CMC Nostalgia

OMG....That must have been one hell of a sight! 160 kts is just above stalling for that bird, even with those enormous wing surfaces, but to see (and hear) him pour on the coal on those eight turbines as he bugged out must have been WAY over the top and a fitting tribute to "one of their own".

Thanks for that, Jack.

Just one of my aerial thrills was in 1972 at Udorn AB in Thailand the day Capt Steve Richie became the first Air Force Ace of the Vietnam War. The tower broadcasted the conversation between it and Capt Richie. As I remember it, the chatter went like this:

"Tower, this is Air Force 463 requesting permission to perform a Victory Roll"

"Air Force 463 person denied"

" (crackle, crackle,) Sorry tower you're breaking up"

Then, over the runway Capt Richie did a perfect 8-point roll and went into a final high speed climb before landing. All hell broke loose when he landed.

For what it's worth, We have a C-47. The "Bluebonnet Belle" in Burnet TX.  I have crewed it to Little Rock for the AR Airshow a few yrs back. We sell rides in her.

Very Cool!

Ok, in the food chain, where does CMC rank, good? ok? or crap? as kits go. I have one, its nice. I see some mold lined that were not completely removed, but that ok.  Now how can you tell when a kit was made, S/N? color? options?

Thanks.

The general consensus seems to be that CMC as a company ranks at the bottom of - perhaps even under - the barrel.  Their kits are a different matter as the quality of the resulting car is purely based on the skill of the builder.  Alan Merklin, Joe Soltis and others on this site have created some beautiful and well-sorted cars based on CMC kits.  Less skilled builders have made some CMC-based vehicles that could scarcely be called cars.

I can't tell if mine was factory or owner built? some of the work looks really good, and some questionable. it's a dark green, almost a Irish/Hunter Green. the underneith is neat, and cleanly laid out. the wiring for the dash is questionable.

Regarding the molds, if taken care of they actually last a very long time.  They take months to make so you don't just pop another new mold out anytime you want one.  As far as the CMC molds, I believe I own them.  I bought the standard and wide body molds along with the tube frame jig from another fiberglass car builder in FL who told me he bought them at a federal liquidation auction.  The molds are in good shape and I will hopefully start to make bodies and frames to go along with my hot rods.

I think the CMC molds started out as the California IM molds.

The molds themselves are not the problem. There was great variance in what came out of those molds. Some cars were hand laid with care. Some cars were chopper gunned with care.  Some cars were an example of how not to use a chopper gun and varied in body thickness greatly, this made them very heavy is some spots and prone to deformity and cracking.

-=theron

Molds.. Some many yrs ago 'Rusty Tubs' was here in Driftwood, TX, I knew Mark somewhat. Anyhow he had a 356 Tub mold from CMC. It was given to me. I never really looked in it for it was on skids, open side down. . It was left out in the elements for yrs. I traded it and some cash for a 67 911s project. Last known location for it was Brookshire, TX. in a plane hanger.  I know Mark "Rusty Tubs" has the fiberglass tops for 356 speedsters. I don't, well wouldn't buy from him. just on knowing him from yrs back. Get my drift....

    That is another known location of a mold. It had a tag on it from CMC, Miami, FL. I recall.

There's a wide body CMC mold in Crestview FL.  Would love to start up a Speedster love seat (rear of car) or an executive desk using the front end.  Guess a combo using part of each like the red Speedster trailer at Carlisle would be most profitable.

 

MrMom - Believe all CMCs were factory finished gel coat.  You can check you original color under rear seat or under carpet in rear or behind the door panels.  The mold seams were meant to be behind the bumpers - if one paints the car the seams could easily be sanded off.  Mine came with a gold color CMC plate with the body serial number stamped on it. Plate is meant to be mounted in door opening or under the hood.

Yeah, and that "body serial number" for mine was exactly the same as my order number!!