absmiami

Vell Done …

Slowly getting better … I do a couple lines before work…. And a few more later at night … maybe there’s a better way to say that ??

Jay C : Thanks - the metal will be clearcoated - and then finished with a blue tint - the Delages were reported to have been finished with a light blue lacquer tint …. As you see - the pattern on the lower body panels doesn’t look too good - it should look better on the parts of the body that have less solder filler and have a smoother finish - at Least that’s the plan …

PHILX : the Franch Alps ?? ill be right over !!

Starting at the tail - - the tape guides the wooden bit - the paste is applied to the surface and i grind the swirls one row at a time - it will take some time and practice- but once i move to the upper body panels I should be good at this - worthy of my .75 daily wages …

To apply the swirl pattern I’ve made an abrasive paste - a mix of aluminum oxide and toothpaste …

In place of the sanding disc i’ve fashioned a wooden finishing tool from a tooth pick - so i’ll ne applying the pattern much like those poor workshop hands back in the day …

So I want to apply the finish in organized rows of swirls - better than the somewhat random pattern on the panel forward of the radiator …. I’m going to use Foredom’s right angle handpeice - they no longer sell it - i read at some point that there were issues with this handpeice’s reliability - - so they only produced a limited number of bits for this tool - which is a shame - but here goes ..

Is there a greater shot in all of motorsports than a midnite in-car on the Mulsanne Straight ???

Now the body is ready for Louis Delage’s special sauce - go back back back to page one - the body work was covered with a machine finish - some poor workshop apprentice was handed a hand tool and some abrasive paste and instructed to cover the body work with rows upon rows of swirls- about 1 inch in size - and probably paid about .75 cents a day - until he finished … And all of the team cars 3 or 4 - depending on the race - had this feature - glamorous race cars - miserable shop workers … the good old days !!

Also went over the surface with some metal polish - this stuff is berilium (spelling?) - and the more you polish the more it shines - you can’t get this finish with white metal ..

The body had some mods - Pico designed and casted the ‘25 supercharged car - and I decided to make the unsuper-charged car - the one that was restored about ten years ago - so i went back over the metal with Micro Mesh sanding sticks and pads - 1000 to 8000 - to knock out - as many scratches as i can ….

Alrighty - that was fun …. Now for the hard part ….

Assembling and installing the right side brake cable …

BF - thanks - i am the proud owner of an early issue Monogram Buagtti 35B kit - and ive been snapping photos of all of the variants for years - there is a Bugatti thread on the distant horizon …

Old stash of pre war badge decals - will do a radiator badge before installing the stone guard …

Steering arm clear coated - to prevent tarnish - and re-installed - straight as an arrow!!

The problem though is that i won’t have a straight run for the arm fr the sleeve attached to the spindle back to the sleeve attached to the steering box - because the tie rod interferes - it should be a scale inch lower - and the spindle arm is a bit too long …. The only fix is bend the steering arm - which is probably not such a good idea on the real car - but then again - the whole design was not too sound anyway - so …

The pin head fits snugly into the plastic sleeve but allows the sleeve to move freely once installed - making for a more precise connection once the steering arm is attached - hard to describe …

The steering arm on the ‘24 cars - before they were supercharged - were attached to a lever and sleeve that poked out of the bottom of the car - inside of the chassis rail - maybe not such a good idea ?

Here’s the brake cable assembly installed on the left - now have to complete and install the right side - its a bit over-scale - but that’s a compromise that I’ll accept in 24th …

Gracias Kit. The front brake cable wires are attached with a “clasp” (part name?) that’s made w Evergreen plastic strip and some small AnyZ bolts - again left and right - the cable wire is some random accessory wire that has been living rent free in my parts drawer for aT least a decade or two- or three …

Some Indy cars - im thinking the climax engined Brabham Cooper of 62 also used 58’s - and some of the Lotus Climax engines ran the large Webers - like the climax engine im making for my dormant Lotus 32B build - the photo w the mic is very instructive - but fitting a scale correct engine w scale correct carbs into a 24th sc Corvette w NOT scale body panels is …. Builders purgatory …

you KILLED it! LOVE it - one of my favorite funny cars i never understood why the monocoque frame never took hold w the NHRA ... Do you know ?