Scale-Master

While not a big visual thing, the cockpit section of the body has finally been permanently mated to the tub. Now I get to build the rest of the interior into the car. Nowhere near the ship in a bottle game; but the limited access proving to be the challenge had I expected in a couple of areas despite my optimistic planning. The seats are installed hopefully for the final time. The steering wheel can be popped off to install the harnesses.

I would bet someone already is making something like that, but these are old school "simple" coolers and radiator. I have made true flow through coolers and radiators, but once they are on the car you really can't see much through them.

The shifter linkage was the next "little" project to make and install. I was a little surprised the kit did not have the exterior part of the linkage. Turns out it's quite a tight fit, maybe that’s why it was not included. The extra parts I added and the correctly scaled engine did not help. I'm still relying on the magnets to hold the body section to the tub, but since I've run the shifter linkage all the way from the shifter to the transmission I'm pretty committed at this stage. I also connected the electrical items that were built onto the rear bulkhead to the receptacles on the tub and the fuel lines. The transmission cooler has been installed and plumbed. If it was a real car, it could be test fired now.

Thanks. I thought it was cool too. ?

The radiator is installed and the cooling system has been plumbed. I'll install the stone guard and petcock later due to them being somewhat fragile.

Thank you Tim! But I really doubt it will be done by Christmas.

The rear spoiler is done. Brass, clear styrene and aluminum. Some of the bolts will anchor it to the body.

To answer your question John, I just "unscrewed" it off the bolt. Then I applied the glue. And Thanks!

Several people have pointed out the risks of using the kit supplied air duct hose as it has a propensity for melting plastic over time. While I was already aware of this issue, (the ones in this kit melted some of the parts well before I started building it), and have been lucky in the past, I decided I have too much invested to take that risk even with the precautions taken on this car. I also was not keen on the color of them. So I pulled them off and fabricated new ones from wire and white glue. I wound the wire around the proper sized bolt for the diameter I wanted. After the glue dried I made connectors with shrink tubing. I painted them with orange R/C car (Lexan) paint and gave them a wash of Tamiya Smoke with Flat Base mixed in to it. Plenty of flex to route them where they need to go and a direct retrofit to boot.

Those are nice photos EMRE, thanks for sharing them! Another significant step forward, the last section of the body has had the paint cut and polished. The insides are painted as well. Once that is dry it will get some wax. (It's quite the dust magnet right now.)

Thanks Ray! The exhaust system and rear tray are installed. The dashboard assembly is installed. Getting closer to begin mounting some of the body panels to the tub…

Back to the doors… I installed the gas struts and made the mounting hardware. I think they are done.

Another dozen and a half nuts, bolts and washers were machined and installed for the rear suspension. The rear section of the clutch line was added and the battery has been grounded. It's barely visible…

Yes John. Grounding strap for the engine to chassis. Will it be seen when it's in installed? Maybe. Doesn't matter.

Today's project was to make and install the rear brake lines. These are brackets for the hard lines out to the soft lines. Fabricated from sheet brass. I made the Tee and the clamp and bent the lines today, but I had machined the fittings when I was making the front brake lines. I had to tear down the right rear suspension and pull the right side header off to install the lines. Sure made installing the lines a lot easier… The soft lines are vinyl tubing.

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate the kind words. Time to install the main electrical wiring and a bunch of scratch-built subassemblies. I had already made the wires with ends and the brass guide clips. I installed the fuel pump, regulator & filters and ran the oil lines to the engine. The battery & hold down and the dipstick were installed too. I also added a half dozen more suspension parts/fasteners and the exhaust. This is still dry assembled and not everything is connected, just making sure all the lines are the correct length and that there are no interference issues. It's getting packed pretty tightly…

The door windows are finished and installed. The front sections are fixed so there is a black seal around them. There are no seals for the rear flip out sections. There's also a little handle inside for each of those.

This goes in the "done pile" for now… The plug for the lights that connects to the receptacle on the firewall is hanging down at the rear of the wheel well.

Now that the lower lights and the "grille" are installed, the rest of the underhood wiring could be done.

The cloisonné Lola badge for the hood was made from scratch; a combination of custom decals and a chrome base. Of course it needs mounting posts… The mounting bar, nuts and washers were also fabricated.

Test fitting the modified windshield.

The hood assembly is getting close to being done. The headlights and covers have been installed and wired. The winglets are installed too. A little dust and dirt was added to the underside. The rest of the wiring will be added after the lower light assembly is added.

We will be taking photos, but it would be awesome if others who attend share them too. All too often we get so busy running the show we don't have time to shoot photos.

One week until the 2022 Cruisin' For A Cure Model Car Contest in Costa Mesa at the Fairgrounds! We did not have a show in 2020 or 2021, but we are back! There have been some changes to the categories, but most are still the same. Please see list below. A big thank you to Tamiya and Round2 for again sponsoring us and providing awesome kits that will be awarded along with trophies for the winners.

I went to install the alternator and noticed I needed to put the rear sway bar in first. That meant I had to make it and the stabilizer links. They are made of steel with fabricated resin ends. But to install them I had to set up the rear suspension too. After all that was done and the alternator was installed I made the belt and hooked up the wires. I also added the PCV hoses to the breathers.