Scale-Master

Some Tamiya Fine White Primer was decanted and airbrushed for a base then TS-47 Chrome Yellow was applied.

With the Coca Cola 600 coming up today I was in the mood to build a Nascar kit. It's a Starter resin kit. Clean up wasn't too bad, it must have been an early issue as these kits tended to get a bit rough as the molds wore out through the production run. I did some scribing on the hood, trunk and window frames and separated some of the molded in roll cage from the body. The spoilers are brass. The interior is essentially one piece. There is a steering wheel in the kit, and I'll add a shifter.

I built it (before it came out in the U.S. for the Minicraft catalog/box art). Simple kit; good but not "great" as I recall. With a little attention it can make a very sharp curbside.

I had to make an offset pulley for the alternator to clear the transmission mounts. The ratio comes out to the alternator turning about 3000 RPM at 100MPH. Alternator assembly loosely fitted to the car.

Assembled alternator bolted to the bracket. I machined the hardware. (The fan spins too.) Still some detail painting to do…

Thanks guys!!! Yes I did smile when it became a roller. Alternator bracket. I designed it in SolidWorks and grew it. Alternator drive pulley.

Back to working on the alternator; because it has become relevant to the suspension. More fabrication…

Thanks Guys!! Finally, and for the first time it is up on its wheels so I can get an idea of where the ride height is.

Rear shocks installed… I also turned an aluminum pulley to drive the alternator and it's mounted to the half-shaft.

Thanks Guys!!! Front shocks installed…

All press-fitted machined aluminum with the kit provided springs (also friction fit). I'll paint the springs later. At least now I can continue engineering and building other pieces of the car… Yes, there are rubber bushings for the eyelets.

Tops of the shocks with the piston shafts.

Spring tension adjusters/lock rings. The taller ones fit inside the springs.

Thanks guys! Yes, the rotors will get additional coloring. Composites don't wear the same as traditional rotors, they don't "shine up" as they wear.

Thank you Trevor! I had to make the coil over shocks next to continue mocking up the suspension. Shock bodies…

The pads are installed and the calipers have been dry set up on their respective bracketry. The rotors, hubs, calipers and pads are all scratch-built. The slide pins are polished steel, but still more hardware to machine for the calipers. Rears: Fronts:

Composite brake pads. They have been seated and used just a little bit…

Be extra careful with that thin chrome side trim.

I carefully saved the rear caliper mounts on the hub carriers when I cut off the molded on calipers from the kit. But those had to go too because the larger Wilwood calipers couldn't be mounted to them. Again, these are 3D parts I rendered in SolidWorks and printed.

The new 3D printed caliper brackets I designed and grew to mount the calipers have been attached to the front spindles.

Thanks guys! It took me a little while to find it after the remake of the site too. It is a street car; this will not be a race car replica but more of something I would dream of having for playtime on weekends. I got the Wilwood calipers painted, going for a ceramic finish look. They are Corvette retrofit units I designed in SolidWorks and 3D printed before hand-finishing the masters then casting resin copies. I used the new Tamiya LP-6 Pure Blue for the color.

Thanks Tim! One year "birthday" for this project.

I'd have to either have my mill fully rebuilt or buy a new one to go CNC. (New is the way I'd go.) I'm with you Pete, I still like to drive it manually.

I decided to go with my earlier rotor configuration; slotted and cross-drilled. Raw rotor blanks cut from high-pressure cast blank aluminum composite material. I milled the vents around the perimeter and faced them. I cross-drilled and slotted them. They are directional. This is the natural cut finish of the material.

Thanks guys! Yes, 100% out-of-the-box. I too like the previous generation's styling better. (I can barely fit in this car, and that was with the roof open and the seat all the way back. Not sure it would comfortable with the top up.) Nothing to look out for in this kit, it fits great, no surprises. I think I'd build it open top if I do another one.