Ace-Garageguy

Boy, that's a rare bird. Looks great. Clean. I've been told these are slightly over-scale. What do you think?

Pretty little truck !

A friend of mine in his early 40s who builds real hot-rods had much better luck finding buyers for his cars posting on Instagram than other social media, for some reason. That's all I know about it.

Unfortunately, there's no way to get the "rod" out after you bend the tube. The tube will collapse enough to clamp the rod securely inside forever. The only decent results I've had with this method is to use plastic rod that is, like Nick suggests, very close to the ID of the tube you're trying to bend. Position a short piece of rod where the bend will be, so you can't see it inside the stack after it's bent and cut to final length. You'll need to think and experiment, because the tube will naturally try to bend and collapse where the inserted rod ends. Cut to final length AFTER you bend it, by the way. For these small diameter tubes, I've NEVER had good luck with the spring-type wire-wound benders on any kind of sharp radius. They simply are not strong enough to support tubing bends sharp enough for stacks and headers, usually. They also get bound-up on sharp radii and are almost impossible to remove without damage. And sand is simply too coarse to do you any good on very small diameter tube. It IS possible to fill small tubes with molten "fixturing alloy", let it harden, make your bend, and melt it out again. Kind of a PITA for model work, but you can buy it here. http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=505-3877&PMPXNO=949471&PARTPG=INSRHI I've READ that filling the tube with water and freezing it will prevent kinking, but I have NOT tried it. It's worth a shot. The lever type benders will work...to a point...but are difficult to find in sizes small enough to work with scale model car tubing. I routinely use this type forming brake and fuel lines on real cars, but only down to 1/4 or 3/16 inch diameters. This one from Harbor Freight will bend down to 1/8 inch, but you see how it's not a tight radius that you'd need on a model car exhaust or intake stack. I've been getting around to machining a much smaller version of this to experiment with, but haven't so far. This is the idea. http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/threads/24051-A-tube-bender-saga You MAY be able to find a commercial one that will work on small stuff, but I haven't yet. You'll have a MUCH easier time forming your parts from solid styrene rod (and drilling the ends if you need them to appear to be tubing) or solder. This is a bench version (NOT MY DESIGN OR WORK) of a simple tool for bending fairly sharp radii in small tube also. The pin sticking up secures the tube, while the lever rolls the bend around rollers. Not so hard to make if you only need one radius and one diameter.

There was a guy on the bay a few years back that I bought a '61 Dodge Pheonix (Johan repop) from. One of the absolutely nicest resin kits I've ever seen, period. He just seems to have evaporated, too.

Always wanted to see one of these built. Sure wish it was 1/25 though. I'd get several. When Revell introduced these 1/32 scale 1950s US cars and trucks, the full-scale hot-rod mags did a lot of articles on using them to work out ideas on real vehicles before committing to the expensive metal work. Don't get discouraged by people who say they're difficult. Take your time, fit things carefully, and you'll have a very nice model at the end.

Exactly. Bondo 2-part "professional" filler is all I use these days (except for Squadron green for TINY imperfections). Works great every time, if you mix it right. Too little hardener and it takes forever to cure (maybe never). Too much and it will usually kick before you get in on the model. It can also overheat if it's on thick (with too much hardener) and that could possibly be your warp problem. Also can be hard to sand. WAY too much hardener, and it may stay rubbery. This is exactly the same stuff that comes in the smaller package #801 above. Sands beautifully, feather-edges well, adheres well, and doesn't shrink. Most of the surfaces of this model were shaped using the Bondo 2-part "professional" putty.

I'm really looking forward to watching this play out. I just bought a Revell Dodge VTS to use the chassis under a custom, slammed 2002 single-cab, and had thought about using the Raminator or Rammunition kit as the basis for the body, like you. Interesting project.

Koolio. You sure don't see these built very often any more. I recall that the decals were difficult when these things were new, many moons ago. Nice job getting them on, intact, and symmetrical. Neat little car.

名字或许听起来像是在中国是个好主意。 EDIT: I assumed this was one of those things that didn't translate well from an Asian language (read some early 1970s Datsun owner's manuals for a real laugh), but I now find it's part of the American company's "clever" marketing strategy. Okaaaayyy.

Looks good. Here's you earlier thread. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=99045 I've found it's often quicker to find my own older threads if I simply go straight to Google and type in my user name, and what I recall of the heading or topic line. I just tried it with yours... bubbajoe plug wires...and your thread came up 3rd in the list on the first page of results.

