Phildaupho

Very cool and unusual. I really like seeing the rivet detail.

Thanks Art but I don't think I will be making much more postable progress until the New Year between travelling and the Holiday Season but should be ready for paint sometime in January.

Hey Steve - Very well done " low-buck scratch build ". Great looking coil-overs.

Thanks Brian for your compliment but all the parts are either from other kits, the after-market or fabricated from workbench materials such as styrene, brass and aluminium tube etc. Although I would like to, I have never got into machining, casting, vacuum forming or 3D printing

I finally got around to paying some attention to the front end of the Lola. Although once fully completed the front section of the body will likely not be removed but I want what is under the skin to at least resemble what would be seen on a 1/1 Lola and plan to photograph it before the body is installed. The Lola front suspension and steering system differs from the Ford GT-40 in that the Lola has front mounted brake calibers and the steering rack is to the rear. I added some extra detail to the front bulkhead, an upper sway-bar and water lines back from the radiator.

Modelling the little details based on research definitely satisfying. Great work Ismael.

Thanks guys. The back end of the car is now essentially completed except for the spoiler supports. Some finessing is required however. The digital photos show a few things that need to be improved such as the carburetor intakes which are resin and very fragile and got damaged with all the handling. I have robbed a nice set of machined venture stacks off a previous build which has sat on the shelf with hood closed for a number of years . I have pretty much ignored the front end so need to fit the wheels, brakes, steering, suspension, cooling system piping, etc.

I lost count how many times I removed and re-installed the engine/transaxle assembly coming up with an engine cover tilt and support arrangement. I am surprised the suspension struts survived so much abuse but will likely require pinning before final assembly. Certainly the engine/transaxle assembly will need touch up from all the handling. I had to cut 3mm from the MPC Eagle headers to lower them and bring them closer to the engine so they will fit under the engine cover. A friend found the “megaphone” pipes in a craft store. They are made from rolled aluminum sheet. He also gave me some made of brass. I also came up with the rest of the engine compartment ancillaries like oil coolers for the engine and transaxle, a cooling system over-flow tank, fuel transfer pumps and reservoir.

Great to see a Gregg post of a very cool new kit. Thanks for all the photos. Looking forward to adding one of these to my stash.

Thanks Steve - I just happened to have had Model Factory Hero 0.8/0.4 Clear Tube P902 which I drilled out to fit over 4/94 wire

Thanks everyone for your encouragement. This is probably the most challenging project yet that I have undertaken – it is model building without a net – no kit – no instructions. But with the engine completed and a stormy day outside, I could not resist connecting the engine to the transaxle and fitting the assembly to its location. I had to trim even more length from the bellhousing to get the correct position and was then able to do the final shaping of the engine cover opening. The next challenge will be fitting the headers and coming up with an engine cover support arrangement.

Great looking model of a very cool looking hot rod. That new A Coupe just has so much potential.

With the transaxle located I turned my attention to the engine. As mentioned previously the Gurney-Weslake heads were mastered by Stephen Roullier and cast by Stephen Miller. Mine are early test shots. I had planned to use the MPC Indy Eagle engine but realised it would need a bunch of modifications such as a spacer to locate it further forward and mounts for a starter and oil supply. I considered a few other small block Ford engine blocks but settled on one from a Revell Deuce kit mainly because I had a number of them in the parts box. With the transmission removed and some trimming, the bell housing gave the required spacing to the transaxle. I made up a new oil pan from sheet styrene matching period photos. A valley cover between the heads was also fabricated. I did use the front cover from the MPC engine as it has the cooling pipes to the GW heads. I used the Harold Bradford Webers that came with his GT-40 engine for which I fabricated carb to manifold flanges and added venturi tubes. I used Model Factory Hero tubing for the breathers with fittings cut off of items from my parts box. It added the inner cooling tubes and a block to oil cooler fitting. The valve covers are painted Metallizer Buffing Gun Metal, which makes the script stand out [looking better in reality than photos]. The pre-drilled distributor is from R&M with Detail Master wire and looms. I fabed up the front pulleys and belts to sort of look like the period photos. The real car did not use a generator/alternator for sprint races. A lot of these details will not be seen once the engine is mounted. Next I will attach the engine to the transaxle to locate the headers and establish the final shape of the engine cover cutout.

