johnwitzke

Engine and Interior update. Brannan's interior was code 24 beige. I used a mix of Ford Rose Beige, Light Beige and custom mix medium beige. The thin metal trim is break line secured with FastCap two sided clear tape and the floor I used Modelcar Garage vinyl top material also secured with FastCap tape. The engine will have the appearance of being dusty to replicate the car in raced condition, not a restored show car. I added oil breathers to the correct Thunderbird valve cover (used on Brannan's car). Additionally, a custom made Rotunda decal for the oil filter was made by WhoopieKat for me. That decal is really cool. A set of shorty type headers from an old Aurora 1/25 scale Ford 427 engine kit were installed to replicate the best I can Balanger headers. I still need to add the starter and connect the coil

Thanks for the info. Great work on your Cobra

For an accurate looking 425 HP 427 for Brannan's car I opted using the engine from the 1960 Starliner kit engine instead of the high-riser 427 from the T-Bolt kit. The 1960 kit that has the custom version has the correct looking dual 4bbl carbs along with the chrome valve covers that say "THUNDERBIRD" on them. Since Brannan's car was the very first 63 lightweight and was assembled at the Ford garage it has pieces that are not necessarily found on later lightweights (i.e. the valve covers).

As far as I know, MCW still offers the 1963 lightweight interior. The only drawback is the bucket seats need to be reworked for an accurate looking 63. The bucket seats are correct however for a 1962 lightweight.

Here are a couple of shots of the my almost finished 425 hp 427 that was in Brannan's 63 Lightweight along with an original photo.

Yes.

Yes. But I am not using the kit interior. I am using the MCW lightweight interior tub. The lightweight tub give you a wider transmission hump than the tub from the original kit. The 1960 chassis pan around the transmission hump still has to be trimmed down a bit, but it will fit nicely.

I am using the long branch headers from the 1960 Starliner kit on my 427

In addition to the two 62 Super Stock Galaxies that I am working on, I am also working on the Romy Hammes 63 Lightweight Galaxie driven by Dick Brannan. I am currently working on the chassis and underbody. I am using the 1960 Starliner as a donor kit as well as a T-Bolt 427 that is modified using some engine parts such as the dual 4bbl from the Starliner kit. Additionally I am modifying the lightweight interior. The underbody has red oxide primer as a base with Corinthian White overspray. The front wheel wells will need to be painted black

Wow!!! This is a great build. Excellent work! I am digging it.

The all steel 717 406 405 hp dark blue car really held it's own in a completion field of 409 Chevys, 421 Super Duty Pontiacs and Max Wedge 413 Dodges. One of the best times was a 12.55 at 112 mph. In one race he defeated Dave Strickler's 409 Chevy and was required to tear down his engine for inspection. It was legal and the 406 Ford prevailed. I am happy to share these two builds on this board and thank Mr. Brannan for his assistance with these builds. I will continue to add updates as I progress.

Test fitting the 406 engine in the Brannan 717 chassis. Front chassis and suspension detail. I am adding flash rust on the bare metal suspension parts and adding a light coat of road dust and dirt to the chassis and underbody to replicate some use rather than a perfectly restored version. I am doing the same on the Brannan 823 chassis. Test fitting the engine. Will detail the chassis and underbody with road dust and dirt while adding a thin coat of flash rust on the bare metal suspension parts

Not that I am aware of. I had mine custom made. I have decals to make 5 of the 11 lightweight cars.

Excellent paint work! Very nice build.

correct

Over the winter months I have finally settled on the subject that I will complete for the IPMS Nationals in July. Now that it is warming up, I will be painting the exteriors and interiors. This is a really cool subject as these are the two cars that launched Dick Brannan's drag racing career and ultimately secured his job with Ford Motor Company heading up the Ford Drag Team. The truck is AMT's C 600 Ford Stake Truck. Modifications include 1962 style side emblems, correct 5 hole wheels and diamond plate sheet plastic from Plastruct for the floor of the flatbed. Have the decals for the doors and the front. The truck is the same color Oxford Blue as the all steel Galaxie. The 406 Super Stock Galaxie's are from MCW Resins and have been modified using engines, transmissions, chassis, firewall modifications, lightweight buckets for the light blue lightweight and custom decals. I will be posting updates now that I can get some painting done.

Bob Ford sponsored two 63 1/2 Lightweights. I have been thinking about this car and I am wondering if it is the original re-bodied 1962 Lightweight car that was painted black with beige interior that Len Richter drove. Only few of the 63 1/2 Lightweights had beige interior, this car and Dick Brannan's car which was the pilot Lightweight that I know of. There could have been a few others. The reason why the dash and steering wheel was black on Brannan's car is that the black color dash and steering wheel was readily available. This would seem logical for the Bob Ford car too.

Both Bonner T-Bolts were originally burgundy and were burgundy when Mr. Bonner raced them

This one right? My guess is light gold (champagne) like the 1964 Thunderbolt. I would say this car was campaigned after 1963. If you look in the background there is a 1964 GTO parked

Not this car either?

Correct, red oxide primer on floors and the 427 engine was black, not blue.

I would like to add that a very good friend of mine, Rocky Rotella wrote an article about this car in a issue of High Performance Pontiac a number of years back. The last I knew the original car still exists and is located in small town in Nebraska, about 60 miles from where I live

Oh I know that I am right. Not only am I very well versed with Dick Brannan's Super Stock Fords, I am equally if not more well versed about the Pontiac Super Duty 421 cars, Catalinas and Tempest. At some point I will be building all 12 of the 1963 Super Duty Tempest (coupes and wagons). I did forget to mention that the wheels are gold too. It will make into a NICE model. Keep up the good work. I like you attention to detail, especially with the seat design.

While the interior on this car is blue, the seats will need to be a gold color on this model. The model that you are building is AKA as A/S 655

All the lightweight cars had the lightweight bucket seats. The R-code 427 was also available in other Galaxies, not just the lightweights.