Ace-Garageguy

This kit has about the best set of 427 SOHC cam covers ever done in styrene, and they're faithful to the real engines. The smaller recess for the rearmost plug on the passenger side is right where it's supposed to be.

I'm a lunatic, no question. Have my card to prove it, too. And I'd certainly buy these things to do just exactly what Mr. Goch referenced.

I'm sorry to see so many posts like this and Tom's relating the poor conduct of some kids these days. There's no question that concepts like "manners" and "fair" aren't getting as much air time as they did when I was a kid. And of course, it's not the kids' fault. Children don't come with embedded software that tells 'em how to act. It's the adults' responsibility, and it's largely being ignored. It's across all social strata too. I know a family where the mother is a pediatrician, the dad is a high-powered attorney, and the 3 teen kids are the rudest, most self-centered and nasty little maggots you could imagine. Not too long back, a couple of my-neighborhood young-teen girls were smashing bottles they'd found on the street (thrown out by the recent crop of neighbors) at the end of my driveway, and photographing the adventure on their phones. And yes, I followed them home and told their parents. These days, at Halloween, I turn out the front lights, pull the cars on the lawn as close as I can get to the house, and turn the motion-detectors all the way up. So far, it seems to have stopped the keying that was occurring previously.

Note I am not quoting yours in entirety either. Yup, the same ones in the bank lines who have no idea how to make a deposit, or that you can't cash any old check at any old bank, or bring in their kid for something oddball on a Friday afternoon when the lines are longest with the "but WHY can't I cash my check here?" types, or business owners who don't bother to count their cash and change prior to trying to deposit it. These same folks used to be the ones in the car-tag lines who had none of their required info, nothing to write on, and would get argumentative because their own idiocy prevented them from getting a plate. Thankfully, we now have a well thought-out system for getting tags and titles that really speeds the process up in spite of the inevitable idiots. And before all you hot happening high-techy folks tell me I'm a dinosaur Luddite and that if I was hip and with-the-times too I could do it all online...bugger off. The nature of my business requires that I still conduct some of these transactions in person.

Yeah, and the spiel almost always starts out with "we're reaching out to you today..." Yup, me too. And I block every BS call, but it seems I'm having to block at least 10 new ones every week. I keep hearing whispers in the wind that the Fed is actually going to DO something and get this annoying crapp stopped...but as we all know...

1) People mindlessly rebleating the term "reaching out" instead of just "contacting" or "writing" or "calling" or "e-mailing". It's stupid. Every scam call I get is some fool "reaching out" to get his hand in my pocket. Customer service follow-ups are inevitably "reaching out" to get my feedback or opinion, rather than just calling or e-mailing and asking for it. Technical services marketing themselves are always "reaching out" in response to inquiries I've made. Did I say it's STUPID? Every bit as STUPID as the worked-to-death "awesome" to describe the most trivial and insignificant, and "gifting" instead of "giving". 2) Adults with several decades of life behind them who can't buy a car, get a title transferred, get a tag, transfer insurance, or go to the bank for a certified check without somebody to hold their hands every step of the way. 3) People who quote entire posts, including all two dozen photographs.

carsntrucks4you cannot receive messages.

Yup. That's the solution.

The cowls and front of the '22 and '23 T buckets are virtually identical in appearance. Though there were differences between '22 and '23 fenders, , windshields, hoods, grilles, etc, they didn't affect the body shell much. The '24-'25, however, is an entirely different shell.

What...no "She's Real Keen, My V-16", or "Gotta Change Underwear After I Rolled My Corvair"?

Should be interesting. Like a lot of over-the-top cartoony kits, this one has a lot of really good stuff in it, lotsa potential.

If this is true, the bean counters have insured I'll never buy ANYTHING manufactured by Rust-oleum again. Ever.

One of the best sources for advanced modeling materials: https://www.freemansupply.com/products/machinable-media/renshape-modeling-and-styling-boards

Cool...and thanks for your interest and comments. Yeah, I have a cherry body I could pop a mold from, but I've been really bad about getting things done that I've offered like that. If you're not in any kind of hurry, I could work it in within a couple of months.

A lot of model train rolling stock is pre-painted styrene. The go-to stripper of choice for model RR stuff, one that I've used very often myself, is 91% isopropyl alcohol. Soak overnight. Don't bother with 70% though. It won't do diddly...though it makes a great pre-paint fisheye killer.

1) Blower in first post is a generic "oval case" GMC 6-71. The junkyard cases varied considerably depending on what the blower was originally installed on. Remember...in the early days, these things were salvaged from trucks, mining equipment, military landing craft, etc. Front drives and rear covers varied considerably too. The mounting flange on the oval-case units isn't seen. 2) Yup, the one in the '57 Chebby is supposed to be a S.C.o.T blower, but it's not a very good one. The real unit has a lot more ribs. Replicas and Miniatures makes one that's a real jewel. 3) And yes, the '25 T kit has a Latham Axial Flow unit. These didn't make much boost at low RPM, and were expensive to manufacture. 4) The "doesn't look the same" unit is a bottom-flange style GMC 4-71. This mounting flange is more common than the oval-case style on old race cars, but the internal workings are the same. EDIT: For reference, the Potvin (and knockoff) crank-driven blower rigs usually...but not always...used the oval-case blower housings... EDIT 2: Here's a shot of an oval-case unit mounted like in the first post...

Nice one. Pretty slick work on the vac-formed body shell.

A method I've actually used successfully multiple times while doing similar work is to reinforce the body shell while cutting by simply taping the door shells in place. After cutting, you will also want them firmly in place to guarantee correct alignment while you position the new roof insert. This is a job, again, where paying close attention, thinking through every move, and working carefully and slowly will make a nice job instead of an ill fitting mess. I recommend you use good tape, like 3M Green or the heavy aluminum tape from 3M. I also recommend you re-tape everything after cutting and double check your alignment before gluing your new roof center in place.

Maybe, but payback's a bitch.

Only problem with using a Dremel if you're not really used to it...it's easy to get the blade just a little cocked in the cut. Then it bites. Then you have two halves of a body, because when the cutting blade bites, it snaps the body out of your hands, and breaks it.

Cutting panels open may seem daunting, but it's really quite easy...but PATIENCE is the key. Repeatedly scoring the lines you want to open with a dedicated scibing tool or the back side of an X-Acto blade will do it. Work GENTLY. Do NOT rush it. If you can't get a good straight line started, or if the grooves in the plastic body shell aren't very deep, you can lay a guide of Dymo tape (if you can find any) or strips cut from real aluminum dict tape (not the fabric stuff). Once again...PATIENCE IS KEY. Work SLOWLY and CAREFULLY. This is a great opportunity to learn precise tool control, and thinking modifications through...like determining exactly how much material needs to be removed by comparing the optional parts with the existing top panel. You CAN do it.

But remember...when the first-generation AMT kits were released, for the most part, flatheads were considered obsolete boat-anchor scrap metal. The junkyards were already full of cheap, stock, late-model OHV engines that easily made the power of a heavily modified flathead, with better reliability and less weight. Go-fast flatheads were kinda dying out. That first AMT '32 roadster came with an optional Chrysler Firepower hemi, and at about the same time, Hot Rod mag published an article about choosing junkyard engines based on performance potential vs. weight vs. cost. The numbers added up to the hemi being the most bang for the buck.