My recent repurchase of the 1979 compilation “A Night At Studio 54” has reminded me of how I had also been into all things ’70s as a young twenty-something in the mid-’90s. This extended into the clothes I wore every day, even to the college classroom. During that time of my life spent in Tampa, Florida, I was a regular at Sunshine Thrift Store on South Dale Mabry Highway, as well as at Squaresville Vintage in the then-eclectic, now-trendy Hyde Park neighborhood. Once on a stop into the former, I had found a pair of black, wingtip platform shoes for relatively cheap and couldn’t believe my good fortune. This was at a point when the twenty-year cycle of popular culture had lent itself to a rediscovery of the music, trends, and styles from the decade in which I was born. (This would be like members of Generation Z listening to Aughts-era hip-hop and Britney.) Those shoes were at least one size too small for my feet, but I bought them anyway.
A nightclub called Platforms Discotheque had opened at 1625 East Seventh Street in the historic Ybor City entertainment district, which specialized in playing all the danceable hits from the ’70s. The dance floor was elevated and roped off like a boxing ring, and the ambient lighting was too bright, but the vibes, drinks, and clientele were all fun and festive. I was determined to go there with or without any friends in tow, and my new-to-me platform shoes were going to the pièce de résistance of my entire ensemble, which would sometimes include an actual leisure suit, a few of which I had collected. Those shoes, which were probably two sizes too small, hurt to walk in and even more to dance in, but they looked groovy, and I had a high tolerance for pain and foolishness at that age.
I was already around six feet tall, and putting on those shoes with two-inch-thick heels made me stand even taller the other clubgoers. I didn’t need that extra height (or the resultant blisters), but those shoes and my sartorial commitment to the ’70s almost never failed to be conversation starters. After finally having learned how to walk in those shoes correctly, I had to stop wearing them when one of the heels started to become detached and they became a trip-and-fall hazard. College graduation and and less freedom to wear what I wanted every day (i.e. after getting an office job) meant that mall-bought clothes would again be my norm. And thus, my personal pendulum had begun its slow swing back toward the mainstream as I entered the adult workforce. Today, I’m comfortably somewhere in between, mixing in some vintage items with more mainstream men’s apparel. And yes, I still express myself.
When I saw this ’70 Cutlass in traffic just over a month ago, it struck me that with its custom rims, it appeared to stand about as tall as the 2017 Chevy Sonic next to it in traffic. I was mad at the driver of that Sonic for what seemed a deliberate attempt to keep me from getting my shots of the Cutlass, but I did manage a few captures. (That’s just how it goes sometimes.) This 1970 Cutlass “Town Sedan” (basically the four-door equivalent of the bargain-basement F-85 coupe) was 54.1 inches tall from the factory, and the 2017 Sonic is almost half a foot taller, at 59.7″. Those are some big wheels on that Cutlass.
There’s also contrast between the two cars in length, with the Cutlass measuring 207.2″ long versus 173.9″ for the Sonic. I was surprised to find out, however, that the Cutlass is only 1.2″ wider than the Sonic (69.5″ vs. 68.3″). Looking at these pictures again, I’m still struggling to see it, as the Cutlass appears significantly bigger in that dimension.
A friend posted on social media the day of this writing about how getting up from the couch wreaks havoc on the old knees and joints, which is sometimes also my experience. This would be practical Exhibit A as to why one should drive a donk. You want the style of a ’70s car, but lower-longer-wider (especially lower) isn’t working so well for you anymore due to life’s little aches and pains? Elevate your view over the dashboard, and your life, by installing some of these dubs. Seriously, though, wearing those platform shoes for a year didn’t mess up my “suspension”… that I can tell at this point, anyway. My knees just ache sometimes because it’s a family trait and I ain’t no spring chicken. I’m sure this Cutlass would be just fine once the original, unimaginative Olds rocket dog-dish hubcaps on steel wheels were reinstalled.
I’d wager that this car’s baked-in basicness is part of what kept it alive into 2023 in such fine condition. Some thrifty person who was too good for a Pontiac plunked down at least $2,837 (base price, six cylinder; $2,948 with a 350 cubic-inch V8) for the most basic Cutlass four-door sold for 1970. This one very likely has the V8; According to my Encyclopedia of American Cars from the editors of Consumer Guide, only just over 2,700 Cutlasses of all stripes for 1970 were powered by the 250 cubic inch six. (F-85 coupes powered by the six-cylinder numbered in excess of 2,800, with an additional 8,300 powered by the V8.) The pillared, V8-powered Town Sedan was actually the third most popular individual Cutlass that year, with 35,200 sold. Only the fastback S Holiday hardtop coupe (88,600) and formal Supreme Holiday hardtop (68,300) were more numerous at the time.
