Phildaupho

The DELTAWING racing car which initially was a proposal for a new Indy Car has been invited to race at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans as a special unclassified 56th entry. This car which has got to be one of the most innovative and intriguing different racecar in a long-time will be built at Dan Gurney's All American Racers facility and campaigned by Duncan Dayton's Highcroft Racing squad. For more about the project see http://deltawingracing.com/ I have decided to build a model of the Deltawing. I am starting with the Revell of Germany Audi R10 and will use the 4-cylinder turbo engine from the Tamiya Toyota 84C. My first step was to start cutting the Audi to see if this model project is feasible. Currently it looks a bit like a wreck but I think I can make a Deltawing out of it and it is going to be fun!!

ENGINE & ANCILLIARIES - Replaced engine with 427 from Revell ’64 Thunderbolt. Modified oil pan to dry-sump configuration and reduced intake manifold deck height. Parts by Park pre-wired distributor. Did some mods to the air-box. The exhaust system is disappointing. I used the kit headers connected to aluminum tubing. The GT-40’s had a very elaborate “bundle of snakes†exhaust arrangement, which would be difficult to replicate from scratch. I decided not to swipe the exhaust system off a rather nice GT-40 MKII diecast I have. I did make a heat deflector, which some Mk IV’s were later fitted with. The coolers and other ancillaries were scratch-built. This will be the last “On the workbench†update†before the completed model is posted “Under Glassâ€

Thanks for mentioning the front wheel lip flares which plainly were not on the LeMans car but were on the Sebring car. The winning Sebring car also wore the #1. It was driven by Mario Andretti and Bruce McLaren.

For reference I used the J-6 In Focus from Racer magazine Oct 2001, a feature on one of the other Mark IV's that appeared in Vintage Motorsports Sept/Oct 2003, Dave Friedman's book Shelby GT40 and Ronnie Spain's book GT40. I also downloaded many photos from a google image search.

The rolling chassis is complete except for engine and ancillaries. I am quite impressed with complexity of suspension, which was built box-stock. The wheel mounting arrangements was modified with knock-off hubs using an old set of Owen-Craft cast silver knocks-offs. The Mk IV used opposite threads side to side to secure the wheels. To avoid confusion, the knock-offs were red on the left side and blue on the right. The wheels were directional with turbine centers for brake cooling. The brittleness of the plastic continued to result in breakage during construction. Fortunately I had two kits to draw from.

Hi Mark - I am not much of a model car kit historian myself. As a follow up to your comments, I found this interesting post regarding the history of the MkIV kits that Randy Vandraiss wrote on the GPMA forum in 2002 - I hope to shed some light on the matter of these kits for those interested. To the best of my information to date, the 1/25 scale IMC and MPC kits of the Ford Mk IV (and their earlier J-Car variants) were designed and engineered by Budd Anderson during his successive tenures at these two companies. He first did the J-Car for IMC, and then in mid-'66 his contacts at Ford informed him that the upcoming Mk IV would be mostly are-skinned version of the J-Car, and gave him info on the proposed body designs, which Budd then had the IMC tooling engineers fit to the earlier J-Car chassis and running gear. When Budd was let go from IMC shortly after that, he accepted a position at the same level over at MPC, and (among other projects) talked them into doing the same J-Car and Mk IV models, and which were designed in much the same fashion as their IMC counterparts (which is why the IMC and MPC kits share many similar design features). So while the J-Car kits from both companies are fairly close to the actual car, the Mk IV kits are mostly repeats of their respective J-Car kits with different body panels. The engine and transaxle setups in the IMC kits have always appeared too small to my eyes, but those in the MPC versions appeared to be closer to scale and had better engraved details. The IMC Mk IV was later reissued by Testors in their "Those Famous Fords" series, and the tooling was later used by Union for their issue of the kit. This tooling (along with some others from similar-era Testors kits) has been unaccounted since that time. A last item: if anyone has an MPC J-Car or Mk IV kit with missing or damaged chassis or running gear pieces, replacement parts can be found in the old MPC "Hardcastle & McCormick" Coyote kit (which can often be had for a reasonable price), as it was merely a re-bodying of their Mk IV kit. Not a very close copy of the actual car used on the TV show, but a boon to those who want to repair or complete an example of the MPC Ford race car kits. I hope this helps. Have a nice day! - Randy Vandraiss

FORD GT Mk IV J-6 Interior There are very few photos available on-line or in books of the interior of the Ford GT Mk IV. Fortunately I saved the Racer magazine In Focus featured on the J-6 from October 2001. I reconfigured the dash and installed safety harnesses and a fire extinguisher.

