Ace-Garageguy

What time period are you talkin' here? My '63 Olds, same one I drove in HS in the late '60s, has big 'ol vacuum-assisted and finned drum brakes that will put you through the windshield, factory seatbelts...that I always used...a padded dash, and power steering. Even the old man's '55 Olds had power steering, power brakes and a padded dash. I'm just not seeing that old cars were all primitive deathtraps and that every drive in the country was flirting with doom and dismemberment. Of course, it probably wasn't "safe" to run them at 105 MPH while in "full conversation with the family".

Hmmm...lets just think about how totally cool you are. 25 miles-per-hour over the posted limit while in "full conversation with the family". The car's obviously a LOT more competent than you. You ever seen what a "family" looks like when they experience a sudden stop from striking a fixed object at 105 MPH? Or roll after blowing a tire? I have. Vehicle occupants that often look like hamburger. Yeah, that's the way to take care of the kids. Buy a "safe" car, drive like a moron. My apologies if my response seems harsh...but 105, with the family, in conversation? Really?

Ah yes...remember when ol' Henry Ford thought it might be nice to pay his workers enough so they could afford to buy the cars they were building? One of the things that really started the US industrial economy humming, which in turn helped to give America the highest standard of living on the planet...and to develop the production capability sufficient to supply the victors of two world wars. How totally obsolete. Now the bloodless CYA bean-counters define "good business" as cutting the last nickel out of the cost of every product, sourcing production in China, and cutting the heart out of the American economy in the process. The world IS run by short-sighted idiots who fail to understand how things are interrelated.

There's a HobbyTown in Lewisville, apparently only about 15 miles from Little Elm. I get all my supplies at the HobbyTown near me, and they're always well stocked with styrene, paint, glues, tools, etc. http://www.yellowpages.com/lewisville-tx/mip/hobbytown-usa-10450468?lid=10450468

X2 And don't worry. You'll be fine.

Exactly, and here's just a little more info you might not know. Lead / tin solder comes in 3 common types...1) acid-core for plumbing 2) rosin-core for electronics and 3) solid core, which has no flux core, naturally. You want to use the solid core stuff because the fluxes in the other two types will probably ooze out over time and make a mess of your work, and they can make it difficult to get glue to adhere well.

Looking good. Those rivets are pretty slick too. Lookin

There is no "manifold" in the kit. there are TWO separate 4-stack fuel-injection units that look like this...

Looks like you're off to a good start, but watch your proportions. A whole lot more isn't always better, and it's easy to end up with a car that looks sat-on rather than well-chopped.

Yeah, and that brings me to what I really hate about fake patina. It's done in a look-at-me way, trying to be cool, just like everyone else with a patina'd car is cool, and trying to be cool is the damm sure way to make sure you're NOT cool...you're just another follower. Baaa baaa. And it's the lazy way to be me-too-cool. It takes ONE HELL OF A LOT OF EFFORT and skill to get a car straight and put decent paint on it...and I don't mean trailer-queen Ridler paint, either. It doesn't take much effort at all to run a DA over a nice old car (like they did to that poor old Dodge) and squirt a coat of clear over bare bondo and sanding scratches. Oh boy, I'm really impressed. REAL patina on a REAL survivor = cool. FAKE patina = BUT: well-done fake patina on a model that looks like a REAL rusty-crusty-old-car = very cool.

Yessir...i started this thing back about 2009 or so...

I used to know this girl...now I finally understand; she must have been a car thief. I guess that would explain all the black clothes, too.

Break fluid? Brake fluid might work better. I've had some embrittlement issues, particularly on older styrene, after a prolonged brake-fluid soak, and I believe I've noticed some of the same thing happening with the oven cleaner / lye based products. I think it's probably the plasticizers being leached out. None of this has seemed to interfere with the stripped plastic accepting fresh primer and paint...however I DO recommend a Comet / hot water scrub after stripping, followed by a 70% isopropyl alcohol bath.

