Ace-Garageguy

I have comparo pix in the camera. I'll load a batch into the computer and post here in a few days. It's not a drop-in swap, for sure. In the meantime, I want to get a couple of unibody Mopars on the lift at the shop, take a few measurements, and photograph how the rockers blend into the underfloor.

Cool, imaginative technique. I wonder if it will catch on.

No argument there. Modelhaus had that pretty well covered, but no more... These ancient Revell parts-packs always bring good bucks, always sell...

I've got maybe 30 of 'em. It can represent a '49 and later 331, a 365, or the first-gen 390 (through 1962). The gen II 390 / 429 (1963) is a substantially different engine (with a die-cast timing cover) though they share the same basic architecture as the gen I engines.

Here's a coupla real sweetheart box-art builds by Ron Savoie, posted on the other forum back in 2013. Pretty kool, eh wot?

Well then, put up the money to make it happen. Surely with an attitude like "Positive thinking and can do attitude is a better way to approach situations" you should be able to do that. Or if not: "It can't be done.it's too hard'.'That is why you fail!'.-Star Wars." By the by...there's a ton of chromed "354" Caddy engines in the old Revell parts-pack series available on eBay too (and there was never a 354 factory displacement). The Lincoln V12 is available from R&M, and an Australian company. The 312 can be had from several currently available kits. Reinventing the wheel is not usually sound business practice...especially when there's plenty of perfectly good wheels rolling around.

Well sir...some of us have been watching this market for quite some time, and have amassed a fair bit of knowledge you may not be party to. For example, the vintage AMT Bumpers and grilles pack is PLENTIFUL on eBay, sells usually in the $10 range, and they are SLOW movers. In that instance, where's the motivation for R2 to invest bucks to make a new run, or massive bucks to re-tool (if the tooling is gone), only to have the packs sit on the shelves? They surely don't "need to" follow that particular road. And you may have a simplistic view of what it takes to make tooling for injection molding, based on your statement that "If they can get a hold of original Parts Packs they can take molds off of them". Frankly, that's ridiculous. To tool from existing parts would take entirely reverse-engineering from whats there, preparing new CAD files using dimensions taken from the existing sprue, translating those files into CNC-machine-readable format, and cutting NEW STEEL DIES, for many tens of THOUSANDS of dollars. Yes, you can "take molds" off of existing parts to produce RESIN copies...and if YOU wanted to, YOU could do it...maybe. But it's not the same thing, not even close, as making steel dies for styrene injection molding.

Does this count?

A lot of this stuff was done long ago by Revell and AMT, and the packs are fairly readily available still. Just a few examples below. And tooling for injection molded parts is VASTLY more expensive than silicone molds for resin...which anyone can do in his bedroom.

That's interesting in light of how much has been written about the ethics of casting copies of other folk's work here.

I've seen a LOT of Judsons over the years for small engines, and they typically have closely spaced cooling fins, like below. I'm not saying the model setup shown doesn't exist in reality, but I've never encountered anything even remotely like it....though the black one below is somewhat similar in the shape of the housing. They typically don't really require toothed belts either, as it takes much less power to drive them than Roots type blowers. The model setup is also, once again, wildly incorrect in its portrayal of a possible Weber carb mounting. Even if they're downdrafts, which is hard to tell from the model. they would HAVE to be mounted level in order to work...unlike the angled mount shown in the instructions. There were lots of kits for a variety of engines...even Ford flatheads and Corvairs...

Unfortunately, a lot of "scale" models aren't very exact. Those headlights represent 7" round sealed-beams. Guesstimate and measure the "glass part". If it's right at 7mm, you're very close to 1/25. If it's closer to 7.4 mm, you're closer to 1/24. EDIT: At least the headlights. Who knows about the measuring and dividing capability of whoever did the rest of the tooling? Those don't seem to be requisite skills in the industry anymore.

The way I see it, it's more a problem of public apathy than anything else. Nobody seems to care. We still have, in name anyway, "government of the people, for the people, and by the people". The government is still somewhat responsive to the will of the people. But due to the focus of the majority on bread-and-circuses, and a prevailing "let somebody else deal with it" attitude, plus the widespread acceptance that whatever the schools see fit to vomit out is OK because they're the "experts", we're going to get to a point where there just aren't enough capable people left to fix it...or anything. THEN where are we gonna be?

An Open Note to Anyone Reading this Thread: From time to time, people have accused me of posting this stuff to make fun of others and build up my own poor pathetic ego at the expense of idiots, or harping on "doom and gloom" when everything's really just fine. Feel free to think that if you want. The truth, however, is something quite different. What I'm actually trying to do is to make more people...PARTICULARLY PEOPLE WITH KIDS... aware, here and on every venue I have access to, that the declining literacy and reading comprehension rates in this country, coupled with a widespread ignorance of much of what used to be known as "common knowledge" and basic math and science, is going to have grave consequences for America's future, and the futures of young people who will be entering the work force, aka "the real world", over the next few years. The ability to read and UNDERSTAND what you've read, and to be able to WRITE well opens doors to well-paid jobs. Even people with so-called "manual" skills...mechanics, carpenters, electricians...need to be able to read and understand technical instructions, specifications, and related documents. Basic math and science, which translates to understanding how the physical world works, and the critical-thinking skills that let you apply that knowledge to problem-solving, are also tremendously important. From what I can tell from working with many younger "technical" people, and from just about EVERYTHING I read on the subject, these skills and knowledge-base just aren't being delivered by primary education. This isn't "doom and gloom". This is a REAL AND SERIOUS PROBLEM, and we need to wake up, face it, and start fixing it.

Why Can’t College Students Write Anymore? ARTICLE HERE...WRITTEN BY A TEACHER: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-first-impression/201402/why-can-t-college-students-write-anymore

For youse guys who love the old gassers...the Southeast Gassers still race heads-up, period-correct cars built to strictly enforced 1967 NHRA rules. No bracket racing BS. And notice please, the great majority of these real race cars DO NOT have the stupid nostalgia-wannabe nose-bleed-high-front-end stance UNTIL THEY LAUNCH.

Nope. The 300 and 340 looked like a slightly smaller 400/430/455.

Very nice.

All this is most helpful to me at the moment, as I'm building a real '67 Chevelle SS for a client. The car is pretty radical overall (Morrison frame, 502 EFI Jenkins engine, etc.) and it's been hacked on by some previous "builders". I'm trying to keep an original 'feel' to the dash and custom console, so knowing what's supposed to be there is just dandy.

Yeah, they never wreck the car or take money out of your wallet.

That would explain it...but you'd think (at least I would) that there would have been somebody in the QA chain that caught it before it went to final tooling.

Nice start.

I have a well used original copy, and though I haven't looked at it since about 2011 or so, I seem to remember the illustrations were adequate to convey ideas as necessary, but probably not as numerous as might be hoped. And for some reason, the image quality of reprints often suffers. I haven't seen any of the reprints, so I can't comment on this aspect. One thing I can say is that it's very well written. Fisher is an excellent technical communicator...which is the reason I have all his books. But bear in mind it was published during a time when good reading comprehension was more of a given, and like most other light technical and printed hobby material from the period, there are a lot of words. It's a completely different style than much of what we get today...the printed equivalent of 10-second sound bites, and lots of pictures.

Man, those are great. Many thanks for a very useful contribution to this endeavor.

The new pix are in the camera, boys and girls. Next time I do a batch transfer to the computer (in a couple of days), it should only take an hour or so to edit them, add some text, and upload here. Stay tuned, but don't hold your breath.