For my next Dan Gurney racecar build I decided it should be the 1967 Le Mans winning Ford GT IV Dan shared with AJ Foyt for probably the most significant international victory for a totally North American car and driver combination. My starting point for this project was a couple of swap-met purchased previously started MPC Mark IV kits which included only one set of incomplete instructions. Researching these kits I discovered that Bud “The Kat†Anderson was the project leader for the IMC Ford J-Car kit which begat the MPC MarkIV kits. Fortunately I found a web link with instructions for virtually every MPC kit ever made except of course for the Mark IV but the J-Car instructions helped fill in the gaps. Although I am fairly impressed with the body proportions and complexity of the running gear, there are many aspects that require revision. The biggest problem I had with the old MPC kit was the brittleness of the red styrene. The decals in the kit were not that great but I got a set of Fred Cady decals before he closed shop. Gurney bump on driver’s side roof & door, engine cover hinges removed, added roof louvers, side vents molded, NACA scoops opened, brake ducts closed, filler door repositioned from left side to right side, scribed spare tire access door on rear cover, reduced thickness of rear spoiler. Dashboard reconfigured Scratch-built oil cooler ducting, oil tanks and suitcase box. Using engine from Revell Thunderbolt with oil sump configured for dry sump and deck height of intake manifold reduced, replaced styrene spare with vinyl. Experimented with the spare body the possibility of opening everything up.

My Falcon kit arrived yesterday. First impressions - it comes in a very big box, the parts are well packaged and I was glad to see the dual exhaust option. Generally I think I like it and because I do not plan to build it as a factory stock replica, the accuracy issues will not be a big problem for me. Overall the parts remind me of the Fujimi 427 Cobra which was a nice kit but not entirely accurate and was considered expensive compared to the R/M Cobra [which also is a nice kit for the money but has always not included engine compartment/wheelwell panels].

Thanks Gregg for all the photos. Definitely a great GSL. Looking forward to full results.

Very neat project. This is a lot pretty than some of the home-builts I have seen at vintage car races or in the pages of old sports car magazines.

Very nice restoration and conversion. Great stance. The wheels look good for this application.

There is something to like about the new kit, however. The engine compartment (Shock towers and braces, etc) look pretty good. It's also the only kit to have a proper generatot bracket, so props for that. Here's a link to my photos of the box contents. Gotta love the two barrel intake manifold with the two runners and the offset carb mounting flange. Trumpeter 64 Falcon kit contents.

From one Falcon guy to another, I really like your build and think the brushed affect will look great. I like the brushed panels on the back of the Ford Flex and think it would look good on the sides as well. Sort of the modern equivalent of a country squire. I remember the first model I saw of Gregg's - a 48 Woodie with chrome foil and carbon fibre rather than wood.That's thinking outside the box. It looked awesome. Have a great time at GSL

I have been following the postings relating to the Trumpeter ’64 Falcon and I am nervously awaiting my pre-ordered kit. Although I am prepared to be disappointed, I already know how I am going to build it. This ’65 Falcon was built using a Modelhaus body and AMT ’67 Mustang running gear as a replica of my own Falcon I owned a few years back. It had been cloned by the previous owner as a Canadian only Hi-Po 4-speed. I later added front disc brakes, black-walls and Torque-Thrusts. For more photos see http://public.fotki.com/phildaupho/falcons/

Bravo. This really is an amazing model of an amazing car. I have seen the replica and was awe-struck.

I agree with all of the above. Outstanding conversion.

