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I have also noticed the cost of repairs at the dealership have gone thru the roof and they very proud of their parts, meaning high priced. I had to replace the water pump on our '10 Dodge Charger R/T a couple of months ago. They wanted $400 for the pump and the parts store was almost just as much. Well up until now I have always done this sort of repair myself. I got to looking down into the area between the front of the engine and the radiator and all the stuff is crammed in there so tight my hands wouldn't even fit. I messed with it for about an hour and just bit the bullet and paid the dealer $800 to replace it. The wife's '14 Avenger had a Thermostat that wouldn't close all the way and kept the engine from reaching normal operating temperature. Dealer cost $250. Now a thermostat r & r is really simple, except when the engine is mounted east/west instead of north/south. The new thermostat only cost $23 and about an hour of cursing. The two mounting bolts for the housing are in a location that a socket can't git into and you only get a quarter turn on the bolt with a box end and the inner fender is like a cheese grater on your hand and for arm. I have done this operation on a couple of pick ups in the past. Mine were 1/2 tons but the principals are the same. You mentioned the ABS fault light. What can happen is that as the inner wheel bearing seal wears it will allow some of the wheel bearing grease to get onto the sensor wheel for the ABS on the hub. This will look much like gear that doesn't mesh anywhere. Chevrolet has a small sensor that will ride on that and senses if the wheel is locking up and the other side is not. Any grease contamination seems to cause all types of problems. When ever you repack your wheel bearings be sure this area is clean. I use a light spray of Brake Clean and a shop rag to wipe it clean.

The entire photo was probably photoshopped or what ever it was called at the time. I would think they would have had the plan taking off although at that altitude the landing gear is up to soon. The lady at the Ramp looks as if she is saluting the plan as it leaves. The family in the Renault are waving good by to someone on the plane. Remember this is all before Homeland Security, but even then they wouldn't let someone get out in that area at an Air Port. Flying was a much bigger deal at that time and it wasn't cheap. The add was probably showing that the family is well off financially being able to have someone in the family flying but they still thought the Renault was a wise purchase even though they could afford a more expensive car. They look so sophisticated, don't you just want to go buy a new Renault right now so you to could be like them ?? That was the nature of advertising in the early '60's.

I had not seen the 4x2 intake setup before. The '50 Ford pickup Arden Head engine has 3x2 carb setup. In real life the 4x2 setup might give you a little better fuel distribution and a little bit high gas bill. As I recall T.J. was wanting something along the lines of a stock Flat Head. And Mr. Metallic pointed out the Lindberg engine would be a little out of scale plus it has the Fordomatic transmission.

Looks great. I like the bed floor, is that the kit decal or did you do that your self ? I built on of these last year and the glass fought me all the way.

Maybe it's the photography, but all the lines on this model look great. Cleanly built with nice chrome trim. I like how you left the wheels all one color without the ribs and outer edge polished as normally seen.

Very nice. I'll bet you enjoy reminiscing about your old car. I like the other models in your garage also.

Great looking Fairlane. The paint is outstanding. Looks very cleanly built and I like how you detailed the engine.

While they look neat I wonder how much the tint will cut down on the guy behind you being able to see your brake lights. Locally I have seen this done on some cars. Following them the first thing I noticed was that their brake lights were barely noticeable. Theirs looked like your photo but they may have been darker.

Nice save on your Corvair. There are several products at the auto parts stores for polishing the plastic head lights and tail lights on a 1:1 car. I have used them on kit windows that have been scratched and they worked great. Very fine grit and with light finger pressure they leave no scratches.

Are you casting new quarters and trim from the Fleet Line to replace the Drag modifications ?

I was in Overland Park yesterday and everything was the regular price. I bought a Round 2 AMT '71 Plymouth Duster 340. I thought I would build a model of a car a coworker had back then. It was a very impressive performing car.

As I recall most mid '50's era cars started to have the turn signal mechanisms built into the steering columns, some of the higher end cars got them sooner. I had an old '51 Chrysler New Yorker that had them built in. I don't recall ever seeing one after about 1955 that wasn't built in.

I think the Heads and Intake Manifold from any '49 thru '53 kit with a Flat Head would work. I've not done the conversion you are looking at, but think with a little work you could use any of the following. AMT: '49 &'50 Ford, and '53 Ford F-100 pickup. The AMT '50 Ford kit would also offer you the option of Aluminum heads and 3-2 intake. AMT also had a '49 Mercury kit that had some very nice Hot Rod parts for a Flat Head. I can't think of any Revell kits with the later Flat Head engine. If you want to built a really nice looking Flat Head look at Replicas & Miniature offerings. Their parts are very impressive quality and I have used them often and never been disappointed.

Great looking #41. All of the decals are cleanly laid out, and with this many that couldn't have been easy.

Thanks. That is a great looking part. I like your avatar. Maybe someone will offer something like this here.

Can't recall ever seeing this kit before. The finish looks great.

See what happens when you let your imagination run wild. This is a great looking Rat Rod or what ever classification you want to hang on it. Hard to do since it's so unique.

Very cool. This could have happened back then if someone would have thought about it.

Great looking patina. The little I can see of the interior looks nice. Tell me about your Sun Visor. It looks like a yellow tinted glass.

Sounds great. I like the old "Coke Bottle" Americans.

I like the Kansas and Missouri drivers who only use their turn signals AFTER they have started to turn. I can see what they have just done and I no longer need their warning as I have managed to get out of their way.

This summer you should try and cool off with a drink I recall from when I thought I could drink it faster than they made it, I was wrong. The drink was called Long Island Ice Tea. About the only thing that will render you defenseless quicker would be a Brass Monkey. Don't ask how I know, just take my word for it.

There are many in society that are opposed to guns at any level. The Constitution grants use the right to bare arms. If a citizen doesn't feel comfortable doing that then we should respect their right to for go ownership of a gun. But we also need to respect the rights of those that due. With gun ownership comes a tremendous responsibility in all of the safety aspects of gun ownership. A visit to the Shooting Range from time to time is always a good experience along with the proper cleaning, storing, and securing your fire arm so that someone that shouldn't be handling a gun doesn't have accesses to it. That's kind of a cute looking Cap Gun. I like that they painted it a color that shouldn't be mistaken for the real thing.

I like the chin whisker.

I would like to see you build the Alfa Giulla.