Phildaupho

Thanks guys for all the suggestions regarding wheels and tires for the GTO. Looks like I will have to order a set of the Hobby Design wheels. My biggest concern with the wheel tire package is that the combination looks right in the wheel wells. The Michelin Pilot SuperSport tires on the real car were specifically developed for the GTO. The fronts are 285/30ZR-20's on 9.5 inch wide wheels. The rears are 315/35ZR-20's on 11.5 inch wide wheels. - Phil

Thanks for the info on the wheels. Too bad they do not come with tires as finding appropriate tires is often the biggest challenge. I know what you mean about doing a conversion and then finding out a kit is going to be available. It has happened to me a number of times. But I have to admit my favorite aspect of model car building is modifying,converting and customizing. - Phil

I have been trying to complete this Revell of Germany Ferrari 599 GTO conversion before the end of the year but I may have to move New Years Day to February 1. FERRARI 599 GTO Where as the original GTO was a homologation race version of a car that was essentially a road-car the 250GT SWB, the new 599 GTO is a homologation street version of a racecar the 599XX. The 599 GTO incorporates many of the aerodynamic and performance enhancements developed on the 599XX. I have completed virtually all the modifications so just have body painting and assembly left. MODIFICATIONS - Enlarged existing side and front vents and openings, Added vents behind rear wheels, Added another row of vents on hood, Reshaped rear valence and added extra fin to diffuser, Fabricated new front splitter, Enlarged trunk spoiler, Recontoured front valance and side sills, Fabricated new air-box, Wheels Aoshima GTC wheels with Pegasus tires [to get an appropriate profile], Fabricated wheel donuts for brakes, Reshaped the seats. PAINT Although not an official paint for GTOs I am sure if you wanted your GTO painted with the new Ferrari Formula One metallic red, your wish could be fulfilled for a price, therefore I intend to use Tamiya TS-85 Bright Mica Red. The roof will be Tamiya TS-6 Matt Black. Ferrari 599 GTO website has a huge amount of information, photos and videos. It even permits me you to custom configure a GTO with color and materials. http://www.ferrari.com/English/GT_Sport%20Cars/CurrentRange/599-GTO/Pages/599GTO.aspx

Love these two-tone Chevies!

Great color combo. Good looking wheels. I like these Revell Ferrari kits.

Thanks for your interest. There are other photos posted in the gallery or you can go to my fotki site http://public.fotki.com/phildaupho/models_of_sports_cars/ferrari-612-custom/ - Phil

In regard to chroming the window frames and mirrors I just used Bare-Metal foil. It took a couple of attempts for the mirrors because of their complex shape and even at that there are some wrinkles. For the window frames I scored the curve around the frames fairly deeply with the back edge of a number 11 Exacto blade. - Phil I love the restyling. It does look stock in your redesign. Nothing stands out. I also like the rear end now. One question though: how did you chrome the window edging and mirrors? They look fantastic! I would really like to know that technique. cposada...

Dedicated to scale models of racing cars that Dan Gurney drove and built from his early days as a California hot-rodder, through his long career racing sportscars, Formula One, stock cars, Can-Am, Trans-Am and Champ Cars as a driver and constructor http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dangurneyscaleracecars/

I going to make Model Cars my preferred forum so I needed some practise with posting I saw a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti for the first time in the Ferrari tent at the Monterey Historics in 2004. I was impressed with the large size of the car and its over-all shape but here were many aspects of its styling I found awkward. I have attempted to correct some of these deficiencies on this Revell model. I consider this model a CUSTOM just as much as I would a Led-Sled ’49 Merc. -The side coves which originally appeared on a Ferrari one-off car in the early fifties found their way onto C-1 Corvettes and forever will be associated with those cars. At first I was going to fill them in but decided to just soften them and add a functional vent behind the front wheel well. Phoney vents were used on ’58 to ’62 Corvettes. Most Ferraris have had some sort of front fender vent. These vents are genuine Ferrari in that they came from the Revell Enzo. -I found that the hood was featureless. Most Ferraris have had a hood scoop, a power-bulge or some sort of vents. I ended up using the wedge shape from the front-end of the Enzo but it took me a long time to decide if it should be a scoop or power-bulge. As it would have been difficult to make the scoop truly functional I went with the bulge. -The view of the Scaglietti I find the least attractive is the rear-end. I do not care for either the taillights or the small trunk spoiler kick-up that looks too far forward of the trailing edge. I replaced the ugly taillights with those from the Enzo. The spoiler was completely eliminated. I also added a slight buttress to carry the roofline straight to the turn of the trunk. -Up front the only modification made was to enlarge, narrow and reshape the side vents in harmony with the grill. -Side windows were left off to give true hardtop look and trimmed with chrome -All seams filled. Door openers shaved. Side sills, front splitters and rear valence were molded to body. -Wheels, tires and brakes from the Enzo. Spindles lowered -Paint is a colour that befits a custom Ferrari – CARAMELLA- ROSSA better known as Candy Red [Testor’s Enamel decanted to airbrush]. It should be noted that a wealthy Ferrari collector commissioned Pinnifarina to redesign and build a custom 612 Scaglietti called the Kappa with similar changes. This car was the cover story for February 2007 issue Forza magazine.

