Jairus

Hmmm... front brakes! I was under the impression that Migets didn't use them. Are you sure that this is a Miget and not a Sprint car? I am very interested in seeing the remaining photos regardless as it looks to have been built during the end of the 40's! Thanks!!! Hi Virg!

Okay, I am convinced!

V, I think I like your presentation as much as I like your models! Great photography dude, keep it up.

The wheels are finalized (for now) and I managed to get the front motor mount installed. Engine is sourced from the Revell 1931 Woody. Front wheels from the Monogram “Orange Haulerâ€, while the tires can be found in the ’31 “A†sedan. The rear rims are from the AMT parts pack re-release with the Allison (before the Stevens International release) and the rear tires are new Revell (fronts), also found in the ’31 A sedan. Onward and upward....

Jim, really? You think it was that far off? Shoot, I have one of those kits here that I am working on building up into a nice slot car.... now I have to re-think the whole project! Not sure if you are correct, so back to the research board...

I have studied pictures of Ferrari 250 GTO's for most of my 50 years of life and the Aurora kit you guys seem to relate to with abhorrence is not that far off. The nose is too short and that is pretty much all I see. As an artist I have a pretty good eye for shapes and design and I believe it is a pretty good representation. Better than the early Monogram Chevy Camaros everyone was building in the 80’s! The chassis and interior details are on parr with most other GTO kits and the rear quarters look spot on. Simon is correct however in that if you like it then build it with pride. However, posting on this forum, I sometimes do with a slight cringe knowing the critiques that will inevitably follow….

Team Jairus! (What was the question?)

Body smoothed out and rear axle attached. Time to create motor and radiator mounts up front.

Wicked cool!

Worked till late last night cutting down the rear of the body. Didn't use the cut lines from the article after-all.... The R&C Models build was a "Sprintcar", also know as a Silvercrown or Dirttracker which is larger than a Midget. Also, the build looks like a late 50's early 60's representation where my car is intended to be strictly post-war 1947! Next comes a lot of sanding and shaping....

Got some of the body cut down today and made up a frame yesterday evening. Using the drawings reduced to correct scale as a plan. Front axle had to be narrowed to fit the requirements for a Midget. Not yet sure which powerplant I will be using... but I'm leaning toward a Model A with a Riley two port head because I love the look of two carbs poking through the hood and a set of exhaust pipes on one side. Onward and upward!

I have been entrusted to sell a number of items from Bob's collection. Much of the unbuilt kit collection was sold by Bob at the previous SABA NNL event's prior to Bob's death. Some "lots" of items have already been listed on ebay and more will be listed by the ebay store. However, I have a number of his personal items that will be listed in the coming weeks on ebay starting with this AMT Ford Leva Car build up. As of today it is the first and only but I will be adding more as the days and weeks go on. (Click on the pic to be taken to the auction.) Some of the other items are: Old issues of Model Car Science Revell pins and buttons Couple of Revell kits (sealed 1956 and 1955 chevy) Promo of a mid 50's Plymouth Resin Tucker Old Custom Car magazines Slides of models Pictures of models Couple of typed manuscripts for published How-To articles. And of course the little car.... There's a bunch more that I cannot remember right now, but watch for it on "the-bay" from now until mid Feb. Proceeds of all sales go to the Bob Paeth Estate.

Monogram last release. Originally from Aurora I believe, as it was one of a Sports Cars series which included a Porsche 908, Jaguar XKE, Maserati and an Aston Martin.

Bud, did a bit more research and would have to say that you could build your own 90's midget but starting with the Monogram Sprint cars would still be a better start. However modifications will be needed to change the wheel base from 91 inches to the 72 inches that are specified for the Midget as those are the mid sized vehicle I specified above. Here is an image from a book cover that helps illustrate what changes Midgets took through the years by the way. Sprint cars are longer and heavier than midgets, but shorter and lighter than Silver Crown cars: about 1200 pounds for a sprint car, 1500 for a Silver Crown car and 900 for a midget. Wheelbase of a midget is at least 20 inches shorter than a Silver Crown car. Sprint cars and Silver Crown cars are powered by American pushrod V-8s. World of Outlaws cars use 410 ci engines making 800 or more horsepower. Silver Crown cars are limited to 355 ci and produce more than 700 horses. Midgets usually use 166 ci four- (or six-) cylinder engines making about 350 horsepower. Some very early Midgets were built using modified Harley Davidson engines! I am torn between using a Ford flathead 60 for power or going the modified Riley 2 port 4 cyl thumper route on my midget.... decisions, decisions....

