Ace-Garageguy

You can stroke just about any engine the old-school way, by welding up the rod journals and re-grinding them with their centers farther from the crank centerline. OR...you can machine a custom "stroker" crank from billet. That's the way it was done before everything was ordered from catalogs. NOTE: The 354 displacement of this kit was never offered from the factory. It's been running with the wrong displacement on the package since the '60s. It's actually a bored 331.

I lied. THERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO SETUPS IN THAT KIT...ONE WITH 4 CARBS, ONE WITH SIX...

There's a very finely tooled multi-Stromberg setup in this, usually available pretty cheap on eBay.

You don't want to SOAK a resin body, but 70% isopropyl alcohol removes all common release agents. 90% will strip some lacquer paint. Use plenty of it, with clean paper towels. It's available in drug stores and grocery first-aid departments as "rubbing alcohol" (avoid the scent-added stuff).

Revell has two B&M Hydro-Sticks that are quite accurate, and represent the real parts well. No separate bottom pans, correct. But if you really want one, you can always pull a mold of a pan, and then remove the molded-on one...but because the kit cases are split along the center, to allow the halves to come out of the mold, there's no bolt detail on the pan rail...but there IS a well-defined pan rail. Some bolt-head details would bring it home nicely. In the real world, there were two different Hydramatic cases that ended up as Hydro-Sticks, a slightly skinnier one (in the Revell Cadillac parts-pack) and a fatter one (in the old SWC Willys and derivatives). Adapters can be very simple, and one something like this is included in the Caddy engine parts-pack.

1) Those wheels are in one of the parts packs that I bought years ago before the prices got really stupid. Same as a set in one of the Revell double kits...as you obviously know. The 5-spoke Americans always get used first from those old sets, and the ones shown are often leftovers when you find a partial sprue. The R&M repop number is P-147. 2) That particular B&M trans in in the old Revell Cadillac "354" (there never was a factory 354) parts-pack.

Very helpful. I have just the place for that...

Probably an excellent idea. Some of the big-truck guys are very 'serious' modelers, and spend real money on aftermarket bits, plus, many of them scratchbuild some beautiful stuff. It would seem that there really IS a market for what you suggest. I'm just getting into big trucks, and I'd certainly buy some interesting alternative bodies.

Welcome. They all look good, but I REALLY like that race truck on the trailer.

The lines are looking good. Too many times when these things get sectioned, the builder goes too far and they end up looking squashed. You amount of sectioning looks just right, and seems to be working well with the hardtop roofline you're creating. Keep it going like this and she'll be a knockout...nicely modernized, but still a Forty.

Thanks to both you guys for the info so far. I was aware of that other thread, and that the cabs could be built up from non-COE parts, but having recently realized I may not in fact live forever, I was hoping to find well-modeled sources for these cabs, so that I might finish a couple of this style truck in my lifetime. I've seen a few resin units that have poorly defined details, and are not symmetrical and unnecessarily thick. I'm hoping to avoid buying anything that needs more work to correct than to scratch-build.

Whatever the trade or brand name may be, it's polyvinyl alcohol, or PVA (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH PVA GLUE, which is polyvinyl acetate...white glue like Elmer's and various canopy and clear parts glues). Polyvinyl alcohol is a water-soluble mold release agent / liquid masking film, routinely used in the composites industry (fiberglass). I use gallons of the stuff. Though it's a clear chemical, it's also available (the usual choice) tinted a dark green so you can easily see where it's been applied. http://www.rexco-usa.com/polyvinyl-alcohol-pva-based-parting-films/ The nose of this plug has just been sprayed with PVA here...when it's sprayed all you see is a slight greenish tint on the surface that gets deeper with each coat. Then a mold is laid up over it... And presto-chango, now it pops off with no damage to the plug... TRANSLATION NOTE: You can copy and paste any foreign language text into Google Translate, and it will spit out a translation in English. It's free, but the translations are sometimes a little clunky, and not always idiomatically or syntactically correct.

Look at what brings the real money in vintage parts packs...the Revell Roadster Chassis Speed Equipment C1132 and Dragster Speed Equipment C1124. What's in 'em? Brake backing plates, straight and I-beam axles, quick-change rear ends, transverse springs, hairpins... This is stupid money, but these things ALWAYS bring a lot. < DRAGSTER PARTS, NOT CHRYSLER

At two plows to a pack, I'd buy several. One plow to a pack? Nah, keep it. I'll buy a truck kit to get one, have the whole truck left over for not much more money.

Good tip for rough cutting, definitely. Only problem is that it's an awfully wide kerf for model work. A Zona or X-acto razor-saw blade only leaves a .010" cut, and some of the PE blades are around .007".

I'd kinda like to see some medium-duty truck wheels too. Between what you would see on pickups and OTR big trucks. It kinda bites having to buy a relatively expensive diecast to steal the wheels and tires, or to have to make molds and duplicate them.

Though I have no research or numbers to back it up, I'd frankly be very surprised to learn that most "average" builders buy anything in aftermarket parts. To me, an "average" builder is someone who puts a couple kits together. finds out it's not all that easy, makes a glooey mess, and gives up. The "enthusiast" builders are, I believe, what the majority of the kits of older subjects issued in recent years have been aimed at. Non-"enthusiasts" aren't going to even KNOW what half the stuff is, or why anybody would want it.

Ford COE cabs:'37-'47, '48-'52, '53-'55(or 6)...Who makes 'em, which are the best, which are poor (or not-so-hot)?

WOW...a kit?? Holy moly. GOTS to try to find one now... I knew it was Japanese, but I just couldn't get my old brain to stop saying it was a Yotyto or a Mazzder.

Only thing I still use Testors rattlecan enamel on is small parts that I want glossy, and can't possibly polish...like steel wheels on old-school hot-rods. I generally give the stuff a week to harden up when the temps are well over 60F, longer if it's colder.

The feral cat family that lives under my house now (mama and two 6-month old kittens), though extremely wary of humans, are becoming less skittish. They've linked my presence with the sound of their food bowl being filled, and occasionally are sitting on the porch waiting when I come in. Providing water, suet and seed for the outdoor birds during the worst part of the winter has also provided hours of entertainment, watching from my home-office window. Almost as good as having pets, but without the physical connection...or care and cleanup.

Yes, if you choose to do something, this is the best course of action.

Inline 6 engines from Ford, Chebby and Mopar would find me buying several of each as well. Again, to get most of this stuff, you either have to buy expensive resin (which some modelers shy away from) or rob kits that become useless afterwards.

For new-school hot-rods, in the real world, the Chebby LS is still king...and to get one in model form, you have to rob a complete car kit. An LS with a couple of trans and induction options would be on my must-have list too.

Mopar engines in general are poorly represented in the hobby, other than the old-school 392 and 426 Hemi designs. While there are countless small-block and big-block Chebbys and Fords in most parts stashes, it's tough to find a Mopar. I'd buy several small and big-block Mopars, with nice 727 and manual gearboxes as sweetening.