Ho all, this is Pixel from the old Kinja. I finally got around to posting here.
I also picked up a new project car in the mean time. It is a 1956 Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday. Its pretty rough, but it is mostly rust free and runs well. Plan is to fix the prior owner's janky "repairs", strip the half-assed bedliner paint job (fortunately the spraycan stuff and not the real deal), and do it up as a mild 50s Kustom.

Finally finished replacing the wheel studs and repacking the front wheel bearings. So she could get her new tires installed. I also cleaned ancient tar off the hubcaps and polished them up. So she's looking better.

I loved having the cargo terminal as a backdrop on my old diorama, and finally got a chance to add it to the new one.

The building flats are the same pieces as the old one, just re-arranged for the new space, and the parking lot and road were done with acrylics over the black basecoat.

The diorama has kinda fallen by the wayside with all my other projects, but it was nice to put in a few hours today.

We finally got the first seat section completed! Only took several weeks of trial & error and buying a heavy-duty Singer 301 sewing machine to get it done. Now we just need to do the rest of the interior.

Also found someone selling a '55 Pontiac project and bought all his spare rear bumpers & parts. For $300 I got 3 bumpers, a set of bumper brackets and a splash pan. I've been hunting for one of these bumpers for the '56 Olds project pretty much since I bought the car.

None of them are prefect, but the friend who picked them up for me did a test-polish on one and it came up pretty good. Supposedly the painted ones are in decent shape under the paint. So I should have at least a driver quality rear bumper.

Now I just need to finish replacing the driver's rocker so I can start fitting the bumper.

As a side-gig I design and 3d print various stuff for 1/64 scale dioramas, garages, junkyards etc. Everything I sell is up on my ebay page, I'm not going to post it all here because there a 35 different things. But here are some sample shots (paint is just for show, everything is sold in bare resin for you to paint).
You can buy through ebay or directly from me, whichever you prefer. I also do custom design work when i have the free time, so if you work in this scale and need/want something let me know.

I make both the jack stands, and the brakes.

I made everything in this shot.

Finally wired, insulated & sheathed the last wall of the garage. Then we built shelving that includes a tire rack and lumber shelf so i can get the stuff that was piled here organized.

Put stuff away and got a car in the right bay for the first time since buying the house. I need to get some stuff out of the garage that no longer belongs here and is cluttering the previously free left bay, then both bays will be available.

This will make the work on the Olds easier, as it can now sit in that bay pulled apart, and will not be in the way.

Last Saturday I took the '56 Olds out for the first time since I bought it in December. It still needs an alignment, but the steering rebuild and new tires definitely made it nicer (and way less terrifying) to drive.
I'm looking forward to the warmer weather so I can start in on the bodywork & customizing.

Needed something that could fit under the bench, and hated my HF cart. Knocked this together out of mostly scrap steel from a bar table I found on the side of the highway. Spent $40 on some nice heavy duty urethane caster though, as I have been shown the wonder that is quality casters on equipment.

It rolls better than the HF cart ever did, holds everything I need, and fits nicely under the bench. I'm going to test drive it for a few weeks to see if I want to tweak anything before giving it a coat of paint. I'm already thinking of adding a hoop to the front to serve as a handle for moving it.

Next project is to build a rack to hold the ten machinist's bins I bought.

Like being offered 2.5 1951 Ford shoebox coupes for $1500 because one of their friends is looking to unload a project they are tired of paying storage on.

I probably won't pick them up, but it would be foolish not to at least go look...

Not only do I have one:

But my partner has just joined me in the longroof club.

(one of these days I will remember to take a not-crap picture of it)

@essextee Not yet. I'm going to pull the door handle off at some point and see what I'm dealing with. I have some new ideas that I want to look into.

@whoistheleader My '87 Mercury Colony Park.

We finally got the first seat section completed! Only took several weeks of trial & error and buying a heavy-duty Singer 301 sewing machine to get it done. Now we just need to do the rest of the interior.

Also found someone selling a '55 Pontiac project and bought all his spare rear bumpers & parts. For $300 I got 3 bumpers, a set of bumper brackets and a splash pan. I've been hunting for one of these bumpers for the '56 Olds project pretty much since I bought the car.

None of them are prefect, but the friend who picked them up for me did a test-polish on one and it came up pretty good. Supposedly the painted ones are in decent shape under the paint. So I should have at least a driver quality rear bumper.

Now I just need to finish replacing the driver's rocker so I can start fitting the bumper.

I may have just located the rear bumper I want to use for the Olds. Someone is selling a '55 Pontiac with a bunch of extra parts, and he is willing to sell me one or two spare rear bumpers. A friend near the car is arranging to buy them for me.
I am vibrating with excitement right now, as I've been trying to track down a decent '55/'56 Pontiac rear bumper since I bought the Olds. The stock rear bumper is too bulky to me, and the '55 pontiac one has such a nice shape to it. The pontiac and Olds don't share a body shell, so it'll be interesting to see how much reworking it needs.

@italia Sort of? The big Oldsmobile emblem is being shaved off the hood, but the hood ornament is staying because I like how it is a jet with contrails embossed in the hood.

For the rear I'm removing the big star emblem, recessing the lock, and keeping the small "Rocket 88" emblem.

I like a lot of the trim on this car, so I'm just cleaning up the line a little.

@essextee said in Door Handle dilemma for the '56 Oldsmobile.:

@pixel Also Alfa Spider's a good one:

Nice and flush and they used it for twenty years so there's a number on eBay that are already in the U.S.

Those alfa ones are definitely interesting.

@demon-xanth $600 /set door handles don't work if $220/set is stretching the budget.

@shop-teacher @newjoekaz @italia The issues is the Olds is a 4-door, so It's $440+ for lincoln door buttons.

I'm trying to decide what sort of custom door handle solution I want to employ on the '56 Olds. The rear door is oddly easier, but the front is more complicated. Here is a video I did on the subject.

Right now the top 3 options I've found are:
Lincoln Door Buttons:
Pros: Era correct, simple install as has same push operation as original
Cons: $220+ per set.

NA Miata handles:
Pros: cheap ($100/set, less if I do some scrounging or junkyarding)
Cons: Not era correct (though looks ok), integrated door lock, pull operation requires more effort to make work

Fiat Barchetta handles:
Pros: looks good, very cool operation (push button and handle pops out, pull handle to open door).
Cons: not era correct (but cool looking), pull operation requires more effort to make work, complex and possibly expensive to acquire in the US (only sold in Europe/UK/Japan).

Anyone have an other idea for something that looks reasonably era-correct to the late 50s? I don't want electric poppers for reliability reasons.