Ace-Garageguy

The R&M parts you posted aren't Ala Kart. They're repops from this kit...

The oldest plastic car kits in my possession are the first issue acetate Monogram Midget and an early Revell Ferrari showing a 1955 copyright.

I'm pretty sure the first mandatory use of roll bars was in NASCAR in the early '50s. They slowly trickled through the sport, but like a lot of things, were thought to be evidence the driver was a sissy. It wasn't until '67 or so that real roll bars that would actually support an open car's weight appeared in European races. Seat belts also took time to become widely accepted and eventually required. It was thought that it was better to be thrown from the car rather than being trapped and crushed, or trapped and burned to death. If you build an early '50s car with a roll bar, it's entirely period correct (though not common), but they'd generally not be as tall as the top of a driver's helmet, and the material would be smaller diameter than what we generally see today. WW II military aircraft seatbelts began showing up in dry lakes cars shortly after war's end.

Yes, the parts to which you refer are vestigial remains of the ORIGINAL Ala Kart kit, which was a DOUBLE kit including a '29 Ford as well. And yes, it is these ORIGINAL but somewhat MODIFIED parts that are included in the Mod Rod, etc. Every release and every later version of the AMT '29 Ford roadster I've ever seen has had at least some of the original Ala Kart double kit parts included, particularly the Dodge Red Ram hemi engine. BUT...there is a "NEW TOOL" Ala Kart released some time in the '80s or '90s...I forget exactly when. It's ENTIRELY DIFFERENT from the original tool kit...and was NEVER issued as a double kit. The NEW TOOL parts ARE NOT included in any other kits either. The photo of the Ala Kart you posted above is the NEW TOOL kit. Both Ala Kart kits have strengths and weaknesses. The unforgivable one is a severely under-scale engine in the NEW TOOL kit. These are the original and the new-tool boxes compared. Here are some of the differences in the two kits examined in some depth.

Yeah, I've found a few that are reasonably straight, but they've all appeared to have shrunk considerably. It's noticeable the way the fenders have pulled back from the bumpers on both ends, and in how the wheels are never centered in the wheel openings. Yours will look great, 'cause you can visually correct all that and maintain the illusion that all is as it should be, sitting on a different chassis, but it spoils the scale accuracy. The good part is that the old acetate shrinks fairly consistently, so the fine proportions stay well in the ballpark, even if the actual dimensions aren't.

Great project, really looking good in that last shot especially. The new wheels/ tires are perfect. I keep intending to find one of these in unwarped condition, but since I got a 1/24 diecast to look at, I keep forgetting.

I have no idea what it is, though I see some design elements that are pointing me to one particular guy. So far, no results on that front though.

If you're going to do 2-tones, use lacquer. Trying to overpaint enamel...even the same brand enamel that's dried for weeks...is asking for problems. Lacquer dries hard enough to topcoat overnight. No wrinkling. And everything is safe to use over Duplicolor sandable primers (I have no experience with their "sealer primer", so I'll let those who do chime in).

Nuthin' wrong with that. I love Neons. The 2-liter cars are a little buzzy (easily fixed with engine bay insulation) but they handle better than any other cheap car I've ever driven. The ride quality is also remarkably refined for a small inexpensive car. I actually prefer the Neon to all of the late-model rentals I've driven lately. And the 2.4 liter DOHC turbos are pocket rockets. They're all kinda a PITA to work on due to the design and location of the timing belt system, but they're no worse than many other cars, and because they were generally thought of as disposable vehicles and poorly maintained, junkyards are full of parts for cheap.

Pretty sure that's the one with Barris' Ala Kart in the background of one of the shop shots too.

Took a drive over to the local Ferrari dealer at dusk to cool off. The standouts in the window were a 275 GTB and an Enzo. It's not often you see $8 million+ worth of cars sitting in a showroom. Father's Day car show at a friend's church had some interesting pieces too. A '58 deuce-and-a-half was my favorite. Nothing else sounds or smells like those things. A nice daily driver 427 Stingray convert, a big-block powered '37 Packard 120 convert and a fine dual-quad Y-block engined '57 Ford post also got my attention.

I can do it. I'd need the part for about 2 weeks, and would return it exactly as-is. A two-part silicone mold would be made of the existing part, and an exact duplicate cast. The original would not be damaged. The duplicate would then be corrected as necessary to achieve a perfect master (edge chipping corrected, etc.) Another set of molds would be made of the master, at which time duplicates could be cast in a variety of engineering resins having differing hardnesses, wear characteristics, etc. Alternatively, I can point you in the right direction to amass all the knowledge you need to do it yourself, help you through the procedure and material selection, etc. I've made many prototype and fully functional one-off parts over the last 5 decades for a wide variety of clients, in a wide variety of materials. PM me if interested.

Somewhat similar situation exists with CO2. China, at about 30% of global CO2 emissions, produces roughly twice as much CO2 as the US (as of 2015).

Very attractive model. I always liked Fords of this vintage in two-tone paint, and we rarely see them modeled. Very nice indeed.

