Phildaupho

Thanks Larry Thanks Steve - Great looking slot car. The body is very well done. I contacted Ernie with photos of my model. He very graciously replied. Seems like a really nice and enthusiastic guy. Thanks David

Very impressive Lindbergh IMC hybrid Daytona. Very handsome.

Excellent looking Deuce 3W. It might be time for an exclusively Deuce 3W thread !!??

Thanks Claude - Always good to hear from you Thanks Trevor. Great observation - the 1:1 is itself a "parts-box" creation Thanks Larry. I am amazed myself that I sort of able to make it happen Thanks David. There is a lot information and photos regarding the car on-line such as Old Yeller II (oldyeller2.com) Thanks Carl Max would have been a very interesting guy to meet in person as would the current owner Ernie Nagamatsu who has kept the memories alive by preserving, showing and racing the car as it was.

I assume you sat in the driver's seat but sometimes a passenger seat is installed which I contemplated putting in the model Thanks Gary. I hope your pulse has returned to normal. Thanks Glen - I have always liked that term - primo Thanks Chris, It was a very enjoyable project.

Thanks Bill - I know Old Yeller is one of your favorites so I am very pleased you appreciate the "spirit" of the build.

I can’t call it a replica but I did try to make it at least resemble Old Yeller II. I have been aware of Max Balchowski’s and his Old Yeller’s since I was a kid who loved hot rods and then developed an interest in road racing. These “junk yard dogs” successfully took on Ferrari, Maserati and Jaguar and were raced by elite drivers such as Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby. In the 2003 there were classes for American Road Race Specials at both the Monterey Historics and the Pebble Beach Concours. By chance I got to help out in the Laguna Seca paddock for the HWM Stovebolt Special. I have always wanted to build a model of that car but could never find a good starting point. I eventually saw Old Yeller II at a subsequent Monterey event. After watching an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage featuring Max Balchowski’s Old Yeller II, I could not resist trying to build a model that would at least resemble Old Yeller II and incorporate many of its unique features. Some think Shelby was inspired to build Cobras after racing Old Yeller II so I came up with the idea of trying to modify a Revell 427 Cobra to resemble Old Yeller. This project combines my two favourite aspects of car modelling – body work and trying to create a model of a subject not otherwise available. I started the basic modifications in 2021 and did not get back to it until the hot days of late July 2022 when it was refreshing to escape to the cool of my basement hobby room. The project almost got shelved again as I found it a challenge to get it back on track. At one point it seemed my initial concept would not work so would be a waste of time to pursue. After some contemplation I arrived at a way forward which involved a lot more bodywork. BODY - The Cobra body was chopped up, narrowed, ground down and puttied. Front “fenders” were fashioned from a discarded set of Deuce fenders. The lower side body was extended using a body section from a Group C race car with some added louvers. CHASSIS - The chassis is pretty much directly from the Cobra. For ease of construction, I did retain the independent rear suspension which was not used on the real car. ENGINE – The engine block and transmission are from the Cobra but the 427 Ford has been “converted’ into a Nailhead Buick with parts from the Revell Model A. The carbs and trumpets came from the Revell T-Bucket Rat Rod while the valve covers are from the Revell Tony Nancy 22jr T-Bucket dragster. The headers were fabricated from Evergreen tube and rod. The paint is Mr. Kolor light green. PAINT – Tamiya Chrome Yellow topped with Semi-Gloss Clear

This definitely blows my mind to use a term from the dark ages of car modeling!!

Your post made me go back and have a look at my post for the Dan Gurney Lotus I built 9 years ago. I built it for a friend so have not seen it since then. I found it a very interesting and enjoyable project.

Love the group photos. They look great together but all are individually very cool.

I am shocked and saddened. Pat was one of my favorite automotive writers in magazines, books and on-line. I have many of his books on my shelf. He will definitely be missed.

Fantastic. Very well engineered and built. Great photos especially the cut away. Reminds me of old Hot Rod magazine articles. I see Bonneville Speed Week which was due to run last week was cancelled due to adverse weather.

Someone might be able to build a replica from the currently available MPC Californian kit !!??

Found this on-line - one of the cars of the four was on display in Frank Baker's "Attic Restaurant" at the foot of Taylor Way and Marine Drive in West Vancouver from the 1970s up until 1982.

The restaurant was in West Vancouver across the inlet from Vancouver but on the way to the other ferry terminal in Horseshoe Bay. I am going to do a google search to see what comes up.

Many incredibly imaginative and well executed models

Yes I remember seeing one of these. If memory serves me, a West Vancouver restaurateur named Frank Baker may have owned one for awhile or at least had it to display. He also had one of the James Bond Goldfinger Aston Martins on display at his restaurant

I came across this thread again while looking to see if there was an exclusive Deuce Coupe thread which I did not find. I did however realize that I had built another 32 Ford Pickup. This one was built for my then neighbour who had the car constructed locally. It was called Quick Silver and eventually got blue wire wheels and a blue grill. The extended cab is obviously a 34 but it was always displayed as a Deuce. It went through a couple more owners before recently. I made the cab from two 34 bodies. coming back to Victoria. The current owner plans to paint the fenders black.

Great story - I looked back at my photos but do not have one of the engine. Speaking of SBCs - at that event by chance I helped out in the paddock for the HWM Stovebolt Special. It was one of the grand prix cars used in the Kurt Douglas movie The Racers. After the movie was made the cars were sold off. One of the first 265 Chevy V-8s was installed with a quick-change rearend. It was raced for many years from California to Canada. It has resided in the UK since the 1990's and still is raced in vintage events and hillclimbs.

I was at the Monterey Historics in 2003 when there was a separate class for specials. There were many that would make excellent car model projects including the Ingalls Special. I am currently working on a tribute model to Old Yeller II which was not at that event but I saw at a later Historics event.

This morning I emailed a friend who lives in the country about 20km north of the city of Victoria BC Canada to ask him if he received #214 yet as I had not. He replied that he got his a about week ago and figured I would be getting mine soon. When I finished reading his email, I looked in my mailbox and was very surprised and elated to see #214 !!

WOW - great looking streamliner T-Bird. Very well executed and presented.

Great looking Cobra in period livery and I really liked your photos in the diorama

Fantastic looking Nextgen. I am intrigued enough with these race cars to get one of the kits which judging by your build are very good.

Always great to see models of Falcons especially race cars