Ace-Garageguy

Snake, it's a custom (available as a full-size body kit from Rocket Bunny) based the Nissan 240 SX (S-14 generation, '95-'99). EDIT: Looks like martinfan5 just beat me to to response.

Oh baby...that's pretty !!

Yup. Good man.

There's a lot of great stuff still being built. Same skill sets, same knowledge-base required (albeit expanded to encompass electronics and sophisticated suspension), same principles of good design involved.

My sincere wishes that everything goes well, Tom. Really.

Joe, you're absolutely right about time being the most precious commodity, and that's the thing that gripes me most...the lack of time to live my own life because I'm so busy trying to manage things for other people who apparently can't or just won't. The 'can do' guy is the one who always gets to clean up everyone's messes, and gets taken advantage of in time, if enough limits aren't set. And all you have to do to be a leader, anywhere and anywhen, is to just stand up and lead. People want to be told what to do, but I'm tired of always being the one who KNOWS what to do, gets it done, and rarely gets the rewards. It's definitely time for a change in my life, and a major change is coming soon. Thanks for your response.

OK, it's not the micro that limits the shrinkage. It's the epoxy. Decent epoxy (not the useless...in my opinion...5 minute stuff) has far far less shrinkage than polyester (the usual 'fiberglass' resin that stinks to high heaven) or some urethanes. If you use a decent quality casting resin...and mix it carefully and correctly... and you read and understand the product data before using it, you should be able to make all the parts you need with minimal shrinkage without going to all the trouble of using micro and epoxy. Guys have been doing it for many years.

I also LOVE the AMT '34 Ford 5-window kit...

Yup, the old AMT '34 3-window IS horrible...BUT...the body shell can be the basis of a decent chopped fenderless car. It's a lot to pay for a kit when the rest of the box is filled with useless scrap plastic, but l do kinda have a soft spot for the bodies...

Here's the kind of thing I like to look over on the HAMB. Pretty well BS-free, with a ton of mechanical and chassis shots, and some nice evocative photography too. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/old-32-ford-hot-rod-gets-updated-part-ii-progress-report-06-03-15-on-the-road-again.861297/

No, but that's a good site I've had bookmarked for years. It almost disappeared when its founder died a while back, but happily for those of us who love the old gassers, it lives on.

Overall it's a good kit. Everything in it is fairly well represented, though there are a few relatively minor proportion and shape issues with the front sheetmetal parts. Interestingly, the hood sides and top from the AMT '33 Ford sedan (which uses the same chassis as the '34 5W kit) don't fit up to the cowl of the '34 5-window...though they DO in reality. Somebody measured wrong somewhere. The AMT '34 Ford 5W proportions are pretty good overall, and it looks like a '34 Ford, but ALL of the '33-'34 Fords available have SOME flaw in the length and shapes of the noses / hoods (the old 1/24 Monogram kit is by far the best). I've measured REAL cars and compared...over on another board that is all about traditional cars. As Bob Ellis states, the AMT 3-window kit shares absolutely NOTHING with the later 5W and sedan kits. And the AMT '34 3W is a horrible kit. Almost nothing in it is any good at all.

Fine looking old race cars. I still enjoyed watching NASCAR when the cars were still somewhat related to "stock" cars.

Yes, it's definitely a good book to get your feet wet....and everything in it works in smaller scales too.

That's entirely true, especially if you go asking questions. Some of the folks there are just downright a..holes. BUT...you don't need to join to read the threads. Click on "Traditional Hot Rods", and just scroll down until you find something of interest. There WILL be much worthwhile stuff. There are lots and lots of really good threads that have been posted over the years. One I can remember right off hand has pages and pages of photos of late '50s and early '60s gassers. Not what you're looking for, but the real stuff is there if you dig. Another problem is that it takes a while sifting through all the info that's available before you begin to get a real feel for what's true and what's BS. The flip side is that the early rods were pretty basic mechanically, and mix and match of the essential bits from various manufacturers (via the junkyard) was the name of the game. And anything specific you need to know is right here, only a few clicks away.