Doesn't anybody ever bother to actually look at the truth of stuff? Foose DESIGNED THIS CAR FOR BOYD when Foose was chief designer there. Changes were made to Foose's design when the car was built...who knows why. Most of Foose's work here has been to rebuild the car the way HE originally envisioned it. Barris got much of the credit for several designs he didn't actually do, as did Boyd. Barris even went farther and claimed involvement with projects he never touched, BUT THIS CAR IS A FOOSE DESIGN. It's the DESIGNER who should be credited prominently with any custom car build, along WITH the shop that constructs it. Jose's Nail Pounders, Inc. doesn't deserve full credit for the work done by an architect, and it's the same concept here. Some of you all may not care for Foose's designs, but the man is HIGHLY gifted and SKILLED, and can get in the shop and straighten things out with his own hands when his people are in over their heads. He is the real deal...and no, we're not friends. I've never even met the man. But saying he's taken credit for other peoples' designs is just bull and it really chaps me to hear it repeated.

Fine looking piece. The offset blower on the inline 6 is a great touch too, similar to something I have going. I REALLY like this model.

Nice overall shape. Scratch-built, or made up from parts of other models?

When I could have easily afforded to move, I stupidly chose to stay in a city I've grown to intensely dislike with a climate I've always hated because my then-current significant-other's family was here. A series of poor decisions on my part...and a series of completely unforeseeable events...pretty well wiped me out. The 'stuff' I've accumulated, some pretty good stuff, is somewhat irreplaceable and it's the cost of dragging it across the country that's got me stuck here now. Moving house is a piece of cake compared to moving a full-size milling machine, lathe, and a shop full of equipment...not to mention several non-running project cars and literally a couple of tons of parts. There are multiple ways of containing the cost of moving a residence, one of them being having a container dropped at your house. You load it, it's picked up and shipped to your new location and you unload it. Services like this are available between most major cities. Just a thought. The point is, if you really think you'd be happier somewhere else and are in a position to make it happen, you owe it to yourself to at least fully investigate the possibilities. Life is short. And hey...there are only 266 days until Christmas (snow, you know?)

Yup. I had some pretty interesting spills on my bikes when I was a kid, still have most of my head intact, sorta (which is debatable). People riding on bike-paths all helmeted and suited up for the Tour de France kinda make me chuckle, but if you're doing serious rough country stuff with big rocks on the trails, or riding where there are cars (with distracted crashmobile drivers all blithely texting away), or riding a motorcycle anywhere, it's probably just a lot smarter to wear a helmet.

More information, please.

Greg...that flip-nose '40 pickup is slicker than snot. Man, I like that one. Nice hinge work.

Yeah, I did. Pretty non-safety-conscious of me. But anybody who doesn't wear one on a bike (powered) probably doesn't have much need for his brain anyway. Seriously, I went on a railroad steam-train excursion some years back, there was a fellow traveler wearing wrap-around safety glasses. In a closed coach. Ant it wasn't a fashion statement.

Last time I checked, it seemed pretty certain nobody's going to get out of here alive. Live your life in a cast-iron crash-proof gluten-free politically-correct padded cell covered in SPF 30 sunscreen while wearing a body condom eating organic foods and never EVER do anything with any associated risk...you're still not going to get much more than three score years and ten. May as well spend your time here with a little style and intensity...at least, that's my philosophy. Old cars may have been more "dangerous", but they were only dangerous if you were in a crash. But you know...running a 3500 pound projectile down an undivided highway with oncoming similar projectiles, carrying 20 or so gallons of extremely flammable fuel...in the same environment with 40.000 pound trucks...sounds pretty dangerous to me. Maybe that's part of the reason why there was a LOT (so it seems) more effort put forth trying to get people to pay attention to their driving back then. Even ol' Broderick Crawford used to close the Highway Patrol episodes with a little slogan about driving carefully. But no, today you can't tell folks it's dangerous to drive a car, so pay the frack attention. You gotta make them feel it's as safe as sitting on the frigging couch. Well fellas, it ain't. We're supposedly now such a safety-conscious nation, but 2/3 of us are seriously overweight. That's a choice. It's a choice to live with increased risk of cardiac problems and diabetes. MOST of us happily stay too fat and I see easily 20 drivers every day who are obviously distracted. All the safety features ever dreamed of won't protect us from stupid behavior, but so many seem to want to believe their health and safety is someone else's concern, and take NO personal responsibility for it themselves. They just want to buy a "safe" car, take a pill, and not have to bother with anything that takes more effort. Pay attention when you drive, stay focused, learn how to control your vehicle in an emergency or a slide or on wet / slick pavement...odds are you won't NEED the damm airbags.

Yup, that was exactly my point about "if they did the chassis close to stock" or words to that effect. However, I'd think the odds of a high-end Foose car being built with stock suspension under it are close to nil. Still, if the frame and floors are right...