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Mecom Lola Mk VI GT


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Some time back I was lucky enough to be given an old scale vac form body of this car, see

Anyway using 0.040" styrene I peaked the nose and vacformed new sills as they were both flat to allow the slot car body to come off the pattern.  I finished in auto acrylic and used VRM Mecom Corvette Grand Sport decals.  I know it is not correct and in this body configuration it never ran as #2 but I am rather pleased with it.  It is basically a curbside with motor for the quad cross over webers and a rather amateurish rear suspension visible under the rear glass. It has completed a gap in my Ford GT collection.  Thanks for looking

 

Dave B

 

 

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Edited by Bantoft
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  • 1 month later...

Coolness! This Lola turned out to be such an important car. The fundamental basis for virtually every sports racing car that that been built since. I was lucky enough to see one in the bare aluminum and fiberglass as a restoration was beginning on it. Basically the tub, bodywork, a rudimentary interior and a mockup of the suspension and motor installation. Actually quite complete in its way, but just knocked together for show. Anyway, the result was that you could see the materials and construction clearly as nothing was finished out. I was impressed first of all by how small it was, and the severe minimalism of the engineering. Broadley's design rivaled Chapman's Lotus 25 in that everything was reduced to only what was needed to efficiently make the car go fast, whether it was structure, aerodynamics, or suspension. What a radical change it was from the 50's era of big and bigger motors.

Great modeling, here.  Sort of ultimate kit bashing, adapting what is available to presenting what turns out to be a fine replica of significant subject. Dave, this is yet another example of your skill in making curbsides that are so effective that they remind us that full detail is not mandatory. Big thumbs up!

 

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IIRC, I think I may have had a model kit of this when I was quite young. I am guessing a 1/32 scale Aurora kit. The taillights are what I seem to remember on a dark blue box art.  Foggy imagination, or real? Meantime, I'll go poke around on Google.

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9 minutes ago, Jon Cole said:

IIRC, I think I may have had a model kit of this when I was quite young. I am guessing a 1/32 scale Aurora kit. The taillights are what I seem to remember on a dark blue box art.  Foggy imagination, or real? Meantime, I'll go poke around on Google.

Almost accurate. Turns out it was Monogram, not Aurora. Shame it was 1/32, but that was quite typical back in the day for sports cars. 

MODEL KIT- 1965 LOLA GT by Monogram. [02].jpg

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  • 4 years later...
On 2/22/2018 at 7:55 PM, Dave B said:

Some time back I was lucky enough to be given an old scale vac form body of this car, see

Anyway using 0.040" styrene I peaked the nose and vacformed new sills as they were both flat to allow the slot car body to come off the pattern.  I finished in auto acrylic and used VRM Mecom Corvette Grand Sport decals.  I know it is not correct and in this body configuration it never ran as #2 but I am rather pleased with it.  It is basically a curbside with motor for the quad cross over webers and a rather amateurish rear suspension visible under the rear glass. It has completed a gap in my Ford GT collection.  Thanks for looking

 

Dave B

 

 

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I'm looking for one these, at a reasonable price. From searches online, that is a tough task. 

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Very well done.  It is the "Old Grand Dad" of the Ford GT40.  Shame no current manufacturer sees financial success in producing a modern 3D printed version.  There are so many obscure race cars from the 50s, 60s, and 70s that should be produced, especially now that 3D printing is becoming mainstream.  Anyway, nice tidy job on it.  

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This is one of my all-time favorite GT racing cars.  I have the Monogram 1/32 kit and just dream of the day someone will produce a 1/25 scale full detail kit.  What you have done with this slot-car body is simply amazing. Very nice rendition of a most beautiful car.  Happened to come across a you-tube video of Jay Leno's garage and he had one of these with its owner. It was silver in color and the owner, who worked on the original design said that was the original color; he bought the car for $3000 sometime back in the late 60's or early 70's, minus engine and transmission.

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Dave B - this car ran the 1964 Sebring race as the #20 entry - have a look at the workbench thread that i threw up on the 64 Sebring 12 hours - start on pg 1 - could you be convinced to join the group build ? About a dozen entries have been chosen to date - whuch means that there are over 60 entries left to choose -  maybe one of the Ferrari P cars ?  Is Hobart where I think it is ? 

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So, here’s where I’m at with my solution to this problem. For years I have been outbid more than a dozen times for a suitable donor body. I was finally able to acquire a less than perfect shell (gold and blue in photo). I poured the red silicone mold around it and then used that mold to cast the gray and tan resin bucks. After a lot of filling and sanding, the gray one was used to vacuum form the three bodies in the second pic. They are formed from a clear plastic PETG film to the original scale size. The tan one will be cut along the black lines and a 1/4” will be added in both directions to form a body that will fit a modern slot car chassis that is 3 1/4” wide with a 4” wheelbase. I haven’t had time to try it yet with his mold, but I plan on doing a thin slush casting like I did with the Mercoholic pictured last.

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1 hour ago, Thom said:

So, here’s where I’m at with my solution to this problem. For years I have been outbid more than a dozen times for a suitable donor body. I was finally able to acquire a less than perfect shell (gold and blue in photo). I poured the red silicone mold around it and then used that mold to cast the gray and tan resin bucks. After a lot of filling and sanding, the gray one was used to vacuum form the three bodies in the second pic...

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Would you have any interest in selling copies of the gray buck?

PM me if so.

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