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Ace-Garageguy

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Everything posted by Ace-Garageguy

  1. Career changes in one's mid-60s can be exhilarating or disastrous.
  2. VERY nice stuff. I've been making some for my own consumption for quite a while, in .020" thick real fiberglass.
  3. Of mice and men, the best laid plans often go all pear shaped.
  4. Crisis management will be daily livin' shortly, if a few things don't change.
  5. Wife material is getting pretty thin on the ground for me, 'cause I probably wouldn't want anybody who'd be content with an old geezer.
  6. My understanding on one of them was that the '56 frame had been badly lozenged, from a hard impact on the end of one of the forward rails, and the rail itself was too badly accordioned to save. The local junkyard had a cheap '57 frame, but no '55-'56s, so the owner chose to save an otherwise nice car with the '57 unit. It's not as daunting a project as it would first appear to a non-fabricator, as the body shell floors are relatively flat through the cabin area, and sit on rubber bushings on top of fabbed steel brackets. Though the '57 wheelbase is 118", as opposed to the 2.5" shorter 115.5" of the '56, this is relatively easily dealt with by a skilled fabricator/welder. Measure, cut, jig, butt-weld, gusset, and box the area if it's a C-channel section.. This was back in a time when a guy with good physical skills but little money would readily jump into something few would even contemplate today.
  7. Restaurant profit margins are low in the best of times, and since the bat flu hysteria, one estimate says there's been something like a 95% increase annually in permanent restaurant closures. That's almost double the annual permanent closures during normal times. Another estimate says close to 35%, nationally, of pre-pandemic restaurants are now gone forever. Skyrocketing food and energy costs, and labor shortages, are also driving the closures. Locally, we still have chain restaurants that no longer allow indoor dining or take-out, being drive-through only. We also have chain outlets that are open on a hit-or-miss basis, depending on who they can get to work on any given day.
  8. The way they figure the inflation rate, EXCLUDING the costs of food and energy, is nothing but smoke and mirrors so we they can pretend it's not as bad as it is.
  9. Firma, rounda...justa likea my Gina.
  10. I'd really rather do a steel car, as the final product would be worth a lot more. But the shell will be modified heavily for channeling, custom work on the cowl, and lengthening of the doors. That's the reason I bought it without the floor and firewall installed, as is the usual way folks get these things. In this case, fiberglass was mainly a matter of cost, as I can work equally well with either material. This body came in at around $4K total. A steel Brookville repro (with no firewall) is over $9-$11K, plus crating and shipping. The difference will buy things like a quick-change rear end, etc, I'm also looking at heavy moving expenses, so every dollar counts.
  11. There are only two ways. 1) Old School: Machine basic blanks on a lathe, machine and add the details by hand. Very eye-hand-skill and time intensive, and you need a lathe. 2) New School: Design what you want in CAD, convert files to STL, 3D print the result. You need a CAD program, CAD skills, and 3D printing capability. EDIT: Once you have one master made by either process, you can make silicone molds and produce as many urethane resin copies as you want.
  12. Never say never.
  13. Finally got the full-scale f'glass shell. Just like a big kit, but no box, instructions, numbers, or alignment pins.
  14. Finally got the full-scale fiberglass '32 Ford roadster body here and unloaded. Just like a big model kit.
  15. Dear friends shouldn't usually be eaten, but deer meat is tasty indeed.
  16. Thread is good to carry in a field pack, for repairing clothing and stitching wounds too big for a butterfly closure.
  17. "Kit fox" was shortened to Kitfox for the name of a species of homebuilt aircraft.
  18. My first thought...the Revell Foose Ford pickup kit has a chassis that should adapt pretty easily. Independent pro-touring style front suspension, Ford 9" solid rear end, mostly straight frame rails, a wheelbase that's not too far off, and a hot-rod Ford engine in the bargain. EDIT: One of the Revell '57 Fords could work for you too. The chassis are very detailed, and I've actually seen a real '56 body shell swapped on to a '57 chassis...though they're entirely different designs. EDIT 2: The Revell Foose Caddy chassis is probably the most obvious choice, and it has independent rear suspension too.
  19. Snake45 (http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/profile/14409-snake45/) is an avid aircraft builder, and seems to be knowledgeable about older kits. He might be a good source of info for you.
  20. Looks great, especially considering all the problems the kit was born with. Sure would be nice if somebody would tool an accurate 914 that actually looks like a 914, as the body lines and proportions on that kit are awful. But somehow, I don't foresee that happening.
  21. There's a pretty good market for builtups on eBay as "rebuilders", and they usually bring decent money, but not a lot unless they're something really rare, like clean adult-assembled early '60s cars. I've bought loads of them, as the prices are considerably less than unbuilt kits, for interesting subject matter. Far as built aircraft go, I really don't know...but it looks like he has some very interesting and unusual planes in there, and I'd think there'd be a market for most of them among connoisseurs, again accessible through eBay. I've sold oddball stuff all over the planet through eBay, and you can't beat it for reaching a global market.
  22. Re-chromed real-car parts often come back from the plater with waves, deep scratches, and uncorrected bends that spoil the fit, but hey...they're shiny.
  23. Ad hominum: adjective Attacking a person's character or motivations rather than a position or argument. Appealing to the emotions rather than to logic or reason. Of or relating to ad hominem.
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