My E-bay build creepin' along...

Oh December is usually hectic for lots of folks, Mithc, glad you still found a little bit of time to get to you bench. This looks like it's coming along great. Looks like you have some ideas with all those parts too.

I guess I kinda missed the boat too, huh? I thought everyone was gonna build reveal parts a little at a time until everyone could guess the final results. Oops...

Well, here's my story. Way back in 1950, the owner of a hot rod shop (what else?) went to the local dealer and picked up this pristine, V8 powered, 4 on the floor pickup with dual exhaust. In spite of his best efforts, hard times and a few deadbeat customers put him in the read and he had to let 'er go. A local fire chief (and poker buddy) heard about the sad tale and offered to give the pickup a good home. Little did the Mayor or the entire fire department know that the chief had a little hot rod blood in his veins as well. What you'll see is Chief's idea of a tire smokin', quick response emergency vehicle that'll teach a young rodder a thing or two.

Figures JP: putting in a 6cyl dist wasn't the first problem. I'm not one for the old days, so I couldn't quite figure out if they were float bowl type carbs or fuel injector units. You'll see from the latest pics how I fashioned up a compromise. I also learned that CA ain't all it's cracked up to be and I shoulda' drilled out the spark plug holes in the valve covers before assembling the engine. I ended up using a dremel, but not before I made a bit of a mess with hole #5. I don't expect to get high bid, so it's just more learning experience. Thanks for the tip on the distributor bro.

Ya know, life is so busy and unpredictable, I doubt I'll be doing another contest like this. I think I'll just build what I like and take pics so if a contest comes along I qualify for, I'll have the build already done and the process documented. Know what I mean?

off to a good start !

Time for a final engine pic and ask some advice. I turned the page to the next step on our Ebay build and got ready to shift gears. No go. What's the general concensus for this build? Paint guys went for the body and left the engine for last. I think I'd rather tackle the body, front fascia and so on before going indoors. I've got a custom seat idea and two tone flocking I want to do, along with ensuring the interior metal matches the exterior. I've got a couple other tricks up my sleeve for the cab and it's all gotta match. Feedback would be appreciated from the more experienced builders pls.

Here's how the engine turned out:

GP: I'll do engines for bodywork anyday LOL!

lookin good mitch!

i unfortunately had to sit this one out mitch:(

TBill: I'm just the opposite as I love engine detailing! The truck is gonna be a fire chief's gasser profiled response vehicle. I've got gasser wheels and I'll see what I can do with the stance of the suspension. The paint is a little metalflake deep red and I've got decals from the St. Louis Fire Dept. in gold leaf. A few resin parts like a cherry top, extinguishers, axes and stuff should make it look authentic too. Thanks for the props bro and don't worry, this is my first contest. I usually like building things personal to me like drag race stuff.

Hey folks - I shared it elsewhere here, but as part of my Ebay WIP, I picked up a paint booth courtesy of tax returns. I'm going to set it up and do some additional priming steps on the body parts of my pickup this afternoon. I'm going to attach some pics of my progress so far which includes putting the undercarriage together, along with the suspension. I give this part about a 6 out of 10 as far as ease of assembly. I actually broke a front shock trying to enlarge the hole to mount on the front straight axle!

I made new front shocks out of plastic rod and finished the exhaust. The bullet mufflers will have the cigar-chompin' road runner decals on them like the originals and the wheels/tires are AMT brand Halibrand type. So time is marching on slowly. We'll see how the paint booth works!

Looking clean.

Well gang: Weather, family responsibilities, bouts with arthritis and day to day pain have stretched this build out too long. I've got all the body parts primered and was assembling the cooling system & engine yesterday when my (over) detailing of the engine bit me hard. Due to the use of CA for alum fittings and braided line, it must not have mixed well with the styrene glue and overall paint, because the carb stacks started popping off like a jack in the box gone wild. I would fix one and another would give way. My patience ended shortly thereafter.

So out has come a 392 hemi Ebay kit motor and instructions. I've stripped all the chrome off and will assemble this engine as a true gasser. I have to decide to use the gasser exhaust, which means yanking off the stock exhaust and sanding/repainting the frame or refitting the original exhaust to the hemi in hopes all lines up. There is no room on the hemi for any coolant or alt. belts, only a fitting for a fan. Hopefully I can fashion or lenghten the stock fan to work with the stock radiator/shield stuff. I salvaged the distributor and lines, although I have several mags I could pick from. I can shorten the driveline if necessary and leave the hood off if I don't trust my skills in that area.

I'm doing my best to finish, but waiting so long to get a paint booth has really put me behind the eight ball and this latest disaster of engine implosion may be too much to overcome. I've notified the admins and I want to finish this kit for my own sake, so if I don't make the deadline I'll go by the rules and pay the penalty. Thanks to those who watched this slow build and I've learned what kind of contests do and don't work for me!

What you have done is looking good Mitch.
I feel your pain on being behind the eight ball. I've been there lately on my last few builds. I hope you can pull it through in time for the deadline.