Biscuitbuilder

Hmm, no opening doors, you say? Well I tried, tried to the tune of several doors, several quarter-panels, but either they were imprecise (having to do all the work around the hinges by hand (very exacting stuff), or could not get them to close precisely, and last, just no good way of securing the hinges where they needed to go. So, Plan B, building a cab with doors fixed in position. So now, a cab is finally coming together: Another look: Biscuitbuilder

Real woodies, through the 1930's, tended to be built from birch plywood, with either maple or ash framing (the raised wooden parts of the bodies). Both of these woods are hardwood, and as such, both are very fine-grained, the grain almost invisible once you stand back say, 10' or so. Beginning in the late 1930's, some body companies doing woodie wagon bodies, began using Honduran mahogany for the plywood panels, but retained the lighter hardwoods of either maple or ash for framing--again, both were still very fine-grained, the grain not really all that visible except when viewing up close. Ford, starting in late 1940, started using Southern Gumwood, a reddish wood, as the surface ply on the plywood panels they were making at Ironwood, MI, but still with ash framing. Gumwood, in addition to its reddish color, does have a strong 'banding' of colors along the grain, but the ash still is very fine in grain. Hope this helps! Biscuitbuilder

Virtually all closed body cars prior to 1936 used a fabric top insert, over wooden bows, simply because of two factors: First, mild sheet steel didn't become available until about 1927-28, the generally used carbon steel sheet metal not being capable of the deep draws needed for making a one-piece all steel "turret top". Second, the very squarish, upright styling reflected not only the tastes of the day, but also the fact that almost all car bodies prior to about 1930 or so were built with a composite structure, ash wood framing, with sheet metal skin over that. It's much easier and cheaper to keep a body square and upright when framing in wood. Those fabric inserts were supported by a series of crossbows, almost always wood (although the "main bow" connecting the B-posts of the body tended to be encased in stamped steel channel, for strength). Over the bows, a piece of common, ordinary "chicken wire" (wire mesh, woven to about 1" hexagonal mesh) was laid over that, and a layer or two of cotton batting (not horsehair) was then laid on for padding (this cotton batting is virtually the same as a cotton mattress pad, as you might have on your bed). The surround of the opening was fitted with wood tacking strips below the sheet metal. The top material was stretched over all this, and fixed in place by roof tacks, which look very much like carpet tacks, but are about an inch long, driven through holes punched around the edge of the opening in the sheet metal, into the wood. A molding of some sort was always used, early on those were metal cap strips, later roofs used a soft PVC or rubber molding, which served as both trim, and as a seal to keep rain water from leaking in around the edges (sometimes that worked, sometimes not). Biscuitbuilder

..was built in the time frame 1953-54, based on the very first Kurtis 500A Indy roadster (made famous by Bill Vukovich Sr, the Fuel Injection Special). Basically, they were 500A chassis, widened out into 2 seaters. Biscuitbuilder

Yes, All the official vehicles, for the press, and all the emergency trucks on the Speedway will be Chevrolet. Biscuitbuilder

Are you sure about that? Every Mopar I've had since 1990 has had the underside of the body painted the same color as the lower body, a result of robotic painting. One Grand Voyager I owned had a nicer, shinier paintjob on the underside, than on the outside! Biscuitbuilder

Several! Perhaps two of the nicest ones out there are in the AMT/Ertl '62 Thunderbird convertible kit, and don't discount the old AMT/Lindberg '34 Ford pickup either! That kit has a very nicely done 390 with triple carbs, stock aircleaner, and stock appearing exhaust manifolds to boot. Biscuitbuilder

