ibj40

Many of you may remember the custom double trailer I built a while back, and then subsequently created this diorama.Well, with a little creativity and help from some friends, I thought there might be a variation on the theme. In lieu of having the workshop on the trailer, what if it were in the back of the truck.So, I acquired a distressed PremiumClassixxs Mercedes Porsche Service Truck (the cabs on those things are very fragile), and lifted the rear box.Then took a damaged in transit Anson Chevrolet dually, and had the chassis stretched to fit the box.Added a front push bar and some running boards, and put an aero nose in the box, and here we have it.Folding it into the diorama, have to arrange things just a little differently, but same effect at the track. Had one of the GMP/ACME race trailers painted white to make it an ensemble.

I know what you mean, I'll get really excited, and go hot and heavy, and then reach an impasse, and just let it sit for a while. Can only keep about three models going at the same time, due to workbench space, so always hope another one keeps me inspired. Thanks for the compliments, everyone. That really helps.

Okay, got the body back late yesterday, and had to play around with it, although the cold and wet weather we are having played havoc with the SuperGlue I used to attempt a temporary bonding. Clearly, this is going to require a lot of work to feather the edges of the 3D printed flares, but thought without the original red paint of the donor body that these appear a little more representative.Got me a little bit of BMW Batmobile going on here at the back!

Mike - you customize like a surgeon; whereas I customize like a lumberjack. Keep it up!

Someone else already had this wet dream.Can I finish it in 1/18 scale?Here are some stock photos of the two donors.Highway 61 1968 Barracuda (this is from the eBay auction I won)ACME 1970 Dan Gurney "Street" Trans Am BarracudaChassis Comparison: Top - Highway 61 1968 Barracuda/Bottom - ACME 1970 Barracuda Trans AmGot the body off the donor '70 ACME Barracuda, and with a little bit of disappointment, looked at some of the details (such as the A-pillar/front of the roll cage - pure BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH), but figured it would make a suitable donor. Last night I got the body off the donor Highway 61 '68 Barracuda, and put them together to see how much work we are talking about.Not a bad fit, wheelbase and track-wise, but going to take some shaping of both the front and rear wheel tubs to allow the '68 body to sit down onto the '70 chassis, but first blush, doable.Stay tuned!

I actually got to see one of the America-based versions of this car race, back in the late 60's/early 70's. Here are a couple of pictures I took at Texas World Speedway. And another one from Dallas International Motor Speedway.

Houston, We have a Roller!First, let's start by restating the problem.There's a big hole that needs to be closed between the engine compartment and the interior of the car.Several abortive attempts have been chronicled here, among others that fell by the wayside undocumented.What you see here is version four of a several hour session of cardboard templates, styrene sheet, heavy duty scissors, and Dremel sanding bits.May not look like much, but it solves the problem. Essentially, the top level matches up to a stock firewall that I relocated back far enough to clear the distributor cap on the Big Block. Hard to see in this picture, but you will just have to trust me on this one. With that problem solved, I went ahead and mocked up the rolling chassis (still not glue worthy as a final just yet).In order to simplify final installation, I cut the stock steering column, and then will splice it with a piece of stainless tubing. For some reason, the stock chassis had an indention for a cross member, right under where the new pedal location will be, so I had to remove that, which required that I also cut a little bit into the transmission tunnel. You can see the companion location in the passenger compartment.Crossmember won't be reinstalled anyway, as the transmission is in the way. To reinforce the floor, we're going to install some diamond plate under the driver's feet (on our '86-bodied Trans Am spec tube frame Camaro, we actually installed a sandwich of 1/8 inch aluminum on top - 1/8 inch steel on the bottom, with a foam insert under the driver's feet). Mocked up the radiator and oil filter and oil cooler, still need to run the lines back to the block. The cooler will sit flat once everything is ready to be bolted together for the last time. Taking the body to be dipped later this week, and will be able to focus on a permanent mounting solution for the flares. Weather turned cold here in Texas over the weekend, and with an unheated shop, not sure how much more progress I will be able to make.

Here I just ordered three. If you want one, and they won't ship to your country, let me know, I'll get more, and mail them directly to you, at my cost.Here's a picture of Dan, hangin' with Swede, in their Trans Am Plymouth Barracudas.