For over 600 photos in 20 albums from the Monterey automotive weekend featuring Dan Gurney and the cars he raced, F-1, Trans-Am, drum brake NASCAR, Bugatti, Porsche, Cobras and way more go to http://public.fotki.com/phildaupho/2010-auto-events/monterey-motorsport/ Phil Dauphinee Victoria BC Canada

Thanks for the comments - In regard to the visor it is a narrowed version of the one that comes with the Revell '41 Chev pickup. I also tried it on the '50 Ford just to see what it looked like. For the '50 Ford interior, I simulated tuck n' roll with sanded Evergreen styrene corrogated siding.For interior of the '32 I sectioned the seat and split it at the driveshaft hump. For more photos see gallery or http://public.fotki.com/phildaupho/1/32-rod--50-custom/

32 FORD 5-WINDOW ROD - My inspiration for this build are all the chopped and channelled Model A 5-Window Coupes I have been noticing in the car mags lately as well as the hot-rods I remember seeing at indoor car shows in the early to mid-sixties both in person and in magazine coverage. The look I wanted was a contemporary interpretation of those two styles. - Top chopped about 4 scale inches. Roof insert and cowl vent filled, rain gutters removed, door handles and hinges shaved. The removable visor from the Revell 41 Chev Pickup was added to give it a Model A look. - Body channelled the width of the frame - Frame Zed in back the width of the frame which it undiserably low so I had to raise the rear-end a bit - AMT Ala-Kart taillights and nerf bars - Interior Ala-Kart steering wheel, seats sectioned - The HEMI engine has the headers from the AMT Phantom Phaeton. The eight carbs with manifold and air cleaners are from the Dirtrack Racecars re-issue of the 53 Ford Pickup and trailer - The wheels and tires are from the AMT Ala-Kart kit - The paint is Testors Lacquer Fiery Orange 50 FORD COUPE Custom - I first built an AMT 49 Ford Business Coupe in the summer of 1962 after buying the newly released kit at the AMT Pavilion at the Seattle Worlds Fair. I built it as a custom with outwardly canted quad headlights, vertical taillights, rolled pans, tube grill and Lancer hubcaps. It was painted Candy Root-Beer AMT Lacquer over gold. - Chopped shoebox Fords seem to be very popular with the old-school custom crowd these days probably because they look so cool and are less expensive than 49-51 Mercs. This model is the Custom sibling of my 32 Ford 5-Window Rod - Chopped about 4 scale inches with the B-pillar slanted forward and the stock size rear window was laid down. The body was shaved of trim. - Frenched headlights and taillights from Mark Gustavsons Custom Styling Studio were molded in - A stock AMT 50 Ford grill used - Roll pans front and rear with the custom bumpers from the 49 kit - The engine is a Hemi with three carbs - Chrome reverse wheels with wide whites - Removable fender skirts

Is the forthcoming Revell '57 Chev Bel Air two-door post sedan based on the Black Widow or a previous issue '57 Chev?

The first feature race at the Westwood Racing Circuit took place on July 26, 1959. The fifth anniversary of the track which was closed in 1991 to become a golf course will be celebrated with Historic Road Races at the Mission BC Raceway July 17, 18 & 19, 2009. [For more info http://www.westwood50.org/ Download the excellent program at http://www.vrcbc.ca/race%20events.htm]. The three cars that were on the front row for that first feature race are the subjects of my “dioramaâ€. From left to right - 57 Corvette – Owner/driver Tom Luce was a former dirt track driver who had a very flamboyant and aggressive style of racing. - Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa – Owner/driver George Keck went onto win the race in the car, which originally was owned by a Yugoslavian living in Guatemala. The car had competed in the 1958 Le Mans 24 Hour Race but dropped out after six hours after a collision. The car has been owned by the same person since 1964, is in pristine condition and is raced in historic events. - Jaguar D-Type – Owner/driver Jim Rattenbury modified the engine to accept a front mounted supercharger and fuel injection which also required increasing the wheelbase and lengthening the hood. A subsequent owner installed a 427 Ford and later had a very bad crash. The models - 57 Corvette – Revell Basic Builder kit was used with Tamiya paint. The windshield frame was cut away leaving on the door glass tracks. Parts box steel wheels and aluminum side exhausts were added. - Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa – The model was built from the excellent Hasegawa kit with the optional photo etched wire wheels. Wire mesh was used for the hood scoop and grill. Distinct rear fender scoops for tire cooling were cut in. The rear fuel tank vents were opened up. The paint is Model Master Custom Lacquer Italian Red without clear coat. - Jaguar D-Type - A late fifties Merit D-Type kit and parts from a Lindberg kit were to built the model as a curbside with a lengthened hood incorporating the nose from the Lindberg kit. The distinctive rollbar was added as well as a small hood scoop, deeper radiator inlet and front brake cooling ducts. The biggest challenge building this model was working with the very hard and brittle plastic of the almost fifty year old kit. For more photos of all three cars see http://public.fotki.com/phildaupho/models_of_historic/