3rd gen Camaro

[TarheelRick]

Amazing work and some mighty fine scratchbuilding. Going to be one killer build when you are done. But then, every build I have seen of yours is killer.

[MarkJ]

Thanks, Steve. We shall see. I guess that's what the #11 hobby knife is for. Just keep cutting till it fits. Once its complete you can't really see that much under there anyway and nobody is really studying it that closely either. I don't know how that one picture up there got so big.

[MarkJ]

29 minutes ago, TarheelRick said:

Amazing work and some mighty fine scratchbuilding. Going to be one killer build when you are done. But then, every build I have seen of yours is killer.

Thanks, Ricky, I appreciate you stopping by and making the nice comments.

[MarkJ]

Finally added the pitman arm now I need to add idler arm on the other side

 

Edited June 15, 2024 by MarkJ

[MarkJ]

These are the headers I will try to scratch and make fit into the tight area. they might have to look a little different to get them to squeeze in there. Hoping to do them in styrene instead of solder.

Edited June 15, 2024 by MarkJ

[Pierre Rivard]

Love to see it done the old fashioned way, scratch building everything. A rare occurrence with all the 3D printed components made available to the hobbyist. This is fun to watch!

[MarkJ]

Thanks, Pierre. That 3d stuff is way over my head, and it's going to stay there.

[MarkJ]

On 6/13/2024 at 9:32 AM, Volzfan59 said:

Looks great to me. With your skills, the engine has no choice but to fit!

Thanks, Steve, I made a 1/25 scale picture of the headers and will use that as a guide to make the headers.

[MarkJ]

Finally finished the steering linkage so I will go ahead and make the headers and actually build and finish the engine before getting back to the chassis.

[MarkJ]

Starting on the headers. Will check the fit of the left header before starting on the right side. If you noticed the image of the right-side header, it has been flipped horizontally with my picture editing program which also makes the tubes upside down. I will have to take all that into account when I actually make the header. Don't know if my brain is up to the challenge. Turns out the tubes are .080 rod which bends pretty well if you are slow and let the heat from your fingers make the plastic more bendable. I guess 98.6 degree fingers make a pretty good heating source if you take your time. I can actually make a 90-degree bend without the plastic breaking if I'm patient with the process.

Edited June 18, 2024 by MarkJ

[Pierre Rivard]

Wow, did not think that could be done with 2 mm (0,080 inch) rod without breaking it or it not maintaining the bend angle. 

Thank you professor Mark!

[MarkJ]

10 minutes ago, Pierre Rivard said:

Wow, did not think that could be done with 2 mm (0,080 inch) rod without breaking it or it not maintaining the bend angle. 

Thank you professor Mark!

As it turns out, Pierre. That header I made was a waste of time because the .080 rod is too fat to get by the steering box. I'm glad I did not make the right side in .080 before I tried the fit. I remade the headers in .060 which is even easier to make bends with and the test fit barely gets by the steering box. I'm making the headers hug the engine as tightly as I can and adding the tops of the headers later after I get just the right length at the top and the separation between the tubes better as well. I used to make headers with solder because it is much easier to make them but making the collectors and then attaching the solder to styrene was always a problem. I'm glad the styrene is working out okay on this build.

[kensar]

Those headers are looking great!  I have never tried this method of making headers.  Thanks for showing us.  What brand of styrene are you using? Evergreen, Plastruct, or something else?

[MarkJ]

23 minutes ago, kensar said:

Those headers are looking great!  I have never tried this method of making headers.  Thanks for showing us.  What brand of styrene are you using? Evergreen, Plastruct, or something else?

Thanks, Ken. I use Evergreen because that is what Hobby Lobby sells. However, they keep cutting back on their inventory and the tubes and rods they offer are not so much anymore and they have replaced them with square tubes which I believe is popular with the model train community. I might have to order directly from evergreen like I did before Hobby Lobby decided to sell them in the future. Luckily, I have a pretty good stash at the moment.

[MarkJ]

Got one header finished. Will have to detail sand it with mini files to clean it up but it should work okay.

[MarkJ]

Got the left side done. When I was detail sanding the right side I broke it, so I had to repair it. When I get both finished and ready for paint I will post them. Pretty happy with the way they turned out.

[MarkJ]

Got them finished except for a little more sanding after adding some more putty to the tube connections. Also have to add the collectors.

[kensar]

A little sanding and those exhausts will look like they were molded.  

[Volzfan59]

Those are amazing Mark. 

[MarkJ]

Thanks, Ken and Steve. Turned out better than I thought they would.

[MarkJ]

Try as I might I could not get those headers to fit so I had to come up with something totally off the wall and totally incorrect, but I had to figure out how to get the exhaust from the engine to the exhaust pipes, so I came up with these. Please don't laugh too hard when you see them. hardly anything else about this build is correct, so it really doesn't matter. I just need to get this thing finished. I have never not finished a build and I'm not going to start now.

[MarkJ]

Finally came up with a collector that will work but it looks nothing like anything that was on the real car or any car for that matter. Totally off the wall.

[MarkJ]

Just a little more to do on the header collectors and I can move on to completing the engine. I had to remove the stock intake and throttle body so I can add a single plane manifold and a Holley carb. I have to change the pulleys and fan belt set up and add an oil pump. I will also have to make an air cleaner if I can't find one in my stash. I also need to change the valve covers. They need to be a little bigger than the ones that come on the kit engine.

[kensar]

Always lots to do, isn't there?

An IPMS judge may be the only one who looks at the headers once it's completed. ?

[MarkJ]

Yup. This build will never be entered in any contest, so I'm not worried about my ridiculous headers. Thanks for stopping by Ken. I really appreciate your input.