Oh, don't get me started. One of these days when I have some free time, remind me to tell the story about the brief case with $20,000 in cash and a pistol, crewcab pickup and two wheel open trailer, the drive to and from Daytona, getting screwed by the first guy, and coming back to Dallas with a Corvette. You might want to stock up first, though, with your favorite beverage. Those were the days!

Thanks! My first "real" car was a 1964 Falcon four door, that started out with an in-line 6, which we swapped for a 289 out of a '67 Mustang. That thing was a real sleeper, caught quite a few folks off-guard at the late night/stop light grand prix. When I got into racing, though, my first car was a '69 Camaro, and I stayed GM throughout my entire involvement; but in the back of my mind, there was always a love for the Ford Falcon.

I actually never got to watch the Daytona Prototypes in person. I did get to go to the Daytona 24 in 2000, but that was immediately prior to that era. I loved the concept, however, as it put driver protection as the highest priority, regardless of the criticism of how "ugly" it made the car due to the mandatory clearance in the roll cage and the additional criticism that they were low-tech due to their tube frame chassis. And as to memories, collecting and modifying 1/18 scale diecast keeps me connected to when I was actually road racing as both an owner and driver back in the mid-70's through early 90's. Thanks, and keep a lookout for more!

Action offered a Crawford-based Daytona Prototype in 1/18 scale, back right after the class was created for the Rolex Endurance Series.Seven different chassis manufacturers produced (or at least announced) cars that would meet that specification. One of the more successful was the version prepared by Riley, a spin-off from the Riley and Scott group who produced such winning platforms as their Trans Am Camaro.Engine selection was up to the team, with the various chassis accepting most engines. Early in the series, GM supported both a Chevy and a Pontiac small block (the same engines, just the badging); and other engine suppliers included Ford, BMW, Porsche, Lexus, Honda, and Infiniti.I'd used the Action Crawford as the basis for a fantasy Mopar-engined version, actually grafting a factory orange block from an Ertl Dodge Dart into the model for "authenticity". I used a 1/24 scale decal set from a Nascar Craftsman Truck Series Dodge.For my Gainsco version, although the Bob Stallings' team chose a Riley chassis, I just thought their classic livery needed to be memorialized into a custom. Patto supplied the decal set, and Action had versions with both the Chevy and Pontiac logos on the windscreen, so I used a Pontiac version for my custom.Here's our reference photo.And here are side-by-side pictures of the fantasy Mopar and the incorrectly-chassisied Gainsco. Fun project, and the Action Crawford is a willing donor. Got a couple more of them on the shelf for future play.

Difficult to research, but apparently it existed.Link here to Alan Mann website, and Jalopnik.Anyway, started out with a Biante version, which is actually a prodified Road Signature version. What is curious is that Biante is usually considered to be top end, and Road Signature is what you find at Walmart, but I guess 1/18 scale diecast makes strange bedfellows.Here's the Road Signature streeter: Here's the Biante Tribute racer: Here is a picture of the Alan Mann version:And here's what we ended up with. I have to give decaling credit to Brian Moore (4wheels). I hate to put on decals. I'm a mechanical man, I don't do cosmetics. Painting goes outside my box, although if it is just one color, I can do that. Most significant change I made was to prodify the exhaust from whatever someone was thinking to something that works from a competition perspective. This is what I was hoping to match, but clearly I grabbed the wrong base color off the shelf (I do Testors rattle cans). Clearly my maroon base coat is way too dark, but in my world, it is the thought that counts.Brian did a great job on the roof, creating a profile that really worked with the body structure. One thing I am proud of is the gear shifter, which if you look above, was black cast plastic, but in our custom, it has a black boot, a chrome lever, and a white knob. Hard to see all the detail, but this was another "SuperGlue" tab, and go project.

Thanks, Mike! I've got plenty of your resin fixtures, was considering taking one of my modified Mustangs and adding in that feature.

Looks like both of us have been busy! Do you have a template for the hole in the rear deck to accommodate the fuel filler assembly?

