82 replies to this topic

[Jairus]

Dan, interesting thing about the Vertex magneto is that it needs no outside wiring to run! Bolt onto the engine and run the plug wires and you are DONE! The only other wire is a cut off switch to shut it down. The Pontiac engine is really of indiscriminate size and could actually be a 389. Since I am building this as a surfer rod and basing the styling cues on the surf songs of the early 60's, Jan & Dean's "Little GTO" comes to mind!

Another mockup checking fit and look. The color is actually a Teal but photographs Blue under my lamps. Final pictures will be taken outside to show the true color. The engine only has plug wiring so far, but cooling hoses, fuel lines and a wired up generator are all part of the plan. Also planned is a set of nice Dewey Weber hand carved long-boards! Now for THAT I will be using Balsa wood with a thin center bar of Mahogany!

[Tex]

Also planned is a set of nice Dewey Weber hand carved long-boards! Now for THAT I will be using Balsa wood with a thin center bar of Mahogany!

Excellent! I can just see The Beach Boys posing for one of their early album covers now!

[havlicek]

Jairus,

This is as beautiful an example of slot car modelling as I think we're bound to see. The no-holds-barred attitude and skills you bring to the table will make this thing VERY special when done. Heck just getting the shape and contours of the Weber surfboards in the ballpark in miniature (many compound curves are involved, even though surfboard shapes seem decetively simple...and don't forget the signature Weber "hatchet" fin shape!) would be a nice project. Seeing this thing actually run when complete will be trippy enough, but the whole concept is evocative at once of two eras that also just happened to overlap. Both the "golden age" of surfing when names Weber, Bing, Takayama, Noll, Hobie Alter, Harbour, Jacobs, Gordon & Smith and a bunch of others were plastered all over kids walls and the days of slot racing celebrated here happened simultaneously. That being the case, the whole concept of a slot car build with a surfing/woody theme is brilliant. I grew up surfing and competing in surf contests, making surfboards (I worked for a very skilled transplanted Californian for free to learn something of the trade when i was a kid) and generally living the lifestyle. I also was way deep into slotcars, so this project is especially meaningful to me. Very very cool stuff!

-john

[dbs]

Dan, interesting thing about the Vertex magneto is that it needs no outside wiring to run! Bolt onto the engine and run the plug wires and you are DONE! The only other wire is a cut off switch to shut it down.

We used to run this mag in our race car. I learned very quickly to ground that kill post before installing
or removing one of these things.

I one saw a guy zap himself four or five times after telling me "You don't have to do that". Priceless!

[Jairus]

Picked up some balsa wood from the hobby shop today and laminated that with thin strips of Honduran Mahogany. The goal is sanding and forming a set of "Dewey Weber" long boards, the best of the best in 1964! Going to take a long time to carefully form them as I don't want to take off too much material. Both will be fiberglassed but only one will be painted, the other hopefully to remain wood with nothing more than a hand painted decal.



P.S. In order to get into the mood... I decided to re-visit a couple of old friends:



Hang Ten!

[TSR]

Cool woody! Beware of termites in the showcase...

[havlicek]

Hi Jairus,

Excellent work on the Performers! Of course, a balsa version with redwood stringers (mahogany was also actually used to a lesser degree than redwood so that's spot-on as well!) such as you're doing would be the "creme de la creme" and would have cost an arm and a leg...but they could be ordered and still probably can be. Nowadays, many balsa boards are actually hollowed-out for lightness...only increasing the time and cost involved producing them (not to mention the material costs!). The fact that you're planning on actually fiberglassing them is off the charts!...no zipped rails eh (inside surfboard humor). Seriously, just the boards alone might be desireable to collectors of surfing memorabilia. On a really anal-retentive level, the plan shape looks good...very much like a board from the period. If I might just suggest (and again, this is really nitpicking)...the tail is a little wide at the square end and the nose is a bit pinched or "pointy", more like the designs that Harbour was producing to my eye. The Weber Performer had a slightly narrower tail from the hips back that enabled it to track better and turn faster and a more blunted nose for getting up there and noseriding. Small points that really don't matter in the long run in the least Here's a photo of a current Performer that was cut using the original shape template:



...and a shot of the famous "hatchet fin" design that really became an iconic symbol of the period in itself along with the Dewey Weber logo and the red clothing line he designed for the Team members. Dewey had loads of foresight as a businessman and that took his brand into all kinds of territory...but I digress (sorry).



...and just for more memories of "The Little Man on Wheels" :

...and Dewey "getting ten"

Again, beautiful work! Looking at these...I think you'd have made a heckuva surfboard shaper and they always get all the glory (the glassers, sanders and "glossers" never got much respect).

-john

PS...I hope my post didn't take the thread in a different direction, I figured the boards and surfing are part of all this project. If it's too OT the admins can and should delete it!

[Jairus]

John, Moderators rarely look at my threads...
Besides, the help is enormous to me and that post had better NOT get deleted after all the really stupid OT conversations that ARE allowed.
The board in the pic was shot as just a rough shape straight from the belt sander. Afterwards, I sat in front of the tube with a piece of 220 grit and worked the board over even more. Still need to round off the nose but I think I have the tail same as your shape. Will show you more later...

