Oh Shoot, I didn't see the second one! That's cool!
-
Modelers Alliance has updated the forum software on our website. We have migrated all post, content and user accounts but we could not migrate the passwords.
This requires that you manually reset your password.
Please click here, http://modelersalliance.org/forums/login to go to logon page and use the "Forgot your Password" option.
Old photos.
- Thread starter bob letterman
- Start date
Here is me at 17 in 1986
here I'm 7? really don't remember
Damn, you had that rod at 17?????? Were your folks rich???
That is just too cool! At 17, I had a '51 Chevrolet fastback. It would hardly run as the rings were so worn, it got about 6 miles to the quart of oil! But, hell, it was cool in 1956! I named it the Green Hornet!
Bob
rob ferreira
Member
Bob, love hearing(reading ) the stories from back then. A book on your Army, cop and modeling days would be awesome. Put me down for a copy.
Gotta love those old Vettes.
Dig the Dean look you had back in the 50's.
Looking forward to the next story you tell.
Biggest respect Sir.
Rob
Gotta love those old Vettes.
Dig the Dean look you had back in the 50's.
Looking forward to the next story you tell.
Biggest respect Sir.
Rob
panzerace007
Active member
BOB,
I agree with ROB. .... Tell Us a story BoB .... Tell us a story please !
What was your most Chilling day on th Force ?
Did you ever raid a Guys house to find he was a Modeler ?
or something like that ....
Also With ALL due Respect Sir !!
ERIK
I agree with ROB. .... Tell Us a story BoB .... Tell us a story please !
What was your most Chilling day on th Force ?
Did you ever raid a Guys house to find he was a Modeler ?
or something like that ....
Also With ALL due Respect Sir !!
ERIK
AndyFettes
Master at Arms
ummmmmmm Im telling !!!
Sherman 18
Master at Arms
Damn, you had that rod at 17?????? Were your folks rich???
That is just too cool! At 17, I had a '51 Chevrolet fastback. It would hardly run as the rings were so worn, it got about 6 miles to the quart of oil! But, hell, it was cool in 1956! I named it the Green Hornet!
Bob[/quote]
Man do I wish my folks were loaded! The Rod is the result of a lot of work since I was 14, and yep Dad also put in a lot of time and sweat plus cash. Deal was we would do the work, all of the work I mean everything. It was cool having him teaching me, that is now the best part of the car. Another plus was he was a sargent at Lakewood PD too, I know that kept me out of some trouble more than once. The 51 Chevy's are good looking cars! Do you have any photos of it? Green Hornet - good name for a car.
Oh the A started it's life with me as this
That is just too cool! At 17, I had a '51 Chevrolet fastback. It would hardly run as the rings were so worn, it got about 6 miles to the quart of oil! But, hell, it was cool in 1956! I named it the Green Hornet!
Bob[/quote]
Man do I wish my folks were loaded! The Rod is the result of a lot of work since I was 14, and yep Dad also put in a lot of time and sweat plus cash. Deal was we would do the work, all of the work I mean everything. It was cool having him teaching me, that is now the best part of the car. Another plus was he was a sargent at Lakewood PD too, I know that kept me out of some trouble more than once. The 51 Chevy's are good looking cars! Do you have any photos of it? Green Hornet - good name for a car.
Oh the A started it's life with me as this
That, is not a car, that's a hunk of metal. It didn't turn into a car again till you and your Dad gave it the TLC you did.
You still got that car?
You still got that car?
Sherman 18
Master at Arms
Yeah I thought my Dad had lost his mind when we dug it out of the dirt.
Yes I've still got the car!!! It is apart now, but I have a new frame, rear end, I will be chopping the top, filling the roof, different wheels etc. The want list is huge for it. I have to finish my 54 F 100 and get it sold to finish her back up.
Yes I've still got the car!!! It is apart now, but I have a new frame, rear end, I will be chopping the top, filling the roof, different wheels etc. The want list is huge for it. I have to finish my 54 F 100 and get it sold to finish her back up.
Rob -MadAsKiwi- Mooar
Member
Mate, you have all the sweet tin! Once you've finished the F100, it'd be cool to see the rebuild of the old girl. What donk you got hidin' under the hood?
I have a lot of digging around to do but here are some pics of a few of my old souped up muscle cars. The very first day I got out of the army and made it home, I bought a new car. Previously, I always had to pay cash for my old junkers, but during the three years I spent in France, this new way of buying cars had really taken hold in the USA, CREDIT!!!!! Too cool!
I bought a 1957 chevrolet, my dream car at the time, with very low mileage and still even smelled new. Just by coincidence, I met Gail's mother, Sandra that very day. This is her standing by my new dream car, 1962.
As time went on, and I could afford it, I began customizing it. Nosed and decked, rolled front and rear pans, tube grille, radio antennaes in the two hood scoops, baby teardrop spotlights, Lowered front end, (Back then, that was called a Dago Rake), and so on.