The '36-'48 Lincoln Zephyr V12 (bear in mind that Lincoln also produced a much larger V12 for their super-luxurious KB series through 1939) wasn't a bad engine, but it wasn't the greatest engine out there either. Basically, the Lincoln Zephyr was a car meant to compete with the likes of Buick, Chrysler, and the lesser Packards. From the get-go in 1936, Lincoln Zephyr was a mix of innovation as well as very traditional Ford features, most notably the transverse springs and torque tube drive. LZ, just as with Fords, hung on to mechanical brakes to the bitter end, adopting hydraulics in 1939. The monobloc V12 was produced as a cost-saving measure, using the same basic technologies of the flathead Ford V8, things such as the mushroom-foot intake and exhaust valves, through-the-water-jacket exhaust porting, and the unique-to-Ford Motor Company camshaft driven distributor. Also unique to LZ was its full unit body construction, built along the lines of a truss-bridge, but with far more successful streamlining than the very radical Chrysler Airflows 1935-38. Chrysler sold hundreds of Airflows, while Lincoln sold tens of thousands of Zephyrs. The original Zephyrs got their basic design from John Tjaarda, then at Briggs Body Company in Detroit (who had supplied 10's of thousands of Ford bodies. The V12 engine put out from 115-130hp over its production run, not at all bad for the times--but it suffers, some say, from a distinctive lack of torque while being called upon to pull a 4000+ car (Ford was building 10's of thousands of Fords, at around 2500lbs with 85hp by 1936, With some TLC and good speed equipment, it could put out upwards of 200hp, although its rotating/reciprocating mass ruled out the higher rpms available from the Ford V8, LZ's 3-speed toploader transmissions were very popular with early rodders, as it is a close-ratio, fully synchronized unit. Hope some of these factoids help out@ Biscuitbuilder

For the same reason Ford flathead V8's have only three exhaust runners. On these engines, the intake and exhaust valves are in the "high" or inner side of the cylinder banks, with the exhaust ports extending to the low side of each bank of cylinders, passing between the cylinder bores, through the water jacket (made for a pretty efficient water heater too!). The exhaust ports in the middle of each bank are siamesed, 2 into 1, while those at the ends of the block are for a single cylinder only. The V8 has but two cylinders in the middle of each cylinder bank, while the V12 has 4 that have to have this "siamesed" exhaust porting. Hope this helps! Biscuitbuilder

Rick, I have used nothing but Dial bar soap and a toothbrush for washing down model bodies for years, like forever. Trouble with many dishwashing liquids is that they contain silicones (Cleans right down to the shine, remember?) which is the mortal enemy of paint jobs. I simply scrub the model body this way, under running water, then blow the body shell dry with my compressor. Biscuitbuilder

Andy, you are probably right--I was working off the "top of my head" on the Allard--as for the Springfield Rolls, you are correct, my typing is bad--should have proofread it, because I also knew that the only Phantoms to come out of Springfield were Phantom I's! Now thinking of breaking the offending fingers! Biscuitbuilder

The Lincoln Zephyr V12, being pretty much a flathead Ford V8 with 4 more mistakes added on (not my line, borrowed from somewhere in my car literature) had its fuel pump mounted the same as on the Ford V8, atop the engine block, at the rear, between the cylinder heads--perfect location for causing vapor lock, BTW. Since this is a hot rod engine, why not just put an electric fuel pump back at the gas tank? Biscuitbuilder

Allards came with a variety of engines, frankly. The J2 Allard you show here came without engine, you stuffed in whatever your heart desired--in most cases, flathead Fords got the call, but by say, 1950-51, when used Cadillac OHV V8's (Caddy introduced that engine in 1949), a number of them got re-engined. As for the Chrysler Hemi's, the exhaust ports themselves were more or less evenly spaced down the side of the heads, but Chrysler designers used various different manifolds in production, the "siamesed" manifold being used probably for cost reasons. The same would have been true for the DeSoto Firedome and the Dodge Red Ram. Also, the large roadster in your pic there is a Rolls, Phantom II to be exact, and probably one built by Rolls Royce of America Ltd., which had their factory in Springfield MA from the early 20's to about 1933. That indicates that the body is probably one built by Brewster, which coachbuilder had been bought up by Rolls to provide body shells. It's not the Henley roadster of Monogram kit fame though--different lines of the rear of the body show me that. Biscuitbuilder