Just need to see a side view of the tail. Not sure if the taper is on top or bottom.... so I did it on the top figuring that it needed a flat bottom like my "William Dennis" board.
Still need to make a second board now and then set the fins.

Thanks for the help!

[Jairus]

Hey John Dude... check out my gnarly stick ...

[TSR]

John, Moderators rarely look at my threads...

Of course we do, and we like them.
And no, the thread subject has not been compromised by talks of surfboards, au contraire!
If one is to build a woody with surfboards, what's not to like?

[havlicek]

OK guys...glad it's not too far OT. Jairus, the board looks absolutely aces...in fact, something the size of a grasshopper could probably tear-up Rincon with that thing (on a very small day) . You gave it something of a modern angle with the drop rails on the tail (boards back then had more or less a "50/50" rail, meaning the apex of the rail radius was about half way between the top and bottom of the board...sorta)...but it's very cool and pretty much looks functional! You've taken scratchbuilding to a whole new level with this thing...will there be a functional radio and windshield wipers too? I sure am following this build eagerly, thanks for documenting it so clearly.

-john

[Jairus]

Wipers yes.
Radio... not sure yet.

[Foamy]

It's 2009. You need a DVD player and a half dozen video screens.
(sigh) I would like to make something like this, but I ruin wood when I touch it.

[idare2bdul]

When I scrolled down and saw some of the pictures my jaw literally dropped. Absolutely stunning!

[Jairus]

Hi Mike!



I spent most of last night shaping a couple of surf boards. Tried to get them like the famous "Dewey Weber" long boards. One with a standard skeg and the other a custom "Hatchet" for better control. Both boards have received a coating of fiberglass which will be wet sanded and then clearcoated. One will remain wood and the other gets a period coat of graphics before the clear.

Also applied some fiberglass to the roof of the woody. I didn't have any glass cloth and wanted to keep this in-scale so went and used tissue paper. (The wraping kind, not the nose blowing kind)
The roof is very stiff and quite strong now! It will be block sanded smooth and texture painted flat black this evening after work.


A little surf cartoon by Bruce Steffenhagen from SURFtoons #2.

[havlicek]

Also applied some fiberglass to the roof of the woody. I didn't have any glass cloth and wanted to keep this in-scale so went and used tissue paper.

...good call Jairus. With epoxy as the "impregnate", any number of materials would work fine...even plain old 20 lb. bond paper, and the tissue paper might even have been preferable to fiberglass because it would be less likely to drip through if oversaturated. Fiberglass is of course very strong and goes pretty much completely clear when soaked with resin...but neither of those are necessary or even desireable for this model.

-john

[Jairus]

Thank you John, and it's strong too!

Got the roof sanded smooth and painted last night. Wish I could spend more time on it but can only find a couple of hours a day free time unfortunately.

[John Kit]

Jairus, what a great build!

This is a work of art!

John Kit.

[Dave Wilson]

Fantastic work Jairus
True workmanship and eye to detail

[Jean-Michel Piot]

Are you talking of the girl on the roof ?

I long to see the definitive result ...

[Jairus]

Jean-Michel,
Have not worked on this project in nearly a week. Had a death in the family and then Arrow Marketing handed me three brochures to layout. I have been spending 90% of my time on those. By the evening... I am just too tired to paint and detail. Hopefully this weekend I can free up some time.

Besides, Jimmy Flintstone has not cast and sent the two figures for the inside yet. Once they arrive I can position them and begin finishing up the interior details. Only thing left is the fiddly details and that could be completed in one day!

[Lone Wolf]

First of all, condolences on your loss.

Jarius, That pic showing the roof looks a little heavy in the *** end ( the truck I mean ) Now everyone is going to have a woody I kill myself

[Jairus]

Finished up the wheels. Rear rubber is glued and trued. Wheels in the front were treated to some maroon paint and beauty rings... while the rears were cleaned and received a set of 5-spoke inserts.
Now, if anyone is going to jump all over my incongruity of using two different sets of wheels... just consider that most rodders ran steel wheels all around. But when they wanted to take a spin down the drag-strip a set of cheater skins were needed but usually would not fit on the skinny steelies. Therefore a set of custom rims were needed and only used when the drag tires were installed. It was actually a pretty common thing on rods during that era.
I do have a set of Cox freewheeling 5 spoke mags that I am still considering using for the front however and it could be a fairly easy swap.

[havlicek]

I think the wheels are fine Jairus (the rears remind me of Cragars)...but knowing you (as your own toughest critic), I bet you went through some ch-ch-changes over the decision What struck me from the low/side angle photo above was how the bits of the chassis showing under the body actually look like 1:1 suspension pieces...cool! Is that a "triple deuce" (3 2-bbl) setup I see on the motor? My older brother's buddy had a split-window 'Vette setup that way.

-john

[Noose]

That is one fine piece of work. Don't ya love a detail guy! Excellent!