According to the excellent book by Dr. John Craft - Mustang Race Cars, only the first three prototypes were completed by Kar Kraft. These three did in fact have a one inch pie cut to the front fenders.For a fantastic website on the Boss 302 racecars check http://www.ponysite.de/transam.htm Here you can find specific information on the car you want to build. As a result of my research to wrote A BRIEF HISTORY of the BOSS 302 TRANS-AM MUSTANGS Ford won the Trans-Am Series in 1966 and 1967 with Mustangs built by Shelby American. Things changed in ’68. The Penske Camaros became the benchmark of the series while the tunnel-port Mustang was a disaster. Ford’s strategy of taking engine development in-house backfired. As a result, the championship went to Chevrolet. Ford wanted the Trans-Am championship back so got very serious in 1969. To replace the tunnel-port, two engines were evaluated. The Gurney Westlake with its sophisticated aluminum heads was the quickest but would have been very expensive to homologate. What would become the Boss 302 race engine was essentially a combination of the tunnel-port short block with heads based on the 351 Cleveland. For ’69 Ford gave engine preparation back to the teams. “Bodies in White†initially from the 428 Cobra Jet assembly line were sent to the shops of Kar Kraft, a Ford subcontractor. The resulting prototypes were aid dipped to reduce weight, the front fenders were wedge sectioned to improve aerodynamics and the bodies were channeled to get them as low as possible. There were two factory Mustang teams for ’69. Team Shelby was back for its third and final year in Trans-Am. The Bud Moore Team, which was racing Cougars in the NASCAR Grand American “Pony†series during 1968 returned to Trans-Am as Ford’s seemly, favored team. Privateer teams had to build their own Boss 302 racecars unlike previous years when Shelby produced Trans-Am Mustangs for anyone who wanted one. Another interesting aspect of Ford’s Trans-Am campaign in 1969 was the fact that the Bud Moore cars were on Firestones while Team Shelby used Goodyears. The Firestones were better qualifiers but the Goodyears help up longer. Furthermore the Firstones had the superior rain tires. Both teams stated the season on American Racing “Daisy†mag wheels but due to some problems attributed to these wheels later switched to the Minilite wheels used by virtually all the other teams. Even with four cars and a bevy of tremendous drivers, Ford could not take the championship back from Penske in 1969. All that changed back in Ford’s favor for 1970. The Boss 302 Trans-AM Mustang in 1970 was probably the ultimate evolution of the first generation Trans-Am racecar plus Penske had moved over to AMC and the new Camaros run by Chaparral were not as competitive.

Good eye - I thought someone would pick up on that. I no longer have my 65 Falcon to refer to.

The auto link for some reason did not work so inserted a direct link to http://public.fotki.com/phildaupho/dan-gurney-scale-ra/1969-mustang/

LINK TO PHOTOS OF MODEL & 1/ GO HERE http://public.fotki.com/phildaupho/dan-gurney-scale-ra/1969-mustang/ BODY – Revell 1/25 ’69 Mustang Mach 1 [later discovered I could have adapted ’69 front fascia to Revell 1/24 1970 Boss 302 Mustang] -Flared wheel openings -Removed windshield wipers -In engine compartment removed battery and filled area between radiator grill. Radiator top reshaped. Monte-Carlo bar added -Fabricated fuel filling door on trunk -Detailmaster hood pins PAINT – I compared every shade of blue at my disposal to every photo I had personally taken or found on line of the car currently or back in the day. Nothing seemed to really match so I took the highest resolution photo of the car as it appears today partly in the sun and partly in the shade to the local automotive paint shop. They mixed up some urethane acrylic enamel that is as close as they could get. DECALS – I used a combination of the Fred Cady Bud Moore ’69 Mustang sheet and ones I made up on my computer. INTERIOR-Cut out inside door panels -Removed console and filled with half round styrene -Reshaped extensively rear seating area -Smoothed dash panels with computer made gauges -Roll cage is modified unit from Plastic Performance Products -Seat from Revell ’71 Stars & Stripes Corvette with photo-etched harness -Floor covering a combination of metal from a floppy-disc and duct tape -Interior and chassis paint is Humbrol white tinted with gray CHASSIS-Lowered 3 scale inches front and back -Removed stock fuel tank to be replaced with fuel cell -Oil coolers for differential and transmission added ENGINE-Boss 302 Engine & transmission from AMT ’69 Cougar -Fabricated dual 4-barrel intake manifold for huge four barrels that must be from a Pro-Stock kit -Distributor from Replicas & Miniatures -Breather pipe and dual cooling line added -Headers modified from Revell ’68 Mustang Cobra Jet -Air-box fabricated from Evergreen styrene. Air hoses are drinking straws WHEELS & TIRES-Daisy mag wheels from 1/24 Revell ’57 Corvette, which were a little too big in diameter. Painted the outer rim black to visually reduce diameter. Tires are the bigger Goodyear Sports Car Specials with raised letters from an older Monogram Shelby GT-350R kit -Disc brakes from Revell ’32 Ford For more about Dan Gurney Scale Race cars check out the yahoo forum at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dangurneyscaleracecars/

