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Beautiful paint work. I like your idea of making it a road car. One thing I noticed is the Hood opening lines. In the area of the front wheel arches the line disappears. I don't know enough about this body to know how the Hood lines would run, but this stood out as soon as I looked at it.

Looking back over the pictures I can now see that the wheels are a 6 spoke design. I also agree with Snake45 on the grill treatment. So many miss that feature and I like that you did it correctly. I personally like the lower ride height.

I like the way you did the paint fades on the side of the body.

Some states have a "three strikes your out" rule. This would give the repeat offender a substantial time behind bars. Not a bad idea in my opinion.

With just the two small holes in the hood you could use some scraps of spruce from the kit and fill the holes with that. With a very little body filler and a little sanding it should work perfectly.

These are nice kits. The decals and the carpet look as if they have seen high humidity conditions. The bottom half of the box would feel a little softer than the average card board if that is so.

I love the background story line. This best describes the model and helps those who have never skinned a knuckle or two working on an old car with nothing more than what you could scrounge up for parts.

Beautiful in a special ugly way. Shows all the hard use as described. You covered all of the little details with this build. What we used to call "ridden hard and put away whet".

They are both great looking builds. Amazing difference in appearance between the two.

Beautiful looking finish. Very cleanly detailed trim. I like the narrow white wall tires.

Looks great to me. The fact that you have a slightly different color on the nose cone is more accurate than not. They were painted separately on the 1:1 so it would be common for a different shade. I remember when you had the mishap with the hood. It all turned out great.

Very clean looking build. Your model looks better than the box art.

Looks just like the 1:1. I like the semi flat paint look. The fuel line bring back memories of old. While they look great watching the fuel go to the carbs. they were a "Fire Ball" waiting to happen. I almost lost my T Bucket because of them years ago.

Beautiful looking build. The paint finish is outstanding. I like how you created the Hood stands. A thought on your Hood decals turning white on you. I have had a similar problem when applying decals over a flat or semi-gloss finish. What has worked for me was to apply the decals to a gloss finish paint, then spray a flat finish top coat to achieve the desired look. For some reason decals just don't like anything but a gloss finish, at least for me. I think your build looks just fine the way it is.

Great looking build. This would make an ideal 1:1 driver. I like the slightly aged look. The interior seats and door panels look perfect.

You sure nailed the interior.

I think it would be a great build. It would seem obvious that you have a special association with the Motion cars in general and I'm sure you would make it very real looking. When you talk to Joel I'm sure that the base price of the Monte Carlo in addition to the weight were the limiting reasons for not building one. The Monte Carlo could in fact be ordered with at least two different 396 (402) and 454 engines depending on year model. The three speed Turbo 400 transmission was the most common but the 4-speed M-20, M-21, were available also.

I think it has a very big WOW factor and also would enjoy building one in kit form. As BillJ pointed out they weren't successful in racing. My thought is that some of that may have been due to the drivers position in the car. The car it's self looks as though it has a 50/50 weight distribution that is considered idea. The engine was capable of good power output, the steering may or may not have been perfect. But think about the feeling you would have behind the wheel with the driver sitting almost on top of the differential. Racing aside, think about your own personal experience driving different vehicles. For myself I have spent time driving a Ford Econoline van as a delivery vehicle at a part time job while in school. You're hung out over the front wheels and I never did get comfortable in that death trap. I had a few K5 Blazers as Demo's later while in the car business, and their short wheel base, while maneuverable it can be hard sometimes not to clip a curb on a right turn. So going to the other extreme where you're sitting with your bottom resting on the differential your brain has a hard time compensating for the sensations you are accustom to while driving in a normal driving position. Maybe there is someone here that has spent time driving a vehicle that has the driver sitting this far back that can share what that experience was like for them.

Great looking build. I like the paint finish and the color. Hard to see the wheel details but it looks like the Chevelle simulated mag wheels that were steel with a polished trim ring.

Nice looking Hood.

You might consider a Dehumidifier for your garage. The humidity in Kansas at certain times of the year, much like the rest of the mid-west, can get pretty brutal. I have my booth setup in the basement, known to be very damp in this part of the world. The part of the basement is opens to the back yard and is where all the mowers and yard tools are stored as well as the sump pump. I also have a dehumidifier in that area and even in the middle of the summer I have zero problems with paint that isn't my own fault.

I like the raised 4x4 look on this one. I wonder if they might have used an Explorer chassis under this. Many years ago I lived at Pismo Beach Ca. and spent a lot of time in the sand dunes there. It was not uncommon to see a normal passenger car that someone had set on a Blazer or Broncho chassis.

Wasn't there a presidential candidate a few years ago who's last name was associated with this discharge thing ?? I know I know this is shaky ground but it just came to my demented mind.

The first one looks like it might even have a 4x4 chassis under it. The second one shows all the signs of willful abuse.

Great that your son got to meet Brad. While most of these drivers are very gracious with their fans, I still think Richard Petty will always go down as the #1 guy with the fans. He was always one of the most approachable drivers I have ever met.