out doing yourself on this build. Awesome work on the rear end. With the Alclad are you spraying their clear gloss over it after you chromed it?

John....this is going to be another one of your killer builds bud!! I will be following along on this journey. You will have this done in 3 weeks right... ... . you are off to a heck of a start and it looks great so far. love your work.

Danno.... maybe I am the one thats nuts putting every bolt and nut in this build that I can haha.

Thanks everyone. Feels great that i am making progress. now I cant wait to get some paint on the engine but I am trying to get all of the fab work done on it first since i am handling it quite a bit with all i am doing on it Scott... I almost hate to have to paint the headers because of how happy i was with the way they turned out.

Jeff... Looking good man and great to see you back on this project. keep up the great work.

Well Guys I was able to get some more bench time in and got the rest of Bell housing done with the bolts and drilling holes. now my next step is to move back to the front motor mounts and redo those now. Here are a few more pics..... Here is the Mid-Plate after I transfer drilled the hole in them. Don't mind that there are a few extra holes there, I sorta didn't start out in the right spot last night and the reason why I stopped there and fixed it tonight : After getting the holes drilled for the bell housing, It came to me I might as well bolt the plate up to the back of the block, so I added three 00-90 bolts to the back to mount it to the block: After that I ended up cutting a couple of pockets in the bell housing which you don't see that would clear the bolt heads. Then it was time to put the Nut & Stud in place to test fit it:. I am very pleased with the results:

Richard.... sorry to make you wait so long but got some pics to show ya Joe.... Thanks Joe.... you are right sometimes a break to clear your head gives you new fuel in the tank to get past something that you couldn't see at first. There has been quite a bit of planning with this build figuring out what I am gonna do as well as what colors will be used. Well guys I have a few quick shots to show you before I go sit down at the bench and get more done on this. These pics were from last night that I didn't get to post until now. will let the pics do the talking now. I started out by drilling and tapping holes in the block to attach the heads and the manifold. I am using 00-90 size bolts. It's a great way to mock things up since I seem to put it together and take it apart quite a bit at this point. I was getting tired of taping it and taking off, taping it together again, taking the tape back off : I then got the holes transfer drilled in to the mid plate and placed bolts in to do a fit check. But before i did that I had to drill out the holes in the tabs and let me tell you it wasn't fun trying to drill them with just the drill bit and being so close to the frame rails. It must of took me at least an hour or more just messing with these holes : After that it was time to make my little engine jig to hold the engine at the height that I want it to sit in the chassis. This will help me drill the holes in the mid plate as well as get it lined up with the block and the bell housing: Here is a couple of shots of the engine sitting on the Jig: Here I have set the mid-plate in place with the hardware. Then I stuck the jig in between the frame rails, set the engine down on it. I realized that I needed to open the hole up on the center of the mid plate to allow the tubing that I am using to line up the block, bell housing and lenco tranny. I made it free floating so that I could get the holes drilled in the proper place. This was one of those things I kept thinking about and for a little while I wasn't sure how I was gonna do it and it sorta just click with me this week and I was like that is how I should do it. The light bulb went off in my head . I was like its about time hahaha : Well I am off to the bench to go transfer drill these holes and do some other work to the engine. I should have some more pics a little later for everyone.

Danny... thank you for the kind words. I am trying to do this car justice. I feel honored by everyone here saying how nice this build is so far. I am teying to do my best on it and it will be my best build i have done to date with the most detail too. Scott... you know it totally depends on my mood when building. I listen to all kind of music from classic rock, rock, country, alternative, some hip hop. well guys I did make some progress last night but I wasnt able to get the pics posted last nifht. I was too tired when I quit at Midnight...lol. but I did get my jig made forbthe.engine to.sit where i want it too. I got the mid plate hole drilled to mount to the.chassis and started drilling the.hole to moint the motor tobthe midplate. cant wait to finish that up when I get home. I will post pics later.

