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Very clean detailing on the body trim and the engine. Nice to see the Wide Whites for a change.

I think that with a little work on the front bumper you could easily emulate the "California" bumper. The kits bumper has some relief lines to represent the less desirable front bumper used primarily where streets were heavily salted. You could sand down the kits bumper and fill the lines with filler, but I would recommend just stripping the entire bumper and after making the changes to the bumper use your favorite chroming method on the bumper.

Sorry to hear of your loss. We'll hold you and your family in our prayers.

I like the "shadow box" license plate mounting.

I happened to be at the Winter Nationals when Ford showed up with the Thunderbolts and I think that memory is why I prefer the '64 model. I think either one would work as it would just depend on your personal preference. The Revell kit makes it pretty simple to build a '64 Drag Car, but this kit could just as easily be used to build a '63 body into a Drag Car.

Have you tried using Bare-Metal Foil on small engine parts ? I have done Valve Covers and Air Cleaner tops along with other small parts. I use the Tamiya pointed cotton tips to work the foil around the parts details. I start in the middle of the part and slowly work the foil into the parts smaller details with the pointed cotton tips. The pointed tips work great in getting the foil to conform to the shape of just about anything.

Kurt, your picture is making me laugh at myself right now. Not ten minuets ago this was me on our back deck trying to encourage the Geese that they should stay on the lake and off our grass. Mine is a '177 so it just makes life a little uncomfortable for them, but they're slow learners.

I thought that might of been the case. I have built several of these kits through the years but I'm more of a street machine type builder so I don't build but a hand full of these then.

From the top shot picture it looks as if the builder was trying to replicate the '58 Ford 4-light tail lamps. At one time AMT offered a lot of different front and rear body treatments and with this it looks as if some may of even come from other AMT kits of the time. I still have some of those style decals in my stash from back then, I'm sur they would be unusable today. Nice save here.

Looks neat. When that model first came out and the 1:1 was first on the streets the Maroon color was very popular. Besides the nice detailing of trim in your restoration the color choice makes it look richer to me anyway.

This looks like an old AMT annual. They used to have plastic inserts to glue into the chassis plate. These would have two sets of holes, one for stock and one for lowering the ride height. I agree the photos are out of focus but I'd grab this in a second since it looks like a relatively easy restoration project or just clean it up and display it as a blast from the past.

I always glue the wheels to the axels for a couple of reasons. #1 So they can be positioned parallel to each other. #2 So the model will not roll of the shelve or display area. Now something I learned reading the information provided by others is that I've been building for years and never thought of "Flat Spotting" the tires to simulate a tire under the weight of a real car. This could also compensate for any slight difference in ride height of the model. Makes perfect sense, just wonder why I never thought of it. Thank you.

I would be interested depending on which ones you have. I now have the Revell Mustang LX from a couple of years ago that had the CHP option. The '48 Ford coupe has some generic type decals and I have a set I bought from Chimneyville Hobbies some time ago. I'm trying to replicate a '50's era CHP car using the '50 Oldsmobile as a basis. I've only been able to find one old b@w photo on line and it isn't the best quality photo anyway. If you have something you think would look better yes I would be interested and thank you for your offer.

That's a great deal.

If you told me it was a custom Ford Mustang or Torino I wouldn't argue that. Who ever did this rebody of a Firebird did a beautiful job with the body and to my untrained eye it looks like it could be a Ford product.

For what it's worth my new '74 Chevrolet CC1500 short step side with the 454 engine was painted a red/orange color.

If you're looking at using either a Cream color or the Butternut Yellow I would lean toward the Yellow. This is a personal opinion based on the color being light enough to not shout at you but has enough contrast to show the models body lines. One point that many forget with a loaded question such as this is that not everyone sees a color the same way. By that I mean the shade or depth of color will look different to different people. So what body style and era are you building since that can change a color decision also ?

I use a Dremel Multi Pro model #395, I have had it so long I don't even remember when I bought it but I know it had to be over 20 years ago. The operating range on the side of the unit shows 8000 to 35000 RPM. The rheostat has numbers from zero to 10. Working on plastic models I usually run it no more than 3 and usually around the 1 or 2 mark. At close to 35000 RPM I've cut wood moldings for a flooring job in our house. This thing will get wood smoking pretty good if that's what you want.

I also like the Flames and the paint work also. Nice interior details. I haven't seen anyone use the Royal Lancer Hub Caps for a while, very keeping with the them of the build.

The thing to remember with BJ or any other Auction of this nature is that they didn't build these cars and they don't inspect them either. The Lots are owned by individuals or Dealers and are on consignment for the Auction company to sell. BJ and the others collect a commission from both the seller and the buyer to pay for the dog and pony show in TV for fun and profit. They tell the bidders up front that the sales are AS-IS and it's up to the buyer to do a visual inspection prior to bidding. I sold a pick up that I had fixed up, I had bought it new, a few years ago at the Mecum Auction here in KC. The Dealer from Nebraska that bought it got a screaming deal on it considering what it was. But I still got more than any locals here would pay for it and a little more than the Dealer where we had ordered our new car was willing to give us in trade. There are some deals to be had in my opinion but you still have to look for signs that the consigner isn't just putting lip stick on a pig.

Great body work on this. Makes you wonder why Mopar didn't offer something like that back then. It can be hard to make the transition between the rear window and a sedan tail light and bumper look right but you were able to make it look factory. I like how you have the body and trim looking like a Hi Performance edition of a wagon with after market wheels and tires. The rear wind deflectors add to the OEM look of the body.

This looks great, especially when you consider it's humble beginnings. The surface rust looks perfect. The Blanket Seat cover looks right here.

I use a section of soft foam rubber that is 12" long and 5" wide for just this sort of work. The bottom side is slightly wider for stability and the top side has two valleys running length wise so that the model can be positioned and held in place by the texture of the foam. This works great when applying Decals or foiling body trim. I think I got it from Micro parts catalog years ago. Inexpensive and you just bang it on your pants leg to dislodge anything clinging to it. I like your engineering on this and it serves the same purpose and cost next to nothing in parts.

Maybe a Flat Black or with a very light Semi Gloss top coat since were talking about a model car with all the trim removed. What little light that is reflected just hints to the body lines.

Your link to the first spray booth is what I have been using for a few years. I would like a larger one but in reality it isn't needed. The booth would be a wise investment for many reasons not the least of which is getting the fumes out of your kitchen. Most booths that I have seen have some sort of exhaust hose to vent the fumes away. In your second link I have to wonder what the manufacture was thinking of with the exhaust pointed at the user. My suggestion would be to use a length of exhaust hose that is designed for a cloths dryer. I use a flexible metal type hose and use the ring type clamps to secure it to the Spray Booth. This should be easily found at any home building supply type store. With the type of paint you mentioned that you're using a small face mask covering your nose and mouth may be acceptable. Getting into some of the more exotic automotive based paint then you should really think about a more professional breathing system. You really should have some sort of lung protection no matter what you're spraying.