alan barton Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 Me too Tim I need to have this finished by September and the days are flying past! I have had a constructive few hours tonight, adding new bars to the frame. I also have the axle looking reasonable. If it all fits up in the morning when everything is nice and dry and solid, I will try and tack it in place and get the rear end setup. I figure once it is on wheels I am on the trip to the finish line. Still a lot of fabricating, sanding and priming to go! I have already decided to make a few compromises on strict accuracy in the interest of durability. This puppy has a long trip to California in its future! Thanks everyone for watching. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted August 16, 2019 Author Share Posted August 16, 2019 Here's the axle so far, scratchbuilt from Evergreen. This is really testing me, probably some of the smallest parts I have ever tried to cut, shape and join!manipulate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 Beautiful work Alan - really like that axle in particular! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 Thanks again everyone, I made reasonable progress this week but the pressure is definitely on! I got the frame into primer last night and hopefully colour tonight if it is not raining when I get home. The mods I made to the front of the frame seem to be working OK and I have gone with a compromised rear arrangement to save time and to gain rigidity. Hope to have more updates, on wheels maybe, by the end of the weekend. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 Looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted August 24, 2019 Author Share Posted August 24, 2019 Thanks Andy, I need all the support I can get! This is categorically the most challenging project I have ever undertaken! It seems that even though it looks like your average funnycar chassis, absolutely nothing works out of the box. The good news is, just this minute I got it on wheels so I am going to take a moment for an update. I sprayed the chassis in Tamiya gloss black acrylic yesterday and kept working on other parts until a few hours ago. I fitted the rear axle after chroming it with my beloved molotow pen. I then added two disc brakes using small flat washers I found out in my garage. I also cut and filed two pieces of plastic in the shape of calipers and glued them on but, alas, you can barely see them through the rims! Still, better than seeing fresh air through there I guess. I also made two flat plates for rear end mounts and glued them in place after spraying with Tamiya gloss aluminium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted August 24, 2019 Author Share Posted August 24, 2019 Next up was the front brakes. Another case of building everything twice. Yesterday, I prepared some Revell funnycar calipers by adding a small slice of plastic to the centre of the caliper and then painting them flat black with silver bolts - they looked great and very similar to the 1:1. While looking for more flat washers to use for correctly sized disc rotors, I stumbled on some shakeproff washers. Turns out these are just the shot for the lightweight Willwood discs. Woohoo! I assembled the wheels, painted the back of them in a magnesium mix of Humbrol silver and Revell flat black enamels and waited for everything to dry. When I went to assemble everything, I found that the calipers overlapped the wheels rims. Yuk!!! Close investigation revealed I had used rims that were far to thick in cross section. Because I am eventually to build two of these I have two of most of the major components. This time I used inners from the old AMT Model A roadster custom wheels after heavily thinning them in thickness with a file and then in cross section with an Xacto. After some sanding I reassembled and repainted the new set of rims. I grabbed a second set of Revell calipers, sanding off 1/2 a mm here, 1/2 a mm there, until they looked like they would fit inside the rims. I also elongated the centre hole to allow for some wriggle room. I reassembled the lot, popped them on the spindles and happy days, they fitted. Hey, it was only a few hours lost! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted August 24, 2019 Author Share Posted August 24, 2019 (edited) Gee, those close-up photos reveal a few sins, eh? Looks like I'm going back in for a bit of cleanup! The Monogram funnycar seat was nearly right for the job - hey, by this stage I'm not expecting ANYTHING to be right from the start! I opened up the seatbelt holes and removed and filled the headrest area. I also made up some side tins that will need more trimming before they go on the chassis. I made a weight bar from a piece of polished K&S aluminium with two tiny endcaps superglued on. It was nice to do a simple straight forward bit of fab for a change! I then glued the stock Monogram fire extinguishers in place. At last it was time to see of I could install the completely scratchbuilt front end. I started to offer the arms up and ,oh wait, the real car has the fire extinguishers mounted lower so now the trailing arms hit them! So I popped the extinguishers off, snipped away the mounts and trimmed off the remnants and mounted them off the lower frame rail. I then assembled the front end. Sounds easy but I think an hour disappeared before it was done. All the joints are pinned with tiny dressmaking pins. I have a bit of a forward caster issue , caused by the lack of movement in the joints - where are those fully functional 1/25th scale Heim ends when you need them? But hey, she's on wheels! I've included a photo of the real frame for comparison. Cheers Alan Edited August 24, 2019 by alan barton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicmustang Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Wow Alan, that front end looks "spot on" to the pic of the real car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted August 25, 2019 Author Share Posted August 25, 2019 Another busy day on the bench today! I set to wiring the engine and made a fair bit of progress. I'm not sure if the photos will post as all morning I got the 200 error so we will see in a moment. I have sent several hours threading tiny beads onto various fuel lines. Now I have to say, it looks really cool on the bench in front of me but the photos, being so close up, look very clunky. I am going to go back in with some gold paint to blend a few of the joins together. I have spoken to Greg tonight and I have about 14 days to finish this project before he comes to collect it and transport it to the USA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 The thrash is definitely on. The body is almost finished but the interior tin still requires fitting. The frame is on wheels but there is some minor engine plumbing to finish. Steering column and clutch pedal to be sorted. 