futurattraction

Hey, thanks Clay. I'll look forward to some pics of yours when you're ready...

Very, very nice, Wayne. The windscreen looks like it was designed for it!

Thanks Joe - it's getting tougher and tougher to work in this scale. My eyes and fingers don't always cooperate! LOL Hey Ben - Yeah, getting those roller rockers adjusted is a pain because I can't find a feeler gauge that is thin enough... Thanks for the kind words, Dave. I'm going to be doing several things on this that I've never done before and I'm sure you and others will be called upon to (hopefully) get some of the details right.

Those pieces are looking great, Chris. Looking forward to seeing some paint on them before too long...

I was able to make some progress on the X-members for the central frame rail section this week. Got them finished mid-week. Wasted some styrene before I got the fit I was looking for, for the full-length diagonal. Thanks to Chris, I've learned that it's better to keep doing it until you're happy with it rather than settle... As you can see above, I used masking tape to make sure I the pieced diagonals are straight. Sighting across them, I think it worked! LOL The main lower control arm is .050 stainless tubing with RB Motion 1504 rod end and nut where it will attach to the chassis bracket. .8MM brass nut, bolt and washers are from Scale Hardware. Lower strut mount is .100" styrene rod, drilled to accept the stainless tubing and provide a receiver for the lower strut mount. I cut tiny pieces of .080 brass to serve as spacers between the photo etch A-arm mounting tabs. The tabs slide over the .062 tubing and positively locate them. The width of the tabs matches (more or less) with the .080 OD of the rails. I'll have to do a tiny bit of gap filling, but it shouldn't be much. The front frame rails are constructed out of .063 brass tubing telescoped inside .080 brass. I tried to use a file to gnurl the .063 to make the fit a bit tighter. You can see where the scuffed area is. Hopefully I'll get another update posted before the end of the weekend... Comments welcome!

Fred - thanks for your kindness and support. Sorry for being late posting something. Been busy with life and trying to get some bench time to make some progress on this... Thanks Darryl. I'm planning to get another pic update, here shortly, but wanted to let you know I appreciate your comment. Hey Dave - Some new stuff will be coming shortly!

That's beautious!!!

That's a really sharp-looking setup you're building Wayne. It's got a nice stance and the roll bar looks just right... Lookin' great, bud!

It's as you said earlier, it's too bad that so much of your work is going to be hidden. It's too nice to cover up!

I love all of your door and window detail, John. Those door panel, in particular, are just absolutely gorgeous. It's too bad that they'll be inside the car where it's hard to truly see and appreciate them like they deserve to be.

That's off to a great start, Wayne. I'll be watchin'...

Super nice set of F/Cs, John. I think they're all very cool and turned out great...

Hey Tyrone – thanks buddy. I think it sets pretty nicely… Thanks Joe – it could easily pass for a pro streeter if there’s room under there for mufflers. LOL Al – I’ll keep plugging away at it. Thanks Jason! Appreciate it… J Hey Chris – thanks for kind words, bro. Thank you for the reminder, Mike. It’s real easy for me to let this get more serious than it deserves… Hi Leonard – thank you for the compliment. I PM’d you about how to get in touch. James – thanks for the compliment. I like your sig a bunch. Character is all-important! Thanks Ray. I’m tryin’… Wayne – I appreciate it. Got more pics I can post. Just hope I can keep up the momentum… LOL Thanks Shane. The Lord gave me a lot patience to work through this project – and I have to give Ed Fluck credit for the casting work. He’s a great guy and does excellent work.

Here is a progress shot of how the center frame section fits in the pan. Though the rail section may not be placed quite where it will be when finished, you can see how the rear, main crossmember intersects with the guides/uprights that will mount my photo etch 4-link frame brackets. I get a kick out of seeing new build mockup shots to see how they set, so here’s my requisite mockup. I’m still undecided about tires and wheels, but for the sake of having some type of rolling stock, here are Monogram Pro Stars from the ’87 Glidden T-Bird. I’m debating between them and some custom-made 15” Cragar SuperTricks with true-to-scale 14x32s. I’m sure I’ll post pics of those at some point in the future. Not quite head-on… Lower side shot.

Your Nova has turned out beautifully, Tyrone, and I'll look forward to seeing you get back on your 5-7 project.

That looks great Slusher! I don't see anything evidence of your doing your foiling with only one hand. It looks a hundred times better than anything I could do...

That is fantastic design and construction Steve. Very, very nice. I wish I had the nice machinery you have...

That intake is gorgeous, Dave. I love your runners... You've got your work cut out for you with the plumbing, but I'm sure you'll pull it off with no problem.

Thank you, all, for your thoughts, suggestions, experience with this. I'm sure, when given the time, I'll be able to adapt one (or several) of these ideas into a usable end product... Mike - My original idea had been to "mass produce" the grip, which was why I tried the O-rings. That plan obviously had some flaws. LOL Jacen - Mike's and your suggestion about sanding down a styrene wheel was the route I was starting think I'll need to take, and that's probably what I will do in the short term. If I get into larger scales, I'm not sure if there are any suitable stand-ins of the right dimensions that would work, say, for 1/16th scale. Len - If you run across anything let me know. I appreciate all of your answers. SP

Thanks Mike. I tried molding an O-ring, but the rubber wouldn't set up in the immediate proximity of the ring, so... LOL Up to that point in time, my thinking ran parallel to yours, mold an o-ring, sand resin castings of it down to an appropriate thickness, and voila, it's all good. Guess not! Your suggestion of taking a styrene wheel and sanding it down to half might be the most direct thing to try now. I truly appreciate your response. I'll try to work on that when I have time... thanks again! SP

I've done some experimentation with very limited success in making a full circle race car type steering wheel in photo etch, with a resin grip. I would like to come up with a way to make the grip of the wheel out of resin, but have the grip in two separate halves that then sandwich a circular rim of the photo etched spoke section. I'm thinking of this for 1/25th, 1/16th and maybe larger scales. Any thoughts?

That's looking really sharp, John. Super detailing and fabrication!

That's looking super, Joe! Coming together very nicely...

Dave - Thanks for your kind words. Given the quality of work you do, that is high praise... Joe - I appreciate your support. I think it can be a pretty cool build if I just stay on-task... LOL Do any of you guys who (may) have first-hand knowledge of chassis construction have any idea if a pro stock car of 1980-ish vintage would have had extra tubing under the driver side seat for mounts to attach to? It goes without saying that I've never been under any of Glidden's cars, so wish I had construction photos from way back then... Thanks for any insights you may have.

Thanks Tyrone. Maybe the next time I build one of these, I'll get brave and do a full tube chassis like you're doing now. That'd be something, but it'd be a another huge step for me... LOL