Also the interior, Tuck and rolled naugahyde upholstery, custom made console with tape recorder/tach and more. Austin-Healey swivel bucket seats, three speed manual transmission on the floor.
The engine, a 283 bored out to .60 thousands over, Duntov cam, solid lifters, Cadillac Carter 4 barrel carb and Scavenger twin exhausts. That was cutting edge back in those days.
To top it off, 20 coats of hand rubbed Canyon Coral lacquer.
My first Corvette was a triple red, 1962.
Now this car was truly "Hot". A 327 V-8, again w/Duntov cam, solid lifters, Edelbrock manifold, tuned exhaust, four speed manual transmission, 4/11 gears in the rear end. This baby would scoot. Unbelievable torque!
Very little customizing, it didn't need any. Mag wheels and red striped Tiger Paw tires was about the extent of it!
Here is Susan, a new bride on the Oklahoma turnpike, March, 1966. We were on our honeymoon and that over the Interstate McDonald's restaurant had just been built!
I have pics of another 5 Corvettes, I'll post later.
Bob
I bought a 1957 chevrolet, my dream car at the time, with very low mileage and still even smelled new. Just by coincidence, I met Gail's mother, Sandra that very day. This is her standing by my new dream car, 1962.
As time went on, and I could afford it, I began customizing it. Nosed and decked, rolled front and rear pans, tube grille, radio antennaes in the two hood scoops, baby teardrop spotlights, Lowered front end, (Back then, that was called a Dago Rake), and so on.
Also the interior, Tuck and rolled naugahyde upholstery, custom made console with tape recorder/tach and more. Austin-Healey swivel bucket seats, three speed manual transmission on the floor.
The engine, a 283 bored out to .60 thousands over, Duntov cam, solid lifters, Cadillac Carter 4 barrel carb and Scavenger twin exhausts. That was cutting edge back in those days.
To top it off, 20 coats of hand rubbed Canyon Coral lacquer.
My first Corvette was a triple red, 1962.
Now this car was truly "Hot". A 327 V-8, again w/Duntov cam, solid lifters, Edelbrock manifold, tuned exhaust, four speed manual transmission, 4/11 gears in the rear end. This baby would scoot. Unbelievable torque!
Very little customizing, it didn't need any. Mag wheels and red striped Tiger Paw tires was about the extent of it!
Here is Susan, a new bride on the Oklahoma turnpike, March, 1966. We were on our honeymoon and that over the Interstate McDonald's restaurant had just been built!
I have pics of another 5 Corvettes, I'll post later.
Bob
Here are a couple of pics of me when I was a very young cop. This was the day I graduated the police academy.
Here is another with my canine, Apache.
Excuse the quality of the pics. Many were taken with the old Polaroid cameras and with five decades, they didn't hold up all that well.
Okay, you guys get me started telling war stories and you'll be sorry you did.
My only Modeler/Police tale is the following.
I spent my first 2 years in St' Louis in uniform. One morning, I answered a call from a small hobby distributer in the industrial corner of the precinct I patrolled. They had been burglarized that night and many kits had been stolen. I took the report. Several days later, I was driving through an alley and noticed several Monogram and Revell cardboard cartons sitting beside the trash cans. I went to the back door, a woman answered, and I asked about them. She said her 19 year old had brought them home a few days back. I asked if i could see the contents and she took me into the dining room and lo and behold, 2 hundred model car kits! About that time, junior came home, opened the door, saw me and turned and ran. I was right behind him and tackled him about a half block away. I brought him back in cuffs and his mother asked what this was all about. I told her and she smacked him upside the head.
I took him in and booked him for burglary, had the Evidence technician photograph the models and then took them back to the distributor. He was very happy to get his merchandise back and offered me some new kits. I said no thanks, but did tell him I was a modeler. He then said, well, there is a bunch of stuff we are throwing out. Would you like to look through that? As it is worthless, there wouldn't be a conflict of interest. There were tons of those tiny bottles of paint and spray cans, plus several car kits in damaged boxes. I had a quick argument with my conscience, the modeler won, and I took home a back seat full of models and paint! Not very exciting or heroic, but the models were cool, especially in those days, (1967), when I was making around $2.50 an hour!
Bob
Here is another with my canine, Apache.
Excuse the quality of the pics. Many were taken with the old Polaroid cameras and with five decades, they didn't hold up all that well.
Okay, you guys get me started telling war stories and you'll be sorry you did.
My only Modeler/Police tale is the following.
I spent my first 2 years in St' Louis in uniform. One morning, I answered a call from a small hobby distributer in the industrial corner of the precinct I patrolled. They had been burglarized that night and many kits had been stolen. I took the report. Several days later, I was driving through an alley and noticed several Monogram and Revell cardboard cartons sitting beside the trash cans. I went to the back door, a woman answered, and I asked about them. She said her 19 year old had brought them home a few days back. I asked if i could see the contents and she took me into the dining room and lo and behold, 2 hundred model car kits! About that time, junior came home, opened the door, saw me and turned and ran. I was right behind him and tackled him about a half block away. I brought him back in cuffs and his mother asked what this was all about. I told her and she smacked him upside the head.
