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I have never built this kit since I have always thought the general body shape just didn't look right to me. You have a clean build going here, your paint looks very smooth and even and the engine looks better than I ever thought it would. I do have a question about the exhaust. From the picture of the chassis it looks like the exhaust has some sort of hole thru it as if there is a small resonator or something along side the gas tank and the spare tire well. This looks like it is something that's molded into the exhaust system so I'm just wondering if this is mentioned in the instructions or do you have an idea what they were trying to represent.

Did this body come clear or tinted ? I just never realized that they had a see thru body. I really like the effect.

Greg, I'm not sure if you could use the '40 since it is very different from the '41 thru '48 Fords. The '41 and '42 Fords front sheet metal was unique to their model years. The '46 thru '48 are very close too one another with small trim differences and the front parking lamps seemed to move all over the place depending on what year you're looking at. I remember helping a friend put a '46 - '48 front end on his '41 after it had hit a drunken tree that didn't use the cross walk. That was a long time ago.

Artecar24, You are correct about this whole Politically Correct thing, just didn't know if you were aware of what was going on here. Your build looks fantastic. What interior are you going to use ?

When Revell releases a stock '48 Ford I would think the easiest thing to do would be to put the AMT front end from their '41 Woody on it.

My wife is a big fan of the series and I have just kind of watched it out of the corner of my eye. Scully, If I wasn't happily married I could consider becoming a stalker. Last summer "Mulder" played a detective in a series about Charlie Manson and set at a time I lived in southern California. It was very well done and I enjoyed his acting. I wish that would come back, but it doesn't look like it will.

Don't forget that Iran is now able to sell more crude and I think that has a bigger effect on the price of oil. Fracking has slowed because it is no longer profitable with the lower crude prices. China's product exporting is down and that means they need less crude also. There are many components as to how the price of oil moves up and down, On the dollar difference on the price of gas between say California and the mid-west has to do with the state taxes. This and many other economic problems are why I left California 20 years ago. They were just taxing everyone to death. Right now the difference between Kansas and Missouri gas prices is about 5 cents per gallon. Missouri has some of the lowest gas taxes in the nation, but the Legislators are moving quickly now since gas is so low so that they can raise the tax on gas. It is very common for people here in the Kansas City Metro area to drive from the Kansas side a couple of blocks into Missouri just to save the 5 cents a gallon.

I have been using Zing embossing powder. I'll cover the floor with a thinned Elmer's Glue and water, then sprinkle the Zing on and let it dry. I have also tried Jewel-IT fabric embellishing adhesive. After the Zing has dried I shake the excess off and return it to the container. Then a couple of light coats of paint in what ever color carpet you're going for. The Zing and Jewel-It were purchased at JoAnn's Fabrics. The Zing is used is for scrape booking and the Jewel-It is used to attach sequins and rhinestones too Blue Jeans. I still like Ken's Kustom Fuzzi-Fur the best.

"Nuthin' Fancy" ? I'd like to see when you Get Carried Away. Awesome build.

I made license plates for a build of a pickup I owned years ago. I would stand about 25 feet behind the truck ( 1/25th ) and take the picture. I had the pictures printed and then cut out the plates. I'm sure with the technology of today there is a simpler way to do this now.

See, taking that little extra time really paid off. Nice build.

Great looking build, the level of paint detailing is exceptional. I also think it would look better with wheels in the 15 inch to no more than 17 inch diameter would look more realistic. Remember the original Ranchero had 13 & 14 inch wheels. As for the Confederate Flag thing, that has become even more controversial than ever in the last year. Revell is even leaving it out of the reissues right now. Everyone has an opinion on this part of American history and I imagine you probably are not aware off all this. Let's just say it's not Politically Correct here right now. I'm sure someone here could help you with the flag decal if you want to do that.

