Jim Gibbons

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I thought you fellow Muira fans would enjoy (and hate) this clip from the original '69 release of "The Italian Job." Too bad so many beautiful cars were destroyed making this movie, including an Aston Martin DB4 Drophead. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKqCtOUeXbY

Very nice; my all time favorite T/A cars and driver from that era. I saw that actual car at the Lime Rock Vintage Festival a few years ago. At lunch break, it did some demonstration laps, followed by the pace car which was a BMW M5. I was working timing and scoring in the tower, and we could hear race control on the radio telling the pace car driver to back off. That M5 was faster than the Camaro! Well, there was nearly a 40 year difference in technology!

Looking great so far; excellent job on the wheels. This is also one of my all time favorite car designs.

Gary, that was indeed, well said. If I were a sociologist, I'd call today's prevalent attitude a "Culture of Nastiness." I'm sure that someone has written a paper or book about it. I also find this place a haven from life's usual stresses, and a learning center. The talent pool here is awesome, and the advice freely given is welcomed. I'll add my thanks to all, too!

As Rob said, it's the chassis X brace for the convertible version; here's the instruction page from Drastic Plastic's site: http://public.fotki.com/drasticplasticsmcc/instruction_sheetsh/instruction_sheets/revellmonogram/55-chevy-indy-pace-/rev55chvpc01c.html#media

I saw a model on another board where the builder would add some white acrylic to clear acrylic to paint the headlights and parking lights. He added a bit more white into the clear for the parking lights to make them look more opaque. I thought the effect was pretty convincing.

Awesome diorama, Ron; yup, that '40 Ford should be there.

Well, what can I say that hasn't already been said. Incredible work. It must be a real SOB to do an alignment on the 1:1, though. I humbly bow to your abilities!

WOW, John, it looks like it was a show not to be missed. Sir Stirling will always have a heartfelt special place for me; a childhood hero along with Jim Clark. I was fortunate to receive the CMC 1/18 #722 Mercedes Benz 300SLR diecast from my brother as a birthday present last year. Back in the mid 90's, there was a great WW2 airshow at the Dutchess County Airport here in the Hudson Valley of NY. I went early one year, and at about 7:00 am, five P51-D Mustangs flew over in formation before queuing for landing. There were many other WW2 aircraft, including the B-17 paint scheme replica that starred in the movie "Memphis Belle." Vintage cars and aircraft are meant to be together!

John, I'm so envious that you made it to Goodwood! It's one of my (likely unattainable) dreams to make it there someday. At least the Lime Rock Vintage Festival is nearby. I don't think I've ever seen more than two GT40s at the same place and time.

Well said, David. My lengthy post about my '60 Sunliner didn't state that despite its problems, everything else, with the exception of the exhaust repairs (which worked, by the way,) was road legal. If it were a sedan or hardtop, I would have thought twice about putting it on the road because of the exhaust issues and the missing trunk floor; carbon monoxide poisoning would have been a factor. The crucial parts were in decent shape as far as the front end, brakes, etc. When a brake hose did fail (fortunately in a lot, and not on the highway,) I took it off the road. A year later, I had a '71 Gremlin I bought from my neighbor for $125. It was a decent and solid car, but was up there in the miles. When I had returned from my two week annual training in the Army reserves, it had a flat left front tire. I jacked it up to put the spare on, and the upper ball joint popped out of the A arm. After replacing the tire, and carefully lowering the jack while ensuring that it went back in, I drove it a very slow 1/2 mile to a friend's hardware store and parked it in the back lot for good. I sold it to an Army buddy who wanted it for parts. In retrospect, I should have fixed it, as it was fairly rust free, and had a good drivetrain. However, during that training period, I had arranged to buy a very nice '66 Fairlane wagon from one of the sergeants. I think many of us have had these types of cars; there were reasons we had them whether it was from youthful exuberance or economic necessity. Cars have changed drastically from the period of time most of these tales are from. Stricter inspection and emission laws have taken care of a lot of it, and one would be hard pressed to say that there is a completely bad car being manufactured today. The days of cars rusting the minute they came from the dealer's lot are long over, along with their related mechanical issues. It's rare to see a "mosquito killer" on the road like we used to. Superior metallurgy and other engineering factors apply. Yes, there are bad cars on the road, and it's irresponsible to keep them on it. Most of these tales are from a different era. A brand new car from the mid '60s and earlier was far more dangerous than a poorly maintained 10 year old car today. Consider the protruding conically shaped steering wheel center on a '55-'56 Chevy without seat belts for example. Ever look at a mid '50s Buick? The round dash knobs are about the right size for an eye socket. (If my memory is correct, that's how Sammy Davis, Jr. lost an eye in his Cadillac after a crash.) These tales are fun and nostalgic; we could never get away with these things today. Were we young and stupid? Sure. However, somehow we survived an era without seat belts, bicycle helmets, and all the other things that that are common today.

