Codi

Great idea Chris. I purchased those same templates many moons ago but haven't used them yet. That worked out pretty slick. Cheers, Tim

Thank you Bob & Dave....this is my last post till after Christmas. Today I completed the front hoop which lets me move onto the front suspension. For reasons of clean-up, I'll do the roof bars and pillars towards the end of the build. Another thanks to Dave (comp1839) as I've been inspired by his previous builds and have "borrowed" liberally from some of his design and fabrication ideas. I would have had no idea as to where to even begin building a chassis like this one without his insights. As challenging as the build has been, it's been infinitely more manageable thanks to him. Cheers, Tim

That IS great news Cato. Happy Holidays to you and your family! Tim

Hey Joe, I'll take a pic or two of my drill press................it's a derringer. Oh, and you've discovered the "dirty little secret" of machining. The cost of a lathe, mill, press or whatever is only the beginning....it's all the accessories you'll find yourself needing (WANTING is more like it) that can drive the cost up substantially. But once you get started, you can rationalize anything. Cheers, Tim

Thank you very much Nie and Dave. I was able to get the steering wheel brackets that support the curved bracket on the frame. Took me longer to do that than to make the actual bracket I believe. The 3 hoop pieces are done and bolted in place so I'll solder them on tomorrow so I can finish this part. After tying in some support bars I'm finally moving onto the front frame rails and suspension.......then it's back to finish up the interior, roof rails and other assorted bits and pieces. The list IS getting smaller. Merry Christmas everyone and for those that celebrate other Holidays, a Happy Holiday to you and your family as well. Tim

Thanks guys. I have to admit I really enjoy making parts such as that one.....especially when they turn out the way I had hoped. To answer the questions that Art and Scott asked: the coiled wire on the steering wheel I purchased from Parts by Parks. Like everyone else, we search for the best products for a given application....this wire met the bill perfectly I thought because of the way it winds up AND the shade of the red is just right. I simply hand wound the wire around a #75 drill bit and it holds it's shape nicely. Cheers, Tim

Thanks everyone. Today I took a slight detour and decided to make the steering wheel bracket before continuing on the front hoop. I saw a pick that Dave provided of a pro car that had a unique steering wheel bracket and I wanted to see if I could replicate it. Took the morning but it's done. I need to solder it to the upper trans tunnel rail and nickel plate. The drilled, red steering wheel shaft was removed for the pics.....I think it will really set it all off when finally assembled. Cheers, Tim

Very slick John. Looking forward to your next post already. Cheers

Your paint brings new meaning to "smooth as glass". The entire car is very sharp........cheers

You had a very productive Ludwig. I really the paint and finish on each and every one. cheers, tim

Boy is that a clean build. Congrats! tim

Dude, you continue to impress with your paint (and overall modeling) skills. That looks awesome and I like the fact you took time along the way to show how you did that. For those of us that will never be able to paint like that (myself) it at least gives us something to strive for. Thanks again John......like everyone else, I'll treat the fork humor as a bonus. Cheers, Tim

Thank you Bob. Got everything soldered up on the door posts and hinges to the chassis so next step is to give it a little more structural integrity so I'm doing the motor plate framing and will soon tie it into the front hoop. I did a simple scallop type effect on the top flange but I might go back and modify it slightly to reflect a truer scallop design. Getting the plate in place and soldered and having the holes to the motor plate line up was a bit more time consuming than I thought it would be. Two smaller curved rods have to be made and then it will all be soldered in place. Thanks for checking it out. Cheers, Tim btw, I want to thank Tyrone for his earlier descriptive on how he does HIS hinges. Even though mine look different, it was the sequencing of the steps to get a tight fit that made a difference in my opinion. It was not something I was looking forward to doing but they have really good panel gaps and they don't sag whatsoever when opening or closing. That was a great tutorial.

