SCISR Night Race video

That's right... I threw together another one from last Sunday's mayhem... or at least SOME of it:

Ride the Snake

SFVISBF Race Nov 2010 from Dave McGowan on Vimeo.

Freaky Baby (Official Music Video) - Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children Ma...

Butthole Surfers - Who Was in My Room Last Night

Go see Paul!

I had a dream this morning.

Now, I don't normally remember a lot of detail in my dreams, and I rarely dream about building things. That said, I woke up with a bolt-by-bolt memory of building and driving a little track roadster.

The flatty was nearly stock, save for a set of Edelbrock heads and a two-pot manifold. It was pretty gutless, and the dry-lakes gearing didn't do that ol' three speed any favors as I slipped the clutch to get it rolling around the streets of Ventura. A deep bellypan allowed me to sit low in the bucket body, down between the rails. Loads of patina - only the newly fabbed parts in primer. The track nose was sloping with a low, eliptical opening. A big steering wheel looked like it started out on a farm truck or tractor. The wheels were 17" spokes with tall and taller skinny blackwalls. The home-made bucket seats were well-worn leather on padded plywood forms... no aluminum bomber seats for this ride.

I don't know - maybe it's a vision of the futute, or maybe it's just what I wish my latest soapbox project could be.

Oh, Holy Handlebars! Bike drags!

Yup... we still do this.

Yeah - that's me catapulting over the curb at about 2:20.

The City

The concept of THE CITY intrigues me. I hadn't really given much consideration to the Blog as a form of storytelling, until now.

Are you a model BUILDER, or a model ASSEMBLER?

I was looking for a review of AMT's recently reissued "Hippie Hemi" dragster/showrod today, and stumbled across a build thread on SAE's message board. The builder became discouraged with it's "flimsy" frame and the less than perfect fit of some of the parts, and threw his semi-completed kit into the garabage. I've started this model myself today, and though I wouldn't call it a snap kit, I think that with a bit of patience and forethought, this a completely viable model.

Many modern day hobbyists seem to have lost (or perhaps never actually developed) any but the most rudimentary modelbuilding skills. As a kid, I remember having to trial fit, reshape/clearance and fill seams with regularity. Filler was a necessary part of every builder's toolbox. As moldmaking technology has advanced, it seems many have forgotten what that's like.

In comparison to the kits I remember from my childhood, today's kits nearly fall together. Open a few paint bottles and one of liquid cement, dump them into the box, shake, and out comes a completed model! I've talked to builders that won't touch anything but a Tamiya kit, because they "take too much time to assemble". I thought that was the POINT of this hobby!

My Hippie Hemi is being built box stock. Not only does the kit include a vinyl blower belt, flexible upper fuel line, and transparent oil pan with visible chrome crankshaft, but the envelope-style body (that has to be painted AFTER assembly if I wish to smooth the seams) is part of the CHALLENGE of building the best model that I can from this kit. Sure, this means that I'm going to have to revive nearly forgotten (for me) aircraft-style masking techniques, and the actual assembly order may not EXACTLY follow the instructions, but I'm daring the judges at the next contest I enter to fault me for it.

And I dare any of you to go out and buy a kit made from an older, worn, prone-to-warpage tool and make it the absolute best that you possibly can...

..or maybe just scratchbuild something.

Coaster Brake Challenge, Series3, Race1

Great time, even though I was hampered by a stuffed up head that turned into a full-blown headcold later in the day. I didn't finish all eight laps, but thought it better to err on the side of caution when I felt fatigue coming on - I no longer have health coverage since the layoff.