DoctorLarry

Thanks! Any more pictures?

Making slow progress. Totally re-did the front frame. Scratch built the tubing and shock mounts. Mounted the radiator, oil cooler and radiator puke tank, which I scratch built. Scratch built remote oil filters to match the real car. Wired the brake lines to a junction block. I will install the master cylinder later. Engine has plug wires and FireBall Models Holley. Dry sump holes are in the pan and after I plumb the carb I will add the pulleys, fan and dry sump pump. I will then connect all of the oil lines and move on to the dash. Interior has a photo etch harness, which was the most difficult and time consuming thing I've ever done. Window net is eighth inch ribbon and gauze padding unrolled.Cage is mostly scratch built. Now on to body, finish the firewall, add brake and fuel lines, and dash.

I will photo them and post.

I saw it and took a picture of it as well. Great shot.

Ordered a copy of the article and saw the Petersen picture. Took a picture of it. Thanks for the heads up.

I have a Stock car racing article on Moore's Torino, but no underhood shots-just chassis and interior.

Externally nothing. Different cylinder heads but both would look basically the same.

Found this in an old magazine as I was cleaning up some stuff. Obviously never happened. Pete Hamilton racing a Grand Am for Jim Ruggles.

Oops-first one was a Boss 9.

Here's some earlier Torino shots:

In the Motor Trend article on the car, they pointed out that NASCAR was suspicious of the NACA ducts because they were different than the cowl induction setups that everyone else used. That may account for the blockoffs on the high bank picture.

Any idea on decals?

Popped the wheel flares off my donor Chevelle and grafted them on. First coat of putty.

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.