Cato

Showtime... A long time between updates due to much head-scratching, fiddle-faddling and pure guesswork. But a very major hurdle overcome. The headliner is complete, permanently in place and is playing nice with the long-ago designed and assembled furniture. All in the hopes for a cozy, starlet-friendly cabin. Designed 'on the fly', making up as you go and trial and fit at infinitum. The headiner consists of two main pieces of plastic to recontour the rather odd-shaped, truncated inner roof. Remember, it's been cut 13mm in front and 6 at the back. Plus Pocher gives you screw bosses and ribs you don't want. The top section is one simple flat piece with a tediously curved back edge. The sides and back are all one piece of .020 plastic cut from many templates and shaped over and over and which curves at the corners. This reduces the area a bit and required narrowing the previously fabricated seat. Many bad vocabulary words were tested here. When finalized and press-fit in place, it was covered with light gray leather, suede side out. The lighter color chosen because it would have no visibility back there with a dark skin. The side panels, also from many months back are the same gray leather as the seats with burl wood photo trim panels to mate with the 'wood' door caps. I think the suede imparts a nice nostalgic 'mohair' or mouse fur fabric. I felt glossy leather would have been out of place back there. AS mentioned the seat required narrowing due to the corner curves so some sweaty time on the belt sander resulted in the diet seen here. Thankfully, no catastrophies occurred because I have only small scraps of gray leather... And this is the result. Yes, the head room is low and the leg room generous, all designed to encourage 1932 reclining starlets. Jean Harlow would not complain: Here are some views with the seats in place (they plug in) and the inner door panel propped in place. Mercifully, they all seem to harmonize. More (easier) work to be done making front kick panels and dashboard installation. The door panel pleats were made to be in symmetry with the cowl and hood louver angle. All-in-all, I consider myself lucky. I'm very far afield now and nowhere near helpful instructions. This is not strictly 'scratch-building' but very close to 'scratch-altering'. The damnable part is that any misstep or poorly executed, highly visible part ruins 2+ years of work. The coming roof outer covering is such an area. Although I dreaded the headliner for many months, it is done and I was lucky. The roof covering is now the new dreaded part. As will be the hood alterations when that comes up. Someone remind me that this is a fun hobby, please?

Looks like a 100 point restoration in full size. When you feel better, you gonna do even better work than this??

All very valid (and humorous ! ) points. Great way to build fun on the cheap. I can tell you that 550HP in 2650 pounds runs those 11's, carves apexes and doesn't break stuff. But is like a blunderbuss in comparison.

I get the nostalgia Bill but wouldn't a set of AFR 185's pull near 280 cfm?

Please see my post about Harry in the General section.

A nice milestone in Harry's Fund balance is the fact that over $10,000 has been raised due to the generosity of you members and Harry's personal friends. But the troubling thing is that this does not solve a major worry: the true cost of cancer care today. I decided to find out the financial nature of such care. A simple search of chemotherapy costs these days is truly daunting. Having browsed a variety of medical sites, the overwhelming fact is that no two cancers are alike and neither is the cost to combat them. A startling fact is that the cost factor depends largely on whether chemotherapy is administered by an independent oncologist or one who is hospital based. The hospital based care is literally doubled the independent cost. There are many reasons for this including red tape and overhead costs. This is the very issue Harry is facing now, with his chemo treatment program to begin very soon. He is trying to obtain a reasonable cost plan between the two. Looking for hard number costs, I did come across this recent data for Harry's cancer type. The source is Costhelper.com / chemo costs: "According to an article[4] in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, combination chemotherapy regimens typically used for advanced colorectal cancer can range from almost $12,000 to over $30,000 for an eight-week course, depending on the drugs. But new drugs usually cost more: for example, Adcetris[5] , a recently approved drug that treats recurrences of some types of lymphoma, can cost more than $120,000 for a course of treatment, and so does Yervoy[6] , a new skin cancer drug." So although clearly the Fund is off to a good start, it is evident that Harry's weak insurance-based help will not be adequate and his out-of-pocket costs will be considerable. Many here have given what they can but Harry's worry continues after our involvement has ended. I have come to realize that the Fund's stated financial goal is definitely closer to the expense Harry may face. So please, find a creative way for outsiders (non-modeling contributors) to help in any way possible. Deepest thanks to those who have contributed. To those who can make additional contributions, please do so. We can make an enormous difference is Harry's life.

School's in session ! Learn how the pros do it here. Bill wanna collaborate on the next Rolls I slice and dice?

Overcame the problems we discussed by sheer stubbornness Bill. Sanded and painted over and over until perfect. Painting the Sistine was easier I think...

Thanks for the generous compliments men. I have since done a full polish on the well-cured paint. Thankfully it matches the color and gloss level of the fenders, doors, trunk and runningborads. Soon, the upholstery and installation of the headliner.

To all who contributed; your generosity has been outstanding. We just need a 'bigger universe' of contributors. Here's hoping the word spreads from the forum to any interested parties.

To any who have not yet done so, please contribute what you can spare to Harry's fund. Although the involvement to we who have contributed seems to end with a donation, the stress and anxiety of the situation does not end for Harry. This is a 24 / 7 battle he fights. To those that have contributed, consider asking non-modeling friends or family to help out. The world is bigger than our modeling family here. Let's support Harry with well-wishes as well as funds. We don't want Harry to fight this alone. C

Sorry - dunno why the first picture distorted.