I took him in and booked him for burglary, had the Evidence technician photograph the models and then took them back to the distributor. He was very happy to get his merchandise back and offered me some new kits. I said no thanks, but did tell him I was a modeler. He then said, well, there is a bunch of stuff we are throwing out. Would you like to look through that? As it is worthless, there wouldn't be a conflict of interest. There were tons of those tiny bottles of paint and spray cans, plus several car kits in damaged boxes. I had a quick argument with my conscience, the modeler won, and I took home a back seat full of models and paint! Not very exciting or heroic, but the models were cool, especially in those days, (1967), when I was making around $2.50 an hour!
Bob
Kreighshoer
Active member
sitting by the fireplace, listening to dad ... keep them coming bob! please! i love your old stories and pics! 
Sherman 18
Master at Arms
Great looking cars Bob! I that Vette has to be my favorite. I just love the body on them. GM got that right. I really liked the '57. The turning seats with the door! You know not many people do that any more. Well come to think of it I have not seen a custom '57 in years!
Digging the stories too!!!
Digging the stories too!!!
Sherman 18
Master at Arms
Just a little 289 small block. It was a strong runner, ran 13s in the quarter, 7 flat in the 8th mile. Yeah it took it almost as long to finsh the last 8th mile. That what you get when you race a box.
Did a lot of legal racing a Bandimere in Morrison CO
This is too cool! Love the pictures. I remember seeing the over the interstate MickyDs a long time ago but I know I wasn't in OK or even Missouri. Wonder how many of them their were. (leave it to me to talk about the restaurant...)
The tape recorder is really cool!
The tape recorder is really cool!
This is just soooo cool, Bob! Keep it up! One comment. I believe the lower rake in the front was also called a "california rake". At least on the west coast.........Harv
Really! Well, in the midwest in the 60s, it was always called a "Dago Rake". St. Louis had a huge Italian section and I always assumed that was where it came from. We weren't very politically correct in those days! Also, back then, America wasn't nearly as homogenized as it is today. Back then, every region had different names for different details of customizing and different accents to say them with. I still have a dozen of those old Hot Rod and other mags that were tiny, half the size of normal magazines, and that are dated 1957 and 1958. I remember reading them and seeing a word I had never heard of, only to discover we just had a different name for the same thing! Can you believe that for years, they cost a quarter!
Anybody old enough to remember these?
Bob
panzerace007
Active member
BoB,
Cool stuff indeed !! Keep it coming. That 'Vette looks Kila' & That '57 is priceless ! I too like th Reel to Reel. I didn't even know you could put that in a car !
Very Cool !! Keep goin' BoB !! Th Model story ... way cool .. Yeah not too glamorous but entertaining none-th-less !
Thanx for sharing ..... got any more ?
ERIK
Cool stuff indeed !! Keep it coming. That 'Vette looks Kila' & That '57 is priceless ! I too like th Reel to Reel. I didn't even know you could put that in a car !
Very Cool !! Keep goin' BoB !! Th Model story ... way cool .. Yeah not too glamorous but entertaining none-th-less !
Thanx for sharing ..... got any more ?
ERIK
BoB,
Cool stuff indeed !! Keep it coming. That 'Vette looks Kila' & That '57 is priceless ! I too like th Reel to Reel. I didn't even know you could put that in a car !
Very Cool !! Keep goin' BoB !! Th Model story ... way cool .. Yeah not too glamorous but entertaining none-th-less !
Thanx for sharing ..... got any more ?
ERIK
Well, the reel to reel deck was 12 volt DC, The car was 12 volt DC, the deck had an output to external speakers, so I hardwired it into the car, then ran the output to the car's stereo speakers!
Do I have more?? You gotta be kidding! I got a million of 'em!
Scanned a few more tonight.
Remember this pic from an earlier post? That was in 1976.
This was taken in 1991, 15 years later. Joe was a Major, I had just moved into the new VLS Building with 30,000 square feet.. He came to the open house and here we were then.
Here are some more corvettes, plus a real rocket. I bought this Kawasaki Z-1 new in 1975. It had a 4 cylinder 903 Cubic Centimeter power plant and, at that time was the fastest production motorcycle in the world. Susan and I had motorcycles throughout our marriage up till 1994 when I sold my last cafe racer, a 1989 Suzuki 1100 GSX Katana, zero to 60 in 2 seconds. I'll find and post a pic of it later.
The Z-1 with a metallic Cocoa 1975 vette.
Here is a '76 Stingray I kept for 12 years. I bought it new for $8000. Put 30K on it and sold it 12 years later for $14K, made a profit of $6000.
Me and a familiar face to modelers, my ex-partner, Francois Verlinden.
More later!
Bob