1968 indy turbine car

[Brudda]

Started other projects but put them aside for this. Mpc kit so it’s a handful for fit. But it’s comming out. Here is what I have so far, hope you like. Indycal tires

[Gt fan]

Off to a good start. 

[Eric Macleod]

Perhaps one of the coolest race car concepts ever. This should be interesting. 

[br67]

Still one of my all time favorite race cars

[Brudda]

Decals today, going to clear it tomorrow,

[Brudda]

Cleared. The brightest race car I built,  I recommend this kit if you are into Indy cars. The indycal tires and decal set are available and I suggest that you buy them. The kit tires are really bad and the kit decals are really old. Building the Joe Leonard car. A little problem , I’ve changed it , the decals come as the race version. I am building the car pre time trials. The numbers pre time trials are black with white numbers. The race version are white with black numbers. And had a bright green on the rear and left front tire and nose. Sooo I have no choice , since the Indycal decals are race only. Did not want to put green on the car. To me it really looks bad. My version is not decal correct or green paint correct. But nevertheless it is a fun build. 

[Brudda]

P. S. My dad knew Joe Leonard and he told us what really happened that day at Indy. 

[Brudda]

[shoopdog]

2 hours ago, Brudda said:

P. S. My dad knew Joe Leonard and he told us what really happened that day at Indy. 

And that was.....?

[89AKurt]

I had considered getting that kit because it's such an interesting car, but decided not to.  Will cheer you on!

[Brudda]

Shoopdog the story was told like this:    Andy Granatelli was approached by American gas company to put their stickers on the car. As you know Joe Put the car on the pole. Well Andy recieved $100,000 to run American gas company fuel. No testing or anything. So the fuel was changed overnight. The cars lost 100 hp. The offys had 650 hp and the turbine cars were 100 hp less with the new fuel. Why it was not tested really made Joe mad. Well the offys just walked all over the turbines. Graham Hill crashed his turbine, and with less than 10 laps left Joes car came to a halt. And guess what, Art Pollards car came to a halt right after that. And Bobby Unser won the race. The problem with the turbine car? Both fuel pumps went out because of the new gas. He told that story right before he died. 

[Brudda]

Fitting the turbine . Casting is a little rough, but overall things fit without major problems.

[afx]

Great looking project Bruce.

[Gramps46]

The tires are a big improvement over the old kit tires.  Well done.

[drodg]

Well done on the build.  Interesting story on the fuel.   Thanks

[shoopdog]

13 hours ago, Brudda said:

Shoopdog the story was told like this:    Andy Granatelli was approached by American gas company to put their stickers on the car. As you know Joe Put the car on the pole. Well Andy recieved $100,000 to run American gas company fuel. No testing or anything. So the fuel was changed overnight. The cars lost 100 hp. The offys had 650 hp and the turbine cars were 100 hp less with the new fuel. Why it was not tested really made Joe mad. Well the offys just walked all over the turbines. Graham Hill crashed his turbine, and with less than 10 laps left Joes car came to a halt. And guess what, Art Pollards car came to a halt right after that. And Bobby Unser won the race. The problem with the turbine car? Both fuel pumps went out because of the new gas. He told that story right before he died. 

Thank you very much, very interesting.

[Rich Chernosky]

Bruce...what did you use for the red ? . Sure is bright.  I have this kit in an original and the re-issue. I was going to use Tamiya TS36 but it only gets that bright over red  and not  over  primer.  The clear looks awesome too. 

[iBorg]

I've got several of these. They're a challenge.

[Gt fan]

7 hours ago, Rich Chernosky said:

Bruce...what did you use for the red ? . Sure is bright.  I have this kit in an original and the re-issue. I was going to use Tamiya TS36 but it only gets that bright over red  and not  over  primer.  The clear looks awesome too. 

Try using the Tamiya pink primer. 

[Gt fan]

Looks really good . I know this kit is difficult to build

[Brudda]

Thank you guys very much!  I like this build because it is different. Ok this is what I did for the paint. My first round was a disaster. Model master paint and it cracked real bad. Probably my fault , too much to soon and the temp was 95. I stripped the body.  Soo I did a experiment. I used one shot striping enamel. I primed it. Sanded the primer with grey sanding pad. Mixed one shot with enamel reducer. 1 to 1. Let it dry for a week. Then shot the body with hpc15 urethane clear from sherwin Williams. It is very thin. This clear is is becoming very hard to get in small amounts. For some reason they now, only sell in large amounts only. Going to have to change clear as I cannot afford large orders.  Use safety equipment!!! I also use a sata minijet spray gun. .8 tip. After clear I put the decals on. Indycal has great decals and resin tires ! Really improves the build. I then recleared the body. The decals stayed down. Hope this helps. 

[Brudda]

Fitting the suspension. Getting the turbine ready for paint and detail. No plug wires here. As you notice I made the front nose section like the real car. I finally figured out how I am going to mount it. Will show later how that works. Batteries hang out front in the nose section. Think about it, if you had a front crash battery acid would be everywhere. Here is what I have so far. 

[drodg]

Wow looks good.  Did this kit have the Wheelhorse tractor with it?  I know the Bobby Unser kit did but thought maybe this one did also.  Anyhow looks great.

[Brudda]

Thank you drodg . Yes the kit has the tractor. 

[Brudda]

Getting the foot well and front suspension plate to fit is work. Have to sand to get the nose section to fit. Batteries have to fit in the nose section.  Going to be fun to fit the steering arms and front differential. A lot goes on there.  The seat is a piece of work. Really needs improvement. You really have to work on the fit.