Chuck... It's great that you are back. You are one heck of a modeler to lose here and you do some killer work.

I would sure love to go and even bring my Funny Car because it would be done for sure. hopefully I will be able to make it.

Greg... You are right Mate with the distractions you don't get as much done. Thanks for the kind words on this, I sure hope that it can be a show stopper. I can't wait to get some of this engine block painted. I finally received my filter/regulator for my air compressor earlier this week. Now I can hopefully get some things painted. well it wasn't stopping me from using it but I wanted to be able to turn the pressure down lower than 40 psi since a good deal of these engine parts will be painted with Alclad and should be shot at a lower pressure. David.... yes this is getting to the good stuff. I really enjoy tinkering on the engines. Robert at RB Motion does some killer work on his parts and his A/N fittings are the best.

Danno... you are right man about being addicted to this hobby and and my love of building drag cars Mike.... Thank you for following along. Richard... Thanks man, Hoping to have some updates tomorrow. Mark.... Thank you... I have a lot more planned to give this 426 even more attention , There are little details that I can't wait to do on it they will be subtle but will add to the detail factor. The bell housing has worked out great for me and liked the fact that it didn't have the bolt heads since I was planning on using aftermarket bolts on it. The only thing I will need to do is the flange on the lenco tranny from TDR was just a tad bigger than the flat on the bell housing. So I am planning on adding a thin strip of styrene to build the bell housing up in that area and then I will take some bondo and blend it right in. That sounds great on the Valve covers. I don't think I will be totally ready for them in 2 weeks so no rush for them on your end because it won't hold me up at all. I was willing to wait for them anyway as there is a lot of other things I could work on in the mean time. Well guys I have no update for today. I had a few things I had to do when I got off work and this evening I have been spending time cleaning up my hobby room and closet with all of my unbuilt kits going thru them deciding which ones I would like to keep and which I don't think I will ever build. I still have more straightening up to do on my bench but once I get it all cleaned up I will post pics of the room. Hoping to have it all cleaned up by this weekend. And since I didn't get to work on this build tonight I think I will skip cleaning tomorrow and work on the build.... I find lately that I am doing more of my building at my kitchen table so I can watch TV while building but I get tired of moving the stuff back and forth all the time. I also think once I get back to building in the hobby room that I will probably get a lot more done if I am working and listening to the radio . Alright guys until tomorrow.

Joe... Killer update Bro!! Those rear wheels look awesome with the red on the bead locks. the decals turned out great on them as well. Very nice job on these. That motor from Paul Rowe looks very nice too. I can't wait to see what you have in store for your next update. Keep on doing what you are doing because it is looking great!

Yes... Thank you Scott for the update on the parts you are going to be doing for us 1/16th guys. I know as soon as you get these parts done I will be placing an order for sure. I totally can't wait for the butterfly steering wheels as well as the brake and parachute levers. Perfect timing for you to be doing these since I need them for my Funny Car build. I really like Bart's idea as well for the the 1/16th scale ruler. The little ruler is totally sweet too. I can't wait til these parts are made. Thank you Scott for all of your hard work and effort being put into these for all of us model builders.

Tyrone... You are hitting this one out of the park man. This is sure looking great. That chassis is shaping up and the front end is looking great. nice job on hanging the doors. I can't wait to see the next update.

This build turned out Beautiful. What a killer job. the whole thing is just clean. it was a pleasure watching this one come together. Very nice job. can't wait to see what you have instore for your next build.

Thanks Brad and Dave.... you know I have been tempted to call in sick so I can work more on this. I am letting work getin the way. haha guess i need to work on priorties huh lol . I can't wait to get home so I can jump back on this build and get more done.

Clay... Looking forward to your next update on these floor pans. Can't wait to see what you have in store for us. I know it's gonna be good.

Greg... I am eagerly waiting on some updates Mate. Looking forward to seeing more progress.