Ace-Garageguy

Perhaps you haven't noticed that's pretty much the universal SOP these days...

The fact that the intelligence of the average consumer (and whoever markets to him) is in free-fall?

I still buy too much through eBay, and every time I'm aggravated by the general glitchiness. For all the constant fiddling and patching, both the rationality and overall usefulness of the search function continue to deteriorate. Workarounds are often required to get meaningful search results...and in some cases, just to pay for stuff. It's not helped by idiots who continually post their merchandise in the wrong categories; the search algorithms just aren't smart enough to compensate for rampant human stupidity. PS: I generally refuse to buy from Amazon (unless there's just no other convenient source) for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that almost everything I've wanted in the past couple of years has been available considerably cheaper through eBay...so I continue to put up with the problems there.

I didn't know about this one. Just exactly what I need as a tow vehicle for a 356 race car.

Enjoying this, and your detail shots of the real cars are much appreciated. I have a Fernando Pinto version acquired a couple of years back. The body lines look very good on that one also. His Porsche 550 Spyder gets the lines right too, better than any other kit. I've had the opportunity to see a few 166 Barchettas together at one time, and the differences from car to car, with individually coachbuilt bodies, can be quite striking. I also appreciate the effort and skill you're putting into opening panels on these thick castings. It's not a job most modelers could get right..

Actually, those of us who paid for p-bucket from the beginning (which I did to avoid the moronic, screaming, marketing gibberish you had to sit through during uploads to the "free" version) didn't get caught in the hostage-taking debacle. I still have my grandfathered-in account, and it works without watermarks...and it's still cheap.

Very clean custom work. Looks great. Hows about a bubble top?

Nice lines. That's a tough chop to make work well, and you succeeded admirably.

Yup, that's been my experience too...other than kits like Guillow's balsa flying model airplanes and heavier wooden ship models...both of which are built up of flat pieces, like RR structures and older wooden RR cars...and in the case of airplanes, don't do a very good job of representing curved surfaces, particularly compound curves. Anyone can see the obvious limitations of smooth sheet-metal curves represented by a buildup with wooden stringers covered by paper or fabric on this completed Guillow's model: And though there are some fascinating paper kits out there, the most realistic results are obtained when the subject is something that's built primarily of flat elements anyway, like this 1/25 scale M25 tank transporter tractor:

Indeed. Another interesting point about the Anglias in the earlier days is that, due to the extremely short wheelbases, they weren't allowed anything but "smallblock" engines (and only injected, not blown, at that; my remembry's a little cloudy on this) in some sanctioning bodies...so, depending on the period you want a build to represent, the big-inch Olds engines in the Revell Anglia kits might not be legal. Of course, later on, you could see just about any engine in them, including blown Chrysler hemis, but not all strictly "gas" class-legal everywhere...and they ran other classes and as exhibition or outlaw cars too. Bottom line...research on your own if historical accuracy matters to you. Here's two good starting places for drag racing Anglia info: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/a-history-of-the-anglia-gasser.1032250/ https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/the-anglias-drag-racings-little-monsters/

Nice indeed. Great looking "wood".

Just FYI: while 3-rail "tinplate" O scale is very much out there and becoming more popular again (though somewhat toylike in some cases, like Lionel), there's also "exact scale" O-gauge 2-rail that uses DC motors. Because it's essentially twice the size of HO, there are some truly spectacular models and layouts in "exact scale" O. One typical motor is the Pittman DC84/85, similar in size to what the OP listed, also used for big slot cars:

Good luck. There were bazillions of small DC motor designs made. At first glance, it looks like a Pittman or Tenshodo or Mashima "open frame" piece, but not exactly. And there were countless no-name Japanese sorta copies of Pittmans as well. A lot of those were built like little tanks, and should respond to some tlc, to run like new (though the permag motors may require remagnitization of the field magnets). That one, in the first photo, is missing the armature shaft bushing on that end...quite possibly all that's wrong with it. EDIT: After looking at the dimensions you posted again, I see it's considerably bigger than the HO stuff I'm familiar with.

Beautiful piece of work.

PM'd

Here's a real one (not what you asked for, I know, but just trying to point you in a possible direction for a model source): B48 CATALINA HOOD SCOOP 57 58 59 60 1961 1962 1963 64 65 PONTIAC SUPER DUTY https://www.ebay.com/itm/125013575153?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338722076&toolid=10001

MORE INFO...I've found several listings for this scoop called variously Pontiac, Catalina, and super duty. I'd look at some '60s Poncho kits.

This was on eBay listed as "vintage Ford super duty or Pontiac"...but the listing is gone.

Musta been from something, 'cause here's one on a '56 Chebby:

WOW.

Indeed.

Yeah, looks great. Guess I'll be stealing that little trick.

Y'all should add this to your sky-is-falling worry list. You just never know...

Water jackets were (and still are) filled with "concrete" or other materials (like Devcon epoxy filled with aluminum powder) primarily in an effort to reinforce engine blocks, particularly cylinders, from distorting and cracking while containing vastly more horsepower than they were designed to handle. People tried all kinds of odd stuff, like polyester resin, grout, etc. In the mid '80s, a material called HardBlok came out. It's still used.

We're not talking about the same thing. The fuel feed line from the tank to the pump is dark gray, and there is a black line from the pump up to the injection barrel valve. There is also a black return line running from the pump to the tank...but the line I was referring to ain't fuel. Look closely and you'll see a silver line running from the front of the block under the front of the head, just forward of the headers, from what looks like a red-painted 90deg. fitting screwed into the block...probably at a freeze-plug location. The silver line makes a 90deg. turn into the front of the intake manifold, where there's a coolant passage on a Chevy smallblock. At the 90deg., it also appears to possibly T into a line that continues on to a mystery object under the blower-drive gear housing. I said the whole mess appears to be a crossover line with a fill cap on it...what I'm assuming might be the mystery object...between the water jackets on the block. And I never said the car ran a water pump.