Ace-Garageguy

The original question was about the '66 car. The OP is building a '66. Far as the '70 cars go, this is from http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofwmc.htm QUOTE: "W-31 A Cutlass w/350 CID performance option, not a 442 option. Technically, the W-31 was only built in 1969 and 1970. While not called a W-31, the equivalent vehicle was available and called the "Ram Rod 350" in 1968. All W-31's came with manual brakes only, due to the 308° duration cams (e.g. not enough vacuum to operate power brakes). But it's not hard to add a booster, though. You just need a reliable vacuum source." NOTE: A manual brake car would have a different diameter master cylinder from a power brake car, to increase mechanical advantage on the pedal. Power brakes could easily be fitted, as I said before, using the OEM master cylinder and booster. It would look just like a factory installation. The only difference would be a large vacuum can and / or an electric vacuum pump mounted somewhere. The silver thingy to the right is a typical electric vacuum pump, added to a normal power brake system. An auxiliary vacuum reservoir could be as simple as a 1-gallon fruit can (which some pop-up light Corvettes used as backup to lift the lights if the engine was stopped).

Yup. Regular "bondo" in the big cans is really too coarse in my opinion. Use 2-part finishing glaze. I used to swear by USC Icing (I build real cars and always have it in stock) but the Bondo Brand stuff shown above is even finer-grained and comes in small packages.

Bondo "Professional" 2-part (catalyzed) glazing putty. Available in smaller tubes too. This is the real deal. Learn how to use it, you won't be disappointed. Get it at the real-car parts store near you. To see a hood being made, click here... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=96942

Have you seen John Teresi's model of it? Really incredible work... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=38705

Really kinda unlikely GM would put out a factory assembled vehicle with a cam so wild it wouldn't pull enough vacuum for power brakes. The Cutlass platform got available front discs in '67, and the disc-brake cars are essentially un-stoppable without power boost. For 1966 the 442 was option package L-78. It included a special hood, grille, emblems, stripes, redline tires, heavy duty rad, driveshaft and engine mounts, wider wheels, heavier springs and swaybars, and either a 3-speed manual box, a wide- or close-ratio 4-speed, or a 3-speed turbo-hydramatic trans. The L-78 package included a single 4-bbl engine with 350HP. The hot-rod engine, in mine, was the W-29, with three 2-barrel Rochester 2GC carbs and rated at 360HP. The W-30 was a similar engine "factory blueprinted" and with a single 4-bbl, a still hotter cam and cold-air induction, built as an NHRA homologation-special series. There were roughly 50 factory-built real W-30 cars in '66 and about another 50 dealer-installed "Track Pack" packages. Far as I know, all of the option packages were available with the J50 power brakes (drum). So...any '66 442 option package L-78 could be had with power brakes. And any wildly-cammed W-30 car, even if it didn't pull enough vacuum, could easily be retrofitted with an OEM booster and master cylinder, and an oversize vacuum reservoir and / or a vacuum pump. The '70 W-30 car could even be ordered with AC, if also equipped with the auto gearbox and power brakes.

Rear window defogger quit working, seemed like blowin' hot exhaust on the glass should do the trick. Just missing a little deflector...

Been going on as long as there have been movies. I recall a Jag E going over a cliff and becoming a Triumph GT6, several Ford police cruisers becoming Chevys or Mopars as the scene was cut back and forth, police officers referring to automatic handguns as "revolvers", and recently, cops picking up "spent brass" from a gun that was very obviously a revolver in the shooting scene...not to mention that every handgun or rifle / shotgun sounds like a field-artillery piece. The mistakes in engineering, technology and aviation terminology are rampant too. And I once saw a diesel locomotive making choo-choo sounds. Morons.

Tasty little raceruck. Perfect color too.

You have the stance spot-on. Very slight forward rake, just low enough to look hot without looking dorky, and the front wheels look like you have them set far enough inboard so the thing would actually steer if it were 1:1. Keep that exact stance and she'll look great.

I had a '66 442 for a short time during high school. It absolutely positively had factory vacuum-assisted (power) drum brakes. I didn't buy the car new, so I don't know if they were standard as part of the package, but they WERE on mine.

Years ago as I was cleaning out my father's house after he died, I came across a still-sealed, still liquid bottle of Testors yellow model airplane dope, at least 40 years old at the time. I cracked it open, and yes, there was a rush of memories I had no idea were still lurking in my mind.

Wolves are also highly intelligent, wild, pack animals. When it's bitter cold, they huddle together to conserve body heat, and they understand how to find shelter. They can also keep moving to stay warm, as they're not tied to a post. They're wolves, not dogs.

Remarkable piece of stop-motion work, especially considering who did it. It's as good as some of the Ray Harryhausen "Dynamation" effects before CGI.

Don't even THINK about trying to fill openings in the edge of a panel with putty of any kind. Putty has zero structural strength, and is intended to be a surface filler where it's entirely supported from the backside. Trying to fill an edge with putty (on a model or a 1:1) is a guarantee that it will crack out and leave you with a sorry mess. Like the other guys said, use carefully-fitted styrene patch panels and allow them to dry very thoroughly before you putty to final contour, if necessary.

There are so many youtube videos of various techniques, why not just watch some of them, pick a look YOU like and think looks realistic, and follow the video instructions??

Here's an excellent method for heat-forming a compound-curved windshield. First you make a buck that fits the opening perfectly, using the existing windshield as a starting point. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/?showtopic=58564 BUT...the windshield on that Aston is only a single curvature, so all you need to do is make a template from the existing glass, and cut it out from clear sheet plastic. Use a quality soda bottle, and it will work perfectly, no heat-forming necessary. You will have to fit it very carefully, and you may have to make several until you achieve perfection.

Barefoot...

Cool kit. Looks like Fordski.

This has been answered and answered and answered. Over 400 posts on the paint-stripping topic alone, here... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83153

Yeah, work it down carefully with a Dremel, probably a drum-sander tip, but NOT all the way to the surface. Finish taking it the rest of the way flush with a flat file.

Sorry to see you have difficulty, but glad you're not giving up, and that you're rising to the challenge of reworking it to get the results you want. All of us who develop skills have had similar stories, frustrations and moments of misery when we see a lot of good work ruined. Even those of us who've been building things for a very long time have the occasional very bad day. Hang in there. Remember the old saying that it's not the things that go wrong that matter, but how you recover from them.

I have no idea, but it sure is cool. The leaning overpass is a little jarring though. Makes it all look just slightly post-apocalyptic.

What a shame it is that if you tied the owner for a while where his dog is, just to teach him a little compassion, you'd probably end up in jail. Life's unfair for man and beast.

Great stuff. Lotsa jumping off points for further research.

Just about over the most horrible case of the flu I've ever had. 103 deg. fever lasted several days, and after it subsided all I could do was sleep 20 hours a day for several more. Got on the roof this AM and cleaned out the shop gutters, then made sure the project cars were still covered well enough, as we have lotsa rain headed this way soon. Going back to work tomorrow.