Ace-Garageguy

There are several good stock ones that come to mind, but the only nice "street performance" version I can think of off the top of my head is in the Revell '32 Ford 5-window coupe. It has 2 four-barrels, and finned valve covers and valley cover, backed up with a kinda generic manual gearbox. It builds up nicely, but the exhaust port spacing is wonky for some reason. The exhaust ports should be evenly spaced, but the kit has one port on each side out of place. It's not too hard to fix though, 'cause the heads are OK. It's just the manifolds that are wrong.

It would me too. Either outright stealing or just too da-- lazy to move his stuff with him, it's not right.

Pretty sure I'd be irked right on out the door.

Yup. That was one of the emergency fixes for small holes in a radiator that would actually work for as long as the engine was running. The flakes would partially plug and slow the leak...but as soon as the system lost pressure from cooling down, it would start to pee again. Guy musta used a whole box of pepper in mine though...at least enough to stop up the heater core. And the trans didn't actually fall out. Every so often, it would work loose and the 3-on-the-tree linkage would jam. Once I replaced all the oddball fasteners (at least 2 huge lag bolts, etc.) that held the manual gearbox to the block (had to re-tap the holes, naturally) with the right stuff, she ran fine...but man, I've rarely seen a rougher looking truck. Slathered-on unsanded bondo with at least 3 different colors of rattlecan green, bright metal trim painted silver with a brush and no masking, that sort of stuff. But hey...a decently running truck for 50 bucks, a handful of bolts, a radiator, and a few of hours labor...how can you beat it?

Looks pretty good. Guess I'll have to have one. I bought a real one way back in the early 1980s for $50 because the trans would fall out occasionally and the cooling system leaks had been "fixed" by dumping pepper in it... Sure wish I'd kept the old girl now.

Missed this one earlier. Moving along nicely. Really like the stance and wheel choice.

Skittles kinda rhymes with piddles, the hobby of lotsa puppies.

Yup. He said he had built just about every car model he wanted to, and was giving it a break to pursue other interests.

For whatever reason, I'd rather build from someone's old gluebomb or some half-missing kit that's been collecting dust and spiders for 30 years than crack open a brandy-new kit. Kinda like building real hot-rods from good junkyard parts, the way it used to be long before anyone thought of the phrase "built, not bought". 'Course that's kinda going the way of the dodo too, as more and more wrecking yards are bulldozed for ticky-tacky housing developments and strip malls, while the old cars and parts are crushed and chopped so the Chinese will have a steady stream of decent scrap.

My old man didn't use 'em all the time. Said he was saving the bulbs.

Really like the module-in-a-box idea.

Yup. Almost as good as knowing way back then what we know now. Almost. Welcome aboard.

Yup. Almost as good as knowing way back than what we know now. Almost. Welcome aboard.

Yes, yes, yes, yes. Few things more sinister looking than a wildly chopped T on a rail chassis with a big ol' blown hemi. Nize.

I'd have to hire a specialist. I'm afraid it's beyond my skill set.

Time to replace the top on my '89 Celica ASC convertible. Naturally, the only vehicle in the '87 thru '89 Celica lineup that a convertible top fits is the ASC convertible conversion. Several of feepay's hilarious "vehicle compatibility" charts show convertible tops fit every model. Try installing one on a coupe. Most of the parts-fitment charts from this most esteemed auction site are laughable, but this one really takes the cake. Who pays these morons?

Pickle-jar lids will make a man of ya.

I don't know what year or model your Jeep is, but it looks like it has internally-expanding drum parking brakes. I assume you released the parking brake, and the cables are free enough to let the shoes retract fully. A lead hammer (softer than brass) is usually the tool of choice to persuade recalcitrant rotors or drums to let go.

I haven't done it, but you just build a center pillar like a real one.

https://finescale.com/online-extras/show-galleries/2023/12/2023-acme-southern-nationals-model-contest-photo-gallery

Mind yer manners, or teacher will hit you with a hammer.

I have the answers, but I dare not utter them.

Year after year, I strive to finish just ONE of many models I started years ago; so far, no luck.

One more thing...the break looks more like it's a steel crank, and it appears the failure occurred because the damper wasn't as tight a fit on the crank as it should have been, and/or the bolt wasn't properly torqued. The small fracture lines to the left of the key would usually indicate a progressive fatigue failure from repeated high-frequency, low amplitude impacts. As the engine rotates clockwise (when viewed from the front), that would be consistent with a somewhat loose balancer repeatedly striking the RH face of the key for a long time. If it's a steel crank, it might be worth saving, as used steel cranks are considerably more expensive than cast iron cranks, and welding steel way out there on the nose is not as much of a "black art" as welding cast iron. If it were MY steel crank, I'd definitely weld it, machine it round again, and mill a new key slot, as I have the tools and ability to do it in-house. But buying a used steel crank would probably be cheaper than paying someone to repair it correctly. Then there's the additional expense pf pulling the engine and tearing it down (if you can't do it yourself), as the crank HAS TO BE OUT to do a decent repair. Thing is though, steel cranks are kinda overkill for non-high-performance or severe-duty applications, so replacing it with a cast iron crank is probably the best eventual solution...EDIT: or finding a good takeout engine. Decent used SBC engines aren't as plentiful as they once were, but there are still some out there, particularly as LS swaps have become so common.

Pretty pretty pretty pretty...both of 'em. Very nice.