F 150 Race Truck

[dwdirks]

I kit-bashed an AMT Charger slot car (1/25 scale) with an AMT Ford F 150 pickup model kit (1/32 scale) and ended up with a new race truck at my basement slot track called Overlook Raceway Park. I used the metal frame and running gear from the Charger slot car kit. I cut up the pickup so the motor would fit in bed. I opened up the wheel wells with a sanding drum on my power drill and added wheel flares with some spare plastic sheet and putty. Hood scoop was made from scrap bits of plastic.

I used an old plastic pilot figure as my driver. Had to do some surgery to get him to fit into his new race truck cockpit.

 

The front grille was opened up to improve air flow by sanding plastic off the back - works great.

 

The 1/24 AMT slot kit provided a wide track chassis that made wheel flares necessary. Lots of putty and sanding required to make them look decent - here it's in process.

 

Partially finished interior set on chassis.

 

Rough pickup body set on chassis for test fit.

 

First coat of primer is on, still need lots of sanding, polishing and finishing.

 

Driver does fit into the interior.

 

Still need a seat belt to keep the driver safe.

 

Paint is now on body, bed cover and front splitter.

 

Need to get to work on the chassis so we can get this truck on the track.

 

Edited February 28, 2017 by dwdirks

[dwdirks]

Got some work done on the chassis for this F150 Race Truck.

AMT chassis ready to put under the truck. The front tires are from an AMT 1/25 plastic kit (Dodge Caravan, I believe), sanded down to a lesser diameter.

 

Chassis mounted under the pickup body. A couple of button magnets were added to help with road holding in the corners.

 

Decals and stickers were applied and soon we'll be ready to race.

 

Some of the decals were a bit old and look rough around the edges. Oh well, they'll get really banged up once we start racing anyway.

 

 

Almost ready to go - seat belts on, window net up, time to fire her up.

 

 

Finally, we're on track and rumbling past the pits at Overlook Raceway Park.

 

Hope the photo of our new race truck turns out okay.

 

Our truck looks okay and the fans seem to think so too but handling is still pretty shaky - need some serious tuning to get lap times down into respectable territory. I'm not sure that this AMT metal chassis is really all that good but we'll give it a try.

Edited February 28, 2017 by dwdirks
adjust photos

[Draggon]

That's great, good work on the body! You should post a pic of the entire track. 

[cobraman]

Very nice work. Driver looks afraid. : )

[dwdirks]

Thanks, Draggon and Cobraman. Some folks tell me that the driver looks a bit like Cal Naughton, Jr. from the Talladega Nights movie. Maybe? By the way, since he is driving this truck, he really should be afraid - never know what may go wrong given the amateur construction and dodgy materials used.

Here's a somewhat amateurish composite photo of my basement slot car track (I used Microsoft PowerPoint):

 

I'll add a few more photos of my track in the next while.

 

Edited March 7, 2017 by dwdirks
adjust photo

[cobraman]

Nice layout.

[Draggon]

I recognize your track and the name....I've seen you on Slot Forum, or something like that I think. Love the track. Great work on the scenery! 

[Chuck Most]

Some folks tell me that the driver looks a bit like Cal Naughton, Jr. from the Talladega Nights movie.

I think he bears an uncanny resemblance to James Doohan.