Thanks for the chuckle Chris. It can seem oh too easy to just shove it aside but you're back on it and moving along nicely now. THAT is the finish line coming up so no quitting now. Cheers, Tim

Great solution you came up with and thanks for the detailed description you've provided. I'm sure at some point I'll have need of it. Wouldn't know what to offer as a color for the brass frame but after having this turn out so well, I don't think that will be a challenge for you. Again, very nice and thanks for sharing with all of use. Cheers, Tim

Hey Art, THANK YOU for the tip and rendering. I'm going to get some of that tape and give it a try. Certainly looks realistic. I also like your spring exhaust pipe retainers. It's always the little details that grabs ones imagination. Cool build and glad you're sharing as you go. Cheers, Tim

You are my kind of builder Chris. I LOVE it. Cheers Tim

Great great choice John. Who doesn't like that car (rhetorical of course).......I can't wait to see what you do with this one John. Especially since you're adding more "bells and whistles" which I'm not sure what that means as you do an excellent job on all your builds of adding them. Cheers dude!

Now you're just making me mad Teresi. You do an ENTIRE build in the time it takes me to do what, make some hinges or whatever............I can't wait to see the paint (always a treat coming from you) AND the missing elephant in the room........the seat. Oh, and btw, really great job on this build as well. Congrats. tim

Cato, I'm at a loss for words as you've made it quite apparent that you have a quite serious situation you're dealing with. My personal thoughts and prayers are for you and that you'll be able to return sooner than later to your build as it's obviously something you truly enjoy. Please continue to let us know of your progress and we wish you a speedy recovery. Tim

Hey guys, thank you again for following along. A few personal replies which I've neglected recently. cheers Brad, thanks for the offer and I'll take you up on it of course. You're a genuinely "nice guy" that the hobby is lucky to have as one of its contributors. Mr. Teresi, this entire thread IS my book. but seriously, thanks for following along and commenting along the way. I DO look forward to the day when we do meet and get to sit and talk "shop" a bit. Leonard, Truly enjoying your Camaro SS build. But I have to warn you, I might be slow, but I'm going to get this build done before you finish yours if you're not careful. The engineering side is getting more "interesting" as I go along. (you can substitute "challenging" for "interesting"). Today I mocked up a few roof bars with the body on and man o' man, that got me going again. Joe, you know how to reach me and if I can ever be of assistance to you, let me know. Be careful though, that whole "tool bug" thing can get out of control and there is no known antidote. Dave Willy, thank you sir. Keep following along, there is a lot more to come. Scott, thanks. I made them out of brass T-channel. Didn't machine them as they're way too small...but my drlll press and dremels worked fine. My favorite part of scratch building is coming up with an idea / vision and then attempting to create it. When it comes to be, there's nothing more satisfying. Chris, thanks for the compliment(s) but after seeing your funny body latch system, I ain't got nothing on you. Mustang1989 (Joe) Where did I come from........well, this is only my 3rd build since my 40 year hiatus.....but its been 5 years since I came back. I just like building things. I think I have another 3 or 4 builds after this one left in me and then I'll probably hang my tools up. (which will be 10 or so years from now at the rate I build) Cheers to one and all, tim

Got the doors on. I wanted to fab some hinges that were a little bit more detailed than normal. Nothing is soldered as of yet and the top horizontal bar connecting the two door posts is only there for placement / positioning of the door posts. The top of the hoop has to be fabricated and then connected to the motor plate brackets. The tolerances of the hinges on the posts was such that they aren't glued in these pics and yet they do a good job of supporting the doors. I'll use 1/8" magnets to secure the doors but I was happy to get this far. Still a bunch of clean-up and planning to do before I continue. Cheers, tim

I'm partial to the first one. Will be interesting to see what you finally decide. cheers

Evening Cato, I'm sure I am sharing the sentiments of all on the forum that we wish you a speedy recovery. Your updates are always something special to look forward to, but please include how things are progressing for YOU personally when you're comfortable in doing so. We won't pry, but we do care. Cheers, Tim

Perfection.......admit it Dave, THAT was worth it. Can't wait to see all those gorgeous components when combined as a sub-assembly". Will knock some socks off. Cheers