Very impressive Gasser build. I know you have worked hard on the Headers and they look perfect up to a point. This may not matter and you have to determine if you want to change the Headers after all that hard work. On a 1:1 Gasser the exhaust, headers, are required to be pointed away from the racing surface. This is usually done in one of two ways. Usually the headers make a gradual bend until the collector is parallel the racing surface and pointing toward the rear of the vehicle. They would usually end at a point about even with the transmission. In the case of the GM cars with the X Frames it was common to have them turn toward the side of the car to eliminate interference with the frame. The collector would usually end even with the side of the body. Just imagine how much dust and gravel you would kick up with the headers pointed at the ground. Small detail but really like your build.

Interesting subject. I'm not that familiar with the car in general, but I was given a ride in one in the early 60s and was impressed with the smooth ride compared to American cars of the day. I remember we had to wait for the car's air suspension to level after I got in before we could drive away.

I'm finishing an interior now where I used a light tan base on the steering wheel and brown on the strip on the dashboard then covered with clear orange. This works fine on very small areas. On larger areas such as a '49 Mercury Woody I did I used a light tan for a base and used art pencils to create a wood grain appearance. I then used clear yellow on the outer wood and clear orange on the inner panels. It was all cleared when the body was also cleared. The Sharpie idea is something I'll definitely try the next time, It looks much simpler.

Nice build very showroom looking. Foil can be very frustrating and takes a lot of patience, I'm still working on the patience part.

Very interesting. I am finishing a build now that is a model of a '67 El Camino that I owned from 1967 until 1974. I used the front clip, frame, firewall and drive train and interior from the Revell '67 Chevelle SS kit #7145. The body from the firewall back is from the Revell #85-7648 '66 El Camino kit. The differences are far more than you would think. The shape of the back edge of the hood opening is different along with the shape of the leading edge of the door opening. The height of the cowl ( between the windshield and the hood opening ) is also different. This is from the same company. These are challenges that can be overcome but are still hard to understand. Like Bill Engwer said " artistic corrections and interpretations " . I know in the real world this same thing can be done, and have seen this done years ago when a friend wrecked his El Camino.

On the rattle can paint, you might try setting the can in warm water covering the can about 50%. Try shaking it for a good five minutes or more before trying to spray. Get some plastic spoons to test the spray. You might get lucky.

I like the removal of the hood "Gun Sights" and did just that on a build in the past. Did you use extra spruce from the kit or just body filler ? For my self I have had body modifications like this in the past and had the putty shrink or start cracking later.

Rob, I really like the way you went on the bed. It doesn't look like you will need much plastic to blend the bed with the body. How well does the chassis clear the bed floor? It looks like it should just fit.

Outstanding build. I'll apologies now because I'm going to use your fold down arm rest on my next big car build.

Let us know when you get this casted so I could buy one. Your conversion looks very smooth and accurate.

Appreciate all of the insight on the '61 Ventura. This is my next build also so I'm along for the ride.

Been watching for a while and think the chassis work is outstanding. A thought on interior color. I see a beautiful blue colored inner fender and if that is going to be the final body color you might think about a more neutral interior color in a light to medium beige-tan or a couple of light blue colors to complement the exterior. I agree it would look better in something other than black or white. This will help show off all the work you have done on the interior. It will look more like a tudor Viper .

Just a thought if you haven't already cut the body. Depending on what look you're going for. You could leave the rear fenders on the body and using the bed as a guide you could gauge just how far the bed is to go into the body or just extending the bed beyond the rear bumper. This could give it some what of a Fleetside look. GM at one time offered a kit for the early Chevrolets where the trunk lid was removed and a pickup bed was inserted into that area. With your concern about the wheel base consider placing the bed where you want it and aligning the wheel base before cutting the body. Maybe an El Camino look or if you want to stay with the "Rat Look" place the entire bed, fenders and all where it needs to be, then cut the body where ever that lines up and build a flat bulkhead for the rear of the cab and maybe even include the stock rear window or an open screen rear window. This looks like it will be a fun build, wish I had thought of it.