Clearing things up... Well finally got the good spraying weather and applied three coats of clear. Now let it air out for a day or two before color sand and polish. Just tacked on a few bits to give myself incentive. Door, fender, wheel, seat and running board just placed not fastened.

Thank you Eric, nice to have you aboard. Work and planning always on-going even if not post-worthy. Currently awaiting dry weather so I can clear the coach paint. Then headliner installation, roof covering and ---stuff. Still a lot of stuff to go. But the chunks are getting bigger at least.

Any results from selling kits on-line?

Of course it's appropriate; you're the main mod here, the guy that kicks ass and takes names! And we want it to STAY THAT WAY. I'm sure it does all of us much good to hear directly from you, especially given this encouraging news. We don't need thanks; we need good news from your end. The part about your wonderful family is especially good. I'm also sure your docs don't BS around when they tell you they are encouraged and you will beat this. But the hard work is up to you. That you sleep better and eat well is a great condition to be in. Ebay has sent a letter to headquarters saying there has been a radical drop-off in the number of 1/16 scale brass era and classic cars sold of late. So don't lounge around - get with the program; you have plenty of building to catch up with. And guys, think of donations as Harry's lifeline. Any of those money-raising schemes like selling off old stash stuff is most effective and relatively painless.. Also spreading the word (or actually the link) among non-modeler friends is a great way to expand the base of donations. Because they're not gonna give Harry free treatments anytime soon. Keep 'em coming. C

Ya nailed it good Bill.

Turning the corner... Body in color at last. Both colors are in raw paint, not color sanded or polished yet. Only doors and trunk are in final finish and polish state. Much handling of the main coach yet to come before finishing steps. Seen here, some bits are just hung on for a look-see, The wheel, chromed windshield frame and door are just placed and the running board is clipped from below. I can now finally see what my vision turned out. The lowness of the roof compared to stock Pocher is readily apparent. Contributing to the streamlined look are the Bugatti color sweep, sectioned, sloped and lowered trunk and the ~7mm trimmed rocker panel under the doors. The roof covering fabric is seen in the foreground for color compatibility. The lowered, streamlined effect is heightened when the fenders are attached but they're protected in storage for now as they too are in final polished state. So here you have it my friends - love it or hate it but I don't think many will yawn. For many this is sacrilege to afflict to a stately RR. But I did get closer to my vision than I expected. Rolls and Royce may be spinning in their graves but maybe George Barris is not. In fact he may think I didn't go far enough. Go ahead gang, pass judgement - I'm a big boy...

Sincere thanks to Bill and James. Great way James found to contribute without sacrifice and Bill's point about continuing need is spot on. It's just lousy to realize that our Harry will not be out of the woods just because we donate. But we can do something to ease the anguish he lives with about cost and red tape. You guys all have come up with some great ideas to raise money. No thanks for me please; I much rather we never had to create this thread...

Nice idea Michael. Very nice of you to spend it for a vital cause and the bonus is you're not out-of-pocket to do so. This could work well for those who really want to help but for whom things are tight right now.

A really nice idea from James. Makes perfect sense and is virtually painless. All those that appreciate Harry's work here can make a significant improvement in his treatment. The costs of those treatments with marginal insurance coverage is as painful as the disease itself. Try to remember that every single day, Harry lives with physical pain and mental anguish about dwindling resources. Our contributions will give at least small relief. Please do what you can now...

Not sure Angelo. Go to the link and see if there is card information available. And thanks on behalf of Harry to all of you that care. EDIT: They have an 'Ask Gofundme' a question box on the bottom of the page.

Considering you're half a world away from Illinois, I commend you for your thought and generosity. Thank you Gaute.

Bob makes great points. It's bad enough to hear of a friend's turmoil when something like this happens. But it's frighteningly worse when YOU are the guy at the sharp-pointed end of the disease. This advanced disease is truly life-threatening; at best, it's a life-altering situation. And not in a good way. You just cannot stop thinking about it and trying to stay one step ahead of the advancing disease. Compound that with knowing that your own resources are not nearly enough to get you through it. Indeed, beyond the terrible clinical burden, Harry is struggling to get the needed treatment with the inferior heath insurance he's been saddled with. Additionally, the loss of income from his business has been a cruel event to deal with. There's a sad fact of life with advanced disease such as this. It is that the same procedures and medications the medical world gives you to fight the disease are as debilitating as the unchecked disease itself. They are designed to STOP the advancing disease; in doing so there is inevitable collateral damage. Think bombing a city to destroy the enemy, you may do so but the city is virtually destroyed in the process. So there's no win / win here - you're battling all the way. I know this first hand from my own family's brushes with serious disease. I think part of the problem is that many of the forum members in general do not come to 'The Lounge' and so are not aware of our friend's plight. I'd love to see this in the 'General' forum up front but that is against the rules. So again, I thank all of you who have contributed to Harry's Fund but ask you to go a step further. Contact your site buddies by email or PM, ask if they know about this and spread the word of this pressing need. Give them the link to the Fund that you used to contribute. Maybe even word-of-mouth to your non-modeling friends and associates; generosity can come from many sources. So far, the Fund has achieved only 10% of the anticipated financial need. We've all marveled at Harry's model work and countless of us have learned a huge amount of modeling skills from it. He's so popular for that reason. Let's pay back that generous input we've gotten from him over the years. C