As far as fuel economy, the Sonic, rated by the EPA at a combined 30 miles per gallon (27 city / 36 highway), goes probably three times as far as the Cutlass on a gallon of gas. While searching online, I’ve seen numbers from owners of V8-powered 1970 Cutlasses ranging from 10 – 14 mpg around town, depending on rear axle ratio. I mention this only because the Sonic appeared to have a ride share sticker on its back window. Would I rather arrive somewhere in the Cutlass? Perhaps and depending on where I was going, but not if I also had to chip in for gas. New 1970 Oldsmobiles were touted in the factory brochure as being “escape machines”. This blue Cutlass has escaped the junkyard fate of many of its half-century old brethren, riding high and proud wearing those tall shoes.
Downtown, The Loop, Chicago, Illinois.
Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
Other materials were sourced from www.oldcarbrochures.org and www.discogs.com.
I’m not a fan of the rear side window treatement on these, but the Olds wears it better than it’s A body sisters. Lose the wheels though.
I can get in and out of my A body easily, it’s getting up after working on/under it that makes me produce the “old man” noises.
Good catch, despite the Sonic’s attempt at sabotage.
I think the Olds was the winner of the 68-72 A body generation, all other brands models looked kind of compromised by it, but the Cutlass worked in every form, even the 4 door
Haha! Chris, I chuckled when I first read “sabotage” in your comment, because that’s how it felt, even if the Sonic blocking my shots was just coincidental. I’m sure it was.
The rear side window on these four-door pillared Cutlasses isn’t a dealbreaker for me, but I suppose it might have had a cleaner profile for me with a more proper, three-box design versus keeping a fastback look like the coupes.
I just wonder why the A-body post sedans didn’t have the very slightly squared-up window profile of the 4-door hardtops.
Agree, it makes a real difference.
Love the car, hate the wheels! Love the man, hate the sin? lol Thanks for snapping this one!
IMO ’68 to ’72 Cutlasses were the zenith for Olds (and other GM) A bodies, that’s why we have a ’69. Ours is a Holiday Sedan (4 dr hardtop), and we’ve one never seen another, even at an Olds show, with their proliferation of A-body coupes and converts.
I really like that Olds chose the “Holiday” designation for their hardtops. What a great association to make, between the car and the fun of a holiday (well, for some of us, the fun we make of a holiday). Or maybe the UK sense of the word “holiday” (vacation) fits better. In any case, I like the choice of name.
Navigating my career in computers, that started after college in 1966, led me through a maze of men’s sartorial fads. These style swings, while less widely ranging than female clothing trends, made it hard to be dressed in an up-to-date manner on a very limited budget.
The six years working at Grumman Aircraft were a reprieve because my co-workers there were more interested in Navy and NASA aircraft and space vehicles than styles. Short sleeve polyester shirts with pocket protectors to hold one’s id badge and slide rule were the norm. But once I was a self employed consultant in Manhattan I had to be a bit more stylish than I wanted.
A few of my personal style tics were dictated by my habit of walking to and from work at all hours, including after dark. Cowboy boots with 2+ inch heels and full dark beard made me appear to be a more formidable figure than I actually was.
And surprisingly it worked; no one messed with all 157 pounds of me even in some sketchy neighborhoods.
Donks make me smile; I suspect they are as uncomfortable to ride on as your too small shoes were to wear. I also believe they are vulnerable to damage from pot holes, more costly (both tires and wheels) than regular set ups, and heaven knows what they’re doing to the car’s suspension.
But, they kind of remind me of tall cowboy boots in Manhattan.
I really like the thought you gave to adapting to your various environments in terms of attire, and doing as the Romans do – even if dressing with more Manhattan style wasn’t necessarily your thing. Before the dress code at my office was somewhat more relaxed, I had a small section of stuff in my closet that I’d wear to work, versus the rest that I wore on my own time.
I doubt that I’d ever donk anything that I own, but I do admire the work that others will put into their automotive choices according to their own taste. I’ve never (or maybe I should say “seldom”) seen a donk that didn’t look cared for. In its own way. So, Respect.
I think the Sonic was just keeping pace with the Cutlass to capture it on perhaps video for some kind of parallel CC universe.
