Ace-Garageguy

Seems like the dearth of parental guidance, good adult role models, and the practice of instilling behavioral ethics into kids was as much a problem then as it is now. But of course, I've never been able to grasp the idea that mindless destruction, even of an abandoned vehicle, is "fun". Guess I must be missing something.

Well, if he was at the helm when Nissan brought out the Puke, he should be charged with gross artistic negligence as well.

Member djflyer forwarded me this link to Ford SOHC engines available from Shapeways currently. They look great, but bear in mind the images are renderings and not photos of actual parts. Without having samples in hand, and seeing the surface finish, etc., it's impossible to make a worthwhile assessment. I may buy one just to see, and if they're really nice, terminate this project. https://www.shapeways.com/shops/3d-model-specialties?section=427+Ford+SOHC&s=0

Yes, none of the timing covers I have get it right. At the moment, it's a tossup between going forward with the Willys kit version, or the T'rantula kit version. Both of them will require significant modification, and I'd like to be able to provide blind holes in the final part that can be opened as necessary to allow for different cooling arrangements and accessories for different classes and installations. I'll have a look at the T-bolt block too. Though the Revell parts-pack is quite nice, it may have some issues as well. Agreed, which is why I stripped the engine sprue prior to working with it. It's essential to be able to see past the shiny while building those things. The cam covers will be stripped as we progress as well.

"Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?" From Andrea del Sarto, by Robert Browning

My favorite line when some woman asked me "do these pants make my butt look fat?" and I deadpanned "it's not the pants".

Knockwurst, sauerkraut, thrice-baked potato, buttered black bread, sliced baked apples with cinnamon and heavy cream for dessert. Hmmmmmm...I wonder why I have a hard time losing weight. It must be glands. Or old age, slower metabolism. Or maybe I'm just big-boned.

Never had a model ask me if its butt looks fat, or stay out all night and then try to pacify me with some lame baloney about crashing with a "girlfriend", or later, give me an STD. Never had one run off with Raul-the-pool-boy, and then shack up with a lawyer and try to take me for half of everything I had. Never had a model call me an egotistical know-it-all pr... when I told it the stuff it brought back from the "expert" tool doofus at Home Depot was all wrong, or when I patiently explained how the "mechanic" it took its car to had just screwed it out of $750 for entirely unnecessary repairs. Never had a model embarrass me in a restaurant by sending the food back repeatedly when there was nothing wrong with the food, but there WAS a desperate need to be the cause of ongoing drama and the constant center of attention. Never had a model get drunk, flirt shamelessly with everyone in a jazz club, and on the way home, stand up in the seat of my Jag, hanging out the sunroof, and take its top off in front of a cop. Should I continue?

Below are the original-style AMT no-name piecrusts. They measure about 8..75" tread width, about 30.5" outside diameter, for 15" rims. Both the Beatnik Bandit and the vintage Revell parts pack piecrusts measure about 7.5" overall width, with an almost 29" diameter. The Bandit tires have the M&H lettering, while the parts-packs are no-name. Unfortunately, though the sidewalls on the M&H version are engraved 7.10-15, they need a bout a scale 17" rim. In the wayback, for some odd reason, Revell wheels were larger diameter than AMT's, even when they represented the same 1:1 size

NOTE: THIS IS A WORK-IN-PROGRESS. IT'S ONLY A QUICK MOCKUP AT THIS POINT, AND I STILL NEED TO GET SOME 1:1 DIMENSIONS AND CONSULT A LOT OF RESEARCH PHOTOS TO BRING IT HOME. ANYTHING YOU MAY SPOT THAT IS WRONG, I'VE PROBABLY ALREADY SEEN IT, BUT FEEL FREE TO OFFER CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM OR IDEAS TO HELP MAKE A BETTER END PRODUCT. A lot has been written as to what's the best Ford 427 SOHC engine in kit form, and the consensus is that the engine from the George Montgomery '33 Willys kit by AMT is the all-around winner. No dispute there, but it was also brought up that the cam covers from the Monogram T'rantula were really beautiful. The question was asked if anyone had ever tried mix-matching parts to see if an ultimate Cammer engine could be arrived at by the mashup process. I said I'd give it a shot if I ever got back to the bench, so here goes. What we'll end up with will be in the 1/24-1/25 ballpark, and should pass in either scale. It won't be any worse scale-wise than most of what's considered acceptable from the major manufacturers. Below is the engine from the Willys kit. Not bad, but the cam covers aren't right. These are the T'rantula engine bits. Cam covers are exquisite, but the timing cover is a little lame. The oil pan is molded with the split block too. Both engine lowers leave something to be desired as neither really correctly represents the Ford FE bottom end the Cammer is based on, and they both kinda miss the depth of the FE block skirt. That's where the ancient Revell parts-pack 427 Ford comes in. Nicely done block...though it DOES take some "fiddly" work to make it go together square and righteous. Separate oil pan, and a good looking bellhousing to boot. It's been my experience over the years that the Revell tooling designers of this era got the closest to correct dimensions and details of anybody doing engines at the time. To make a longish story short, the Revell block, with the AMT timing cover, and the T'rantula heads and valve covers WILL all come together to make the best representation of a Ford 427 Cammer to date. I've got some fine fitting, fiddling, and fabrication to go to get everything in correct register with everything else, but the end is definitely in sight. The blower manifolds from both the T'rantula and the Willys will work too, and will fit better as this progresses. If there's enough interest, I MAY make resin copies available after everything is dead-on.