Very attractive A-V8 Coupe. All the components work well together and I especially like the look of the subtle contrast between the scallops and the body color. Your build really captures the look that is currently very popular with 1/1 hot rods.

Thanks. I really enjoyed your excellent review and agree that it will make a great looking display model. Will definitely be getting one of these.

Excellent to see the two gullwings together. Both beautiful builds.

The Hewland transaxle, rear suspension and most of rear bulkhead/cross member are from the MPC Indy Eagle, which is pretty, close overall to the Lola configuration. The brakes are from the Fujimi GT40. I also used the top of the rear bulkhead/cross member from the GT40 to give a better mating location for the Hewland transaxle. On the Lola the rear sway bar transverses ahead of the rear bulkhead so I had to make a new one from brass tubing. I used metal axle for strength with universal joints from Revell Deuce axles. The upper struts required shortening to meet the fabricated forward end brackets. I wrapped the shocks with wire to simulate the springs. The parts box Goodyear tires proved to be too wide so they had to be narrowed by 4mm. Everything is painted with a variety of metallizer paints. It was necessary to build the transaxle/rear suspension as a complete assembly to determine where and how it would be mounted to the chassis tub. The assembly still needs extra details like oil cooler and filter, shift linkage, brake lines, etc. Now onto the engine Below is a great photo of the rear end of the real car with Dan Gurney contemplating work being done before the 66 Laguna Seca Can-Am race.

It is good to see Revell continuing to be a supporter of Corvette racing with the announcement of their new tool C7R racecar. I was so interested in the reports of Corvette's new factory racing program back in 1999 that I built a C5R from a stock kit and Trans-Am Camaro parts. I still have a bunch of C5R aftermarket parts to build a full detail C5R someday. I found the C6R somewhat simplified so will be interested to learn what this new kit is like. It looks pretty nice in the release photos.

Thanks Steve for the link as I had not looked at my Autoweek email. How timely!!

Since the last update I have made numerous modifications to the rear of the Lola after studying many Internet images. The area of the tub/chassis surrounding the engine has received additional structure and detail, which is evident by comparing it to the box-stock GT40 tub/chassis. The engine cover/rear bodywork now has a NACA scoop behind the cut out for the carburetors and I added slight flares to the tops of the wheel wheels. The area under the engine has been opened up and slots have been established in the bottom of the tub for the lower suspension struts. Changes made to the front body since the previous update are not as apparent. The tops of both doors have been extended inwards and the left side door now has inner structure. On the bottom side I filled some of the areas left open on the slot-car body. The model is now getting to the stage that I can start focusing more on the engine and suspension.

Thanks for doing this. The Ala Kart has always been on my list to build someday. Hope you can find the time to pursue this between all your other projects. I was just getting into cars and modelling when the interview with Barris and Roth appeared in Rod & Custom. I could never decide which was cooler the Ala Kart or the Beatnik Bandit. They seemed so different but had so many similarities - pearl white paint, scallops, chrome wheels, custom body work.

Very attractively built model of a truly iconic race-car. I know these Accurate Miniature kits are considered very challenging but you have certainly done it justice. It is regrettable AM went out of business as I think they had a FIA 289 Cobra in the planning stage which I am sure would have been very popular.

Harry - I would like to thank you for keeping the building of classic/vintage/historic model cars alive as an inspiration to other modellers to tackle such project. I have a few in my stash I hope to get to one of these days.

Thanks Steve - I am now at a point where I realise I am going to have to virtually complete the engine-transaxle-rear suspension assembly as virtually a complete and separate model to establish its location and attachment within the tub as well as the shape of the cut-outs above on the engine cover and the NACA duct behind it and the opening under the engine in the tub.

Thanks for the great slide show. Fantastic the salt conditions allowed speed trials this year. Have always wanted to attend. Got to a smaller event later in year but did not make it past the entrance as it was not insured for spectators. I would like to see who people thoroughly clean their cars after being on the salt.