RancheroSteve

Remember, kids - your transmission has a "neutral" position and your ignition has an "off" position.

Good summary, Bob. There's lots of "my brother/neighbor/friend had a HiPo Comet", much of which comes from the K-Code confusion and is nearly always anecdotal. The Durability, African Safari, and drag cars are well-documented of course, but those and maybe a few other HiPo '64 Comets were purpose built/special order cars. I think it's pretty safe to say that the average Joe Public couldn't just check a box and get a HiPo in their '64 Comet.

Right you are, Mark. Also bigger brakes and a 8" differential. I can't imagine a six cylinder Falcon platform holding up very long to the stresses of a V8 without those changes. A further bit of trivia on the transmission hump issue: to put the four speed T-10 in the Falcon in late '63 (like my Ranchero), Ford just rather crudely hacked out a part of the tunnel and riveted in an extra piece to clear the shifter. When I stripped that part of my car down I was kinda startled to see how rough the cut was. As far as I know, they continued to use that piece in '64-65, but I'm not sure if they did it any more cleanly .

True, but this pro street version looks to have a Mustang II type front suspension, which eliminates the shock towers and frees up a lot of width in the engine bay.

Haha, apparently we're both members! Seriously though, I don't want to be piling on or going out of my way to find flaws with this kit before it's even done - as I'm glad to be getting it - but figured what's the harm in pointing out what I see. Maybe someone is listening. So while we're at it and as mentioned earlier, if this is being marketed as a pro touring version, a more contemporary powerplant might be in order when the time comes.

Here's the name brand version by Beuglar - they still make 'em. A little more expensive now though.

Looks good, although a couple of quibbles: 1. Although I guess it looks racy, I don't see much reason to have that twin scoop hood on there unless it's ducted directly to the carbs, like it was on the A/FX cars. Just more unnecessary aerodynamic drag on a touring car. 2. Is that a single reservoir brake master cylinder? Seems a little archaic, hmm? Sorry if I'm picking nits here . . .

Chartpak graphic tape works well for me. Comes in a variety of widths. Make sure you get the crepe stuff if you have a curves you want to go around. Here it is on a 1/25 scale body, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work on a larger scale.

Yes, that would be Juha Airio, who also build the Thunderbird Italien in this photo. Both are outstanding!

Sorry to say, I don't think Fred Cady is making decals anymore. The ones I used were custom made:

Or more like a Bill Stroppe feel, whose shop built Comets for the African Safari Rally and Marauders for NASCAR:

Excellent artwork, but if you'll allow me to get a little nit-picky here, the "K code" engine in a '64 Comet was not the HiPo 289 that people associate with Fairlanes and Mustangs, but rather a more normal 210 HP four barrel 289. Mercury used different code system from Ford, which has lead to a lot of confusion over the years.

If someone were to provide a high resolution scan, these wouldn't be too hard to home print, especially as there's no white portions involved.

I realize a lot of people do everything on a phone these days, but for me it's folders within folders on a computer, all organized by type of vehicle in a logic that makes sense to me, at least. I got in the habit in the early digital photo days of labeling every photo, which makes searching much easier. When I'm ready to start a build, I'll pull a folder out and park it on the desktop, maybe search for additional reference or inspiration. Just as in the physical world, if you can't find something, you may as well not have it.

The shock towers and generator in the Trumpeter Falcons are about the only good parts in those kits, but it's probably not worth buying a whole kit for that. As far as the suspension, drive train, and chassis go, the AMT '67 Shelby Mustang is still the best bet for doing an accurate V8 Falcon, as far as I'm concerned.

Not sure if you've seen this - I did one a few years back:

I'd like to think the Indy cars of this era would be better sellers if they had decent tires. There's no hiding bad looking tires on a open wheeled car.

Yes, those were by far the best pieces in the Trumpeter Falcons.

Early Falcons also have the bayonet upper shock mount, but they can be switched for the Mustang crossbar type without clearance issues.

Pierson Brothers '36 Ford:

Just checked mine and it's working fine.

The closest thing I'm aware of would be the Monogram Chevy Luv - the Luv was a re-badged Isuzu.

I had one at some point and sold it. There's a basic body there, but everything else is lacking. Motor Racing Replica News did an article on what was needed (hint: a lot) to make it decent. But at one point it was pretty much the only game in town if you wanted a 1/24 M8 - until the Accurate Miniatures kit came along.

Unfortunately, those upgrade kits (including the wheels and tires) have been out of stock for what feels like forever. I keep checking, though! I have a Cady set to do the Zink car.

Here's shot I came across in my files - might be just a color version of the shot above, but thought it might be useful to you. Some other giveaways that the crashed car in the photo above isn't a 2C are the position of the steering column and the location of the brake reservoirs. I really like where you're going so far with this - hope you can keep at it!