MarkJ

Ok, guys. A guy on another forum found this from a fantasy racing site about the mickey mouse on the hood. The highlight of Brooks's career came at the Talladega 500 when he drove the Plymouth of Jimmy Crawford to an unexpected victory. Brooks wasn't even supposed to drive Crawford's Plymouth, but after officials ruled that Crawford did not have enough experience on the big speedway, Brooks took over the ride. The car was #22 and had Mickey Mouse on the hood. The story behind Mickey Mouse on the hood was a comment made by Bill France stating that they were a "Mickey Mouse race team", so they put Mickey on the hood. Brooks would pull off the starting grid in 24th place. He would work his way to the front and take the lead for the first time on lap 49. It was an exciting race as there was 64 lead changes. The most laps in a row any driver lead was nine; all the way up to lap 157 when David Pearson led 12 in succession. On 44 occasions where a lead change occured, the leader would lead 3 laps or less. Brooks would take the lead on lap 181 and head the field for the final eight laps to get the win."

Actually Wayne, the car Hamilton last drove was this one a year earlier at Atlanta. He had to retire because of a bad back.

Here is a picture of the real car in the race If you want to see how the model came together click on the link below http://cs.scaleautomag.com/sca/modeling_subjects/f/31/t/129905.aspx

This is the 72 Plymouth that Dick Brooks drove to the victory at the 1973 Talladega 500. I always wanted to build this model but could not find a kit. A couple of months ago I found a 71 Richard Petty build that I had done 45 years ago, so I decided to repurpose the model into this one. There are several noteworthy things about this car that make it very interesting. It was the only car that Brooks ever won in, in the cup series. It was the last Plymouth to win a cup race. It was the last car that Pete Hamilton drove before he ended his cup career. I got to see this car run in person at the 1972 Texas 500. Gordon Johncock drove it that day. Jimmy Crawford and his brother owned this car and he drove it the most when it ran. He was an Eastern Airlines pilot when he wasn't racing the car. I listened to the broadcast of the 1973 Talladega 500 from a small transistor radio while helping my wife prepare her very first classroom in the city that Nolan Ryan grew up in. We had just gotten married the May before the race was run in August. I couldn't believe my ears when he ended up winning the race, beating some pretty stiff competition that day. I read that the Crawford brothers had modified the intake manifold to make it work better with the restrictor plate, and that is why he was able to compete with the more highly funded teams. If anybody knows why Mickey Mouse was on the hood please share it. I could not find the reason it was there. One other thing, the reason Brooks name is not on the car is because he only signed on to drive it the Friday before the Sunday race, and I guess they didn't have time to put it on the car.Thanks for looking.

Great job, Mack. Very clean and some nice detailing.

I feel your pain. I have done some things, really didn't like them, but realized nobody but the rivet counters would care, so I forged ahead. I'm sure nobody will notice when they see the final pictures. As long as the over all look is awesome, which this model will be, that's what's important.

Going to be another beautiful replica.

Super nice build, Dan. Rex is my favorite back in the day driver. Glad you did his championship car.

Great job, Dan. Excellent replica.

I was flipping through one of my old umi books that covered the 1978 season, and when I got to the Delaware 500, there was a picture showing J.D. on the pole for that race.. He beat out Bobby Allison who was on the outside pole. Apparently he had used McCreary tires instead of goodyears and that was the key to winning that pole. Still, that was a huge accomplishment for him at that time.

Wow, Tim. What a beautiful build. Everything about it is topnotch. Like the others have said, I love obscure cars. You nailed this one.

Great job, Tim. Very authentic looking.

Great job. Cant help you with urethane clear but some kind of clear would be a good choice. Helps to keep the decals from peeling with age.

Beautiful build. That blue really pops.

Awesome job. The paint looks very authentic. Flat but still smooth like the real car. Best I've seen of this car and of course you nailed the stance and tire tucking as always, plus the extra detailing. Your usual top notch work.

Thanks, but just my luck my local Michaels doesn't sell it. I'm going to see if Texas Art Supply does. I looked it up and it says its non toxic but it is flammable. You say you use it on white cars. Why wouldn't you use it on darker colored cars?

Are you going to clear it with dullcote? Or just not clear it at all?

Thank you so much , Wayne. I thought you were going to say it was one of those horribly toxic two part clears that are super hard and dangerous to use. Knowing that Michaels sells it, is a bonus too. Is it something you shoot with an airbrush , or put on with a regular brush? Also is it toxic? I'm assuming it isn't.

Wow, Wayne you put a beautiful finish on that baby. What clear did you use?

There seems to be plenty of pictures in google of Goldsmiths 63 tempest. Here is just one of them.

Wick, Sounds like a tough task. I would say just google it and see what you get. If not, just look at the way Nascar racers did their interiors back then and do it that way. If you do the project, I for one would be interested in watching a W.I.P. on the subject.

So, Tim. What's left besides the bumpers and grille?

You're almost there , Tim. Its going to be awesome.

Tony, This is by far, the best 1962 Ned Jarrett Chevy, I have ever seen posted. Super clean build , excellent paint and decal work , and correct stance. You should be very proud of this one.

Yes , but I'm sure they are all basically the same. I just needed a picture of an engine from a real car from that era instead of a car built now to replicate a car from that era. Thank you again for providing that.