Very well said, Jeff. Like you, I appreciate and respect when any car shows apparent pride of ownership, whatever the style and whether or not I’d choose to do that to my own ride. And honestly, I did have the thought that maybe the driver of the Sonic thought the Cutlass was cool, too, and was keeping pace with it just to sneak glance over at it. That sounds like something I might have done.
The CC Effect remains in good working order – about two days ago I spotted a 70 Cutlass in traffic – a red Supreme hardtop (of course). This half-generation of Olds A body (70-72) is one that I think got better each year. I found the horizontal taillights an improvement in 71 and the eggcrate grille and improvement in 72.
We were talking the other day about how 4 doors don’t get the love that 2 door body styles get. I am going to go full-curmudgeon and assert that the 4 door sedan version of this generation of A body is the ugliest 4 door car built in the USA during its time period, with the sole exception of the 70+ Matador. It is amazing how just a slight tweak of the roofline could turn this ugly duck into the swan that was the 4 door hardtop.
The parallel you draw between the platform shoes and these wheels is perfect, and one I had never considered. The things we did for style in our youth (even me, for a time). I will confess that I was happy to have been a young adult in the 80s when clean, dapper fashions from the early 1960’s were back in style.
Haha! JP, I can usually count on you to make some insightful observation delivered with the perfect cocktail of works that makes me laugh. Your second paragraph… LOL. I had almost forgotten that it was your great essay about the 1971 – ’78 Matador four-door that had me in stitches when I had first read it. I don’t know that this Cutlass (or any GM A-body of this generation) approaches the poor, unloved Matador sedan in terms of being aesthetically challenged, but like I mentioned above, a more conventional, non-fastback roofline for the four-doors would have done wonders for their looks.
My first barber, Clint, had a beautiful ’72 Cutlass Supreme coupe in candy blue (IIRC) with the body-colored SS II wheels, which is the reason I’ll probably always have a preference for that particular model year and configuration.
I bet those tires ride like cement blocks.
Let us return to our glory days! My first car was a red 66 Dynamic 88 convert with 425 and wire wheel covers with spinners! At the height of the Disco era, I spent great effort getting the 77 Monte Carlo and myself ready for a night at the clubs! Those were the days! 🎆 🎇 🧨.John Travolta wanna be! 😉. Somewhere along the line it came to DIS go here and DAT go there. 😔 😟. Now grateful to be able to get around in my stately Town Car and not need a forklift to get out of a chair. As often stately, Mother Nature is a BITCH! Recently saw an old gym pal who like me says he avoids mirrors 🪞. As for the car shown NEVER can understand oversized wheels 🤮,
Rick, loved reading this. To me, a ’77 Monte Carlo is so representative of that era, at least in my mind.
Your second photo (third image), if the Cutlass was not in it, looks a lot like it could be a Chevy brochure photo for the Sonic with the car mostly in focus and the background not. That’s a nice shot.
The width measurements could be including mirrors for the Sonic and without (or only with one) for the Olds (?)
Disco never went away, it just went less mainstream…with lots of influences remaining and always generating a smile and good vibes when popping up. I well remember Saturday nights at The Covered Wagon in SoMa S.F. in the early ’90s dancing while drinking Dixie beer (the cheapest on offer) but generally didn’t indulge in the styles, although plenty of others did!
The Olds would likely do nothing for me if fitted with its original “shoes”, but the way it looks now I can appreciate its owner’s style and it certainly catches the eye.
Jim, I can’t say for sure, but I’m almost positive that when I was researching the dimensions for both cars, the numbers for width I had found was inclusive of mirrors for both cars. I suppose that knowing for sure would make all the difference, but it’s after a long work day and I don’t feel like looking it up again. LOL
Yes, disco morphed into different styles and genres, and I’ve researched a lot about post-disco, freestyle, and other forms of dance music of the ’80s that owe a debt to having risen from the ashes of proper “disco”. I went to a concert back in 2016 at the Portage Theater here in Chicago, where freestyle artist Shannon Greene was the main act who went on last. My ex and I were spotted below the stage earlier in the night by her manager and we actually got to dance behind Shannon on stage when she opened her set with “Give Me Tonight”. My college friend was visiting and captured it all on her phone. I still listen to a lot of post-disco and Latin freestyle.
