1963 Chevy

[Gary Davis]

Gary, that town is right in the heart of one of the best antique areas in the country, and my wife loves antiques. That's how we ended up there. Luckily I lost my sense of smell back in 1992, so the smell was no issue for me, and I don't remember my wife complaining about it too much either. Believe it or not, we had a lot of fun there, and stayed there many times.

Now that sounds pretty cool. Actually...to be honest...I grew up with that cow country smell. It really don't bother me to much. It does get strong in the summer and you can tell your getting pretty close to the stock yards or Dairy Farms. This was back in the 50s-60s in N. California. It gets up to 115 degress in the shade in Redding. But...I'll bet it's about the same in the flat part of Texas too. Now...I live up here in Washington and there are a few dairy farms left but...no where close to me.

[MarkJ]

Mark - We lived in Houston for a few years and then 14 years later, I was transferred back from California to Dallas for several years. I think I might know that place, does a tree named Sophie ring any bells? We never stayed there but we had a few friends who did and they always spoke highly of it.

David, I don't think there is a tree named Sophie on the property, but there might be and I'm just not aware of it. the place is called "Round Top Cottages". There are two cabins on the property, and we always stayed in the one called "Cedar Tops Cottage". Even though the place is in Burton, they call it "Round Top Cottages" because most of the antiquing action is in the town of Round Top which is close by. Ever since we got our dog about six years ago we haven't been able to go back because they don't allow dogs. I can't go anywhere without my dog. That's why we purchased a travel trailer right after I retired. RV parks are more liberal about dogs.

[MarkJ]

Gary, that town is right in the heart of one of the best antique areas in the country, and my wife loves antiques. That's how we ended up there. Luckily I lost my sense of smell back in 1992, so the smell was no issue for me, and I don't remember my wife complaining about it too much either. Believe it or not, we had a lot of fun there, and stayed there many times.

Now that sounds pretty cool. Actually...to be honest...I grew up with that cow country smell. It really don't bother me to much. It does get strong in the summer and you can tell your getting pretty close to the stock yards or Dairy Farms. This was back in the 50s-60s in N. California. It gets up to 115 degress in the shade in Redding. But...I'll bet it's about the same in the flat part of Texas too. Now...I live up here in Washington and there are a few dairy farms left but...no where close to me.

Gary, Actually it doesn't usually get that hot anywhere in Texas, just usually a little over 100 at most. The thing that kills you here is the humidity. 90's here with our humidity can feel like 115 easy.

[MarkJ]

Started on the battery.



Did some more work on the oil cooler.

[Gary Davis]

Dannnnng Mark...that battery is flat killer! So is the rest of it but that battery...is over the top

[MarkJ]

Thanks guys for the kind words. David, That's one thing I don't want to get into, casting. I haven't ever heard of Still Water Ranch but I'm sure its probably awesome.

[MarkJ]

I think I'm through with putting the frame together, so now I can start on the interior.

[Gary Davis]

Great work here Mark...

[Lefturns75]

I will gamble you are the only modeler that spent time scratch building a wiper motor for a stock car.  I don't know about each and every one but I know for sure one Impala that the wiper motor was in.  The driver mentioned it in an interview-----he also said----"If you aint Winnin', you aint cheating enough".   Supertex, I'm gonna flip right out if you wire that to a switch and it works.

[john843]

Mark, it's a straight up pleasure to watch your work. You have essentially taken a promo and turned it into a skill-level 3++. The Lindberg Dyno Don '61 impala has that same exact intake extension but I'm not sure your's doesn't look better! Awesome at every level.

John

[MarkJ]

I will gamble you are the only modeler that spent time scratch building a wiper motor for a stock car.  I don't know about each and every one but I know for sure one Impala that the wiper motor was in.  The driver mentioned it in an interview-----he also said----"If you aint Winnin', you aint cheating enough".   Supertex, I'm gonna flip right out if you wire that to a switch and it works.

George, during my research for this model, I watched the Junior /Mike Beam video that I think your talking about and Junior said that nascar made them run the wiper motor that year. When I heard that I knew I had to make one for this model. If Junior had to run it then any other 63 nascar car including Fords, Plymouths, Pontiacs or Dodges, would have had to run one too. Ive built a couple of other 63 nascars that I spent time cutting the wiper motor off the firewall and now find that I didn't have to.

[MarkJ]

Thanks, Gary and John. I really appreciate the kind words.

[MarkJ]

Starting on the interior.

[MarkJ]

David, I use the scribe and whittle technique, using a #11 exacto blade.. The dremel tool can get away from me, and I don't really like the sound of it either. Yes the belt type sanding stick is a wonderful tool. Thanks again for your interest in the build.

[john843]

Got to agree on the Dremel. When I first got back into modeling seriously around 2000, I shot out and got an electric Dremel "MultiPro" deluxe set with the foot and a half long gray box with ALL the attachments.
The first body I used it on was a JoHan Petty Superbird and as Mark said, it got away from me and I MANGLED that baby! Decided pretty quick that it had more power than I had finesse and went out and got the battery-operated blue "MiniMite" model. It is considerably more manageable but will still get away from you if you're not careful.  As a result I use the battery model to rough out some things, but much prefer the control of the sanding sticks and scalpels. The electric model is great for some around the house jobs but hasn't touched a model since that first one.

John