Harry P.

I agree, back when "stock car racing" actually involved stock cars (well, slightly modified stock cars), that was way cool. It was great to see real Fords, Chevies, Dodges, etc. go head to head. Now that was real racing, because the cars were different, and winning the race actually meant something to the winning make/model and their manufacturer as far as reputation and bragging rights. Now all we can say is "driver so-and-so won"... the car is irrelevant, because they're all the same!!! NASCAR sure ain't was it used to be. Too bad...

You can call me Professor!

You got it backwards! The plural of cactus is cacti...

Somebody sent me photos and a write-up on a black "69 Charger Pro-touring model, but there's no name anywhere. The files are dated January 27, 2009. I checked my email in box, can't find the original message. If you're the guy, let me know who you are... maybe it'll run in the magazine!

WOW! Never seen a green Viper before!

Nice work so far! Did you do the renderings too?

I also went to the DupliColor website and clicked "Where to Buy"... basically you get a link to every auto parts store chain. I agree, DC is great... nice colors, goes on nice and smooth (great spray can nozzle!), dries fast, and compared to "model paints", CHEAP! I'm lucky, my local Murray's Discount Auto has dozens and dozens of colors... GM, Ford, Chrysler, and all the imports, too. And they have the smaller cans PLUS big 12 ouncers of selected colors (mostly truck colors). Maybe if you made a list of colors you want, the local auto parts store will order it for you.

Seattle's a pretty big city... there HAS to be several auto parts store chains. NAPA, Pep Boys, Murray's, Carquest, etc. Even Walmart has Duplicolor paints, but probably fewer colors than any auto parts store.

You better believe we're catching up! It hasn't been easy... it's a long story that you guys would be bored to hear, but we're busting our butts here to get you guys the mag on time from now on. The April issue should be arriving in a few weeks, and the May/June issue is already in production. Unfortunately there's nothing that can be done on our end to control the post office's delivery schedule...

Going by past experience, I'd guess I'll get mine in about 2 weeks!!!

Gotta admit, I've never heard THAT ONE before...

Real or model? The answer: MODEL!

Chevy published the "1957 Chevrolet Stock Car Competition Guide", outlining the SUGGESTED changes to make in order to create a race-ready car, but who knows how literally SEDCO (or anyone else, for that matter) followed those suggestions? All of the back-room, under the table wheeling and dealing that took place back then in the "wild and wooly" days of NASCAR will probably never be fully explained!

Feel free to disagree with me any time! That's what a forum is all about... give and take.

I've been doing a little research tonight. Seems like SEDCO was really a group of GM Corporate backed Atlanta Chevy dealers (nudge nudge, wink wink) who took stock black and white 150s and turned them into NASCAR racecars. Many 150s raced in NASCAR that year, but only the black and white SEDCO-prepped cars became known as "Black Widows". Nobody knows how many were actually made, but all seem to agree that no more than 10 were made, and none, as far as anyone knows, still exist today.

GM didn't ship Black Widows to anyone. The car became a Black Widow only after SEDCO made their modifications to a stock 150 and turned it into a "Black Widow". So a kit that supposedly represents a "Black Widow" has to represent the car as modified by SEDCO, because until SEDCO did their thing, it wasn't a "Black Widow".

Five people joined on the first day, Feb. 16, 2006: Gregg, mackinac359, Jairus, robertburns and larrygre. I guess who's technically the "first" member would depend on what time that day they joined, but those 5 are the original, first day members.

Check this out: http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/books/1...Guide/index.htm

Only a handful of "real" Black Widows were built. Any current "Black Widows" are recreations. The consensus is that no original ones still exist. There was a booklet called "1957 Chevrolet Stock Car Competition Guide" released back in the 50s that had all the technical data and photos of the Black Widow. Not sure how available this booklet is today, but it might be worth a google or two.

Yes, you're absolutely right on that point. Consumers should vote with their wallets. The problem is, not all who buy this kit will have read about its shortcomings in online forums before they lay down their cash. Quite a few people will buy this kit blind, get it home, open it up and wonder where all the missing BW parts are. Is that really fair to the consumer? I wonder how many of these kits would sell if the box top contained a simple consumer alert: "Note-some of the parts necessary to build an accurate replica of a Black Widow are NOT included in this kit. The builder must create these missing parts himself."

Why? Why were some "compromises', like omitting several BW-specific parts that are VERY obvious on the car, necessary? Are you saying that including a handful of accurate, BW-specific parts in this kit was somehow unfeasible? If so, I'd love to hear your explanation.

Whoa! I misread the title there...

Pretty cool! Now if only they could figure out a way to do compound curves in paper...

That looks fantastic! Nobody builds a cleaner model than you...

From the Department of corrections: apparently it's not the 6 lug wheels that are missing, but the 5 lug wheels for the stock 150 version. Although if you use the hubcaps, it's a non-issue.