Dennis Lacy Posted July 10, 2016 Posted July 10, 2016 This little early 60's retro dragster started life as a mid-60's Revell Dragmaster frame parts pak that was given to me by my friend Jon Ferren. As it came from Revell it was very similar to the Mooneyes dragster frame kit from the same period. It is also very similar to the dragster frame found in Revell's Mickey Thompson Attempt 1 land speed car. The frame kit is bare basics providing the frame rails, body side panels, cowl top panel, firewall and dash panel. It is up to the builder to provide the rest of the parts. I rounded out the chassis with the narrow tube front axle & tierod assembly from Revell's Kurtis Midget's, side steering pitman arm from AMT's Double Dragster with a scratch built drag link, hairpin rods and Halibrand quick change rear axle from Revell's Tony Nancy 22jr double kit, rear brakes from Revell's Ed Roth Tweedy Pie T, Halibrand resin front wheels from Drag City Casting, Halibrand rear wheels from AMT's '33 Willys, T100 front tires from The Modelhaus and AMT parts pack slicks. The seat was also narrowed and shortened from the 22jr kit. Paint is Testors one coat Icy Blue and the wheels are finished in Testors Model Master Jet Exhaust to replicate the Dow7 anti-corrosive coating applied to magnesium wheels back in the 60's. The decals are from Revell's Edelbrock Kurtis Midget. The centerpiece of this model is a Model A 4 cylinder engine with an Ardun overhead valve conversion of my own design. (Ardun 4 cylinder conversions never existed in the old days but a handful of them were created and sold in modern times.) I used the very well rendered engine block, oil pan and custom Ansen side valve chamber cover from Revell's '29 and '31 Model A kits. The clutch housing and direct drive transmission are from the 22jr kit. To build the Ardun conversion I scratch built the cylinder head and intake manifold. On the front of the head and side of the block I used the little finned block off plates that come on the hot rodded flathead from Revell's '40 Ford's and '32 Sedan. (These indicate where water inlet and outlet/water pump would be if there were a cooling system.) The Ardun rocker arm cover is from Revell's '50 Ford Pickup. Up front a Chevy finned timing cover from Monogram's Slingster dragster was modified to fit and I scratch built the right-angle magneto drive. The magneto itself is from AMT's modern-tool Ala Kart and ignition wires were added to it. I also scratch built an oil filter mount on the rear right corner of the engine and ran oil hose to and from it. The header is a modified piece from AMT's Double Dragster kit. The carburetors are from the Ed Roth Tweedy Pie T. I built a small tee-fitting and ran fuel hose to the carburetors and down to the Moon fuel tank from Revell's '32 5-Window. I also added a little retaining tab to the frame to keep the long hose from flopping around, a finned oil breather cab and a dipstick. The engine is painted Tamiya Gold which is a real good match for the decals. This engine was a long time in the making. It originated it a different, now abandoned project before being re purposed in this dragster where it continued to evolve. I'm very happy to see it finished. The rest of the model didn't receive any extra special detailing. I more wanted to use the dragster as a way to display the engine. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki
Curt Posted July 10, 2016 Posted July 10, 2016 Nice dragster, Dennis. It's really clean and has the right period "look".
bobthehobbyguy Posted July 11, 2016 Posted July 11, 2016 Love it. Great job on the engine. Very clean.
GMCMAN52 Posted July 11, 2016 Posted July 11, 2016 nice 4 banger rail job,,,,,,,captured that 60's look alright
Hubert Rollins Posted July 11, 2016 Posted July 11, 2016 Definitely something different- Certainly is very cool.
AC Norton Posted July 11, 2016 Posted July 11, 2016 .......dynamite,,,just plain dynamite, Dennis, as all yours always are.............the Ace............
Aaron_F Posted July 11, 2016 Posted July 11, 2016 This is way too cool Dennis! Great work on that engine!
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 11, 2016 Posted July 11, 2016 (edited) Yup, VERY nice ! Pretty slick Ardun head and front mag-drive conversion. Edited July 11, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy
oldnslow Posted July 12, 2016 Posted July 12, 2016 nice looking vintage dragster , but it needs a fuel pump , or a pressure line from the cockpit air pump to the moon tank ?
Harry P. Posted July 12, 2016 Posted July 12, 2016 Very cool, but I don't see a fuel pump. How would the engine run?
Dennis Lacy Posted July 12, 2016 Author Posted July 12, 2016 Thanks for your comments, everyone! nice looking vintage dragster , but it needs a fuel pump , or a pressure line from the cockpit air pump to the moon tank ? Very cool, but I don't see a fuel pump. How would the engine run? It would have a hand pressure pump mounted within reach of the driver like the one shown above. I didn't do any cockpit details so there's no hand fuel pump, brake lever / master cylinder, clutch pedal, accelerator pedal, gauges, etc. Like I mentioned above, the dragster is more of a prop for displaying the engine. in hindsight, I guess I should have pushed myself to add all that stuff but I'm just glad it's not a pile of parts in a box anymore.
Tyler62990 Posted July 15, 2016 Posted July 15, 2016 That's a cool little build. I love old rails, especially ones with oddball speed equipment. That four banger is right at home in there
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