....the Model Car Chat room where Vince hangs out is PSAB Model Car Chat, here's the URL: http://client.sigmachat.com/sc.php?id=12510 The chat room is Java-based, so you probably will need to go to Java's website, download the latest version of their free software. The room is open 24/7, but most generally, not much happens until about 8pm Eastern Time. Biscuitbuilder

zebm, Not too sure about that! Both my parents worked in what were considered "essential" jobs during WW-II, Mother in a company working in seed corn development, and Dad in a quasi-governmental agricultural financing operation (Farm Credit System), and both could get tires as needed, under the rationing system in place during the war. Even a private citizen could purchase rationed tires during the war, but the need had to be proven--generally speaking, that meant being employed in an essential occupation (farming, defense plant, medical doctor, dentist or other health care professional, transportation industry--those sorts of things). The tires issued under these circumstances carried little or no fancy logo's on them, although the tire manufacturer's name appeared on the sidewalls, along with the synthetic rubber grade (S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4), and of course, no whitewalls were being made. Tire recapping came into its own during the war, and those worked tolerably well with the strict wartime National speed limit, of just 35mph (Imagine, going on a trip of any distance, at that speed today!). But even for those fortunate enough to have been able to purchase new tires, they were required to turn in the old casings, and of course, they had to have the appropriate documentation indicating their eligibility. The big problem wasn't so much some huge use of tires and other rubber products by the Military (although the Army sure used its share, and then some) but that at the beginning of hostilities, virtually all rubber products in the US were being made with natural latex rubber, which had to come from various tropical countries, primarily in SE Asia, which with the attack on Pearl Harbor and the invasion of the Phillipines became completely inaccessible. Even the importation of replacement rubber supplies from South America and Africa became problematic, due to the immense strain on maritime shipping due to the war in Europe, not to mention submarine attacks in both the north and south Atlantic. By 1944, however, synthetic rubber was in full production, and tires for civilian vehicles were in greater supply once more. but tire rationing continued until at least the spring of 1945. It was due mostly to the tight supply of rubber for making tires that caused gasoline rationing across the US, although in the mid-Atlantic states and New England, given that the bulk of their petroleum supplies were delivered by coastal tankers (the "Little Inch pipeline" from TX and OK had yet to be completed to the East Coast). Biscuitbuilder

Oh, I dunno, Andy! I think you had to be there to appreciate most cars of the 50's frankly. When the '58 cars were unveiled, I was a 13-yr old 8th grader, car crazy just like most of my friends then. Call me moved by glitz, uplifted by glamor, if you will, but I saw in those cars a lot to like (perhaps though, the '58 Lincolns were a bit too bizarre for even me to take though). Chrysler was perhaps the exception for '58, beyond Plymouth, none of their other cars did much for me--a mix of last year's styling, with some ill-thought updating, such as the mess they made of that gorgeous Desoto hairpin front bumper. 58 introductions were at the height of Dad and my "tradition" back then, of making the rounds of all the new car dealerships, checking out the new cars, me grabbing one of every brochure that I could lay my hands on (wish I'd been smart enough to save all those!). Dad, by then the ripe old age of 54, had a pretty jaundiced eye for most new cars (after all, he knew all the old ones by the shape of their radiator shells!), where I drank in each and every one. Time, of course, has a way of maturing one's viewpoints, and with cars that is no exception. Much of what I was enamored with back then, wore somewhat (even very) thin, over the intervening years, only now can I look back and see some of the artistry of stylists back then. Biscuitbuilder

Kong built magneto ignition setups for the Zephyr V12, according to my 1960 Bell Auto Parts catalog. Kong's ignition was mounted horizontally, in the stock position, same as his flathead V8 units. Biscuitbuilder

Yup, Most often, at least all of the wooden cab trucks I've seen that were either original finishes, or restorations, the interior of the cabs were painted, mostly in lighter colors. I'm planning on dark green for the exterior of the cab, the bed, and hood, fenders, running boards, and radiator shell will be gloss black, lettering will probably be white, drop-shaded in red. Interior surfaces will be a light green. Biscuitbuilder