So back from a great dive trip, and trying to multi-task.The one downside to diving (and I'm not sure I really consider it a downside) is that if you own your own gear, when you get back, you have to clean it and put it away. Salt water does really bad things to poorly maintained dive gear, so a good, thorough clean water rinse is an absolute necessity.Of course, after you rinse, you need to let dry, which results in long periods of nothing to do.Sorry about not having any in progress shots, but once I got back, I plugged the voids between the NACA duct and the chassis floor with body filler putty (took a couple of passed, both above and below), and the employed a partial application of SCCA GT1 racing: "Hammer to Fit, Paint to Match". All in all, pretty pleased with the installation. Yes, I do realize that the paint I am using doesn't match the rest of the interior, but it's a race car.In order to complete the installation, I had to finish the rear suspension fabrication.I measured the outside of the roughed-in rear fender flares, in order to get the axle tube and shaft dimensions correct. Determined that I needed to get the rear suspension more or less finished in order to make the hose run from the pump on the back of the Quick Change rear end to the cooler and back.This is another one of those situations where, if this were a 1:1, we'd be bolting and unbolting components, having them loosely fit, measuring twice, and cutting once. In diecast world, with fat fingers, and only two hands, it means hoping that everything is going to line up, and hitting it with a dab of SuperGlue.As noted above, when I raised the rear ride height, I need to extend both the shocks and the sway bar arms.A combination of brass and aluminum tubing did the trick.Getting the rear end centered in the chassis meant measuring the length of the axle tube (which had been adjusted for the correct rear track), thickness of the Quick Change, measuring the distance from the Quick Change to the spring perches, making sure the pinion angle was correct so that the custom made drive shaft lined up, and then crossing my fingers as the Super Glue set up. As you can see, the rear suspension is still in mock-up stage, and nothing permanent has been attached to the car.Once that was all worked out, I could a approximate the hose runs. I'll make some form of attachment to the chassis as we get closer to final.Still some final detailing, but feeling good about the progress to date.

Lots going on in this photo, had a few minutes to kill today, so took tools in hand.Diane and I are heading out tomorrow for our semi-annual vacation to pursue my other hobby love: Scuba Diving. We'll be in Cabo San Lucas for the next seven or so days.That should give you a chance to ponder my next step(s). One hint, the package from Swede70 showed up today.

A couple of previously announced modifications, and then a stream of consciousness moment while I am awaiting the replacement stock firewall from Swede70.First, raising the rear ride height. These are pictures of the "stock" rear suspension of a GMP Camaro (sorry you can't see all the detail, but didn't want to risk removing the wheels). To raise the rear ride height, I cut the shocks in the middle, and will add an aluminum tube center section, and then will raise the rear attachment point by fabricating an aluminum tube extension. Will need to also fabricate an extension for the sway bar arms. Pretty straight forward fabrication.Next, I'll turn to the oil cooling/filtering system.First, we're going to put a larger than stock oil cooler in the front (which will be fed air from a combination of stock radiator opening and removal of the left side headlight blanking plate), since the original setup was designed for a Small Block, and we're running a Big Block. Then we'll mount a remote filter on the radiator/front chassis frame. The oil lines will run to an adapter which is installed in the place of the stock oil filter location. Final assembly will see oil lines run to and from the adapter through the remote oil filter and cooler. When we were racing, there was a frequent debate as to whether you filter before or after the cooler, which sometimes was dictated by the ability to efficiently run the lines without interfering with other components. In the case of this model, that is still to be determined as well.So, we're running a Franklin QuickChange rear end, which has limited natural lubricant capacity. Channeling the torque of the Big Block is going to impart a significant heat load, so I decided to install a rear end cooling system.First step was to add a pump to the back of the rear end, run off the input shaft.Now the question of where to mount the cooler, as the underside of a racer can be exposed to any number of hazards. I decided to place the cooler in the interior, with air flow provided by a NACA duct, cut into the floorboard. Fabrication of the mounting of the NACA duct will commence shortly.