We’re about the same age and I remember well how the 70’s styles had been so passe until some time in the mid 90’s there was a renewed appreciation for some of the excesses of that decade. I was never one to adopt the clothing of that sensational time, but I spent most of the 90’s driving 70’s cars. Totally for the style of course (and not related AT ALL to my limited budget). I had a succession of 70’s sleds from 90-99: 76 Buick Estate Wagon, 77 Volare coupe, 75 LeSabre Convertible, 76 LeMans coupe, 87 Buick Estate Wagon (which was really a 70’s car held over). I could have probably afforded more practical 80’s cars, but I seriously did much prefer the big boats and gas wasn’t too expensive at the time.
I would gladly have driven a 70 Cutlass, even in 4 door form, if I had the opportunity. This looks like a nice survivor, hopefully it’s not driven much in the winter there. The wheels might actually help in that regard, as they are surely terrible in slick conditions. Not to be too judgmental (as you admirably avoided being), I’ll just say that Donks are one of my LEAST favorite styles. Much less than S.L.A.B.s. And I’m pretty sure they must have raised the suspension on the Cutlass to fit the wheels, so not as simple to return it to stock as just a wheel swap.
Jon, I like all of your former ’70s cars, and was intrigued that you had included a ’77 Plymouth Volare coupe in your former ownership! My parents had purchased one new and while we kept it in great shape, it did rust. It looked mint from the top 3/4s, rusting below.
Thanks, I generally really liked all those cars. They were all in pretty good condition, too. You could get a lot of 70s car for not a lot of money back then. I owned my Volare in Arizona, the best possible environment for that car (other than the A/C went out). Mostly rust free, though it did have a small section in the rear fenders even in the desert. I was told it came originally from New York city area.
GM had a solution for this!
I would like to read about why swivel buckets were never reengineered for downsized GM midsizers! Honestly. I think they were so cool. There had to be a way do put them in a narrower body!
Now that is a real Youngmobile!
When asked, “What’s the best car you ever owned?” the ’70 Cutlass base model 350, 4 door, I bought from an elderly couple in ’78 comes to mind. I was in outside sales at the time, & took it from 90K on the clock to 237K in the 8 years I had it. Never a major problem beyond a leaky tranny, that I filled with regularity (kept it fresh, I guess). The 350 V8 just chugged along, happy with the typical plug/point change necessary with all vehicles of the era. If the suspension hadn’t crapped out, I’d still be driving it. Perhaps “best” equals “reliable” but I’ve never forgotten that the sky blue beast always got me to my sales appointments on time.
There’s something to be said for certain cars in our lives earning our respect and good feeling by being really great at what they did and being reliable. Your 1970 Cutlass sedan sounds like just that kind of car, even being as old as it was at the time you acquired it.
I do feel a little sad seeing that Cutlass on those giant wheels, but at least it is reversible and be cared for, in some degree.
My 71 Town Sedan is sandalwood over dark brown (sienna?). I was told it was a rare interior color, maybe one year only, at last years’ Olds Homecoming Show.
The previous owner swapped out the wheel covers and standard wheels with SSIII wheels in sandalwood body color, even though that is not correct for 71. I still like how it looks, and it is rare to see body color wheels in 60s or 70s cars. Most are “road wheels” or Magnum 500s, or aftermarket.
My 71 T/S has the 350 and also air conditioning, a very expensive option, around $800 on a $2800 car. The original owner was a lady from Indiana and I saved this car from Craigslist a number of years ago. The previous owner unfortunately had to press the Cutlass into Michigan winter service when his car died. As a result, I had to have some body work done and had the car repainted in its original color.
It runs great, I have driven it to the past 2 Olds national meets in TN from MI without issue. I grew up in an Olds family, and its first gear whine and starter sound bring back memories.
Sharp car! It’s interesting how this generation the 4 doors had vent windows but the 2 doors didn’t. Good reason to get the extra doors, especially if it doesn’t have A/C unlike yours.
Jon, I hadn’t even noticed the vent windows before you pointed this out! If I was still a smoker, I’d have been like, Yes – vent windows, please.
Very nice looking car!
JB, thank you for sharing your beautiful ’71 Cutlass Town sedan here. I think the SS II wheels are a perfect and excellent wheel-swap, and probably how many had wished their Cutlasses had looked back in the day. It’s amazing to think of the air conditioning costing almost a third again over the base price of the car! For some who lived in the southern states, though, it probably would have been money well spent, long before a/c became the norm.
I always like reading stories like yours, of a survivor car in great shape finding new ownership by someone who appreciates and cares for it. I’m sure the owner of our featured car also prized his example, even if the wheels are non-stock.
