Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

STEVE SCOTT ,A.KA . [ UNCERTAIN T ]


Recommended Posts

Quote

In twenty years there will be few people left who know what it is, and far fewer who care.

I think you're right. How many of us care about things that were popular 20 years before we were teenagers? For example, have you watched the prices of tinplate Lionel. Prices have dropped as those who were serious collectors have left the collecting hobby.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read a story years ago that indicated Monogram destroyed the tooling for the kit due to pending lawsuits filed by Scott claiming he didn't get the royalty he was promised.  I didn't read the entire tread here but it may be in here somewhere. The real car just recently resurfaced after being hidden away foe decades.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Modelbuilder Mark said:

"hiding it"....Why? That makes no sense to me. 

Also, does anyone have a link to all the other show rods that collection has? There is a lot there that I am more intested in seeing more of. 

 

Simple, Steve Scott

And there are tons of vids on youtube of the Galpin collection and Dave Shuten's work

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

At this point there can be no chance of Steve Scott doing this kit. This thread is 10 years old. The last status update was September 2020. There has been no significant progress.

What more can be said.

I am glad the original car will be restored. I thought the car was cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Part of the Uncertain T's mystique if you want to call it that, is the U'T was among the first "well Engineered" Show Cars of its time. Although, if one looks at it from today's Engineering principals it might not be as stellar as it once seemed. Given that the rear end is practically a solid mounted unit, along with short wheelbase and torsion bar front suspension probably all add up to one stiff ride. Most if not all of the pictures that I recall seeing of the U'T are either stationary or only slightly moving, I don't remember ever seeing any pictures of the car at speed on any type of roadway, especially at highway speeds on an LA Freeway.  So, that makes me really wonder just how drivable the car really was...

The other thing about the original car and articles I've read in Car Craft (and others I can't recall off the top of my head), there never really were any pictures of the fit and finish of the overall car, especially the interior. Sure, they showed the two fiberglass bucket seats, dashboard and a steering wheel and column, but never much more than that. So, what was the fit and finish of the interior, was it just painted black or was there ever any upholstery on the inside, walls and top, etc...  Given the quality of welding and that a whole lot of the aluminum welding outside of the aircraft industry was pretty primitive in the early sixties, one has to wonder how great the welding quality was, especially if it were pulled off by an 18- or 19-year-old kid, aspiring to be a mechanical Engineer someday.

Glad that Galpin Ford has the car rather now than Mr. Scott as Galpin will take the time and get it right, whatever that was in the first place. Be interesting to hear what Steve Scott has to say the first time he breaks wind about the newly found Uncertain T.  I'm really hoping that this is one of those finds that doesn't burst a whole lot of our bubbles, especially those of us who have waited and waited for so long to see this "iconic" Show Rod to see the light of day... all I can say is I hope it was worth the wait! 

It's really a shame Pat Ganahl wasn't here to see this one get found, this is one of the Lost Hot Rods that eluded him.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why can't we just enjoy the car for what it is? 

 

Why is it we have to analyze it, break it down to every nut and bolt. Dig up all the rumors and scrutinize, magnify and point out every aspect of the car. It did this, didn't do that, couldn't drive it, can't see under it, doesn't really matter. It was a show car before there were show cars, dude built it in a garage at home and I might add made history! Enough said...  

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

At this point there can be no chance of Steve Scott doing this kit. This thread is 10 years old. The last status update was September 2020. There has been no significant progress.

What more can be said.

I am glad the original car will be restored. I thought the car was cool.

How old is Steve Scott now ? 81 ? Its something of a miracle he is still with us ( if the guy on his website and Facebook page is really him ).    If he is still alive it would be a nice tribute if someone could get him to the shows to reunite him with his creation...but Im guessing there might be too much bad blood, lies and lawyers to make that happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, styromaniac said:

How old is Steve Scott now ? 81 ? Its something of a miracle he is still with us ( if the guy on his website and Facebook page is really him ).    If he is still alive it would be a nice tribute if someone could get him to the shows to reunite him with his creation...but Im guessing there might be too much bad blood, lies and lawyers to make that happen.

I was kind of wondering the same, Steve Scott is likely in his eighties, maybe early eighties, that doesn't count out anyone who is motivated to do something from accomplishing their goal. Though not entirely impossible, it might limit securing finances ect. though, which would be a great part in such an undertaking.

The Uncertain T is a big deal, it's a significant part of Hot Rod History, it was big enough deal then that NHRA showcased it at the '61 / '62'ish Nationals (in Pomona if I remember correctly).  What I was pointing out in regard to build quality is that the U' T really can't be judged by today's standards per se'. There have been huge leaps in welding technology from the 60's until now. Where nearly anyone can grab a TIG welder in a few hours, under the shield of inert gas lay a stack of shiny dimes a mile long with little training or years of practice. That was far from the case welding aluminum back in the early 60's, especially outside an aerospace clean room. (The average guy didn't even know which aluminum alloys were and were not weldable.) So, if Steve Scott did to the welding of the aluminum frame, that in itself is a pretty big deal!

If you take a realistic look at the U' T's suspension, you will realize what I was referring to, while it looks amazingly cool, it might not exactly be drivable. Plenty of the show cars of that era were also undriveable, they still look cool, they just aren't drivers. Just look at about all of "Big Daddy" Ed Roth's creations. Even some of Barris' cars were impractical to the point that they may have had difficulties maneuvering a city street, due to extreme lowering and lack of any way to raise them enough to drive... That was just the way some Show Cars were then (and still are), hence the "All Show and No Go" phrase bandied around as a huge slam back then. In an era where performance counted a lot more than looks Show Cars were akin to what the term "Trailer Queen" was to the Fairgrounds Circuit in the 90's, where more respect was given to drivers...

