kennb Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 For my first and maybe a very embarrasing attempt to scratch build the later version of the Tatra 603. This unique Chech elitist car has long been a favorite of mine. This car was built mainly for Governmnt and Military personal and was top of the line for them. The engine was origionally designed for aricraft and is a watercooled V8 rear mount type. I have most of what I need from body to mechanicals, but lack some information on the chassis for this car. I have posted some pics on my flicker site. Hopefully I will be able to go throught the process and in doing so give some inspiraton to others. http://www.flickr.co...82@N08/?saved=1 Kenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diymirage Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 welcome aboard gotta say, i just LOVE that duster let me know if your ever looking to unload it as for the frame, i dont even think i have ever seen this car before, looks like a great project though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 (edited) gotta say, i just LOVE that duster let me know if your ever looking to unload it The duster was built from a wreck in 1975. I did all the work and painting and lettering myself during the summer between classes at college, Alas it has long been sold, wish I still had it. Edited May 29, 2011 by kennb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Welcome Kenn! That's a VERY ambitious project you're about to undertake! I don't think I've ever seen one of those on the streets here in the U.S..............BTW, which model were you going to use to start as a base? Harry P. had that car recently in a "Name This Car" thread----I had to do quite a bit of digging to figure out just what the heck it was! Good luck as that's going to be quite a project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 I am going to go totally scratch on this one. I will be using .40 styrene that I have for my trains. I have trying to figure out how these things were built. They are a unique space frame that has a built in chassis with the front suspension built in and the motor and transmision floating in the rear compartment. In going over this I think I am going to have opening doors, boot and deck lid. The main body is in one piece. So I am going to just start cutting plastic and glueing the body just like the real thing. I may be biting off a lot more than I can handle. Also there will be no commercial parts on any part of this project, even building up the tires. I will use a lot of the methods that I use on my trains. For the motor and transmision I have a mechanical parts book that shows all the components and locations with all the suspension. One interesting thing is that it has 4 wheel disc brakes and independent suspension. This should be fun to put together, as long as you are a masicist. ha ha. I am going to start working it up in 1.24th and see how it works, leaving it open to going to a larger scale. I have collected dozens of photos of the finished car and bare body only, located from a Russian site that has a lot of great restoration photos. Kenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 There are some diecasts out there that might help for reference http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1316&bih=778&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=tatra+603+diecast&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RancheroSteve Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 For my first and maybe a very embarrasing attempt to scratch build the later version of the Tatra 630. This unique Chech elitist car has long been a favorite of mine. This car was built mainly for Governmnt and Military personal and was top of the line for them. The engine was origionally designed for aricraft and is a watercooled V8 rear mount type. I have most of what I need from body to mechanicals, but lack some information on the chassis for this car. I have posted some pics on my flicker site. Hopefully I will be able to go throught the process and in doing so give some inspiraton to others. http://www.flickr.com/photos/22767382@N08/?saved=1 Kenn A friend of mine owns a few Tatras, including a 603. If you have specific requests, I can try to get you more photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffs396 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Welcome Kenn! Quite the project you're taking on, you don't see those everyday They'd have probably caught on more here in North America if they would not have had the "r" in the name Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 What a cool, unique, interesting project. I'll watch this with great interest. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSNJim Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 (edited) Welcome Kenn! Quite the project you're taking on, you don't see those everyday They'd have probably caught on more here in North America if they would not have had the "r" in the name I guess we'll find out. Jeff. Do you know who now owns Jaguar and Landrover ? Welcome aboard, Kenn! Edited May 30, 2011 by SSNJim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 This is quite an ambitious project! I have a few photos of a restored '66 Tatra that was at a local car show here and I was taken by the rear engine. I took more photos of this than the '49 Mercs! If you would like the high resolutions of any of these just PM me your email and I'll send. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Mike, what show did you see that at? I'm going to have to try and get out there this summer and see if it makes a repeat appearance. Air-cooled V8? Certainly different. I can't help but wonder how the rear-weight bias is with that in it. