Condolences to his family and friends. Hope his transition was a peaceful one.
Archie, you can have great pride and satisfaction in knowing you helped make one of his lifetime dreams come true before he had to give it up. Great job.
What's the plan for the Dino gonna be now? I know you'll finish it, but what will be it's destiny when that's done?
Wow this is very sad news, my prayers go out to him and his family.
At least he got to see his amazing project finished and enjoyed it for a short time.
Ironically i had just exchanged PMs with Jim a few months back asking him to come to Daytona next year with the Miura and he was pretty excited about the idea and was very interested.
[This message has been edited by exoticse (edited 08-08-2013).]
That's a bummer he passed on. But at least he got to enjoy a very nice car on 3 1000mile trips. I hope to do that someday with a Replica Countach or Diablo.
Well, I guess this build is old news now, but I just stumbled on it almost accidentally the other day and having now read through the entire thread, I registered here just to be able to post this reply. So first, let me say that the car is absolutely beautiful and I couldn't help but to be excited and inspired as I read through the previous 20 pages. I'm almost thankful that I found this years after it was completed because the suspense of waiting for updates throughout the process would have killed me Thanks go out to Archie for providing such a detailed account of this build for the community. Great stuff!
Now, having said all that, I can't help but to think that this all would have been so much easier if not for the poor quality of the kit right from the start. Somewhere along the way, I saw someone ask if this was the Prova Miura kit, but I don't think it was ever actually confirmed. Searching the web, it looks like Prova is no longer even doing business anymore and that Parallel Designs now sells a copy of their kit. I couldn't find any other versions for sale anywhere.
So, I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this particular kit or a similar one in the years since this car was completed. As a relative amateur, I'm almost turned off to the idea of even attempting a project like this one because the quality of that kit and the extensive work required to get it into shape seem way out of line with the price it's being sold for. The fiberglass I've worked with in the past has needed work, but not that kind of work. Of course, maybe that's all just because this wasn't mounted to the chassis it was intended for.
So, if anyone can provide some insight into using this or a different Miura kit, I'd love to hear it. Also, Archie, I'm curious to know if you had to do it all over again if you would even bother with the kit that was used here, or if you would go looking for other options (if there even are other options anymore). Thanks, all!
I know it's late but it is so sad to hear of Jim's passing. I actually met him for lunch once and brought my Finale along for the meet. We had some good conversation and took picks of the cars together. I must say it looked smaller than I thought, I fell in love with this car after seeing the movie "The Italian Job" with Michael Caine. Damn shame they blew it up in the opening scene.
I've got the Dino project. Work, divorce, life been a bit rough on me last few years. I have managed to upgrade the suspension from Arraut and currently trying to figure out how to quiet the engine down. it literally rattles the neighbors windows. My heart goes out to Jim Buell. Never met him but followed his car projects. Hope to do him proud with this Dino eventually.
I'm not sure what project your the most proud of Archie, but this one was off the charts in my view. You guys made some amazing cars and it was great to see a post on updates with what you guys accomplished. Hope every thing is going good for you in the desert. Old man winter is headen for us folks in IL.
Thanks go out to Archie for providing such a detailed account of this build for the community. Great stuff!
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