Clunkmeister

Yup, Happy Birthday, Father Time! I heard that you were a babysitter for Moses at one point in your childhood. And that act of kindness when you released that minnow in the ocean? Who knew that little minnow would grow up to be Moby Dick! And I hear Jonah even hitched a ride at one point as well.. Life must have been great back in the days before electricity. I hope you had a really great day, buddy! Ernie

This picture speaks a thousand words to me.... Y’all ever get that lump in your throat with a model saying “finish me!” No, it won’t be tomorrow, next week, or even next month, but this is a build I never should have stopped.

Gorgeous build, Dave.

Yup. Happy Happy Birthday, Derek!

Just for Martin. Texas squirrels. And yes, before you ask, they taste like chicken.

A few more Texas images. Obviously one is historical. You don’t know Texas if you don’t know our State flower, the Bluebonnet.

Just crossed the wire, guys. Paul Allen just died. Co-founder of Microsoft, but also a noteable vintage aircraft collector, including the only flying original FW-190 with it's original engine intact and working.

Thanks, man. Plenty of work ahead to do...

“Rubber band tires” you sound just like me!

I get you engine on the weekend. It’s a Ford-Edsel (FE) big block Ford, 352 cubes. Identical block as the 361, 390, 406, and 427 Ford big blocks. There was also an option for an even bigger engine, a Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln (MEL) big block 430 cubes, which is a totally different engine. That was a real stump puller and turned the nimble Thunderbird into a dog. Like driving around with a ship’s anchor roped on the front bumper. Big power in a straight line, but it turned and handled like the Queen Mary. The 352 powered T-bird is a real riot to drive. Stiff shocks and a rear sway bar turn it into a neat little car. It’s really not that big... 112” wheelbase.

This caught me flat footed and I had to do some thinking on the subject. I prefer WW1 subjects these days, but honestly, anything unique is my style. The one I chose is my FAVORITE build, as it’s the one that really got me back into large scale modeling. It’s by no means my “best” build, matter of fact, it’s probably close to my worst, but I had piles of fun building it, and it’s the build where I met all these Wisenheimers who claim to be my friends. the infamous “Toilet Bomber” where all sorts of off color jokes flew around and we had gobs of fun. I look at this build and see the glaring mistakes: alignment, missing arming wires and pins, weathering or lack thereof, shiny wheels, etc, and although I’ve thought of taking a couple days to update and fix it, I choose not to because I can look at it and see how far I’ve come in those years.

Just like Elvira’s.

They got that one so wrong. Thunderbird has a long hood, short trunk...classic. Gives the illusion of speed, muscle, and power. Somehow, Ford got that backwards on the last try. Totally ruined the car.

Dang! I'd almost display it in it's "as delivered" condition. Covered tail boom, wheels, and an open cockpit,.. sounds like all kinds of bad stuff to make sure it wouldn't be good in Canadian winters.

Now I'm sure I said "flapper", not "flopper".

Yup. In 58, Ford made the Thunderbird a 4 seater. A bit bigger to accommodate the rear seat, and also some serious (for the day) power in the form of a 300hp 352cid V8. The two seater guys disdain them for not being "pure" to the original concept, but they sold huge and pretty much started the whole "personal luxury" concept.

WOW! That 47D has to be one of the earliest ones still in existence. What a serious time machine! There's plenty of 47s around and even still working for a living, but an early D has to be rare like a decent Trumpeter kit.

Jeff in 59 they didn't stamp the vin on the engine block, so it's just "date matching". So as long as the engine is built earlier than the car, it's all good.

The good news is that in 58-59 Tbird doesn't use the same top mechanism as the retractable hardtops and the 60-66 Tbirds. On these years, you open the deck and extend the flapper manually, then you operate the top as per any other convertible. It's all nicely counterbalanced so it works beautifully.

This was considered a “compact” car here in 1959. As far as American 1950s cars go, this is pretty small. The Rambler and Corvette ware smaller though.

So, how do you know that? Hmmmmmm?

Picture from an original sales brochure.

Meanwhile in Texas.....

She’s not much to look at, but she’s a genuine 59 T-Bird droptop with a 352 and Cruiseomatic trans. Full load with factory air as well. She’ll be some work, but nothing I haven’t done a few times before. All the chrome needs redoing, the stainless needs polishing, the top has a hole in the canvas, and she needs a full interior. Come to think of it, she needs a full rebuild, although the body is virgin and rust free, and the powertrain is decent. Most folks like the 55-57 baby birds, but I like the classic 50’s cruiser look of the 58-60 birds. Cars way, way ahead of their time. This one rides and drives as new. She’s just old and needs complete cosmetics from sitting open in the Texas sun for 40 years..