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diymirage Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 i spy with my little eye....a section of garden hose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 (edited) Mike, what show did you see that at? I'm going to have to try and get out there this summer and see if it makes a repeat appearance. It was at the Hillcrest Hospital annual car show on the hospital grounds in western part of Pittsfield ... very nice grounds. There's always a better than you'd think mix from classics to hot rods and customs. Then there's Corvette Alley ... same spot every year .. maybe a Doctor thing for their plastic cars. Only thing I could find right now is this. It's always July 4th weekend and looks like the 3rd this one. If you find yourself getting serious about this, DO let me know. It'd be cool to meet up for it. Edited May 30, 2011 by Foxer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 I have tryed one way of doing this project and not happy with the results so so far. I dont feel the proportions are right for some reason. I still have to figure out how to post pictures to the forum. http://www.flickr.com/photos/22767382@N08/?saved=1 I am going to trash this and work from another direction I think. I am going to try to set up a frame to build over like you would a ships hull. Not sure how that will work either. I would try to find some sort of donor car to work from but the closest thing I can see would be an early merc or a chevy fastback. I dont think either would work out any better in the end. Unlike most of the Russian cars of the era which were nothing more than copies of American bodies, the Chechs were really quit creative, as this car shows. Thanks to all that have posted pictures. The cars that you have posted I do have from others sources, but still very much appreciate all the assistence. I do know they there a many of these in the US and there is a Canadian dealer the sells services and has parts for these. I have always been taken by the deep thraoted sound these cars have running. It is amost a low rumble unlike a water cooled V8 produces. The Tucker has a very similar sound but since the Tucker is a flat engine you can tell the difference right off. Those that have head both know what I mean. It is something about the way the aircraft engines are build I think that produces this effect. The greatest need I have are photos of the way the motor is mounted, and the setup for the front suspension. I do have a few but more sure would help. I would also like to get some of the tranmission mounted. It is a reverse mount whereas the drive shafts come out close to the motor and the trany is further forward towards the rear seat. Kenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 A friend of mine owns a few Tatras, including a 603. If you have specific requests, I can try to get you more photos. Love that older Tatra in the backgorund. I have several pictures of this car. I thought the paint was a bit unusual for this car. It sure sets it apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RancheroSteve Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Love that older Tatra in the backgorund. I have several pictures of this car. I thought the paint was a bit unusual for this car. It sure sets it apart. The car on the right? That's a Peugeot 302. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 I started over today. I approached it entirely differently and a copy of the sides in scale on the sheet of plastic and cut out a pair of sides. I rolled the top edges over the windows. Cuting a piece for the roof and glueing that together. Adding some plastic to finish the size of the rear window and then the hood. I have it roughed out. I did a little sanding to the edges and feel that I now have a decent start for the overall body. I posted some more photos to my flicker page. http://www.flickr.com/photos/22767382@N08/?saved=1 I feel the is a better representation for this unique car.I have retained the interior assembly from the first try and that fits very nicely at this point. I have not added any filler at this point since I have a lot of work to do yet, I have to get the grill put in and sides built up. The rear needs to be roughed out yet. I will continue with the start that I have at this point to see how it works out. I am working from drawings reproduced at about 1/24th with minimal dimensions. I did try super imposing the drawings of a 51 Chevy Fleetline to see if that would work out for a donar if all else fails. The body works out decently with redoing every panel on the car and adjusting the wheelbase by about 12 inches. It would not take any less time to go this route but I would have a base to work from rather than starting fresh. It is still possible to go that way if this does not come out to my satisfaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Very interesting subject, and Tatra can't be easy to do because of those round bodylines... But how to post pictures... There are two good ways to do that. When you use the Flickr, go to view that you see only the picture, and just white background. Like this. Then just copy the url (the http://www...) and add the url to "Insert image" on this forum, it's just next to the "Insert link" button. Then you have a picture on this forum. Other way is using photobucket or fotki, but I think, it's easier to do that on the way I mentioned first... Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) I have been working on this today and posting a few updated pictues of my progress. I it os starting to take shape. Edited June 2, 2011 by kennb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) I am getting the body roughed out adding some fender flares,ect. There are some more pictures and one on the inside of the body. I am going to start working on the tires, rims, and "frame now to get that roughed out. I have not added the filler yet, I want to get all the rear completed first. So far this is all plastic built up and filed to shape. Kenn Edited June 3, 2011 by kennb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Wow .. that's really coming together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennb Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 (edited) I have done some more work on the body, built up the front bumper and roughed out the rear vent. I started the tires, they still need a lot of work and the tread applied. I added a layer of .40 plastic to the window posts to beef them up some and added bits here and the to get the shape together. I still am putting off the filler until i have more completed. Also added the flares to the wheel wells. Kenn Edited June 4, 2011 by kennb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Wow. That's looking simply amazing. Awesome scratchbuilding, I could never built like that. It looks great. Body is looking like real thing, I mean the shapes and the sizes are just like 1:1. Nothing seems to be out of the scale. Really nice work. And It's coming fast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gibbons Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Remarkable, and very ambitious work! Welcome to the forum, and I will be following this. The Lane Motor Museum recently had an exhibition of Tatra, which unfortunately ended in May. I've seen earlier examples displayed at Lime Rock. I'm looking forward to your progress on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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