Nope! Plans are to actually paint the wood, as almost all truck cabs were back then--after all, they were working vehicles, not show trucks. But, my rationale for doing all the wood in real wood? Simple! That way, even with sanding sealer first, the wood grain will show through slightly, letting you know that it's not just a collection of bits of Evegreen! 8) Biscuitbuilder

....here's a pic of the 1:1 truck from which the excellent drawings I have were done. It's in the Hayes Truck Museum, in Woodland, California, about 10 miles up the I-5 from Sacramento--very worth a visit if you are in the area! Biscuitbuilder

Uh, Bill! Now don't go giving me that line!!!! I know you, and I know your exquisite work far too well! (but thanks for the encouragement, my friend!) Biscuitbuilder

Finally, after more than one try on these panels, here is one set of side panels, all done, door hinged: Biscuitbuilder

All Lincoln Zephyr V12's have their distributors of the same design as pre-48 Ford flathead distributors, look very much the same, and in the same place, on the front of the block, just above the cam gear. Biscuitbuilder

Billy, You might want to go back and re-read that history a bit more carefully. Robert McNamara wasn't the president of Ford, quite yet, when Edsel was introduced--Ernest Breech, another one of the WW-II "Whiz Kids" was still in the driver's seat, but reporting directly, and very subserviently to the Ford brothers, Henry II, Benson, and William Clay (father of the current Chairman of Ford). I've always thought of the Edsel in the words used on a popular history of Studebaker--"Less than they promised". Ford's forthcoming E-car (the Edsel name hadn't been decided on yet), was talked up by Ford Motor Company in press releases, "focus groups" (Yup, Edsel came about with the consulting of focus groups, something that didn't catch on with the other makers until decades later). Rumors abounded in the years 55-57, of a new and unique car from Ford, and as '56 drew into '57, those rumors got pretty hot and heavy. Trouble was, Ford Motor Company was trying to get into a "car for every pocketbook", as was the case at both Chrysler and General Motors. However, when Edsel hit the stands in the fall of 1957, the country was just into the freefall that became known as the "Eisenhower Recession", which while historically short in duration, cut steeply into car sales, mostly in the mid-price range (as recessions and the Great Depression historically have done), leaving too many makes competing for too few customers. All the mid-price cars suffered, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Chrysler, DeSoto, top level Dodges. Hudson and Nash also were fatally wounded by the sales decline in this level of cars. Odd, gorpy styling certainly hurt Edsel, but that could also be said across town at GM. Chrysler was in pain, trying to rectify the build-quality and severe rusting problems that plagued the gorgeous "Forward Look" 57's--and Nash & Hudson were just plain UGLY! So, styling probably didn't alone kill Edsel. Robert McNamara stepped into the position of Vice President, in charge of product and product development just as the 58 Edsel was unveiled. He had to notice the considerable disappointment dealers had, as the cars sat, gathering dust on new car lots all over the place. If nothing else, McNamara was a very competent "bean counter" (and nothing endemically wrong with that, IMHO). But before McNamara could say, or do anything about Edsel, the decisions had been made to blend the '59 Edsel into the Mercury line, with one body shared with Mercury, and greatly simplified styling. But, when sales numbers barely reach half what they were projected to be, the handwriting was on the wall. By midyear '59, Edsel sales simply didn't even justify the expenses of advertising, marketing and such. L-E-M (Lincoln, Edsel and Mercury)dealers weren't ordering them, regardless of promotional efforts from the company. So, the make just sat there, and by the time 1960 models had been in production for 4 months, the numbers just weren't there, not at all. McNamara did what any competent executive would (and should!) have done, by that time he was President of Ford--convince the Chairman of the Board to let the car go. What is interesting though, is that the 1960 Comet was conceived as an Edsel compact--with a bit of last minute facelifting, Comet emerged as a Mercury, and fared far better in the marketplace than any full-sized Edsel could have done. Basically, Edsel was the wrong idea at the wrong time, born of both false pride at Ford, and of faulty market research, little more than that. But still, it has its place, and actually the Pacer and Citations were pretty darned good looking cars for their day. Biscuitbuilder

Try re-downloading the software again--that should work! Biscuitbuilder