Bonneville Roadster *WIP*

[Bernard Kron]

This will be a mid 50’s to early 60’s Bonneville roadster. So far I’ve got the frame roughed in. The rails are currently too long front and rear while I mock up the suspension and bodywork. I’ll probably will put in rear braces on the roll bar once I determine the rear suspension set up.

Suspension will be a quick change rear end and a tubular front axle. I’m planning on building a torsion bar set up if my model building chops are up to it.

I’m getting some MCG grill shells and track noses that I will use as inspiration for the final product. I can’t decide whether to stick with the stock A shell, go with a 32 shell or maybe a track nose. I’ll mock things up when the shells arrive next week.

Now for the stuff I need to find:

1) 50’s Indy Style Halihrand mag wheels, preferably 16†fronts and 18†rears with period Indy style tires, Any thoughts as to where to find these?

2) Potvin style front mount blown hemi. I know the Revell Parts Pack small block Chevy has a front mount Jimmy set up and I have lotsa Dodge hemis from the AMT Model kits I’ve got so maybe I can adapt that. Again, any tips would be appreciated.

3) Track roadster style steering box. Is there an old style dirt track midget or roadster kit that has this?

The interior will be bare body color paint with a single bucket seat and minimum gauges. I plan to build it so that the body work can be removed for separate display of the chassis. I’m planning a full belly pan so I don’t know how practical this will be.

I have no idea what color, paint scheme and decals I’ll use at this point.

If you can’t tell, I have a very improvisational approach to my builds!

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Edited April 29, 2008 by gbk1

[Raul_Perez]

Bernard,

I really like the build so far! It looks like you're putting a lot of thought and energy into making it look correct for the period.

I thought that the blower in Revell's parts-pack Chevy engine is a Potvin. Not that they're always right, but the instructions on the back of the packaging even calls it a Potvin manifold assembly. I have several of them and they look just like the pics of Potvin blowers that I've found on the internet.

For the cowl steering, I'd make my own from Aluminum tubing. I've made a few of them for some of the vintage dragsters I've built.

Keep up the good work,

[Paul Payne]

How about replicating a Gordon-Schroeder sprint car steering box? BTW, what kit donated the body? Your project is looking good.....

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks.

Raul:

Yeah, the 283 does have the Potvin and it’s pretty finely detailed. These rigs often had fabricated log manifolds so adapting this set up to a hemi wouldn’t be too much of a problem. I saw one of these 283 Parts Packs go last night on e-bay for $3.99 – oh well, missed it!

Paul (jeez, your names are too similar...at least on the printed page):

The Gordon-Schroeder piece is really pretty, almost like a mini quick change in its detailing. I doubt that I’m up to sculpting the castings out of styrene in 1/25th, though. That’s why I was hoping to kit bash it. I have seen a Revellogram Sprint Car/Kurtis-Craft Indy Car combo kit that might be the answer to 2 out of 3 of the above parts searches and maybe some nice torsion bar lever arms as well if I’m really lucky.

Click on image to view:

As to the shell, it’s the AMT A ’29 Roadster in one of it’s many iterations over the years. I buy them on e-bay when I can find them cheaply enough. The kits generally get a bad rap with a lot of folks substituting various Revell parts for the AMT bits, but the more I work with them the more I find things in them that are useful. I saw your post re: a stock 32 chassis and I think you might be able to use the rear crossmember from the AMT kit along with Revell’s ‘32 chassis to allow for a leaf spring rear end (I actually think the AMT crossmember is better detailed than the Revell piece). Of course over at R&MCo-of-Md. Rik Hoving has done this for you (using Revell parts) for $14.95. (See http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/model_cars...m_frame_01.html and http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/model_cars...cm_frame02.html ) Unfortunately the chassis is too wide for the A Body so you still have some cutting and fitting to do for the classic A V8 with ’32 rails. I’m actually also building a channeled flathead A V8 and am currently making a set of rails from styrene strip. I plan to use the Revell dropped front axle from one of their A kits and the rear crossmember and spring from the AMT kit.

Last night I corrected the stance. Here are some mockups with wheels. It obviously will need a belly pan!

Click on images to view:

[Paul Payne]

Looking better and better! Thanks for the steering box pix- excellent reference! By the way, the Amt 29 roadster body will actually fit on the Revell 32 Ford chassis without any alterations if you build it hiboy style. I was given a junker 29 by a friend and turned it into an AV8. Here's a picture:

I attempted a Gordon Schroeder sttering box from scratch, but it turned out a little large- almost the size of a stock rear end- but I used it anyways!

