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Front Engine Dragster: The Old Master


ApexSpeed

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Hi guys, the build is still on my work surface, waiting to be picked back up again. Between working 60-80 hours a week since February and just recently fighting through pneumonia, there has been very little time to devote to things like this. Not to mention that with the spring finally treating us well, I haven't been inclined to lock myself in a cold, windowless basement.

Things will pick up again eventually, but for now, the project is a bit mummified.

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Here's my favorite version of the Old Master. I built this 10 or 15 years ago using the Tony Nancy 1/16th scale FED by Revell and the 392 from the Aurora Racing Scenes series. Bruce Wheeler and Al Friedman were my heroes when I was a youngster and I spent a large portion of my adolescence hanging out at the speed shop where they worked. The model was on display at the NHRA Motorsports Museum for a number of years, along with my modest collection of Wheeler Dealer memorabilia.

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I even lettered my pickup as a tribute to that shop

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Edited by Marc Weller
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  • 2 months later...

I remember this car,

I was working for Speedmasters Racing Engines in Van Nuys ( across the street from the GM assembly plant on Van Nuys Blvd ). back in the mid 60's. We also had a Top Fuel Dragster & a Jr fuel car same vintage as the Pink cars. fact: Ed Pink moved into the Speedmasters building after they went bust in 1969, I talked to Ed's wife last year at the shop, it still looks like it did when I worked their 50 years ago... both of these cars are on my build list so I will be watching.

thanks

John

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No new progress on this build, guys. I'm after the brutal winter we had here in the Midwest, I'm taking every opportunity to be outdoors golfing, shooting, riding bikes or spending time with the kids. Hiding in the cold basement is for the cold season. I probably won't be pushing this one out again until the fall. It won't be shelved indefinitely, you can count on it. :)

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  • 2 months later...
  • 11 months later...
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So, this project is finally getting back on the table. It seems to get interfered with by major life changes, but hopefully that slows down a bit and this can keep rolling.

To that end, I started on the front wheels. I can't stand the way that kit front wire wheels look, because they aren't scale at all, and make the model look like a toy. It's one of the major week links in most dragster kits and the most difficult to fix.

I found these very pretty, very detailed and very expensive dragster front wire wheels from Ted’s Modeling Marketplace. They are made by Machined Aluminum Specialists and consist of lathe-turned hoops and hub, photoetched wire centers and rubber tires.

The center hub needs a touch of handwork to clean up. The wire centers get trimmed form their tree, then delicately bent to form the dish of the wheel. The trick is getting everything centered up and glued, without making a mess, and keeping it all lined up properly. It's a bit tricky, and would be nice if there was a fixture to assemble them with, but it can be done with patience.

If they weren't so expensive, I would stock up on more of them for future builds. Sure are pretty, though.

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Edited by ApexSpeed
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  • 2 years later...

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