Chi-Town Hustler

Love any Jenkins cars, especially a well done one like this. Really dig the duct tape on the “ Grump Lump” hood! Yes, The original front spoiler on this car was humongous and was thought to help downforce on the front end, but Grump found that by cutting it down to a small profile, he actually gained either e.t. or higher top end mph. And Grump being Grump, you always knew the man’s first and foremost motivation was e.t. and performance. Great build, can tell you studied the subject,

That’s a lovely build. Nothing brightens my day like a well done and detailed ProStocker or FC from the 70’s or 80’s era. That’s when they still looked like actual identifiable cars! Great job.

Super clean and precise building/paint technique on this, have always loved Tony Nancy’s cars and you are certainly doing one of his classics real scale justice. Have to say though, those 2 oil filters are just begging for a couple Fram decals!....That would really make them “pop” even though they are under the body work! Love to see little minutiae like that since you are doing such a beautiful job on this build!

Also, in addition to the blow dryer suggestion and the Microsol, sometimes small relief cuts in the decal can also be of help depending on how irregular the surface shape is you are trying to cover. By “cuts”, I dont mean large, long ones, but just enough small ones with a new, sharp Xacto in the right areas to help the decal relax a bit after applying Microsol. That and a lot of gentle pushing down with the tip of a semi-wet Q-Tip. This being said, its never a bad idea to have a second sheet of the same decal if you need to do some minor patchwork by cutting out a small swatch of said stripe to help matters along in tough areas. That way youre not trying to get one large decal to conform to a smaller irregular area like a hood scoop like in the pic. I’ve used that technique sucessfully before on several occasions and have gotten good results. You just want to avoid too much doubling of decals as that will make (say for example), a white stripe twice as white!...Or “brighter” if you get my drift. And of course plenty of patience with this technique will usually produce good results. As with just about anything, experiments and sometimes failures will produce positive experience that can be used in the future. Good Luck!

I swear, those pics look like Prudhomme simply pulled up the real car and parked it there for a Car Craft photo shoot....You practically can't tell the difference.... Amazing....

I have followed this epic with profound awe since the beginning, mostly as a silent observer, occasionally commenting, but mostly just enjoying the achievement and also relating to the bumps in the long road to the destination. As a fellow modeller it has been a total pleasure to witness and a true learning experience, a lot of which I can apply to my own modeling. No superlatives can be added that have not already been said. Congrats Chris on the completion of an amazing journey. Enjoyed every minute of it. Look forward to your next project.

Absolutely drop-dead Gorgeous build. The old "Canuck" would be proud!! Long live AA Dale!!

Excellent job on this classic Revell kit, nice clean build, nice paintwork....Love the color on the blower, looks very close to the real thing.... Farkonas, Coil & Minnick, Chi-Town legends!!....Never saw a Chi-Town Hustler I didn't love!!

Chris; I won't even bother to attempt to add any more superlatives to what's already been said hundreds of times in hundreds of ways....But I've watched this build with amazement for several years now and this creation is beyond a mere "model" and truly into the realm of valuable art....That might sound a bit over the top to some but I'd insure that darned thing if I owned it, it's irreplaceable!!

Chris; Glad you remembered to leave enough room between the plug wires for the valve cover breathers!! Although that may seem like a little thing, I've had many "Doh!!" moments with little things like that over the years....Always gotta be thinkin' 4 steps ahead!! Fantastic job on the ignition to say the least, this literally can pass for 1 to 1.

For anyone interested in Mopars, check out either the Allpar.com website or Hamtramck-Historical.com....When I saw Ed Poplawski's name on this thread, I thought it looked familiar and recognized it from the Allpar site....He was among those who were right in the thick of it during the Mopar heyday of the 60's & 70's and has some fascinating stories to tell....Great stuff!!

Wow Chris, just checked in on this build after a few months away....That is some INSANE detailing on the fuel lines/barrel valve....All I can say is you must have 20/20 hawk vision and an incredibly steady set of nerves in your hands!!....I can get fairly detailed, but I would go BLIND attempting what you are doing....Incredible to say the least!! LH

Hopefully that's the case, we'll have to wait and see. Thanks for the input guys, it sheds a bit more light on the situation....

