AirDave's Kool Wheelz Collection

[gotham]

Another super(dooper)Dave Koolwheelz 😸😸😸

[Neilio]

I'm glad the Petty Superbird has finally been released! It's very existence has been a secret I've had to keep for a couple of months and its been killing me. It's my favorite Koolwheelz to date, but I'm obviously biased. I was pleased airdave liked my suggestion enough to make the model, and I think I built it within 24 hours of him sending it to me "way back when".


While I'm not as much of a NASCAR fan as I was in the 80's & 90's, I've always been a fan of the Petty family. For much of my early life, I lived in Greensboro, NC, which is not far from Level Cross. Throughout the years I (or members of my family) have had random encounters with the Pettys and they are good people.


Quick example: In the early 90's I managed a music CD store in Greensboro that was really popular (remember music on CDs?). Kyle Petty (Richard's son) would occasionally bring his kids in (they were maybe middle school age at the time?). I had some really nice conversations with him, he was a cool cat. One time he was in there with his daughter, and as he was checking out, the girl working the register didn't recognize him. As he and his daughter were leaving, she said "does anyone ever tell you that you look like Richard Petty?" Kyle flashes the trademark Petty grin and says "you know, I get that all the time" as he walks out the door. The rest of us die laughing.


Anyway, thanks airdave for the awesome Superbird!

[THE DC]

A very attractive kit.

[The-EDSEL]

Neilio, Did you ever have any of Kyle's CD's in the store???

Never found any myself.
Not sure how many he released.

I only have "Oh King Richard" by him
Last song he recorded I believe

[Neilio]

Originally Posted by The-EDSEL

Neilio, Did you ever have any of Kyle's CD's in the store???

I had forgotten about the Kyle Petty country music experiment! I don't think we had any of his stuff in the store-- if we did it no doubt would be in my rather sizeable (and now obsolete) CD collection.



Did he ever release an album, or just individual songs? I think it was just songs. At that time, CD releases would have mostly been albums, and singles were pretty much only current hits & re-mixes.

[airdave]

From what I read, Kyle only ever released one single/song "The Other Guy".
"King Richard" was a music video release.
His 1986 "album" project with RCA records fell apart and never materialized.

He was part of a novelty Nascar themed Country music album back in 1984 along with 20 or so Drivers.
His track is considered the best on the album.

[SMWulph]

Great looking Superbird, Dave.
I kind of remember running across a decal set for a SB for Coke-Cole sponsored car.

[The-EDSEL]

The album Kyle is on was Country Stars NOT drivers
I have that LP with the Drivers
RICHARD is on that with Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarlborough, & Darryl Waltrip
That one was Early 70's & titled Nascar Goes Country
The 80s albun I have on Cassette, and ONLY Kyle was on it
I have to check to be sure of the Country artists on e
I THINK Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Maybe Travis Tritt
Along those lines

I knew he sang, And did appear on Nashville Now (I THINK) and Hee Haw
Missed his performance on that!!
I did not know an album was not issued.

[airdave]

Apparently I need to be corrected again?

Kyle Petty's professional music career dates back to 1984, when a novelty album was recorded featuring over twenty NASCAR drivers entitled, "Stock Car Racing's Entertainers of the Year." For this album, all of the songs were written especially for the drivers. As a result, you get such classical standards as "Thanks for the Ride, Harry Hyde," "I'm Puttin' You in My Rearview," and "I'm Always a Winner with You." The first track on the album was Kyle Petty's "The People Who Love Me (Worry A Lot)." By far, this was the best song on the album, the only one that could pass as a respectable country song. The talent Kyle had was apparent and the song planted a seed in many minds that he could be a singer.

Listen...if the information is incorrect, go tell the multiple internet sources...not me!!!!!!!!!!!

Start here:https://www.racing-reference.info/showblog?id=2806

Then look here: https://thedaleearnhardtarchive.word...s-of-the-year/

Then stop correcting me at every turn.

[airdave]

Time to brighten up your friday.
...
sorry, that sounded smug...and a bit pretentious...
...
Time to completely revolutionize your Friday experience with this amazing new FREE model from me!
...
There, thats better.

Obviously this was the Majority Choice according to the "you Pick" Koolwheelz Poll.
I thank you all for taking part in that...I was pleased with the number of votes!
The Datsun 240Z was suggested by Anne McCombs.

Although I have owned a lot of cars, I never owned a 240Z.
Came close to buying a 300ZX in the 1980s when they first came out, but never did.
In fact, I kind of waffled on Datsun (Nissan) all my life.
At one point in the 1980s, they were the second most expensive brand to repair, behind Mazda.
I bought a brand new Mazda (in 1985)! lol

When I was an apprentice, there was a Mechanic in our shop who owned a silver 240Z.
Spent all his time working on it...basically rebuilding it (to stock).
Restoring it with all brand new parts. In the year or so I knew him, he replaced most of the car.
It was pristine.
But looking back, I wonder why a 8 year old car needed rebuilding?

A sign of the times really...in the 1970s an 8 year old car was probably destined for the scrap heap (here in southern Ontario).
Rust being the biggest problem.
Engine mileage being the other limiting factor.
100,000 mile (160,000km) was the limit for most motors up to that period, and into the 1980s.

And these small Japanese and European motors had lifespans much lower than that!
So, its not really surprising that a 240Z didn't last.

As far as driving one...anyone who has ever driven a small Japanese car can tell you how much fun they are.
They were definitely one of the most dependable cars but didn't fair well in accidents.
And, in the North American market, they often required specialized tools and service people to service them.

As suggested, I tried to imitate the copper colour (which is apparently named LeMans Sunset in North America).
This turned out to be a lot more difficult than I had imagined since I could find no consistent photograph of this paint colour.
Some photos show a brilliant orange paint job.
In many cases the copper colour was nowhere near as orange.
And then theres the printed look...the inkjet version on cardstock and paper...and how that would vary.
Not to mention the differences across printers and papers.
Even my own printer wouldn't print what I created on screen!

Thanks again to Anne for suggesting this subject.
Its definitely not my best Koolwheelz but its passable.
Anne already has her copy and is building it, hopefully we will see her version soon.

You can find the model in the Specialz - Road cars section at my website.
I didn't do a separate Assembly Sheet for this, but since I took a handful of photos during the prototype build
I have created an Assembly Tutorial ...find it in the Koolwheelz section at the papermodelforum.com