Thanks Dennis. Coming from a guy who builds the real deal on the left coast, that means a lot. Your Ardun mod looks great. Did you do the top-shift mod on the gearbox too? I don't recall seeing one in a kit. I spent most of yesterday researching Ardun installations...specifically angle-drives for the Vertex / Scintilla magneto (which will have to clear the water pump belts, kinda tricky), and early post-war blower and FI parts. I was originally intending to go with 8, 1-barrel carbs on this, but the linkage would be a nightmare and slow the build even more. Then started thinking about an early GMC 3-71 blower setup, but to be right, it would take a multiple V-belt drive, and that would require machining pulleys...again, too much sideways time. Stu Hilborn's mechanical fuel injection did exist at this time, but probably wasn't available as an Ardun bolt-on. Still, guys in those days weren't shy about fabricating and even casting their own parts, so it's entirely possible that, in the time period this model represents, some enterprising rodder / pattern maker could have cast up a set of injector bodies for an Ardun, and used Hilborn guts. It's important to me to make the car historically possible (something that COULD have been built with then-current and available parts and technology). The Hilborn setup vastly simplifies the throttle linkage, will clear the hood with no bubble (not knowing what induction setup I was going to use prevented finishing the hood), and makes the belt / pulley question a non-issue. The Hilborn setup also will work nicely with the center coolant ports I want to use on the heads, which could be an important factor in a lakes car. The last trick was finding a pair of parts-box bits with the right port-spacing to work on the Ardun...which I did, some old log manifolds from something unknown that I'll rework into presentable Hilborn injector bodies.

Yes. The cast boss on the side of the housing and the retaining bolt are the identifiers.

Looking good, nice cut-and-fit. Interior is shaping up well too. Nice choices for parts. Just a suggestion that you may already know...it looks like you saved yourself some grief by masking the rear seat areas before applying filler...very smart. It also saves a lot of grief if you re-mask and leave tape on as you sand. Keeps the sandpaper from damaging adjacent areas. Like I said, you may have already thought of it. Another point you may not know...the engine from the Revell Magnum kit is somewhat overscale (it's too long) for some odd reason. The one in the Revell Challenger is correct (I've measured). Not really a problem on this build, as you have a nice big engine bay, and a slightly larger engine will probably look better anyway. Just thought you might like to know.

Great model, great imagination.

Cool indeed. I sure wish my house was on Paco's route.

For what do people drive racing cars, go into space, climb mountains, or deep-sea dive? Why learn to fly a plane if you're not going to be a commercial pilot? Why learn to play a musical instrument if you're not a professional musician? Why build model cars?

Yup. Building mostly highly-modified stuff, I'm constantly in the mode of one-mod-leads-to-another. It's challenging for me to stay on task when a model takes almost as much planning and engineering as a real car. If I could drive the finished product, that would be one thing. But something to put on a shelf and just look at occasionally? I often question my sanity.

Guys in my club who consistently do the best quality work use BMF to mask straight lines. Perfect edges, and frankly, much better than I'd thought possible on a model car. I'd sure like to see some pix of the results the advice-givers are getting.

Well, if you're going to do something like that, you damm better be sure to get your trajectory figured right, 'cause you're not going to get a second chance. I bet the rush is pretty spectacular as you approach the sheer wall, and I'd probably pass out from relief IF I made it through the hole. I kinda have to admire someone who is either so fearless, or so incredibly capable of managing their fear. I don't think I could do it if somebody had a gun to my head. Just shoot me.

Very nice rework of that Testors kit. Been meanin' to snag one of these, and your work here has really inspired me to look harder for one.

Gorgeous color, fine looking custom bodywork. The floating Olds grill bars both front and rear are a touch I've never seen done before, and your rolled and molded pans are period perfect.

I'm sure you'll be happier with the end result you'll have from reworking the firewall as you describe. I've done rather a lot of 1:1 engine swaps, and it's entirely permissible to modify a subframe, crossmember or oil-pan...or all of them...to get an engine to fit a chassis it wasn't intended for. Just bear in mind where the strength needs to be replaced in the structure (after it's been cut away for clearance) and where the oil pickup would be in the pan.

Good point. We've had threads started in the "general" section complaining that new members often feel left out and not particularly welcome, because they didn't get much feedback on their models. Then we have a new guy, the OP, who steps up and says exactly that...that he feels ignored and actually asks for feedback...in front of the whole forum instead of whining about it to other members offline...and he gets slammed. And, we've had threads going on and on and on about the future of car modeling being in the hands of younger guys who aren't really into '30s-'60s cars, and that more model companies need to address the interests of the Euro and Asian tuner market. So we have a guy who is building an engine-swapped Asian import (more powerful engine in an older body/chassis... the essence of hot-rodding)...and he's told if he doesn't like it here, go somewhere else. Anybody see the disconnect between what some of us SAY and what we DO? And yes, I was one who agreed that there's a lot of interest here in muscle cars, and that's just the way it is, so deal with it. But...I also looked over his build thread and offered advice, like he asked for.

This is interesting, as Model Roundup, Mega Hobby, Hobbylinc and others list them as being 1/25. Has anyone actually measured some real prototype engines and compared the dimensions in scale?