Edited February 22, 2008 by Paul Payne

[Bernard Kron]

Looking better and better! Thanks for the steering box pix- excellent reference! By the way, the Amt 29 roadster body will actually fit on the Revell 32 Ford chassis without any alterations if you build it hiboy style. I was given a junker 29 by a friend and turned it into an AV8. Here's a picture:

I attempted a Gordon Schroeder steering box from scratch, but it turned out a little large- almost the size of a stock rear end- but I used it anyways!

It's certainly true that with a little judicious spreading and trimming the AMT shell sits nicely on top of the Revell 32 rails. It certainly does on your lakes roadster! I remember this car from some other posts. I love the detailing, like the door latches and the SCTA (?) timing tag on the dash. Where did the wire wheels and the Firestones come from? Another project I'm currently working on is a pre-war dry lakes modified and these look about right for the rear wheels. I'd love to see a WIP on this car. Do you have it posted somewhere?

Regarding the steering box, yeah an oversized version would certainly make a fine representation of a rear end, .

BTW, speaking of out of scale, I ordered a 1/24 Monogram Circle Track combo kit that I'm hoping will solve all my problems!

[Paul Payne]

The wire wheels were from a parts box I bought- I think they are 1/24th scale, possibly from Monogram. The tires are from the Revell 1929 rat rods pickup, but with the whitewall insert sanded to a larger I. D. to fit on the wheels. I wanted to get the look of the larger diameter wire wheels and the AMT versions just looked too small. The Firestone lettering is from Shabo. The timing tag is a photoreduced S.C.T.A. item. I don't have any real WIP pix, just a couple mock up pix- here is a link to my photobucket site:

http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h18/Paul_Payne

Edited February 23, 2008 by Paul Payne

[jbwelda]

>1) 50’s Indy Style Halihrand mag wheels, preferably 16†fronts and 18†rears with period Indy

>style tires, Any thoughts as to where to find these?

on the halibrands i think rep and min of maryland has some in resin. i know i got a few in my parts bin and i think thats where i got them.

cool build by the way. check my offy powered similar one posted elsewhere.

[tim boyd]

Guys I'm working from memory here this morning but the recent AMT/Model King "Boss Nova" reissue has the chrome tree from the original 'AMT 62 Buick Special wagon, and almost all of the original parts are there, even if not mentioned on the instruction sheet. And those parts include a front mounted blower setup for the '392 Hemi, fully plated of course. Again, from memory, just one or two pieced of the front mounted setup are missing but you should easily be able to scratch those....Hope that helps....TIM

PS = The Polar Lights Carl Casper Undertaker rebop of the original Aurora kit also has a front mounted blower/Hemi engine setup. TB

PPS = I really love this build so far. Keep at it! TIM

[MikeMc]

Tasting the Salt

[Paul Payne]

Bernard, Replicas and Miniatures has unpierced Halibrand wheels, but you need to ask about them because Norm doesn't list them in his catalogue. They would be perfect for this build.

[Bernard Kron]

on the halibrands i think rep and min of maryland has some in resin. i know i got a few in my parts bin and i think thats where i got them.

cool build by the way. check my offy powered similar one posted elsewhere.

Bernard, Replicas and Miniatures has unpierced Halibrand wheels, but you need to ask about them because Norm doesn't list them in his catalogue. They would be perfect for this build.

jah bill: and Paul:

Thanx! Great minds.... I’ve got some stuff to get from R&MofMd so I’ll inquire about the Halibrands when I order. Jah bill – are yours the unslotted ones?

Also, bill, I ran down the ’27 T roadster build. Really nice. Love the stance and the motor. Hope you’re persevering with it – maybe getting it done for NNL West! It will be a beautiful car.

I’ve been struggling with bodywork. Got the tonneau (sp?) cover done. I actually made two, Version One is flat using what would be the bottom of the windshield frame as its leading edge. The leading edge of Version Two conforms with the curve of the cowl and sits more snuggly to the cockpit edge. I will use Version One for my mockups – I already cut it to clear the roll bar, I dare not cut Version Two (I really like the way it looks) until I’ve determined the windscreen configuration and finalize the chassis details and roll bar placement.

I seem to be redoing everything. I’ve made two complete belly pans. The first was too deep but the second one finally conformed to the body properly after endless trimming and filing.

The tough part is I want the body parts to be removable to show off the chassis, so I’ve had to engineer the tonneau cover and belly pan accordingly – molding them into the bodywork would be much easier!

The Monogram Circle Track kit came and as I feared/suspected it’s really quite horrible. However, it does have a 4-spoke Bell style steering wheel I will use, and, as I’d hoped, it has a decent steering box setup that will go in this build. The Kurtis 500 Roadster does come with the right kind of period wheels and tires but they are cast in red plastic in two halves combining wheels and tires. Today I rough painted them black and bronze to mock them up to see if they are useful or not. The front wheels from the Dirt Tracker look like they may be candidates, too. We’ll see.