48 hours left til when he picks it up to carry to the USA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 The first one is finished! After a bit of a marathon effort over the last month or so, Greg came and picked up the model tonight. He is hand carrying it to the USA to present it to none other than Danny Thompson, Mickey's son. Wile building this one I have been keeping templates and sometimes making two parts in readiness to build the second one for Greg. I always thought you need to build a model twice to get the best result so here I am doing just that. I will be making significant changes to how I go about it. Because of the unique front end which I had to completely scratchbuild, I started this chassis from the front. This ended up causing me a great deal of grief as the rollcage and rear axle location can't really be messed with so I had to make a few compromises. For Greg's model, I will start with the rear axle and wheels fitted and then work forward. I will also install the basic "short" motor and not do the heavy wiring and plumbing until everything is locked in. I had a lot of conflicts between the plumbing and the body as a result of trying to install a fully wired engine. The thickness of resin bodies in general exaggerates this problem. The good news is that Greg is delighted with the result and has offered to pay me more than we originally agreed on. I won't be dying a millionaire but it is very satisfying to know your work is appreciated by others. When I start the second car I will continue this thread so that you can see the effect of the changes in my building sequence. Late note: Sorry guys, I have been trying to post this for three days now on two different internet servers but I keep getting a -200 error. I really want to share some photos with all the people who have been following this project but my computer skills are not up to sussing out what is going on. If anyone knows how to fix a -200 error I would love to hear it. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted September 13, 2019 Author Share Posted September 13, 2019 After reading Claude's reply to Tom about resizing photos to avoid the -200 error, I thought I would give it another go. Looks like Right Click, Resize, Small, is the trick. What I don't get is that all the photos in this thread were taken with the same camera or phone in the same area with the same lighting so why it wants to throw the teddy out of the cot now is beyond me. Anyhow, here are some shots from moments before Greg packed up the car to fly with him to the USA. Windows are clear acetate but looks like the left front corner has popped - grrrr! All interior tin is done with very thin printer's plate aluminium, beadrolled with a cardboard template and a ballpoint pen. I fluked a nice finish on the parachute, spraying a Duplicolour silver metallic over a flat black base - I like it! Enough black showed through to give a realistic look to the chute pack. Polar lights wheels with Revell front tyres and AMT parts pack rears. AMT 33 Willys SOHC with Revell blower and manifold adapted to SOHC manifold. Extensively shortened and modified "late Revellogram funnycar frame and rear axle. Revellogram funnycar seat and exhausts Completely scratchbuilt front axle. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainford Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 The Mustang looks great. You have weathered the trials and tribulations well. Excellent work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooOld Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Mission accomplished and it looks great ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim boyd Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Heh Alan.....great job on that one! And kudos to you for your persistence in working through the inevitable challenges presented by a project like this......Best Regards....TIM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted September 17, 2019 Author Share Posted September 17, 2019 So an unexpected thing happened. Greg had his travel delayed when immigration officials discovered a small tear in his passport ( caused by the passport reader. Meantime he decided to paint some genuine fireproof paint under the body of the funnycar and brought it back to me to refit the glass. The good news about that is - I got to take some much nicer photos out in the sun! So here they are. Thanks to everyone for all the views and the kind comments. I will be continuing this thread over time as I build the second model as I believe there are a number of places I can improve. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Danny will really like this. What he did over the last few years to get his Dads last stream liner back on top was incredible with what little he worked with. He will understand what you went through to build this beautiful Model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan barton Posted September 17, 2019 Author Share Posted September 17, 2019 Thanks for that, Andy. I have never met the guy but from what Greg tells me he is a pretty decent human being, as are most hot rodders, so I will be keen to hear his comments upon Greg's return to Oz. So here they are. Thanks to everyone for all the views and the kind comments. I will be continuing this thread over time as I build the second model as I believe there are a number of places I can improve. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairfax Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 Gorgeous ! Great details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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