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Ferrari 340/375MM - '54 Carrera Panamericana


curt raitz

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Another Mexican Road Racer...this will be my 4th model of a car which raced in the Carrera Panamericana.

This is the Ferrari 340/375MM Spider Phil Hill and Richie Ginther drove in the 1954 Carrara Panamericana.

They finished second in their class. 

It is a 1/24th scale resin model produced by FPP Modelos.

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Very impressed with your model built from an obviously very good kit. I have always been attracted to Mexican Road Race cars both historical and more recent. A number of years ago I saw Phil Hill race the Ferrari at the Monterey Historics. Very memorable.

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  • 1 month later...

Thanx Bernard, the build went fairly smooth. My only problem was some fit issues between chassis and body. Plus the small hinge wires cast in the bonnet and trunk are extremely fragile, both broke after assembly. When it was all said and done...I glued the bonnet and trunk open for display.

Those look great, Curt.

I recognize the Revell '50 Olds, but what are the other two kits?

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When it comes to shear period vibe of the Golden Age of sports car racing nothing beats the Carrera Panamericana. I have a small collection of motorbooks that are contemporary with the subjects they cover, and among my most treasured is a first edition of the Floyd Clymer soft cover Book Of The Mexican Road Race: Carrera Panamericana Mexico by Ronald Goodman. Issued just months after the event as a souvenir of the inaugural race in 1950, created as a celebration of the opening of the Mexican portion of the Panamerican Highway, this book just drips with postwar road racing atmosphere. Some of the biggest names in Grand Prix, sports car, stock car and hot rodding showed up for this and all subsequent editions (there were 5 in all - until sanity prevailed and the bloody mayhem ended in 1954). 1950's entrants included Bill France, Piero Taruffi, Jack McAfee, Felice Bonnetto, Johnny Mantz and Bill Stroppe.. The first race was won by Hershel McGriff in the City of Roses Olds 88 which is one of Curt's models shown above. This book had been reissued several times over the years and so it can be bought fairly inexpensively, even now, in facsimile form. Highly recommended if you're into this sort of thing!

B000KBN402__81792.1471662502.380.500.jpg

Hot rodder and sports car ace extraordiniare Jack McAfee n his 1949 Cadillac Sedanette:

MexicoCad.jpg

One of the two factory entered Alfa Romeo 6C coupes at full chat coming out of the mountains north of the Guatemala border:

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Bonetto's factory Alfa with full advertising regalia, unusual in Europe but typical for the western hemisphere:

Felice+Bonetto+Alfa+1950.jpg

Herschel McGriff shows his racing winning pace in the City of Roses Oldsmobile 88,

CarreraPanamericana_1.jpg

 

 

 

 

Edited by Bernard Kron
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Really nice! You've done great work as usual. I wish I had your skills. Have you looked at the Monogram or AMT 53 Corvettes? I think both have issued versions with Essen Speed Shop markings from when the team raced Carrera. I don't know how accurate they are, but it is a fun build.

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Really nice! You've done great work as usual. I wish I had your skills. Have you looked at the Monogram or AMT 53 Corvettes? I think both have issued versions with Essen Speed Shop markings from when the team raced Carrera. I don't know how accurate they are, but it is a fun build.

Thanx for reminding me...I did build the '53 Corvette, many many years ago.

Found a couple of photos on my fotki site.

53vette1-vi.jpg

53vette2-vi.jpg

53vette5-vi.jpg

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