Ace-Garageguy

Wow. Now you can make styrene wine.

Wouldn't have done you any good anyway. The kit pictured above is entirely different from the Alfa Romeo 1900 the BATs are based on. Different structure, different engine. . This is the engine for the Giulia / Giulietta Spider and Coupe models above... one-piece cam cover (though induction could vary considerably): This is the Alfa 1900, the basis of the BATs... This is the engine for the 1900 and the BATs... individual cam covers (though again, induction varied):

Beautiful work. Always inspiring to see someone working in brass.

1) The BATs were built on the Alfa Romeo 1900 chassis. 2) The 1900 engine looks much more like a Jag XK engine with two cylinders cut off than the engines that we're discussing here. 3) The Spyder kits don't have engines anyway. 4) A 4-cylinder engine appropriate for the Spyder (but NOT the BAT) is included in this kit...

YES, it IS a vacuum advance. Nobody is disputing that fact. MY POINT is that a vacuum advance has no place on a supercharged engine. Anybody building a model of an engine with a blower, remove the advance can. A normally-aspirated engine MAY use vacuum advance to advantage.

Yes indeed...Steve's approaches are definitely good possibilities.

Yup. As I noted above, a supercharged engine will most likely NOT use a vacuum-advance can. There is never a vacuum condition in the intake manifold with a mechanical supercharger. All timing advance will be controlled mechanically inside the ignition unit by weights and springs.

Yup. Need to see that. And here's the problem...those parts are compound-curved. Without vacuum-forming, you just won't be able to form flat sheet styrene into those shapes...though you could start with something like .060" and carve the sides and back pieces separately, then bend the center pieces. So...vacuum-forming .010" sheet over the seat backs and trimming to shape is one option. Another option is to coat the seatbacks with a mold-release agent like polyvinyl alcohol, and laying up .010" fiberglass and epoxy, again trimming to shape. The downside of doing it that way is you'd need to fill and sand the parts to kill the grain from the glass cloth. AND...because those parts are compound-curved, foiling is most likely going to result in a whole lotta wrinkles. I'd use Molotow or another of the faux "chromes" instead.

Yes sir, I understand. Since 2005, I only have two that are kinda finished, and even those need some additional work...though they're "close enough" to look at and be reasonably happy with.

Thanks Bob. Some of the fab work is a little sloppy at this point, but will get cleaned up towards the end. Sometimes, like while making up the light bar, it's kinda impossible to keep the work as neat as I'd like with only two hands. But like I said, any messiness will be resolved before I call her done.

Thanks Bob. She's one of the dozen or so that are pretty close...but I have no idea when I'll really have much time for.

SCINTILLA / VERTEX / JOE HUNT MAGNETO Introduced in the mid 1930s, this is probably the most common magneto represented in kit form. Almost every kit that has something labeled "magneto" in the instructions, this is it. They're also available in simplified form from some aftermarket model part suppliers (with all the wires coming out one big hole in the cap). It's used effectively on the street, as well as sprint, drag, and road-racing cars. They were seen on Cobras, McLarens, Offys, and top-fuel rails...and everything in between. This mag is still a good piece of hardware, and does NOT require a battery to operate. Today, several fake Vertex mags are available that look just like the real thing, but have modern electronic guts. The fakes DO require a battery on the car.

Here's one to get the ball rolling, as per request... SPALDING / GRANT "FLAMETHROWER" IGNITION SYSTEM I chose this to kick things off as it makes an appearance in the '40 Willys kit Casey posted on the thread that started the idea. (part #9) This is a part that is very frequently misidentified as a "magneto". It is not. Rather, it's essentially two single-point distributors in one housing, requiring two coils, and functioning as a dual-point distributor, but with twice the dwell time on each set of points because of its unique configuration. Unlike a magneto, it requires a battery to function, so keep that in mind if you use one. These can be run with or without a vacuum advance can, depending on the application. In general, a blown engine will not use vacuum advance, though the can may be set up to function as a pressure-retard device, common on old-school turbocharged street engines Introduced in the late 1950s (IIRC), and popular through the 1960s into the '70s, they're still fine units for street or competition use (though parts can be difficult to find). They can be used on any V8 engine. There are 4 plug wire terminals on each side, wired as shown above. Several kits include this distributor, including the vintage Revell Ford 427 and AMT Chrysler 392 parts-packs.

Though it's pretty hidjus, it's really cool in it's way. As his career advanced, Barris certainly became the master of hanging a lot of dog-awful stuff on a vehicle.

That's a great looking effect. Very convincing. Nice technique.

Though I certainly didn't think of them as "dangerous" at the time, the years I spent driving a Lotus Super 7 and later a Beck 550 Spyder turned out to be pretty lucky when one remembers the average level of driver competence. Considering the top of my head was about the same height as an old Caddy headlight, and the fact that there's not much more impact-protection than you get on a motorcycle, it wouldn't have taken much of a hit to have been popped like a zit. Probably the most unthinkingly "dangerous" thing I ever did in a car was driving my hot-rod '62 Bug out on a frozen old quarry lake in NJ, and practicing slides. I really had absolutely no idea how thick or solid the ice was. That was the same Bug that snapped it's JC Whitney "quick-steering" Pittman-arm extension as I pulled into a Burger King parking lot at Ga. Tech, just after having been doing around 80 on I-85 moments before. That was my first exposure to the concept that aftermarket parts could be poorly-engineered, poorly-manufactured trash that could easily kill you.

While this could certainly be a useful repository of information, it also has the potential to become unwieldy very quickly. With the severely limited editing time-window now, there's no real way to keep the posts organized alphabetically in a single thread, which strikes me as the best way to find things. Examples: blower drives; steering boxes; water pumps; etc. Individual threads labeled by subject is a possibility, but as we've already mentioned, vague and generic thread titles can be a real problem. Another possibility is a spreadsheet format, but to be easily used, that would also need to be alphabetized, and updated as new entries appear. And I don't know if the site supports anything in a user-modified spreadsheet format. Barring those two probably impossible options, it's going to become a real PITA to scroll through a lengthy thread in the hopes of finding some reference to a specific part...especially considering the search function that's part of the platform isn't really that great. A possible solution would be to establish a standard formula / format for individual postings (or threads) for a set of references and photos (to make it easier for the search-function or Google to find the entry) but getting people to read and follow instructions consistently can be tiring at best, and it's generally impossible. What am I missing? Anybody have any good ideas??