As we used to chant in Army basic training, "we like it, we love it, we want more of it!" Looking good!

You're right, Paul; after I had posted, I remembered a Golf Cabriolet model I built in the mid '80s that was IMAI if I recall. It was similar to this kit as far as the motorized stuff, notched tierod, shallow rear seat for batteries, etc. At the time, I sold VW, and would rotate my VW models on my desk. One I still have is the Tamiya Kamei Golf racing version, and I motorized it (if I recall, the motor was included back then.) Yup, Tamiya did it, too. That model would keep kids occupied while I did their parent's paperwork. It made for great public relations for folks walking into the showroom; kids playing with a VW model on the floor while the folks bought a new one. I used to go to a little toy store in Woodstock, NY that had neat HO scale toy cars from France. They were a lot simpler (and much cheaper)than Viking HO models, (no glass, etc.) but were well detailed, and I'd buy a bunch of the VWs and keep them in my desk to give to the kids as a gift.

All really cool, Chuck. Flip flop the colors on the F-350, and you've got a U-Haul cab. I worked for them from '78-'80, and your model bought back a lot of memories. I really dig the hearse, too.

Definitely funky; it's hard to tell from the body photo, but my first thought of the rear end (at least from the overhead photo perspective)was that it looked more like a Volvo P544. It looks like that if you wanted to build a stock version, you'd have to use a Revell Cabriolet for most of the parts. Have fun ratting it out! Edit: I'm not an expert on Empi wheels by any means, but they don't look like ones I've ever seen.

Sweet! Love the old Studebakers. Another independent we need more models of. (Moebius???)

Yup...would like to see any of the big Fords from '61-'64 done. I like Chevies, but how about some Ford and Mopar from then? At least Lindberg did some interesting Mopars and the '53 Ford. I was overjoyed when the '59 Imperial was re-released, so how about some more late '50s-early '60s Mopars? (I miss JoHan!) While I'm at it, a '55-'56 Mercury would be welcome, too. (Think of the custom possibilities.) I know I'm wandering away from the re-tool theme, but one can dream, eh? Edit: AMT's old '56 Ford retooled into a '55 (without destroying the '56 molds.) Again, I'm allowed to dream, right?!

Very cool...I used to do SCCA Solo2 autocrossing in VWs for fun, and would never be even 1/100 as good as this, but it did teach car control, and this is the extreme version. It's too easy to get a driver's license in this country. It seems to be more important to be able to parallel park and know road signs than understand the physics of driving. That's not to say that kids should learn all the things in the video, but knowing the basics of complete control would help make the highways safer.

As Mark said, the Heller/ Union 917s are difficult, but in my opinion, buildable. I've not built the Fujimi, but it sounds like a good one to start with. Too bad Tamiya never did one with engine detail.

Wow, Harry, thanks! I've been using PS since the early '90s, and am fairly well versed in the basics. I would use it to show lighting fixture proposals in an architectural space for prospective clients. Combining Autocad 3D capabilities, CorelDraw, and PS, I got some really good results. However, I would like to learn much further. This is an amazing opportunity!

