Ace-Garageguy

Unfortunately there's no shortage of poorly-trained "techs" these days in every part of the vehicle industry. Glad you got it sorted out correctly. Yes, a real PITA to have to compensate for the incompetence of supposed "professionals".

Hoping all is well and that she's feeling great real soon.

I thought this was supposed to be a family joint.

Draft this man to be Secretary of Education.

Agreed, stupid money asking price. The seller doesn't appear to specialize in anything in particular, doesn't know models...just resells everything in an online junk-shop. Lotsa this mentality around, probably saw that a similar kit in virgin condition sold for a similar price so just figgered he'd start high and let the buyers (?) sort it out. I have to wonder where these guys come up with the ridiculous figures they put on some of this stuff, and it's across the board too...not just model stuff...naturally.

And I was pretty damm close... "Kellison / Astra / Allied kit car, mid 1960s. Sorry I can't be more specific. The basic design or variations were marketed under all three names. Bodies were available in several different wheelbases to fit a variety of chassis, including a bespoke one from the manufacturer. Other chassis options were Chevy, MG, TR (3 I think)...and I believe there were some assembled on Bug pans." The owner of a shop I worked for eons ago had one, in primer, partially assembled on a TR-4 chassis.

Some things never change, do they Joe?

Thanks to everyone for giving a damm. Seriously. It's much appreciated. A business trip to the Southwest scheduled for the end of August had to be bumped up to the first week, and since I haven't had a real vacation in years I figured I'd extend the stay and see some things I'd missed before. All is well. Thanks again.

And body bags in the trunk...

Always a treat to see your period work, Bernard. You capture the real feeling of these old cars every time.

Sweet. Proportions are fine fine fine. Absolutely perfect frame rake visible on the side shot. Nice selection of vintage parts too. Man, I love it! And that tire holder is a stroke of genius.

Which also went a long way towards insuring the quality of the finished product. A well-trained, stable work force who feel they're being adequately paid and can live in relative comfort do a better job in general. Unfortunately, the unions eventually priced their workers right out of the market, but that's another story. Detroit as the symbol of the American automobile industry and the city itself have been systematically killed, gutted and left to rot by decades of mismanagement, short-sighted stupidity, and corruption...by just about everyone who could get a finger in the pie.

Saw a double rainbow on the way back from a last minute run to Home Depot. Pretty fine display for free.

Just had a Taco Bell "smothered burrito" Big ol' mess of meaty-greasy-cheesy-spicy goodness. Not exactly weight-loss health food but hey...I walked 5 miles this morning and pushed the mower for about an hour yesterday. It'll be okay. Really. Hmmmm...I wonder if it was Chinese cat meat. Low in fat, choo know.

It's great for tying up bothersome passengers in difficult situations, too.

They tried offshore-sourcing, but by the time the "buns hand made patties, hand cut fries" got here from China, they were too green and fuzzy to be really appealing. Price was right though.

Or...though it would take some knowledgeable effort...they could do what the best builders of Ala Kart models have been doing since the "new tool" kit was introduced. Cherry pick the best parts from both, and put them in one box. It would take some subtle tooling mods to make all the parts work together out-of-the-box, but it sure could make a sweet kit. Explain that's what was done, and use the original AK illustration on the box. Nah. Never happen.

Watched the Fiat 500 video "road test" and just couldn't take it anymore when the "tester" started whining about having to use the shifter on the manual gearbox version to keep up speed while climbing hills. Duh. Guess he isn't enough of a "car guy" to realize the auto-box version does the same thing for you. Please mister, go back to reviewing Tupperware. Also complains that the fuel figures aren't as good as you'd expect in a little car. Well fellas, when you make something the size of a tuna can that has to comply with US crash standards, it gets stupid heavy for what it is...and there goes the fuel economy. You CAN'T get the detailed reliability info without logging in, and that requires subscribing...which requires sending money. Nope. Over the years, I've seen SO much DRIVEL written by supposed "experts" that I take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt, anyway. One of my favorites was from Car and Driver (whose opinions I'd trust WAY before I'd be swayed by anything Consumer Reports had to say) who described the suspension system in the then-new Nissan 300ZX as "various rods and levers". Wow. Technical understanding and accuracy at its finest. But to try to be fair, I'll look more into Consumer Reports methodology and the technical qualifications of their car reviewers. But collecting consumer complaints on dishwashers and pantyhose hardly puts a publication in a make-or-break credibility position when reviewing automobiles.

X2. A friend of mine who was stationed on Okinawa many years ago autocrossed one of these while he was there. Neat little car.

Really gorgeous, Pete. Looks real. Is that one of the Tamiya 1/12 Porsches?

Still pulling for you, Bill. Your work has been very inspiring to me personally over the years, as I'm certain it has to many members of this site and others. Hoping to see more of it soon. GET BETTER 100%. But don't rush it. Rest is good.

FRIED IN BEEF FAT !!! OMG OMG OMG. Impossible HERE. We're the nation of health-fad-crazed fatsos who go to the the all-you-can-eat salad bar to "watch their weight", shovel down 8 heaping platefuls, and then waddle out the door, huffing and puffing by the time they reach the car parked illegally in a handicapped slot. But hey, the fried stuff, all 5 pounds of it, was cooked in sunflower oil.

RE: Exotics_Builder's response above That's the kind of informed help that makes this site great, and one of the huge benefits of willing members who have a "stash"...so you get correct answers rather than "I heard it from the uncle of my dog's maid's ex-boyfriend".

Aerosol can explosive failure analysis: http://www.chemaxx.com/360_aerosol_can_explosion.htm Again, nothing in the data seems to remark on a pre-failure mode like you're experiencing. If California does in fact use a different propellant mixture from the rest of the world, there may be something there. No data at this time. My spray cans live in an un-heated, un-cooled shop that varies from 17F in the winter to well over 100F in summer. Paint cans range from a week or two old to many years. I'm tending to suspect a too-thin steel material used in the bottom inwardly-domed part of your cans, probably from a Chinese manufacturer cutting the spec (as is very VERY common) to make a few more rice-grain profit per unit.

Here's a video of a can being pressurized to failure. Watch the sequence of events. The first thing to go is when the TOP of the can, at the formed-in ridges, begins to try to straighten itself out (around 225PSI). After the explosive failure (about 365PSI at the seam between the can bottom and the sides), if you look closely, you'll see the bottom of the can deformed something like the bottom of the can in your original photo, well before it failed...but at a MUCH higher pressure differential that could EVER be encountered under anything remotely like "normal" circumstances.