DoctorLarry

Christmas break from school means some time to tinker. I'm making slow progress. I have re-done the chassis and cage about 4 times and it looks like I'm going to have to drop the front frame section. This is a 66 GTO frame and pans, Elliot Thunderbird front clip and fuel cell and a scrap Cannonball Run chassis for the rest. All of the rear floor pans, tunnel and truck arm mounts are scratch built. Rear suspension from the T Bird. Scratch built front oil tank, dual remote oil filters and braided hoses. The body is one of my resins but after looking at the pictures of the real car I need way more flare on the wheel openings so a mushed resin 73 Chevelle I bought on EBAY will donate its wheel flares (and its gas opening). Rear spoiler is a resin 73 Firebird one cut down and re-shaped. Seat is from a Buick Regal, I think.

So is this another resin project along with the other Buicks?

Make that Grand Ams. Stubby fingers and small keyboard.

The part about Buicks in China, from what I saw, was spot on. I taught in our partner institution in Ningbo, China for a month and there were a ton of Buicks (and Volkswagens) on the road. I was sitting on a bus outside of Bejing on a very crowded expressway and I looked down and there was a silver Trans Am sitting right next to us. Also saw a few Bentleys and an Aston Martin. The younger up and comers are all buying cars even though they are very expensive.

Know the site well. I have had two real Drand Ams. I had a 73 2 door and I currently own a 73 4 door sport sedan. I also have the original article that Horst references.

These guys were also all GM engineers so I bet they knew a few things about car design! Did you plumb the dry sump on the HB car?

Sounds like a plan. When did Nascar engine builders go to dry sump oiling systems?

Test fitted to the body. Front chassis hoop is too tall so it looks like more fabrication. I will probably just whack all of the tubing off and start from scratch. The rest of it doesn't look too bad, though.

Mocked up a new cage with my junk parts and some Evergreen plastic rod. Fits much better so now I need to finish the floor pans and tunnel, fit the dash and seats, and make a window net.

Test fitted the chassis last night and Tim was right (as usual). Cage did not fit well at all. So I went back to my junk box. I had a glue bomb Nascar Chevelle chassis and a left over Cannon Ball Run Laguna chassis. The cage was meant for a Collonade car and it actually totally copies the Nascar chassis manual picture I posted above so I will modify it and put it in. I also found a seat from a Buick Regal car that looks like the Olds picture so we are starting all over. I will use the Thunderbird clip but rob the rest from the glue bomb. I stopped by Hobby Town last night after school and stocked up on Evergreen plastic so I should not run out of roll cage tubing now!

Missed that one in the Nascar manual. Out comes the X-Acto! How does the rest look? (it is not done yet)

Started work on the roll cage. The Thunderbird cage was too wide, did not fit the floor pan right, and the front bars were off. So I pulled a Michangelo and cut everything off except the side bars and the front loop and started from scratch. I did cut the shock mounts off and re-use them. Another reason is that in the Adams car, the remote oil filters are on the firewall and not the frame and the oil tank/cooler for the dry sump is lower near the radiator on the passenger side so the TBird locations were all wrong.

Got some done last night. Got most of the floor pans done, crossmembers for the springs and shocks, and built the brackets for the panhard bar. Test fitted the cage but my front clip angle is off and the cage is a little wide. Tonight I will try to finish the cage and cut the hole for the differential oil cooler. The picture is what I am working from.

Just like the picture. The decals were metallic background. It is a striking car.

Here are some more pictures of the chassis and a page from the 1973 NASCAR Handbook:

Yes-there are four or five. Rear mounts for springs and shocks were round steel tubing and the frame was notched in a few places for clearance. It also had a Panhard bar to keep the rear end centered. Single shocks and coil springs-looks like pretty standard fare for the day.

The picture is a Stock Car Products chassis out of California. They manufactured chassis components and the article was about the chassis they had just completed. Chevelle frame, Ford Galaxie front end and Chevy truck arm/coil sprong rear. Very similar to other pictures I saw.

Here are some shots I used as reference. The first is from Stock Car Racing March 1973. Chevelle frame, Ford front clip, truck arm rear. The second is Cale Yarborough's 77 Olds. Clearly has truck arms.

Thanks for the tip!

I love the mid 70's GM Collonade cars and I love to see them done. I really like the Pontiac Grand Am, GTO and Lemans cars. They were few and far between in NASCAR but the one I always loved was the Herb Adams/ Team Associates Grand Am. It was recognized in many areas as one of the most beautiful Cup cars ever built. So I decided I would build one. Thanks to lots of help from yellowsportwagon (Tim) I got a pretty good idea of construction techniques. Kenny Youngblood did a cutaway of the car for a magazine but there are few surviving pictures so I am winging it somewhat. I am using one of my own resin bodies and a Revell 66 GTO frame. It seems a common construction technique was to use some of the stock frame and floor pans but add a Holman-Moody style front clip and nine inch Ford rear and essentially back half the car. I used the Bill Elliot Thunderbird for the front clip and rear truck arm suspension and cut out the floor pans, which I will re-do to mimic the style of the era. Engine from a Revell Firebird, wheels from the AMT 73 Chevelle, PPP tires and home made rear spoiler and decals. Should be fun.

Yes-the inner stripe is yellow instead of red. There were four color combinations for the stripe depending on the base color of the car. https://www.phoenixgraphix.com/gm/1973l.php

Can you do the 73 GTO stripes in yellow versus red? Thanks!

How wide spread was the use of braided steel lines versus rubber during this period?

yes siree....

Sitting for a while. Interior done, paint needs finished, had the chassis done but decided to re work it. Engine needs wired, ram air system needs to be built.