This is fun stuff; Chuck, you should have used the aluminum Buick V8 - it might have held! Probably the most dangerous car in some respects was a '60 Ford Sunliner (identical to my avatar in color/ interior) that I bought in the summer of '79. It hadn't been on the road since '72 per the NYS registration and inspection stickers on it. The guy I bought it from got it from the original owners who had stored it in a barn. He was moving, and had to get rid of this restoration project. From the outside and the interior, it looked pretty good, though the red paint had faded to a chalky salmon pink. I always had a thing for the '60 Fords, so it was an impulse buy for $350. It ran pretty well, and with the exception of the top hydraulics needing attention, I excitedly towed it home with a UHaul truck and tow bar. (I worked for them summers and part-time in my college days.) The guy I bought it from did show the faults and work needed, but I didn't care. The trunk floor was a piece of plywood. If you lifted it up, you saw the top of the gas tank and pavement. The barn roof leaked, and between the years it was on the road and that, there were holes rotted in the floor pans directly beneath where the roof met the windshield headers at the extreme ends. Some sheet metal riveted in with some silicon fixed that in my eyes. The rear fenders were rotted out behind the anodized trim; fortunately, there was enough good metal at the upper trim mounting points. The dual exhausts had seen better days during the Nixon administration, but a weekly soda or beer can fix with hose clamps took care of that. The top was pretty ragged and mildewed, so I completely took it off and lowered the top frame after releasing the hydraulic pressure. A tarp covered it in the driveway, and it had vinyl upholstery, so who cares about rain? (A guy I became friends with later told me the first time he saw me was when I was driving to work on a rainy day, and he thought I was a lunatic!) A day spent with a buffer and rubbing compound, some wax, and some whitewall paint made it look pretty sharp. As time went on, though, the gremlins started up after seven off the road years. The radiator expansion tank sprayed like a lawn sprinkler, requiring numerous soldering attempts. When I replaced the leaky valve cover gaskets, it looked like someone had used one of those "engine rebuilds" in a can, as all the valve train and the inner valve covers were coated with a silver grey goo. The tranny vacuum modulator was shot, so I'd add fluid until I could afford to get to it. Those are only a few of the things that required constant attention. The gas gauge didn't work, so I made sure there was always enough in it. One day, I had enough money to fill the tank. This was during the second fuel crisis in '79. The next morning, I went to work, and ran out of gas halfway there. Someone siphoned 20 odd gallons during the night. Locking gas cap that afternoon! I drove that car clear through the end of November without a top. There were some really cold nights that I had to wear a parka to do the 12 or so mile drive home. Fortunately, the heater worked well, though. I had to take it off the road when one day at work, my future brother in law moved the car, and the brakes failed in the UHaul lot, and he hit a trailer and the lot fence. Fortunately it happened there, and not on the road. I towed it home, covered it, and left it in the lot behind my apartment. The following February, I left for Basic and Advanced Training for the Army Reserves, and when I returned in July, kids had gotten to it, and broke nearly every piece of glass, including the ones on the instrument panel. It ended up in a junkyard for parts. I did have a lot of fun with the car, though, despite its problems. I went to a drive in with it to see American Graffiti 2, and when I pulled in, nearly everyone beeped the horn and flashed their lights. There was nothing like a summer evening to go on a back road cruise to visit my friend in Woodstock. I'm still debating whether to attempt to turn my '60 Starliner model into a Sunliner, but there is a fairly large difference in door and upholstery patterns. As far as the most dangerous car to drive, though, it was my '69 Camaro. It was a solid car, but it had the base 327 2bbl, which came with those idiotic single leaf rear springs. That car had as much snap oversteer as a Corvair or old Porsche. I find that hard to believe myself, but it's true; one would think that all the weight up front, it would contribute to understeer, but I think that crappy single spring had a lot to do with it. It could also be that the rear brakes were not well equalized from the factory. You could find yourself doing a 180 if you spit out of the window. Never hit the brakes with too much pressure in rain or if deer show up in front of you! Ask me how I know. It was a great straight line cruiser, though, and ranks as one of my favorite cars. That Camaro taught me how to drive, especially in the winter.

I love it; simple, and beautifully executed. It looks like a styling mock-up that could have been done at the Ford studio.

Cato, your work has been remarkable and impressive on this kit. I've enjoyed following your progress, and overcoming its faults. It's too bad Tamiya didn't do it in this scale, as it would have "worked." I've pretty much come to the the conclusion that I'm going to pass on this kit, as my disability income is too tight to splurge on something that has as many design flaws as described. As a former engineer, I'm a bit picky. Your build has been a great journey, though, and I'm looking forward to its "Under Glass" posting.

Sweet! I was thinking of building this kit in the same colors used on yours. I'm impressed with your results, and it's the first I've seen done in that scheme. I had built a '62 TBird in coral blue. Is the Continental kit an option on the Revell version? I would like to build it without one.

This is a picture by a talented track photographer, and enviable car owner and VSCCA guy, Ed Hyman. This was taken at the Vintage Festival at Lime Rock this past Labor Day weekend. I happen to really love the old Nash Healeys. I know there have been some 1/43rd versions, but does anyone know if there were ever 1/25 versions? I'd love to build one. Dave (Karmodeler2,) and Bob Downie, I know this'd be right up each of your alleys. If there isn't one, someone needs to do it! Here's a link to a page on his website, and for those on Facebook, he has an incredible archive of photographs. Search for Ed Hyman. PM me if you need the link for FB. Ed Hyman I'm using this photograph with his permission, and I ask that any of you who might view other photos of his to respect his creative rights and not pass them on without his permission, too. I wish I could have made it this year, as I used to work timing and scoring for this event. Gotta wait for new hips, shoulder, and knees, I guess. It looks like there was a good selection of cars this year, and I had never seen this Nash Healey there before. Brizio, there were some neat vintage Alfa Romeos, too. Ed has a neat spin out photo series of one.