Why V! I am sure that I do not know what you mean???

Bud, I have no idea but I suppose so. The car I am building is a hand-built-in-a-garage midget dirt track racer from 1947. All bits and pieces, rules and regulations have been researched to that end. To do a 90's version... one just needs to buy one of the Monogram kits. Lot's easier than scratch building. Marshal, Thanks but I believe I have everything I need. Besides, this is a 1/25th scale model. Not a 1/20th. Although I started with a larger body... I am cutting it down to 1/25th proportions because as of now there are no good options. Appreciate the offer. Incidentally, Revell has molds of a 1/25th scale kit of this car. It was sold back in the mid 60's as both a glue kit and a slot car. Recently Model King approached Ed Sexton of Revell about doing a re-pop. Unfortunately the molds required some machining to make them usable again and Model King refused to foot the bill. (Not that I blame them) Roger Harney told me last month that the molds are now slated for re-release by Revell later 2009 after the mold repairs have been accomplished. No information was given regarding the modifications.... but I suspect age and time have done damage once again.

In 1947 there were three general classes of racing cars in use in America. The largest of these is the Championship Speedway car as typified by the Indianapolis cars where the wheelbase must be 99 inches or more. The second class in size is the dirt track racer where the wheelbase is 91 inches. The third class is the Midget, which as a rule, has a wheel base of around 70 inches. The midget size is usually about three fourths that of the dirt track racer. As to the wheel tread or track, the usual plan is to use the standard passenger car tread of around 56 to 58 inches for speedway and dirt track cars. The midgets have the track decreased to about 44 inches. A number of years ago I got the chance to meet and talk to Dave Kurz. One of the things we discussed was one of his wonderful illustrations called “Don’t Askâ€, the subject matter a 1937 Ford flatbed with a 60 Flathead powered midget racer on the bed. I have wanted for many years to build a flat bed and midget just like the illustration but the lack of suitable kits has always had me at a loss. Was hoping that I could get it done for this year at GSL but…since I make part of my living building and painting other people’s slot cars… building models in my spare time just doesn’t have the same thrill it used to! At any rate, this long term project has never lost it’s desire for me and so I present some of what I have so far and ACTUALLY begin construction on the midget! The starting point is a Monogram Midget racer which looks like it scales out at 1/20th scale. However, Rod & Custom Models built a 1/25th scale midget from this kit and following the instructions in that June 1964 issue should not be too hard… Many more pictures of this project will be hosted on my Fotki account if anyone is interested. http://public.fotki.com/jairus/1/dont-ask/ …. And I will show updates here but was sure that I started a thread about a year ago... can't seem to find it! Ah well, onward and upward!

Cool! Looks great.

Final mockup before sending out to the painter. All plastic parts and pieces come from the Monogram sprintcars (1988). All plastic pieces will be epoxied to the brass and steel frame pieces to ensure secure mounting. However, this in-no-way avoids damage after a crash!!! Body panels will be protected by being mounted within the parameter of the space frame but the wings will shed for sure. Not much can help that... unless I make wings from aluminum.

Just imagine if they were to add computer controlled fuel injection and engine syncing that puppy could go even faster today!

You are exactly correct! I use a 100 watt "Inland" iron and just have to touch it to the joint for 3 to 5 seconds for the solder to flow. For heat sinks I use metal alligator clips... but mostly I have been doing soldering for so long that I know instinctivly now what joints to do in what order to avoid something falling off.

Got the driver and some of the steering gear installed along with the side pipes and foot shields.

Got the frame painted this morning. Since the name of this build is "Sprintcar" went with a 9/33 gear ratio. With wheels and motor carefully installed. Time to turn attention to the body work and related details...

Okay, JAMES. Here's the driver...

It is called "Stay-Brite" and comes with acid flux. Very important to clean all joints with hot water and kitchen cleanser as the acid will start rusting steel and blacken the brass. The solder is 5% silver content and flows beautifully with a good 100 watt Inland iron. Still need to sand some of the joints and then most of the chassis will get a nice gloss black paint. The rear bumper and side bump rails will be cleaned, polished and receive a coat of clear.