I build a lot of that kind of stuff, and for reference material and inspiration, it's hard to beat OLD Hot Rod magazines...starting in 1949. I started collecting them again in about 2005 (after having given all of them away in the early 1980s). Rather than seeing recent interpretations of "period correct", you get the real deal...often significantly different in concept and execution than the "tribute" , "traditional" or "nostalgia" cars built these days. I've got a couple of go-to books that I don't recall the exact names of at the moment, but I'll post some in a while. For online research as to how stuff is done on real traditional cars, or for an extensive variety of historical posts and threads, the ol' HAMB message board is hard to beat too. This is one of my '32 build threads, and it doesn't get any more "traditional". There's a lot of tech stuff concerning the real cars on this thread too, so it may be of some small value to you. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=59708

Nice technique. Works as well as some of the complicated ones you have to have a mill and lathe to make. And works WAY better than those silly wire-wrapped "tube benders" that won't even come off of a sharp radius bend sometimes. Good stuff.

Gee willikers. What a simple and obvious solution. Wonder why I didn't think of that. Oh wait...the reality is that I've overcome more heavy-duty stressors in the last two years than most people face in a lifetime. I survived and kept going, day after day after day. And saved a couple of other asses in the process. But the shitt just doesn't stop. And unfortunately, my bills won't pay themselves...even though within the past several years I've cut them to the bone. I changed my life to make a living doing something I used to REALLY enjoy...building hot-rods...and it's turned into what every job has been...I turn out world-class work, put up with lots of aggravation, spend a fair amount of time cleaning up other people's stupidity, get very little management support, receive more and more responsibility (because I can handle it) with no pay increase, yada yada yada. I'm finishing up a large project, have established a strong local reputation again, and in a couple months, we'll see. But one thing I WON'T do is walk away from a commitment.

Microballoons are very small empty spheres. They're hollow and VERY light, and they tend to float around if disturbed, like during mixing. DO NOT INHALE THEM. USE A GOOD DUST MASK, AT LEAST. A RESPIRATOR IS BETTER. They're used as a LIGHTWEIGHT inert thickener for various resins (and CAA) rather than the much heavier and more common talc-based materials in products like Bondo. They come in reddish-brown (phenolic) and white (glass). Mixed with epoxy, micro makes a very easy to sand, light and almost zero-shrink filler that adheres VERY well to styrene, resin, fiberglass, etc. I use the stuff extensively on real aircraft, and a fair bit on models when I have a need for a high-build product with exceptional adhesion. The white filled ares on these two models required something special, and epoxy-micro was the best choice. I use West-System epoxy as the base for my micro filler. It takes 12 hours to cure-to-sand, but it performs better than Bondo (it's stronger, adheres MUCH better, and will hold edges that would flake and chip using Bondo or similar products). On the custom Challenger wagon, immediately above, I needed something that would allow me to scribe these parallel lines in the roof, very close together. Bondo won't do it...epoxy / micro will. For the Challenger One model at the top, I needed a filler that would NOT shrink over time, because of the faux brushed-metal finish.

I agree in principle. I drive the posted limits, but I tend to accelerate quicker than most, and have zero patience for folks who don't seem to be able to make decisions, or seem to be unsure of where they're going...or most especially, sit halfway through greens while fiddling with something on the seat, or the smart-phone. If you're going to drive, please focus on it, try for some competence, and give it the attention it deserves...or get out of my way. Bruce who?

Duh. My brain be tupid tooday. Huh huh.

Hmmmm...our moderator, Harry Pristovnik, a designer himself, had a series of Photoshop tutorials in the "tips and tricks" section, but it seems to have disappeared.

Got the custom instruments in from Classic for the '47 Caddy / LS build. Making good headway on the wiring harness and integrating all the electronics...got the remote entry system and the pushbutton start gizmos all up and functioning 100%. Getting close now...

Yeah, a lot of these are double-fine. Makes me wanna finish something.

Interesting point of view, and just about the opposite of mine. As I become more and more aware of the last of my minutes and hours ticking away, I'd frankly rather not spend them in traffic...just get out of my way and let me get where I'm going, so I can DO something.