Codi

Whoa, I'm very happy to see you guys like my build, especially the fact that you can see and appreciate the engineering that went into it. Your comments have made that 18 months of building all worthwhile. At somepoint I'll get to NNL East or the Sept. Showdown in Eastern Pa. to show some of my builds. Hopefully I will get to meet some of you at show in the future. Again, my sincerest thanks!

Hi, I just posted for the first time under WIP my Twin turbo Henry J and thought I'd share my finished 33' Willys. It was an AMT kit (1/25th scale) and I attempted to scratchbuild as much as possible on the car. My goal was to do a modern interpertation of a hot rod I'd like to own. Boss 429 with a Barry Grant "badman" carb coverted to EFI. The trans is a T-56. Independent front suspension with shocks mounted inboard and IRS done up "Jag" style. The chassis was my first attempt at soldering anything. I was pleased and it was fun to work with the metal. I modified the body substantially. Removed the rear fenders, opened the trunk while removing the spare tire detent. The trunk hinges are MAS units. The entire interior, floor, trunk, trans tunnel, firewall, radiator and supports,exhaust, driveshaft, (I know I'm forgetting some items here) are all in real aluminum. The The brakes are DM and have brakebleeders too. The master cylinder and pro-valve are scratchbuilt. The grille is a DM PEtch 34' Ford. The wheels are Micro nitro with parts box knock-offs and ProTech valve stems. The windshield frame is pounded / shaped aluminum rod and the roof panel insert is scratch from aluminum. Can you tell I like aluminum? It took 2 weeks to get the entire throttle linkage fabbed and has return springs etc. I enlarged the fuel tank and made the battery box of drilled/fabbed aluminum. The entire car is wired for brakes, water, electric, fuel and oil. The dipstick works and the starter / solenoid are properly wired. The firing order is correct & the block has replicated freeze plug along with an engine ground strap. The motor mounts are modified PE pieces from the parts bin. The steering rack passes through the frame (it can be done, I researched 1:1 cars). The halibrand rear and Jag IRS comprise more than 300+ bits and pieces alone as I stopped counting once I got to 300. The rear hub carriers were fabbed from solid aluminum stock and drilled to accept the threaded nuts/bolts. There are pics of the before / after on my FOTKI page. Each RB Motion shock (6) was modified to be a threaded collar adjustable piece. The steering is poseable. This is my 2nd completed car since I took the hobby up after a 40 year sabbatical. I really wanted to stretch myself on this build. It took me 1000+ hours over a year and a half to build with a LOT of trial and error in the construction. I did all the construction by hand (I just got a mill but didn't get to use it on this car) with my trusty dremel & jewelers drill press. Comments are always welcome and thanks to all of the builders that frequent this forum as I've learned a lot since returning to the hobby from all of you. You can find many more pics of this build at this Fotki link: http://public.fotki.com/Steppenwolf56/my-first-album/

Hi Bob, I'm planning on a current promod style chassis. I did my first all brass chassis on my 33' WIllys and it turned out pretty cool. But I might do it in plastic since it's my first promod chassis and I can see they're a bit tricky to build. I'll be using some chassis parts / brackets from micronitro, dirt modeler and futurattraction. I'm going to attempt making my first piece off my new mill by doing a Mark Williams rear end. That should be an interesting learning curve. I want to pound the rear wheel tubs out of titanium sheet but I don't know if it's feasible. It's challenging to work with as it's strong as steel and is not malleable like brass or aluminum. This is the part of scratch building I like....get an idea...then research and begin experimenting on HOW to fab it. When something does turn out as planned, that's all the reward I need. Thanks again for your compliments.