Also, the Potvin blown Chevies suggested by Raul arrived and I’m mocking the blower rig to one of the vintage Dodge Hemi blocks today. I modified the chassis with a t-channel crossmember to allow for more engine setback. Seems like everything comes in two’s on this project! If everything works out I’ll scratch build or adapt a manifold for the Hemi. Raul sent me a huge selection of reference picks of Potvin blown hemis that I will refer too. Thanx Raul!

Lastly. I have selected a nose for the car. It’s the Model Car Garage T Track nose. It required pie cutting the hood about 1 mm but it looks much nicer than the A Track nose and gives the car a period look I like. I’m now thinking about building a street version of the car – presumably its precursor that got cut up to make into a salt flats racer! But first I have to finish this one.

Here are some quick pics (click on the image to enlarge):

What do you think of the wheels. Do they look in scale?

Next is the suspension and engine installation.

[Raul_Perez]

Also, the Potvin blown Chevies suggested by Raul arrived and I'm mocking the blower rig to one of the vintage Dodge Hemi blocks today. I modified the chassis with a t-channel crossmember to allow for more engine setback. Seems like everything comes in two's on this project! If everything works out I'll scratch build or adapt a manifold for the Hemi. Raul sent me a huge selection of reference picks of Potvin blown hemis that I will refer too. Thanx Raul!

What do you think of the wheels. Do they look in scale?

Glad to help, Bernard!! Do you have the louvers yet? I know that Clay received his package yesterday. They both went in the mail on Monday.

Regards,

[Bernard Kron]

Glad to help, Bernard!! Do you have the louvers yet? I know that Clay received his package yesterday. They both went in the mail on Monday.

Regards,

FYI for others reading this, the ever generous Mr. Perez sent me three pairs of RMC Goodgurs '32 Ford roadster hood sides which have really sweet pressed louvers molded in!

Yup, I got 'em today. Sorry I didn't PM you but I was knee deep in belly pan filing . Thanx so much. There's a '32 five-window that will see immediate use of them!

B.

[Raul_Perez]

FYI for others reading this, the ever generous Mr. Perez sent me three pairs of RMC Goodguys '32 Ford roadster hood sides which have really sweet pressed louvers molded in!

Yup, I got 'em today. Sorry I didn't PM you but I was knee deep in belly pan filing . Thanx so much. There's a '32 five-window that will see immediate use of them!

B.

No problem, Bernard! I was glad to help and even more glad that they didn't get lost in the mail!!

From what I can see in the reflection of the bellypan, it's looking pretty good! It also looks like you got the nose fitting really well.

I'm probably a poor judge on this one, but the wheels look a little too big to me...(but we've all seen how well I judge wheel sizes ).

Edited February 29, 2008 by Raul_Perez

[jbwelda]

thats looking better and better every update! i love the tonneau cover and the concept of a belly pan. implementing that concept has always been a problem for me so im hoping to learn something from your experience here.

about the halibrands, im unsure what "unpierced" means, and im afraid i havent dug the ones out i was thinking of but as i recall they are kidney bean type halibrand magnesium wheels, and while the kidney bean part may not be open as cast, i was going to open them up. is that what "pierced" means, or was it a certain type of halibrand wheel?

not to steal your thread but thanks for looking at my roadster. im persevering with it alright, it is painted and im almost done with the interior details. small problem is i painted the inside of the body black and then masked it and shot the orange and clear on the outside. unfortunately when i removed the tape i used to mask it, it pulled a very small piece of the orange away from the body along the body shell stock windshield area. i wasnt going to use a windshield but now i might...or i might just mask off the problem, feather the edges of the tear, and paint a flat black stripe there. i would paint it orange but i dont think i will be able to blend it that well or match the color so i might just go for what may look like where a windshield would mount or it could be just the black edge of the body...the flaw is only about 1/32" wide and runs about a half inch long but i would do the black up to the edge of the sides. i will post some photos one of these days in my other thread. im afraid i wont have it at NNL saturday, some other things have come up so i wont have time to get it done and dont really want to rush it. one thing i do want to do is make a tonneau much like yours but i want to try using thick aluminum foil of thinned aluminum sheet i have to form it from.

sorry for the digression but keep it up man its looking great!

[Paul Payne]

The Halibrands I got from Norm are the original unpierced type which were the first style Halibrand manufactured. Later these were modified with the kidney shaped slots.

[Jim Kampmann]

Here's my work in progress (I've only been working on it for a couple of weeks). Revell '32 Highboy, modified roll cage from a Revell Pro Mod, Offy engine and rear tires from an old AMT Willard Battery Special. Rear end is modified quick change from a Monogram sprint car. Moon discs are from Parts by Parks.

Jim Kampmann

[Bernard Kron]

It’s been a while since I posted an update on this project. I’ve got 4 builds going at once and I’m sort of rotating madly between them.