Joseph, unlike you, I got to live the Disco Age first hand. I turned 21 in 1975 and went to a few different dance clubs though it was hard for a shy guy like me. Still I persevered, and by the beginning of the new decade, I met the girl that would become my Wife at one of the last discos in the South Bay, Studio 80.
By then I’d abandoned the Polyester Age for the emerging “Designer look.” (Dress For Success! ) In my early Disco Days I had two pairs of platforms, one was an extra half inch sole with appropriate heel, the other was a full 2 1/2 in sole with a towering heel. The low soles were the best, but occasionally I wore the tall ones, which were great for doing the robot! Good Times!
At work, I used to tell the kids that you know that you’re getting old when every movement is punctuated by a grunt, groan, or a sigh. Keep on grunting and keep on moving!
When it comes to the big wheels, I’ll paraphrase the expression; You can go low, or you can go high, whatever floats your boat.
Jose, this is all great stuff!! You met your wife at the disco, and I believe in the intentionality of life’s various events. What’s interesting is that the designer look of the early 80s (polo shirts, much more preppy-leaning, etc.) didn’t really do that much for me until recent years. Now I really like that stuff, where as before I considered it too bland for my own personal tastes. I’ll probably always wear boot-cut or flared jeans now that I’ve found some that fit and look the way I want them to.
And I still can’t do the robot, practice as I might in front of the mirror. And yes – “whatever floats your boat” is my philosophy, as well. Cheers
Do parts count as a CC effect? Because I just saw a donked candyapple red 80s Caprice coupe with these exact wheels, even had a matching billet steering wheel from what I could tell. I hate the look, but to each their own, my idea of a knee friendly classic car is a 70s style street machine with air shocks to lift the wheel openings over the wide mags with big tires, so I’m hardly the paragon of good taste.
Your story reminds me of me but at the other fringe of outmoded music and fashion, I dressed and listened to mostly 80s heavy metal, from Motley Crue to Megadeth, and had the requisite fashion to match with a thrift store denim jacket- turned vest and the band T shirts and had really long hair, I was a walking anachronism in high school in the mid 00s.
It counts. I’ve learned and observed that the CC Effect has many applications and manifestations, so yes!
I had a few high school friends (late ’80s and early ’90s) who were rocking then what you were doing in the mid-Aughts. I came to like that style not because I would ever adopt or attempt any of that myself, but because I liked those people and by association with them. Good stuff.
I will say that this whole conversation is reminding me a bit of the movie:
The Last Days of Disco. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120728/plotsummary/?ref_=tt_stry_pl#synopsis
Which I will note as an actual Hampshire College graduate from the early 1980s who for a brief while frequented the real Studio 54, the movie doesn’t entirely ring true. But it does get correct a bit of the angst and aimlessness felt by the part of my micro generation that gravitated to NYC in the 80s, as did I.
As is said in the film:
Indeed.
Plus, the soundtrack is excellent.
Jeff, thank you for posting this! I remember seeing both this and 54 in the theaters at the time. I can’t remember much from Last Days Of Disco and should perhaps give it another viewing, but I remember being impressed with Chloe Sevigny in this, being as she was one of the “it girls” of the late ’90s.
The soundtrack has come up in some of my periodic searches in the discogs.com website / database, but I will also say the two-part soundtrack to 54 is a non-stop banger. Maybe two or three tracks that are only so-so out of over two dozen. Also highly recommended.
Hi Joe – As I’ve said before, I love the stories you tell. I loved reading about your time in Tampa – I have lived in St. Pete since the mid-1980s, but in the mid-1990s my work as a defense contractor had me dividing my time between the Tampa Bay area, Washington DC, and Germany, so we may not have crossed paths much.
Getting to live and work in other parts of the country and the world, along with some long-overdue changes in policy, allowed me to “come out” and live authentically by the late 1990s.
Of course, one does not have to be gay to enjoy disco, whether in the ’70s, ’90s, or today – but as Gilda Radner said in the old SNL commercial skit for “Jewess Jeans” in 1980, “it wouldn’t hurt!”
My life partner Scott was a bartender at Tracks and El Goya in Ybor in the late ’80s-early ’90s – many years before we met.