Hi everyone, first i'd like to thank everyone for your kind comments. Btw, I sourced he belts are from M.A.S. I've included a pic of the car WIP that the engine will go with. I widened the rear end/fenders by 1/2" - Stretched, narrowed the front end and added twin inlet nostrils and a compresins turbo hood. The bumper is a modified AMT 49' ford piece. Lower valances were added and the top was chopped substantially although I can't remember by how much. Mini magnets secure the doors and the wheels will be Weld wheels made by micronitro. (i'll post pics of those soon). Here's a link to my FOTKI site with more on the WIP on the car overall. At somepoint (when I figure it out) I'll move this thread over to the Drag Racing section. http://public.fotki.com/Steppenwolf56/henry-j-twin-turbo/

Hi, in reply to the turbo construction, I should have done a tutorial. I took solder, chucked it in my drill and tapered it with sandpaper to get the right shape. The alum. intake flare was created with a properly sized punch placed in the end of alum tube and ligthly tapped with a hammer to get the proper flare.The impellers are old watch gears. The real challenge was making the v-band clamps on the exhaust side. They were leftover PE and drilled, polished and shaped with ScaleHardware .5mm threaded bolts/nuts to get the right effect. I made the turbo air intake clamps (the blue ones) in an equally time consuming fashion, but they are actually functional. Each one was about 90 minutes to make. I have over a year of on off building in this engine. The turbos and intake were about 2 months of fairly constant construction. I conservatively estimate about 600 hours + in the engines construction alone. I don't have a lathe but bought a mill a few months ago that I've yet to finish setting up. I love researching each and every component and then trying to replicate using my tools, materials and imagination. I decided not to add the water and electrical lines as I didn't want the engine to be overwhelmed with wires etc. After I got all the oil lines on I liked the look and decided to leave well enough alone. Sometimes less is more. My other builds feature full engine detailing down to gear shift linkage and working dipsitcks. I only build 1/25th scale at this time. But this just looked right where I left it. If there are any other specific questions you'd like me to answer, i'll do the very best I can to assist. I

Oops, sorry, I stated the headers were not plastic but in fact they are...I made them up from Plastruct and added weld lines.

Hi, This is my 2nd post as a new member of the forum. Last week I posted a WIP engine under the "show you engines" post. I completed the engine finally. I am the worlds slowest builder. I took the hobby up after a 40 year layoff a few years ago and I've only managed to complete 2 cars with 4 in various stages of completion and of course, this engine. It's a 427 small block Ford based upon the Shelby alum. block and Arias Ford Hemi heads. (a kind word to Jim at MicroNitro for his valve covers and bellhousing that he made for me and I modified/detailed for this car). I used alot of watch parts as well. The block and heads are scratch from plastic and I tried to use as much real metal, primarily aluminum, in this build. The intake, turbos, headers, lenco and most of everything on the engine plate are scratch...none of which are plastic. The engine was originally slated for a GT 40 LSR car and then I switched to a pure LSR car and finally I decided it really would be best in the Henry J that is a WIP. You can find it at my FOTKI account under Steppenwolf56. I used real titanium for the engine and trans plate in addition to the engine stand. I love the metal and it's color but it is a bear to work/shape. Just a word to the wise. Love the hobby and I'm doing things I could only dream about as a kid. I'll be happy to answer any questions and I appreciate your comments in advance. A special thanks also to RB Motion, ProTech and Scale Hardware...it woudn't be possible to build to this level of detail without their products and to Clay Kemp and Dave (we know him as comp1839) as they've been an inspiration with their builds and willingness to hellp others.

Thanks Mike. In a few days I'll have pics of it completed. The entire front engine plate and all of the ancillaries will be on. I think you'll like it. Again, thank you for your kind comment. The trans alone has over 100 bits and pieces in it.

Hi, This is my first post on the Forum...I took up the hobby after a 40 year layoff about 3 years ago. This engine is Ford 351W with Arias Hemi heads...twin turbo...lenco..mostly made of solder, aluminum, real titanium, plastic block and heads (all scratch) & a few aftermarket aluminum pieces. About 12 months building it off and on. I can provide more detail on the engine if you're interested. It's 1/25th scale btw. http://public.fotki.com/Steppenwolf56/henry-j-twin-turbo/henry-j-twin-turbo-59.html#media