Ace-Garageguy

A lot is going to depend on what type of competition. Production-based drag racing? Gassers? Road racing? Vintage stock cars? A lot of good reference material is, as usual, available by doing Google image searches.

Real. Really really real. Really.

First best-ever year that comes to mind for me is 1957...and I bet we'll find it's a generational thing, at least in part...

Here's two for ten bucks each... http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMT-ERTL-DON-GARLITS-WYNNS-JAMMER-1-25-scale-model-kit-/181916293229?hash=item2a5b0e586d:g:5pcAAOSw37tWB4mZ http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMT-NHRA-Don-Garlits-Wynns-Jammer-1-25-/141812518341?hash=item2104af4dc5:g:7soAAOSwYHxWG~Xm

Yes. On real cars and aircraft, where problems can be VERY expensive. In the summer here, the humidity is routinely in the 80-90% range. When the humidity is high and temperatures are over about 90deg F, solvent popping can be an issue. Use the right reducers and activators / hardeners for the temperatures you're working in and you should be OK...unless it's VERY hot and VERY humid. READ the technical data sheets (TDS) for any material you're using to understand the effects of temperature, and the alternative products and procedures to use.

Beautiful work on a kit that has a reputation for being difficult to get right. It's great to see someone who forges ahead and gets it done well, in spite of problems along the way.

Holy cow !! I missed this one up 'til now. Beautiful scale engineering, love your front-blower mod...man, this is sweet.

You can undoubtedly find everything you'll need on a Google image search. Try various search term combinations like "1993 top-fuel dragster engine", and follow the links to interesting looking alternatives. Here's one for the particular car you're doing... Searching images for specific engine component photos can be helpful too. Combinations of terms like "1992 top-fuel dragster magneto" produce results like this...(you will of course have to become somewhat familiar with the plumbing and setup evolution of the cars over the years, because not all the images you pull up will be date-tagged correctly to be accurate for your particular model).

I'm finally very happy with the fit of the rear of the extended hood at the cowl. I also found a mystery windshield assembly, sorta Brroklands-style, that fits the vision I have of this thing. The main visual elements in final position. This particular header design, nailhead-specific, and the through-the-cowl steering linkage are important to maintaining the feel of the original drawing that was this build's inspiration. The oil pan sump will need to be raised a bit, but that kind of minor mod is common on a 1:1 vehicle...and better to raise the bottom of the sump than to raise the engine in the chassis and ruin the car's handling and lines.

Timothy Leary

Usually attributed to Einstein.

Here are some good ones. Who said what? “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” “The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody has decided not to see.” “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” “No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.”

I want I want I want...

All good points...though the cast alloy 18" rear wheels portrayed in the kit wouldn't be too likely to have been seen on the street during the period represented, being expensive race-only parts at the time. Thing is though, it's a really cool old kit, well-proportioned with just-right stance, and can make a knockout model with some effort. Here are a couple of pretty fine examples of what you CAN do with it... Built by Don Sikora II Built by FordRodnKustom

Yogi Berra.

Great idea for a project. Your period builds are always spot-on and evocative, and your custom decal work has been first-rate and inspiring. This should be a real beauty. Good luck with that deadline.

VERY tasty. Mmmm mmm good.

Who said: "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

Salvador Dali.

...and I thought it was only me...

Garlits' '64 car kitted...just happens to be the first 200mph dragster too... The later, longer front-engined Wynn's Charger is also available, as Bill Jobson suggested... Garlits' 1970 car, and the event that would mark the end of front-engined top-fuel dragsters...

Yeah, and the body isn't particularly accurate for a '32. It's more like a '30-31, but still not right. The grille shell is about right for a '32, however. The wheels and tires are large, even for 1/24. And like the man said, it's pretty crude. Still, you CAN build a very attractive period-style model from it, if that's your ambition. The box is shallow because the body is in two parts, and the parts-count is low.

The 1960s saw extremely rapid evolution of dragsters. The famous "Mooneyes" car was from 1961. The Tony Nancy Plymouth-powered car that you have (kitted by Revell), is from 1963. Very much different, eh? In '64, Garlits was winning with this... Garlits' '67 car: much longer, no front bodywork...

I pinned the windshield to this one. The car's going to be black, the fit of the frame has to be perfect, and I can't risk glue blobs on the finished model. The windshield will also be removable to allow the model to be displayed with a tonneau cover over the interior, for a dry-lakes racing look. Early on in the build, I fitted the windshield frame quite carefully to the cowl, and then tacked it exactly in place with tiny drops of liquid cement. When the joints were dry to handle, I used a fine-line marker to outline where the posts touched the cowl. Then i snapped the joints loose, and drilled vertical holes DOWN from the top, in the dead-centers of the footprints I'd outlined. Last step was to tack the windshield in place again, aligning carefully with the marks. I drilled UP through the previously-drilled holes in the cowl, into the bases of the windshield posts. Perfect alignment of the holes, exactly, no guesswork. A small amount of final fitting of the base of the windshield frame will be required after the final thickness of paint is on the model, but as the windshield goes back in EXACTLY the same place every time, it's straightforward. Here you can see the holes for the windshield posts.

This is already a beauty. Hood looks close to perfect too. I'm in for the duration.