Ace-Garageguy

Nobody's getting out of here alive.

"Anymore" isn't any easier to start a sentence with today than it was last time.

That has nothing to do with a majority of the counter staff I encounter not knowing the names or functions of basic parts that are common to all IC vehicles. Maybe it's just in my market, huh? The suburbs of a major metropolitan area? Somehow I knida doubt it. I often wonder to myself "how did these people even get hired in the first place?" Of course I understand there are thousands upon thousands more parts than there were decades ago, but you chose to focus on that part of my remark rather than on widespread ignorance and incompetence of IC-vehicle operation in general. Do MY job and then tell me how it really is. When I go to a parts store, I almost always have to do THEIR JOBS TOO. It should NOT be a pleasant surprise when I encounter a counter guy (or girl, but I guess "girl" isn't PC enough either) who even has a clue.

Most people are spending money they don't have, to buy things they don't need, to impress people they don't like.

"Experience the joy of reading" is advice that generations who are certain they can be instant experts on everything by listening to 30-second sound bites or watching 3 minute videos will never heed.

Still following, and looking forward to see your eventual wheel-tire solution. I have all the ancient Aurora Indycars, but have been putting off doing anything with them 'cause the big round parts are so klugey.

Smallblock Fords make particularly nice swaps in old Jags. They're generally narrower and longer than the little Chebbies. They work great in old Z-cars too. Just sayin'.

Yes and yes. First, I supply all my own parts, though I bill through the shops I contract with. The reason I do this is to avoid constant wasted time with wrong stuff getting delivered. The managers in both shops are good people, but simply do not know enough about what I do, and things like AN fittings, aircraft hardware, metal or other material stock, etc. for me to trust them to get me what I need. If I research and purchase my own stuff, if there's a problem with anything, it's 100% on me, with no buck passing. I mark up my parts exactly zero percent, and the shops don't mark up what I pay either, as when I write the bills, I stipulate the parts are at cost, period. Yeah, I give away a little in profit, but I don't need to nickel and dime really high-end clients, though I DO usually bill for my time if I have to research something unusual prior to ordering it. Knowing what to buy is part of the job. Both shops DO mark up my labor, of course, and everyone seems happy with the arrangement. Second, yes, it's appalling the lack of knowledge most parts-store countermen have these days. When I got in this business, there were still countermen who seemed to know every part number for every part ever made, and knew terms like "head set". Not any more.

Days filled with endless inanity, ridiculous hyperbole, and yammering bloviation seem to be what many online content consumers want, and what the internet excels at delivering.

Pelts from otters are better for coats, but the otters don't usually give them up without a fight.

Squirrel pelts don't make very big fur coats.

That's some serious hardware there, mister. But...gee whiz...wasn't there a time when America made stuff like this day-in, day-out, no big deal? It seems I remember that world, somewhere in the dim recesses of the past...

Agreed 100%. All in all it's been a good life, with tremendous opportunities for growth, developing a problem-solving, self-reliant mindset, and it's given me access to unobtainable cars and up-close-and-personal involvement in several types of motorsport. But we're seeing the end of an era, and we as a technological culture will be poorer for its loss.

Nobody can ever convince me that these animals don't think...

From what I've read, they say that the six's "engine architecture allows a significant improvement in overall efficiency". Okayyyyyyy... Still, it might make a pretty cool swap into something that was "high performance" and came with a big six...like an E-type.

Most likely everything will interchange relatively easily. Though I've never done this particular mashup, it's been my experience that most engine parts from the same engine family (in this case SBF) in the same scale will swap quite nicely with a little massaging. This engine is a mashup of ancient Revell, semi-current Revell, and very old AMT Olds parts.

I get your point entirely, and it's funny. But in the US or on most assembly lines in more "developed" countries, handling of components like this would be accomplished by pick-and-place robots, so the likelihood of damage during production would be diminished. While you can't teach people to care about how they do a job, you CAN program a robot to be careful.

Few things make a model or a real car look so bad at first glance (to people who notice these things) as wheels not centered in wheel openings. So I applaud your desire to get it right. Just like in real life, when you use suspension that didn't come as stock, it usually takes some effort to get everything in the right place. Which is why I do mockups tacked together to determine exactly where control arms or springs or whatever need to go, early in the game.

Well...ummm...I have an idea where it's being made. "Quality" is not assumed to be "job one". What drew me in was the metal forming and machine welding...which hasn't changed much since stamped-and-welded rear axle housings were introduced.

Very nice. I sure wish that kit came with the old-style staggered-lug military tires though...

Doing something I very rarely do, which is waiting for a subcontractor to do something I could do myself, but would take a lot longer because I'm not really set up to do it. Anyway, in the interim, I've been digging into the mystery boxes of HO stuff I bought last week. It just gets better and better, including three more almost-new medium-quality all-wheel drive locomotives, a GP18 and and two F7s from different manufacturers, and an older deep-flange 2-axle-drive low-nose GP38-2 (Life Like?)...also in excellent condition. There's also a couple of partially built-up (very well done) structure kits, including a vintage Atlas passenger station and a long Pola 2-stall engine house.

I'm about 97.827756 % sure I've seen 'em...but that still leaves room I could be wrong.

I find this kind of stuff to be highly conducive to working if I'm in the right frame of mind...just high energy, nice chord progressions, no head-banging, no lyrics that make you listen, and repetitive but not overly so...