Ace-Garageguy

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.

You might want to reevaluate your diagnostic procedure. What year and make truck? What other symptoms do you have? What is the compression in each cylinder?

...the Dunning-Kruger effect will show all those annoying know-it-all folks a thing or two...

Draco, a wild turbine-powered one-of-a-kind STOL aircraft built by ace designer / fabricator Mike Patey, was destroyed a few weeks back in a crosswind takeoff incident. She'll be rebuilt, better than ever.

That design was originated by Ted Halibrand and widely referred to as "kidney beans" because of the bent ovoid shape of the slots. They've been around since the mid 1950s, used on pretty much anything imaginable: drag cars, road racing cars, Indy cars, dry-lakes cars, and street rides. Similar styles are still in production, one current one being from American, called "Salt Flats".

Yup...and "fairing" is an interesting word. "Fair" means pretty when it's applied to a woman, but it also means smooth or streamlined when it's applied to a boat hull, an airplane, or the surface of a car. There is a verb "to fair", that literally means "to smooth" or "to streamline". It was originally a nautical term, and a very slick hull would be called "fair". So, "fairing" can be a verb meaning the act of making smooth or streamlining. You don't see the word used much as a verb anymore though. But "fairing", as used here, is a noun that refers to any part that's used to help achieve a wind- or water-resistance cheating shape that helps with streamlining. You can have helmet fairings,or mirror fairings, or wheel fairings, or wing-root fairings, etc. EDIT: To this day, there's still boat-hull "fairing compound", which is much like bondo, but made for making boat hulls slick and smooth.

Just an FYI that's sorta on-topic...one of my go-to primers as well as being a super dooper flat black is SEM self-etching black. IF you get lucky and it doesn't craze the plastic you're working with, it flows out as smooth as a baby's backside, with no orange peel. It sticks like the dickens, and is usually totally impervious to any topcoat. As a final finish (if you're going for the primered look and can't sand and polish a peely finish), because it flows out so smooth, it's perfect. BUT YOU NEED TO TEST IT ON PLASTIC AS WELL AS OVER ANY OTHER MATERIAL BEFORE USING IT ON A MODEL.

See above.

What's a "display cabinet"? All I have experience with is "workbench" and "storage for in-progress projects".

Send in the National Guard...

Very nice. Back in 2007, there was an actual Shelby-connected '32 built : "For the 75th anniversary of the 1932 Ford, Carroll Shelby was asked to oversee the building of a prototype roadster with the “Shelby” touch, in what was to be a limited production run of 100 vehicles. The prototype build was awarded to Hot Rod magazine’s “Detroit Dream Factory,” Special Projects Inc. (SPI) and Ken Yanez, together who, Hot Rod wrote, “are among the few in the world with the skills and resources to turn a pile of raw materials into a complete functional automobile…with the finest show quality detail.” The Great Recession of 2008 caused the production company to fail, but the prototype lives on as the only Carroll Shelby Edition 1932 Ford roadster. With an all steel body, power roll-up windows and a fully disappearing Haartz convertible top, this car is a driver’s dream. In the Shelby/Ford tradition, it is powered by a 4.6 liter, 585 HP DOHC supercharged Ford V-8 engine, with a 5 speed manual transmission. The car is supported by a Jaguar independent rear suspension with inboard disc brakes. This unique automobile displays all the styling cues associated with the famous Shelby Cobra roadsters including the paperclip roll bar, external quick fill gas cap, front cowl vents, front oil cooler and hood scoops, Halibrand knock-off alloy wheels and taillights. The cockpit is also evocative of the Cobra, with the added flourish of an engine- turned aluminum dash signed by Carroll Shelby. Additional provenance includes the pre-build design renderings, photographs of Carroll Shelby and Ken Yanez with the prototype, and the June, 2009, Hot Rod magazine article, “Detroit Dream Factories” in which this automobile is featured." SOURCE: Mecum Auctions

Let's just cut to the end: drawings on cave walls made with berry juice and coals from last night's fire...

Replacing that dinosaur with these. That should eliminate 99.5% of anyone being able to do anything (laughs hysterically).

Among those with functioning brains, I believe it's already a done deal...

Not if we go with this...