Hi Jim; Thanks much for your reply....Given the circumstances of his health situation, I certainly don't want to be too pushy about something as insignificant as model parts....I was just wondering if anyone else on this board knew of their status or if I should contact PayPal to try and get a refund if they were shut down....Believe me, I'd much rather have that motor because it looked killer, so I think I'll just be patient and wait....Hopefully someone at SMBC will contact me via e-mail and at least confirm the order....Thanks Again....If anyone else has any info, please feel free to respond. Lee

First off, thanks much for the info, Very sorry to hear this....Obviously, building models is hardly a priority in light of this gentleman's health situation....Hope he gets well and recovers soon....He certainly produces some fine looking quality workmanship. But I guess I'm still unsure as to whether they are still currently attempting to fill orders as the last post in that thread was dated Nov. 2015....Could anyone else shed more light?.... Are they still doing business as of June/July 2016?

To anyone who can provide info; A little over a week ago I was searching out "resin pro stock motor kits" online and came across the Scale Models By Chris (SMBC) website and found a real nice 350 pro stock motor kit....So I went ahead and placed an order via PayPal....It looks as if PayPal then withdrew payment from my bank account....Later in the day, as I went back to the site's homepage, a notice came up that said SMBC was temporarily closed down due to health related issues. I have sent a few e-mails to both SMBC and Detroit Resins Group (their parent company??) asking about status of this order and if they are still open for business but have gotten no response as yet....As I searched further online, I came across a few modeling message boards that indicated that the owner of SMBC was going thru an unfortunate serious health issue....So I'm not sure if I may have placed an order thru an old, outdated link or something....Was hoping anyone on this forum might know what the status of this company is??....Are they still in business??....Again, so far I have not received any replies to the e-mails I sent them. Any info anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Absolutely SUPERB build of a historic drag car....Jenkins' short stint with a hemi and he made that thing hum too!....The Grump would be proud!!

Just when you think it can't possibly get any better....IT DOES!!!! Chris, you keep inching the bar upward....I cannot wait to see you paint/decal and clear that body....Once it's done, would be really cool to have Prudhomme himself sign the inside in an inconspicuous area....On second thought, I wouldn't want anyone getting near that thing with a marker!!

There are no more superlatives that haven't already been said....Wow, incredible to finally see the body mocked-up on the chassis....What a mean-ass stance that thing has!!....Just like the 1:1 car did.... Chris, when this is all over and finished, I think you need about a month-long vacation somewhere!!....And don't forget to take out an insurance rider on this thing....Seriously!!

Yikes Chris!!....Been awhile since I checked up on your progress....STUNNING workmanship to say the least....I think the stencil idea on the rears is a good one....Can you elaborate a bit on what your technique would be to achieve that faded, worn "GOODYEAR" logo so it is not a bright white or yellow color and has more of a "used" look??....Assuming that's what you would be going for....I always use decals on tires and aside from clearing them w/ flat clearcoat, it's hard to get them to look like anything other than bright white decals....Thanks and keep it going!!

Chris; The bummer about not being able to take pics of the actual car is, I'd bet if you bumped into Rick Hendrick himself and caught him on a good day when he wasn't swamped with work, he'd probably say "Sure, go ahead, snap away!!"....Unfortunately you have to go through 20 layers of his organization to make a request like that and his people have probably been trained to shut down such requests when they come up as there's likely thousands of people who'd like to get pics of his cars and facility....Would be great to know someone on the inside.... On the otherhand, maybe it's better you don't have pics because then you'd REALLY be goin' nuts trying to get all the details correct, haha!!

Haaa, that is a really cool modeling topic!!....I have the Grumpy book also and it claims he had that thing for over 30 years!!! Have no idea what color the interior would have been but you might want to consider modeling the front seat with a dozen or so cigar burns !!! Seeing how much the Grump loved his stogies, I'd bet in the 30 years of running around Berwyn and Malvern with it, he had to have dropped a few lit ones on the seat or floor!!!

Stan; That's a nifty little project and your chassis work looks great.... Always loved small block Vegas as drag cars....Heck, if I was doing it, I'd be tempted to drop a 331 smallblock w/ dual Holleys in it, stretch the wheel wells, paint it white and call it "Grumpy's Toy"!!!....Always loved his Vegas!!

My gosh Chris, that tin work is a contest winner all by itself!!....Love how the fix came out on the area that cracked...Like it never even happened... I don't envy you on those rivets tho', that would make my eyes bleed installing all those but I'm sure the final result will be worth the effort....Out of curiosity, how are you planning to secure the rivets, do you use a little CA or some other kind of adhesive?? Lee

Chris; A mildy humorous thought came to me relative to gasser59's post above about getting it done; When it finally does get completed, you might want to consider taking out a small insurance policy on this thing given all the blood, sweat and $$$ you've invested in her!!.... , Heck, people insure their artwork all the time!! Glad to see the additional stiffener reinforcement at the joints, good call....