Fit and finish, I saw the Uncertain T in its original color at the Portland Roadster Show, (can't remember if it came to Seattle), it had lots of bling, but the crowd never got close enough to really see what the interior finish was like, even in the Car Craft article most of what you saw was black besides the seats and steering wheel. So, I was really wondering just how finished the interior really was? (As are others I've talked to about it over the years.) In the early 60's a whole lot of car shows were "window dressing" giving the illusion to something that maybe wasn't.

Sorry if you took my post for ranking on the accomplishment of Steve Scott when he was an 18- or 19-year-old kid. The fact that this car has held and still holds so many of our attentions for so many years after, pretty much sums it up as the Grand Slam that it was and is!

Edited by Skip
Cited the wrong welding process, should be TIG Vs. MIG.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Richard Bartrop said:

Whatever the guy's deficits as a human being, you have to admit that beating out Barris before you're old enough to vote is a pretty impressive feat.

Not to mention having Barris allegedly slap him for it, according to The Autopian article from Torch I posted the other day.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steve Scott.     A bit of a controversial character down the years apparently.

Is the Uncertain T his one and only claim to fame?     Not heard of any other rods credited to him like  Barris or Roth.

If so he appears to have acquired some sort of a deity status for making just the one car.

Maybe Monogram's short lived production of the Uncerain T kit has given rise to all the discussions and speculation on here. It is interesting that the car has been rediscovered as it has developed a bit of a cult status.

Despite all this hype Scott's creation at such an early age has to be admired. Not sure what it's present owner will do with the car, but hopefully will be sympathetically restored to original look.

There are many other good show rods out there worth looking out that have been kit subjects.

Edited by Bugatti Fan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Steve Scott.     A bit of a controversial character down the years apparently.

Is the Uncertain T his one and only claim to fame?     Not heard of any other rods credited to him like  Barris or Roth.

If so he appears to have acquired some sort of a deity status for making just the one car.

Maybe Monogram's short lived production of the Uncerain T kit has given rise to all the discussions and speculation on here. It is interesting that the car has been rediscovered as it has developed a bit of a cult status.

Despite all this hype Scott's creation at such an early age has to be admired. Not sure what it's present owner will do with the car, but hopefully will be sympathetically restored to original look.

There are many other good show rods out there worth looking out that have been kit subjects.

I take it you did not bother to watch the videos posted or the links provided to the articles on the car. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jesse.    Yes, I have read all the posts, attached articles and watched the videos.  The kits that Steve Scott was intending to have been going into production with made interesting reading.

The car was in a bit of a sorry state when I saw it on a video that was linked to one of the posts. Fully restored it can be a show stopper once again.

I still have the articles in a folder from Model Car Science from way back about the car itself titled  'The Gag on Wheels', followed by an article about how to convert the Monogram kit into a Milk Truck.

Built the kit when it first came out and did not part company with my model until very recently when someone very keen to acquire it 'Made me an offer I could not refuse'.         Still have the picture of the car cut out from the box lid though.

Now it has been rediscovered maybe we will see some 3D printed kits from some enterprising individual.  Cannot see any mainstream manufacturer re tooling up the Uncertain T though as it is a bit niche to do as subject matter in this age.

A 3D kit in 1/16th scale would be very impressive.     I'm almost sure that I saw on the web a picture of a model of the car that someone had scratch built in a large scale displayed at a model show somewhere. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/29/2024 at 2:49 PM, iamsuperdan said:

On a related note...

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/various/uncertain-t

1/12 scale for 3d printing.

Appears to be about 75 separate files.

No idea if it's accurate or not, and cannot attest to the quality of the files or subsequent prints.

Thats a great find, Dan!  The cowl looks a little rough, as do the seats, but probably nothing that can’t be fixed physically once the parts are printed…nice find - thanks for posting 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Uncertain T Discovered a Holy Grail

Watched this "Autopian" YouTube video this morning, it has better close shots of the car, still doesn't get up close and personal with the interior other than the diamond tuft roof panel to match the seats.  Shows some carpet on the floor, maybe it had black carpet up the walls, hopefully the same diamond tufting up the walls to the interior roof? Makes me interested to actually see how the original construction was carried out, as well as the overall fit and finish of the interior.

The guy that sold the Uncertain T to Galpin has had the car for the entire time after purchasing it from Steve Scott, this video indicates that its location has changed just about every time that a searcher got close to it. The backstory is almost as interesting as the car itself.

Edited by Skip
Autocorrected again!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Rocking Rodney Rat said:

U-T.jpg.96aa62d2de1e5f546f9a8093f40d501d.jpg

The car being displayed at the Grand National Roadster Show...I like the oversized box... -RRR

It's a shame that Car Craft and Rod & Custom magazines are no longer around, it would have been cool to see the articles they might have run on the "discovery".  Car Craft could have ran a spread beginning with their first segueing to the present Uncertain T, the story behind its discovery, then being displayed at the Grand National Roadster Show, following up with Galpin having it restored... 

Yep, that big box is pretty cool, too bad they didn't make it big enough for the "Actual Size" Uncertain T to have come out of it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...