Wow. Potential for a spectacular model right there. The body shell appears to have some minor symmetry issues, but the "feel" of the car is definitely there. Thanks. Funny how many automotive "experts" criticized Giugiaro's hard-edged designs of the '70s-'80s, like the VW Golf (Rabbit), DeLorean, and Lotus Esprit, and stupidly parroted the "reason" for said design style being his inability to draw perspective. Ignorance has a way of taking on a life of its own. His other designs, this one especially, show his real talent...and put paid to the nay-saying fools.

Yup, some plastic tubing, a little heat, and some well chosen words will most likely be the hot setup.

Thanks. I might surprise you and make it by round 10.

Radiator's assembled, with side frames and support wings. Lower tank is laminated from two short lengths of stock, with the appropriate edges and corners rounded. This shot shows how it fits snugly between the frame rails. I'll make little triangular brackets on the frame for it shortly. There are several ways to run a water pump with a supercharged engine. Some setups use electric pumps. Some setups place the pulleys behind the blower drive, but in my mind, this tends to make the blower drive more flexible than is desirable, as the blower-drive cogs get moved farther out on the crank snout and the blower itself. I did some research, and found the Stone-Woods-Cook Olds-powered '41 Willys in particular used water pump pulleys mounted forward of the blower drive cogs. This shortens the very highly loaded blower-drive shafts as mentioned above, and also makes it far easier to change water pump belts. I've used the Revell SWC Willys blower drive assembly for a mockup, to get the spacing on the front of the engine about right, so I could locate the radiator where the hoses would be as short as possible. I'll need to fab up a custom blower drive for this thing too, as the spacing between the crank snout, blower drive shaft, and water pump shaft are very different on the AMT Chevy 409 than they are on the Revell 394-based Olds. With the water pump and radiator issues somewhat dealt with, the next problem to untangle is getting the steering gear in the car. There will be conflicts with the exhaust headers, and I'd kinda like to make the steering shaft in one piece without resorting to universal joints to get around other stuff. Sometimes it's unavoidable to use UJs, but I'd prefer to build the headers to clear the steering rather than the other way around. As always, multiple mockups and looking at things from multiple angles are essential to get everything to fit, and Lefty is a big help in getting reasonably correct relationships between components that have to accommodate a human.

Thanks Daniel. Much appreciated.

Got the roof over the back part of the house/shop pretty well sealed on Thursday afternoon prior to the soaking rains we're having now and forecast through next week. When I moved here, the plan was to correct the too-flat slope of the rear add-on shed-style roof that was done by earlier "experts" during a previous renovation. The same "experts" poured the concrete floor below grade, and then had to build a French drain adjacent to the back wall so water wouldn't run in under it. Naturally, the French drain wasn't built correctly either, isn't deep enough, has no outlet or dry-well, so in a downpour, it fills up and water comes in under and through the wall anyway. All of this horse hockey, and MANY more issues with prior "renovations", contributed to my finally deciding to quit the idea of rebuilding this hot mess and just move out West where the weather suits what I do better anyway. But I'll still need a reasonably functional shop that doesn't leak excessively during the early phase of the moving process, while getting the machine tools and vehicles ready for transport. So I'm a little closer.

Thanks guys. Interest and comments always appreciated.

What I corrected was your incorrect statements that plastic "never" breaks down and that it's "forever". Yes, the floating garbage is a very real problem, but there is much misinformation floating around about it as well. For instance, one of Canada's environmental honchos recently quoted a widely spread false assertion that a dead whale had been found with 40 kilos of plastic in its stomach. There was much wringing of hands and quavering concerned voices. Then somebody corrected her with the truth that the "photographic evidence" widely circulated on the idiot-parroting internet was in fact an art-installation done to draw attention to the floating waste problem. Accuracy matters.

Actually, that's not true. Plastic in landfills is pretty much forever, but plastics exposed to UV from sunlight and oxygen will break down over time, even our favorite styrene, and the polyester and epoxy-matrices in fiberglass products. This is the reason that much effort has been spent developing stabilization methods to achieve longer product life in products made from plastics. Plastic dashboards in cars, for instance. The cracking we're all familiar with is due to breaking down from environmental effects. Eventually, they'll turn to inert powder. And though all plastics can be recycled one way or another, it's usually not done because there's no (or very little) economic incentive to do so. It's not profitable, and nobody cares enough to do it just because it's the right thing to do. There are many ways that individuals can reduce the amount of plastic being wasted and landfilled, but again, they usually just can't be bothered. And the no-plastic-bag and plastic-straw-bans are stupid, uninformed knee-jerk programs that accomplish almost nothing. The truth is that the plastics both products are made from are very easily recyclable, but the typical volumes are so low that, again, recycling companies won't bother with the stuff. Some stores take a more intelligent approach. Publix, for instance, has receptacles outside the store for used bags and other polystyrene packaging materials. They collect a sufficient volume of the stuff so that it's actually worthwhile for a recycling company to pick it up on a regular basis.