If you’re a Baby Boomer, you likely saw the Visible V8 model kit at your local hobby shop or toy store. The Revell-made one-quarter-scale engine is generic in origin but does resemble an early Chevrolet 265- or 283 cubic-inch powerplant. Once the 314-piece kit is assembled (correctly), a turn of the hand crank shows a variety of actual working innards, including the crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, camshaft, valves and rocker arms. The Visible V8 sells for about US $60. For more info, go to www.revell.com/model-kits/engines/85-8883.html.
What smell?
So, the baby or the dog just burped up lunch (or worse) on the car seat, or the kids you picked up after ball practice left their odoriferous jerseys and socks for you to find later … much later. The people who make Febreze for the house also make Febreze Car Vent Clips that you attach to your vehicle’s fresh-air vents. The manufacturer claims that the “low-scent, maximum-strength” product works on fabric seat covers, carpeted floors and even upholstered infant carriers, but not on anything leather or vinyl. Febreze Car Vent Clips sell for about US $6 per package of two. Get more info at www.febreze.com.
Camping off the grid
If you regularly head off the road, you might want to consider taking a trailer along that’s as tough and rugged as your vehicle. Available in a 2.75- by 1.4-metre size, or a 1.5-metre-wide model, the XTR from Moby1Expedition Trailers of Springville, Utah, features a coil suspension with up to 11 centimetres of travel, Rancho 9000XL adjustable shocks, all-terrain tires on 15- or 17-inch wheels, and 10-inch electric brakes. Prices start at US $16,500. Check out the XTR and accessories at www.moby1trailers.com.
Fibreglass Corvette
There are companies that manufacture a wide variety of replica classic car bodies, but Superior Glass is the only one producing a fibreglass replica of a vehicle that never actually went into production. The Corvette Nomad station wagon was first displayed at the 1954 General Motors Motorama exhibit in New York City and was the forerunner of the Nomad station wagons built from 1955 to ’57. The Superior 54 Sport Wagon is available as a body-only package, minus a frame, for US $60,000 and as a rolling chassis using previous-generation Corvette suspension components attached to an aftermarket chassis for US $100,000. If your pockets are deep enough, you can get a complete turn-key Nomad that starts at US $200,000. Details and a downloadable brochure are available at www.Superior54.com.
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