We still love going to Ybor but on day-trips using the Cross-Bay Ferry – we’ll take one of our four “antique but they weren’t when we bought them” vehicles (2001 F150, 1998 Mustang, 1992 Town Car, or 2004 Cadillac) to downtown St Pete and then use the ferry and streetcar to get around Tampa. We enjoy our cars but more as a hobby than a necessity, and love using public transportation. Chicago’s system is excellent, I have used it before. Would love to take a river cruise there sometime.
Hi, Mike – and thank you for this. I would have first gone to Tracks (mid-’90s) only a handful of years after Scott had worked there. Some college friends and I used to go to Tracks on Tuesday nights for $1 wells and the great drag shows (Joey Brooks, Esme Russell, Amy DeMilo). Other places I used to love in Ybor at the time were Club 1509 for electro and Latin freestyle, and The Castle for old wave / goth / industrial nights. I had been acquainted with one of the former owners of the Sugar Palm Ballroom during the big swing jazz craze of the late-’90s. Earlier this week, some friends and I were talking about how we miss eating at La Teresita – the best Cuban food I’ve ever had.
I didn’t know there was a Cross-Bay Ferry. That might have been a thing since after I moved away. I still have nothing but love for the Tampa Bay area, which will always be a special place for me.
Loved La Teresita on Columbus – excellent Cuban food, I used to go there quite a bit in the late ’90s and early ’00s. And Joey, Esme, and Amy are still going strong, you’ll be glad to know.
On our last Ybor trip Scott and I ate at Carmine’s – I had a Bistec (steak) Palomilla that was outstanding and reminded me of the ones at La Teresita.
The Cross-Bay ferry service has only been here since 2017 and is provided by one of Massachusetts’ Bay State Cruise Company’s Boston-Provincetown high-speed ferries that comes down for the off-season – as a matter of fact it is the “Provincetown III” and when Scott lived in Boston before moving to FL he was pretty regular on that route. The service down here has been successful and we hope to have our own boat and year-round service soon. And we hope you visit again soon.
I’m some twenty years older, Joseph, so I was in my teens-twenties in the seventies, but being a shy, only child of older parents in a suburban backwater with few other kids around, I was rather more conservative in my tastes. I never cared about fashion, especially the extremes – wide flares, platform shoes and the like; I was the nerd who dressed in plain off-brand clothes, all the better to blend in and be ignored, I guess. Straight-leg jeans, green tee-shirt (I had five, identical), shoulder-length hair and eventually sorta-neat beard. Bit of a foot in both camps, now I think of it.
I never went to dances and such (too shy, don’t like loud noises), but I istened to the radio a lot at home. We couldn’t afford a stereo. Disco was a breath of fresh air at first, but seemed to get old after a few years, and sound same-ish. Especially when the bass got cranked up, as it always seemed to be back then. It didn’t have the longevity of rock. And I used to walk places a lot (no bus fare) so I went for the most comfortable shoes I could afford. Usually Polish-made desert boots. Sensible shoes, that was me. 🙂 Like with my cars too – slightly hot engine, slightly oversized radials, stock rims and caps. Upgraded capability, but not obvious. Not like a donk.
While I don’t have a ’70 Cutlass in a four-door sedan, there’s this 442.
Peter, I can always appreciate firsthand accounts of what things were like for people who were of an age to experience them, and I appreciate what you’ve shared here. It paints a picture. The radio provided so many of us from all different walks of life a form of connection with others outside of our bedrooms and wherever else we happened to be listening. The sameness of disco is a common critique I’ve read, though my experience of disco is different than that. I treasure my music collection and the breadth of it and scope of musical styles represented. And that’s yet another great model from your vast collection. I’m imagining you with a toothpick and silver paint very carefully putting the “chrome” on the window surrounds while holding your breath.
Thanks Joseph. I always look forward to your posts, wending their way through various topics to the car. I’m sorry if I came across as too negative of disco, but my tastes kind of twisted off the mainstream about then through electronica in the eighties toward Celtic electro-folk and lately symphonic metal. Yeah, odd!
I’ve never used a toothpick for the silver paint, though I’ve heard of guys who did. For me it was always a fine brush, an 0 or 00. Yeah, steady hand through practice, and just a dob of paint on the tip of the brush for badges! These days it’s adhesive chrome foil, which is much easier. You’re sure right about holding my breath though! Here’s another view.
Vast collection? You bet! Even I don’t know how many I’ve built.
Another vote for BMF. I too have lost count of the build ones- must be in the thousands. 300 odd on display.
Gotta be the Johan kit. Nicely built model. Did the whitewalls come with the kit? I like that. Reposted from below.
Yes, and yes.