W-409 Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 I know I shouldn't start any new projects, but as I'm getting closer finishing a couple ones and I got this kit as a Christmas Present I just had to start building it. This will be a very interesting build for me. I have been building lots of older stuff this year and now when I'm building a car that would race today there is much more detail to be added. And that's one thing I like. So I got Revell's '90 Ford Mustang LX Drag Racer kit as a Present and right away I knew what I was going to do. These Mustangs are really popular in different kinds of Street Classes of Drag Racing and Finland is not an exception. Those Mustangs that race here in Finland have inspired me to do this. This Mustang will be built as a Top Street Drag Car. Top Street is basically for "Street Cars" but really only a couple of cars are street legal that run in TS. They have to run with Drag Radials and front suspension must be original type. In Top Street all engines have somekind of a power adder and engine tuning is free. To give you a good idea of this class, here's a link to Top Street Qualifying video from Finland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk0__J1fBkY I'm going to go with Ford 347 Cid Stroker with a couple of Dominators and NOS on my build. The kit is really nice. It has great Race parts and it is a good starting point, even if it needs lots of work of course to be a proper Top Street car. And here is the body that everyone says doesn't look like a Fox Mustang.... To me it looks spot on! Drag Radials (325 X 50) are from Ted's Modeling Marketplace and they fit just perfectly to this Mustang. I'm not sure about the wheels, though. This kit has Weld DragStars, but I've never been a fan of those wheels. I must look what I can find from my parts box. Usually the actual building starts from an engine, but this time I thought I should try building a roll cage first. The kit provides a cage that won't be enough for this build. I knew I had to build a roll cage that will work up to 7.5 second passes, so using Tyrone's Mustang build as a reference I started adding more tubes to the kit's cage. First I test fitted kit's cage together and realized that the tubes that go back from that main roll bar are too short. I stretched them a little and then added some Bondo to cover ejector pin marks on the tubes. After that kit's cage was glued together (But not on the floor of course). More on the next post... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 Yep so when kit's cage was together I started adding some more plastic rods to it. Actually this step was a lot easier than I originally thought and only really tricky part was getting that Funny Car cage right. Note that the cage is not finished yet, it will need still more plastic rods here and there and of course some major cleanup. Everything is just roughly glued together right now, so I will have to do some smoothing with Super Glue or Putty when all of the tubings are glued together. And here is one shot with the body on: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Nice start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exesivefire Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Great start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-31 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Is it me or did than big chrysler tank in the vid run 8.30s? Keep up the good work looking spot on!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Strong start Niko, glad you got this going. I really want to watch your take on this kit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedfreak Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Niko! You are a building machine! Nice work on the cage, and very interesting kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Thanks for the kind words everyone, they are highly appreciated! Todd: Yes it did ! That car has a 477 Cid Mopar Big Block with a Twin Turbo setup and lots of horsepower. The best ET with that car is 7.89 and here is a video of 7.95 run. And no, it does not go smoothly in this run... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNdlffPF0Lk That's absolutely one of the finest cars in Top Street category with the vinyl top and everything. Carl: I like to see how this build ends up as well. I've never did anything similar so it is a neat challenge to my skills. Hopefully it will turn out good. Gene: Heh, I only wish I would finish these as often as I start new ones... Here is a little update on the Mustang. Roll cage is pretty much done, or I mean that no more tubings will be added. Still I need to smooth out and clean all of the joints before painting. So I added some styrene tubing to the doors and to the back of the cage. I also fitted door panels on place and they fit perfectly. Only problem is the seat which will need very minimal lowering to make it fit perfectly inside that Funny Car cage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrone Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Good stuff NIko.... keep it coming.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 bad55 stan Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Nice work Niko!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 Thanks Tyrone and Stan! I appreciate the kind words, especially when you both have built super nice tube chassis Drag Cars with many scratchbuilt & modified parts. I think the cage is not quite done yet even if I originally thought so. A couple of tubes need to be added after looking more closely to rear cages. Nothing much though. I will keep you guys posted once I get some more work done on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookie86 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Thanks for the kind words everyone, they are highly appreciated! Carl: I like to see how this build ends up as well. I've never did anything similar so it is a neat challenge to my skills. Hopefully it will turn out good. Awesome work on the cage Niko. With racing in your blood and model skills I know this will be a great build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy D Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Hello Niko, Wonderful start on this project !! Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 Thanks Ernest, Carl and Randy! Your kind comments mean a lot to me & keep me motivated working on this Mustang. Carl: Yep, it's great when the racing is in blood as you said...It keeps me wanting to build more and more Drag Cars. Nowadays almost every kit I buy is planned to be a Drag Car. But of course street cars are neat as well and I build them in the side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Twister Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I like it Niko...You do super clean work and this one will look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragfreak Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Excellent cage work Niko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoatGuy Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Looks really good so far. Looking forward to more of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Thanks Darryl, Jason and Dave! You all are real 'Master Modelers' so I appreciate your kind words a lot. I've done some more cage work with this. I added another crossbar to the main hoop under that Funny Car Cage. After a couple of other tubes on that area, I think the Funny Car Cage is now pretty much done - it needs only cleanup to the seams where those tubings meet each other. I added a bit material to the roof also. I will add one or two more tubings to that cage and then I can call it done. I ran out of that styrene rod though, so I will go and buy a new set of it from a Local Hobby Shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Now I think the cage should be pretty much done. I bought a new set of styrene rod a while ago, but couldn't use it until now because I was in a hurry finishing my '50 Oldsmobile Club Coupe (http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=98453). Now when it's done I could get back working with this one so I added another X between those rear tubes that go from main hoop to rear floor. The seat is a bit too high as it doesn't fit under that Funny Car cage. The cage couldn't be higher or it would hit to the body so that seat is a bit too tall. I need to cut it a bit lower and then I can start working on other interior components as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exesivefire Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 That looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrone Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Looking good Niko... keep it coming... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamstorm02 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 What sized styrene rod do you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W-409 Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 Thanks Guys, I appreciate the comments! Brent: I'm using .080" styrene rod. It works really well, it's not too thick nor too thin in my opinion and it handles very well when bending it. It was also the same size as that roll cage that came with the kit and that I used as a basis for this new one. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Coyote Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Really looks good Niko ........... great work B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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