Please check http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=42593&st=0&p=446392&fromsearch=1&#entry446392 Once finished I will post UNDER GLASS

I tried to get this model of Dan Gurney's '69 Trans-Am Mustang completed in time for Dan's 80th birthday [April 13] but I still have things to do in the engine compartment and a bit of touch up. I was fortunate to discover the live birthday interview with Dan on Peter Windsor's on-line talk show called The Flying Lap at http://smibs.tv/the-flying-lap. Dan sure has some great stories to tell from his illustrious career. Below the photos I have included a brief history of the Boss 302 Trans-Am Mustangs. Dan Gurney 69 Trans-Am Mustang A BRIEF HISTORY of the BOSS 302 TRANS-AM MUSTANGS Ford won the Trans-Am Series in 1966 and 1967 with Mustangs built by Shelby American. Things changed in ’68. The Penske Camaros became the benchmark of the series while the tunnel-port Mustang was a disaster. Ford’s strategy of taking engine development in-house backfired. As a result, the championship went to Chevrolet. Ford wanted the Trans-Am championship back so got very serious in 1969. To replace the tunnel-port, two engines were evaluated. The Gurney Westlake with its sophisticated aluminum heads was the quickest but would have been very expensive to homologate. What would become the Boss 302 race engine was essentially a combination of the tunnel-port short block with heads based on the 351 Cleveland. For ’69 Ford gave engine preparation back to the teams. “Bodies in White†initially from the 428 Cobra Jet assembly line were sent to the shops of Kar Kraft, a Ford subcontractor. The resulting prototypes were aid dipped to reduce weight, the front fenders were wedge sectioned to improve aerodynamics and the bodies were channeled to get them as low as possible. There were two factory Mustang teams for ’69. Team Shelby was back for its third and final year in Trans-Am. The Bud Moore Team, which was racing Cougars in the NASCAR Grand American “Pony†series during 1968 returned to Trans-Am as Ford’s seemly, favored team. Privateer teams had to build their own Boss 302 racecars unlike previous years when Shelby produced Trans-Am Mustangs for anyone who wanted one. Another interesting aspect of Ford’s Trans-Am campaign in 1969 was the fact that the Bud Moore cars were on Firestones while Team Shelby used Goodyears. The Firestones were better qualifiers but the Goodyears help up longer. Furthermore the Firstones had the superior rain tires. Both teams stated the season on American Racing “Daisy†mag wheels but due to some problems attributed to these wheels later switched to the Minilite wheels used by virtually all the other teams. Even with four cars and a bevy of tremendous drivers, Ford could not take the championship back from Penske in 1969. All that changed back in Ford’s favor for 1970. The Boss 302 Trans-AM Mustang in 1970 was probably the ultimate evolution of the first generation Trans-Am racecar plus Penske had moved over to AMC and the new Camaros run by Chaparral were not as competitive.

I like it so much that I want to take it out for a drive!!

For photos of the Automotive Model Builders of Greater Vancouver BC Canada Auto Modelrama annual model car contest and show go to http://public.fotki.com/phildaupho/model_shows/vancouver-auto-mode-1/ PHOTO LINK