Can't believe it has been over two weeks since I updated this thread, but this has been a back and forth project.First off, the firewall has been all consuming, and still not resolved.This didn't work.Essentially, I created an upper profile to match the original position, which proved to be an inaccurate premise, as you can see from these pictures. The front white piece is my initial cardstock pattern, the rearward plastic piece is where my custom firewall eventually ended up.So with quite a bit of "hammer to fit, paint to match" technology, adapted from my years of racing big iron in the Sports Car Club of America GT1 class, we ended up here.Clearly, as you add on the various elements involved in a firewall, such as pedal assembly, steering column, master cylinders, etc., a flat piece of styrene doesn't seem to have much left.But still plenty of work to do. Here's the body "kit".That will eventually house all of this (and more).There's another stock firewall on the way from my good friend Mike Kotwick (swede70), so I decided to turn my attention to the bodywork.To get to this point, there were only three cuts to each front flare, nothing changed on the rear (and remember, these are designed to go on a Corvette).Actually pretty pleased with the initial fitment, now I am considering how to attach 3D printed plastic to diecast metal.Due to the technique I am using to create the rear axle (a piece of brass tubing as the axle housing, with a piece of aluminum tubing as the axle), I can control the rear track and bring the tops of the tire back inside of the fender flare opening.Been working on a couple of other systems, such as the oil cooler/oil filter/oil system connection to the block; as well as the rear suspension (going to raise the rear ride height to clear the fender openings).Might be able to post some photos of that later this weekend.

Mike - I know what the "K" stands for, but I am sure most of us think is also stands for "King". Excellent execution as usual.

New bodywork came in, and I fooled around with some test fitting. Remember, these were intended to fit to a 1/18 scale Carousel 1 Corvette, so some modification will be required for a final.This is with the body sitting on a stock chassis, with standard width wheels and tires. This is with the wider wheels and tires , loosely fit under the final chassis.Now here are some other profile shots. Going to be an interesting process getting the flares to blend into the Camaro bodylines (and I also have a Vega sitting in the wings, for a similar exercise).

To misquote an oft-used line from the Old West: Meanwhile, back at the firewall.Clearly, the Blob was not going to be a workable solution. While it was fun, it did not prove to be functional,So, back the the drawing board, or in this case, the cardboard.I took a piece of cardstock and started cutting away everything that didn't look like a firewall. After a few starts and stops, here's where we ended up. This is what a stock, unadultered firewall looks like.This is two GMP Camaro chassis, side by side, just to show how far back the new one has to be to clear the relocated Big Block engine (the piece of styrene is just there as a point of reference). I will use this pattern to produce a new firewall out of styrene sheet, which will be this weekend's fun and games.

Okay, so back in the day, when I was working on real racers, one of the things we had to focus on was getting water to and from the engine and radiator. On my first racer, a converted '69 Z28 Camaro, running a stock radiator and engine, it was easy. You just had to go down to the local car parts store, buy upper and lower hoses and you were done.As we got into semi-tube frame, and tube frame, things got a little more difficult. Our second racer was a C3 Corvette, on a semi-tube frame (front clip was stock, rear clip was fabricated to hold a Franklin Quickchange center section with a coil-over suspension). When we got it, it was set up for a Small Block Chevy engine, with the radiator in the stock location. Well, in order to improve cooling and air flow, we decided that we would lean the top of the radiator forward, in lieu of how the stock configuration was, therefore setting up the challenge.Once we got the aftermarket radiator located, we then set about trying to figure out the best routing for the hoses. Clearly, stock hoses weren't going to work, so what we did was eyeball the route, and sketch up a solution. I had a buddy who's Dad ran a couple of car parts places, so once we had a design in our head, I'd go over and stand in front of a wall of hoses, and do "research". The conclusion to that process is the inspiration to a solution for this model.First, I knew that the hoses from the Carousel 1 Big Block weren't going to be a direct match to the GMP Camaro radiator, but then moving the engine back a scaled 4.5 inches added a degree of difficulty.Here's how they sit.And here's the solution, again, straight from my racing days. On the racing Corvette, we decided that we would fabricate two aluminum tubes, and connect them to the radiator and engine with very short pieces of hose. In that case (as opposed to what I have fabricated for this model), we welded a bead around each end of the aluminum tube to give the hose clamps something to capture. As you can see here, I have captured the hose inside the piece of aluminum, but I am using a fabricator's license to say that's okay for this model.Hard to see the lower hose, but it's there, and connected. These are just on there loose for now, as there is still a lot of detailing to be completed before final assembly.While I was in the shop last night, I also shortened the drive shaft brass tube, so that it is now the correct length.Worked some on the Blob, and still not satisfied with that solution, and the new bodywork came in, but not enough time to fab it up onto the Camaro body and take pictures (plus, I had to break away frequently to watch the Red Sox/Yankees game).

Glad to see you over here. I have always appreciated your customs.

The BLOB! And now the grinding starts.