The 2004 GTO "Rides" kit has what looks to be a detailed engine.

I knew it was Jeep-based, but probably wouldn't have found it without the hint.

If you can find this ancient Revell tire pack, the SMALLER pair of slicks otter work for you. OR... The original AMT-style piecrusts that were probably included in the early issues of that kit should work as well. I can measure all of 'em if you need numbers.

I knew I'd seen those before somewhere.

BUT...those cosmetic covers remind me of something I've seen. I'll put the query in my brain in the background. Maybe something useful will come out.

What distinguishes most LS engines from each other visually, including the cast-iron Vortec versions in trucks and SUVs, is the plastic cosmetic covers on top, and the oil pan shape. I would guess the covers in the photo are custom parts made for the application. (EDIT: WRONG ) Not hard to do for a competent fabricator/tooling maker. Under the cosmetic stuff, most of them look pretty much like this:

I started this period piece eons ago, based on a badly busted up gluebomb. Roof is sunk in from excessive glue on the window unit when originally built, and the body is otherwise warped, so the plan is to do the car as having been rolled and never entirely repaired. Opening the doors and deck was mostly to allow the believable use of different colored panels that would give the impression of being junkyard parts. Chassis stripped of everything but the rails, which were repaired and filled with epoxy/cotton flock mixture for strength. The transverse-leaf spring front axle ride-height adjustment is copied from a design on the Cagle-Sanchez Bonneville record-breaking Studebaker. Rear end is Chevy truck with six-bolt axles. Doors and deck open, and new fabricated floor and hump in progress.

Home-made lasagna. My one true love made the world's best, period, and I make it to her recipe occasionally.

About 1965/'66. Additional photos at the link below. Notice the raised stance of the "restored" version, contradicting the very slightly nose-down attitude of the car AS RACED. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/media/albums/don-nowells-1937-chevy-coupe.45378/

After 3 days without internet, and being forced by Comcast to waste half a day taking my old modem/router in to swap it BEFORE they'd even send a tech out, the tech who finally got me up and running said there was most likely NOTHING wrong with the old unit, after he found and corrected problems with the lines feeding the house. And the way you have to go through multiple really stupid robots to even GET to a tech-support person somewhere in India is beyond belief. "Smart" systems they're just not. Interestingly, a crew was in my neighborhood today fixing apparently identical issues for multiple subscribers, but it had never occurred to home-office tech support that so many people on the same node with identical problems might MEAN something. Annoyingly, Comcast is the only cable internet provider who services this location, so I'm stuck with them.

I posted the links to the videos showing only the tip of the iceberg as to what's available in desktop 3D printing and short-run soft tooling in the hopes that, rather than continuing with another endless wish-list and criticizing of the companies that make the stuff we're addicted to, some of youse guys might see that the huge financial investment we've been led to believe is required to tool something new is now no longer necessary, and because of that, shortish and PROFITABLE runs of "significant" subjects are now entirely possible. Any luck, the model companies are researching the stuff too...but just WHY it's taking so long to implement some of this tech is beyond me. Some of that stuff is years old now. It is literally possible to set up in a garage to design, prototype, tool and produce world-class injection-molded kits...or at the very least, parts, and then bodies to update or backdate existing kits (or rebody as a related vehicle). Very high quality aftermarket parts could sell for market-friendly prices because the cycle-times are so fast compared to working with resin, too. Seeing that first machine spitting out parts every 15 or so seconds is proof positive the concept is entirely viable. Imagine every part in that pile was a finned head for an old Ford, or something like a Moroso valve cover, or a S.C.o.T. blower or a red taillight or a clear headlight lens...or whatever you can wish for. Frankly, if I hadn't already pretty well planned out the rest of my own life building some of the 1:1 cars I've been designing since I was young, I'd take the plunge and set up as a model parts and eventually kit manufacturer myself. But surely there's somebody else out there who has the combination of abilities and funding necessary to make it happen, and who isn't running on borrowed time.

COOL CONCEPT !!

I'm very well aware of that. I've seen tons of underwing mounts. My specific question was regarding the single top-of-fuselage mount on the C-119. Guess I coulda looked it up.

I've never seen one with a jet engine on top of the fuselage. Was that common?