Ace-Garageguy

Nah.

...and a man wires how he wants to wire and disregards the rest... (sung to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel's The Boxer).

Good for you. Americans should be learning Chinese. The way things are going, China will probably own the USA in another generation.

Always the possibility an overzealous state official who hadn't actually READ the rules and understood them was the deciding factor. I encounter that frequently, and always do my own homework and have a copy of the relevant rules handy before trying to deal with the government. P's them off mightily usually, but saves a lot of time and BS in the end. The FMVSS rule that was in effect at the time the vehicle was first customized should be the rule to go by, to my way of thinking...and I don't have it readily available. There IS this much later rule, which an anal-retentive power-mad office jockey could conceivably use to disallow multiple smaller-size but otherwise identical lighting...but though it would be enforcing the LETTER of the law, it wouldn't be in the SPIRIT of the rule which was written to try to ban aftermarket HID conversions. It seems the Fed lighting laws are still as antiquated as they were in earlier years when halogens with replaceable bulbs were industry standard in Europe, but not legal here. Under FMVSS 108 Section S7.7 (replacement light sources), each replaceable light source for headlamps must be designed to conform to the dimensions and electrical specifications for the headlamp source it is intended to replace.

The only things I REALLY needed I didn't get in in time. I've had a couple of period truck builds hanging fire for several years waiting for me to get around to ordering some sets of their "medium duty" truck tires and wheels. They're the only thing I've ever seen on the market that have the exact look I want. Oh well.

Hey, with revenues like that WHO CARES about a few distracted drivers, cops, robberies, etc.?

Hmmmm...the shape of the stock roof looks very good in those shots...

Interesting, though I'm not personally aware of any state or Federal rule (yet) that makes it mandatory for a street-driven vehicle to retain it's OEM lighting...especially one so old and custom purpose-built. The vehicle in the last shots is running Washington tags. Washington's headlight rule is as follows: " in order for a headlight to be legal for use in Washington State, it must conform to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 108 requirements for headlights." The rectangular multiple OEM-style glass headlamps the movie vehicle was equipped with meet FMVSS 108. The rule specifically states: "S6.3 Equipment combinations. Two or more lamps, reflective devices, or items of associated equipment may be combined if the requirements for each lamp, reflective device, and item of associated equipment are met"

Pretty wild. In this case, I like the heavily exaggerated proportions. It's becoming more mechanical sculpture and less of a "car". Are those the resin tires from the 1/24 Monogram Long John?

I used a stretched Corvette C5-R chassis on a midsize GM floor pan with a custom cage under this chopped '70 Chevelle.

Beautiful. An engine that nicely detailed ought to make you feel better about those easily corrected ejector-pin marks on the panel. The cam angle-drive looks like it must be a worm-gear arrangement, judging from the housing shape. I need to look that up. Fascinating.

I recommend them both highly. There is just so much you can do with these as a starting point, I have more ideas than I'll probably live long enough to build. Nothing's perfect, but Revell has given us some GREAT traditional hot-rod and custom kits in the recent past...and the 50+ year-old Revell kits are still relevant and of fine quality too.

Yeah, the '66 Nova should have the correct unibody, stock-wheelbase chassis. '62 thru '67 Novas would be on essentially the same chassis stampings with a bolt-on front subframe. Not the pro-street version, though.

I sure did. Thanks.

Came in this AM. Nice kit, a few issues...and not really the ones everyone has been howling about. Tons of parts for building other stuff, great value.

Hey...in a world where most people get paid just for showing up and and going through the motions, and where there are not a lot who'd recognize smart engineering or first-rate quality if it reared up and bit them on the behind anyway, whaddya expect? Anyway, you always overcome the less-than-stellar parts of everything you build, and I know this will be no exception.

Yup, VERY nice ! Pretty slick Ardun head and front mag-drive conversion.

Yup. I should point out again, I never so much as laid a wrench on this particular car, though it was built by the shop where I built most of two others over several years. This car is built on a frame that's quite similar to the "channeled" frame in the new Revell kit. It's essentially a boxed model-A frame made of rectangular steel tube, built to the longer wheelbase of the '32 Ford...much like the one in Revell's kit. Ford 9" rear end (but on a transverse leaf spring) and a smallblock Chebby crate-motor too.The difference, and an important one, is that besides being zeed in the rear, it's also zeed in front (just behind the firewall, and visible in the unfinished profile shot above) to get the nose down without having to use a drastically dropped axle or a suicide perch. Here's a shot of what the stock roof opening and wooden framing looks like in reality. It's made a couple of covers, including this French mag.

Gotta say the old Competition Coupe class, essentially a hollowed-out coupe body (often a Fiat Topolino) on a rail-dragster chassis, was ALWAYS one of my favorites. Good looking work you're doing there. sir.

Another look at the cowl surround, and the relationship of the steps and depth of the firewall to the cowl, as manufactured by Ford.

One more note. The firewall on the '30-'31 body is often recessed behind the leading edge of the cowl to get more engine room...like this. It's an effect you can get EASILY with the new kit, with just a little effort.

I still see a little more "kink" or "hump" in the shots of the Revell kit than in any of the 1:1 shots, including yours, but I'll still withhold final judgement until I have one in hand. I have access to at least 5 of the real ones, nearby.

I think ya'll may be missing the point of the photo. It's not intended to spark another "firing order" debate...or so I believe. It illustrates a rather common tendency of some folks to use generic, not-exactly-to-correct-length plug wires, and to just wad up the extra length in a messy ball rather than cutting wires to fit in a non-rats-nest.

Just got it. Had to stay home to get some paperwork out of the way, so I was here when it arrived. First impression? Great kit, well worth the money. The body shell is nicely done, the top section fits very well, and the proportions look good. Tons of useful parts. The body also fits well on the ancient (and correct) Revell 1/25 '30-'31 fenders, but will require filling at the rear quarters and replacement of the bead once that's done. The firewall is NOT as much of an issue as has been lamented. It represents an aftermarket stamped part that includes a recess for a rear-mounted distributor on a V8. It needs to be shaved in the rear so it fits deeper without so much meat around it to avoid the clumsiness of the as-molded and assembled parts, but that's easy. The roof insert isn't a big deal either, and it's easily modified to look more like the majority of real cars out there. The stock wood framing can be scratch-built if you want that look. What IS a little unfortunate is the hugeness of the bead molded as part of the cowl adjacent to the firewall. This bead is NOT stamped as part of the sheet-metal on a real one, but is a chrome surround. The very old Revell '30 kits got it right, and made it as a separate chromed part. To look right on this new model, it's going to have to be pared down significantly and foiled. Another little thing that would have been nicer, in my opinion, is if the visor had been molded as a separate part too. It's nailed on on the real car, not stamped as part of the roof. Drilling it for the holes popular on these cars in 1:1 and getting the thickness to look correct will be a little tricky. More fitting with other, older kit parts and fiddling, with photos, later...after I get my paperwork done.