Here's my work in progress (I've only been working on it for a couple of weeks). Revell '32 Highboy, modified roll cage from a Revell Pro Mod, Offy engine and rear tires from an old AMT Willard Battery Special. Rear end is modified quick change from a Monogram sprint car. Moon discs are from Parts by Parks.

Jim Kampmann

Really nice, Jim. Style-wise on the outside it’s the opposite of my build – highboy ’32 with a pro-mod air scoop and contemporary roll cage. If I bail on the Halibrands I’ll have to consider those Moon discs. They look sharp.

This little roadster is really fighting me. I intended to use a Dodge Hemi with a front mounted Potvin blower. But the Hemi’s heads stick out beyond the hood and I wanted to keep the track roadster look so the Hemi had to go. Next option was to use a small block Chevy with the Potvin setup. I though this would be pretty straightforward since I could use the Revell Parts Pack SBC that I got the Potvin rig from. But I hadn’t realized just how huge these Jimmy 671’s are, especially when you hang ‘em off several inches of Potvin gear drive! Here’s a pic Raul sent me to give you an idea (Click on the image to enlarge it):

Anyway, so the front drive blower is gone because it won’t fit in the grille shell and I’ve decided to go with Hilborn injectors on the SBC and call it a day. I was surprised how difficult it is to locate injectors for the small block Chevy (I found a nice after market setup from Speed City Resin but the stacks and manifold alone cost as much as a model kit, let alone the pump and other details, so it would be nice to find a kit version if possible – perhaps the Revell Model King Anglia?).

While I digested these changes I did some work on my ’34 Ford 5-window which I just put up as another WIP post. Then I got down to finalizing the chassis on the ’29 roadster. The result is shown below. I gave up on torsion bar springing because it would require too many little tiny bits of scratch built plastic for brackets, etc. And I just didn’t feel up to it. So, instead I went with a standard transverse spring setup, front and rear, there being plenty of kit parts that would move me along on this build.

The major donor is the AMT ’25 T kit which provided the bulk of the front suspension and the rear axle and quick change. I will need to heavily rework the front axle to fill in the channel cut into it to accommodate the kit’s metal axle, and also to get rid of the funky “backing plates†molded into it. But the spring is nice as are the hairpin track rods. The rear spring is from the AMT ’34 for 5-window. The spring hangers, cross members, etc. Are all scratch built. I also had to completely rework the frame to allow for driveshaft movement. I landed up deciding on a kind of “k-member†setup (really a v-member) that is integrated into the rear roll bar and rear cross member structure. (A special thanx to RP for a vital care package of parts without which I’d still be scratching my head...)

The result will require completely re-thinking the belly pan one more time in order to allow for rear suspension travel! As I said, this project is really fighting me but I’m enjoying the challenge (I guess...).

I think I’ll relax by working on the interior on the ’34 and then get back to the ’29 in a few days. My next goal on this project will be a complete rolling chassis and fairly finalized engine installation.

Here are the chassis pics (Click on the image to enlarge it):

[Raul_Perez]

Bernard,

Competition Resins offers this SBC manifold with short injector stacks. You can get it through SMBC for $4.50 plus S/H.

Also, the AMT Rat Packer came with a SBC and Hillborn injection:

I have the Hillborn injection resin bits from this engine that were leftover from the '55 Nomad gasser that I built. (The 55 Nomad chassis and engine was mastered from this kit). I don't need them because I used the blower assembly on gasser. You're welcome to the parts if you want them. The tubes are also resin, so you'll need to paint or replace them.

The chassis is really coming along nicely!!

[Bernard Kron]

Bernard,

I have the Hillborn injection resin bits from this engine that were leftover from the '55 Nomad gasser that I built. (The 55 Nomad chassis and engine was mastered from this kit). I don't need them because I used the blower assembly on gasser. You're welcome to the parts if you want them. The tubes are also resin, so you'll need to paint or replace them.

The chassis is really coming along nicely!!

Thanx Raul. I think I'll take you up on your (as always) generous offer, it will encourage me to get back to the engine and chassis ASAP as soon as I finish the '34's interior...

[Raul_Perez]

Thanx Raul. I think I'll take you up on your (as always) generous offer, it will encourage me to get back to the engine and chassis ASAP as soon as I finish the '34's interior...

Oops! The Chevy II Rat Packer came with a 427 BBC, not a SBC. (I already informed Bernard of my mistake, this note is for anyone else who is looking for a SBC setup with Hillborn injection). The kit that has the requisite parts is the '51 Anglia.

Regards,

[Smart-Resins]

I just spotted this post.Very nice build going on there. I have a 32 phaeton body I was wondering what to do with. Maybe now I am starting to get the idea! I love that chassis Ken. Again inspirational! Jody