Cooper barn find

[absmiami]

Wow - my first build blog - finally got an "eye phone" - and learned how to take pictures - and even download them.

So into the modern world we go ......

Buried somewhere on the workbench is a 1/24th Merit Cooper FIII.  Kinda rare.  Bought mine years ago as semi-built-up.  Started but not painted or finished.  Gonna actually build this with a thin-cast resin body from Guido or ScaleKraft fame.  It's a knock-off of the Merit body with a nice thin casting.  Also kinda rare - I've never seen another one.  To the best of my knowledge, Guido stopped casting before he actually produced a resin kit of the Cooper - which is a shame.  Anyway, I'm a complete sucker for Merit kits - got a bunch.

Delayed this build until I found some photo-etch that could be used for the chain drive - which I finally stumbled upon recently

- more on this later.

This is not a "real time" build.  The work on the body and chassis was begun earlier this year.  I'll post as I have time and sort of catch up on the build as I near completion.

Here goes .

 

 

 

[absmiami]

almost forgot :  It's always critical to keep you workbench clean and well organized !!

[KWT]

Oh yeah... Looks like mine most of the time

[absmiami]

thanks !   you're my first reply

don't you win something ?

actually - I took the workbench shot AFTER I cleaned it up

 

[DustyMojave]

LOL!

I bought my 1st model kit in 1960 from a gentleman who owned and raced a Cooper 500 here in SoCal. Harry Morrow owned a bookstore that is still in business in Burbank, CA. - Autobooks. Jay Leno is an often customer. As a kid I used to watch Harry and a few others race their Cooper 500s.

Another model builder I know, Dale King, grew up near Harry's store and as a young man built a very detailed larger scale model of Harry's Cooper, going to Harry's house to take measurements and pictures. Awesome model.

I still have a few pieces of my older brother's Merit Cooper in my parts boxes. That model was crushed in an earthquake in 1971. I have a resin kit by So Cal modeler Herb Deeks, who did the resin kit w/ white metal engine and suspension taking molds from the Merit parts.

Read more: http://race-car-models.proboards.com/thread/225/59-cooper-500-mk-ix#ixzz4pIlcirdX

[absmiami]

Dale King !

Herb Deeks!

the plot thickens ...

thing 1 - I too have the Deeks resin knock-off of the  Merit Cooper.   And yes, It had white metal parts for the engine, susp, and wheels

spoiler alert - these white metal parts are gonna come in real handy for this build

thing 2 - Guido was a big fan of Mr. King's.  When he sent me the Cooper body castings, he included a photo-copy of Dale's 1/12 scale build !!

[Lizz62]

almost forgot :  It's always critical to keep you workbench clean and well organized !!

mine looks like the Mayberry dump. If I clean it, can't find anything!

[PARTSMARTY]

mine looks like the Mayberry dump. If I clean it, can't find anything!

x2 for sure !!!

[Gramps46]

Hey Andy,

This is going to be great project to watch.

Gary

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

Good to see another S Floridian posting here. Interesting subject. What scale is it? -RRR

[absmiami]

sorry gary - you can't watch

you'll learn all my secrets ...

Rodney - the scale is 24th - Merit only did 24th scale for the car kits - think they did other scales for some other subjects

 

[absmiami]

top and bottom body shells glued together, enclosing one peice front and rear suspension assemblies.  Kit had been partially glued together decades ago.  Nothing, NOTHING,  managed to seperate the glue joints

[absmiami]

Some of the Merit parts will be used in the resin knockoff shell casted by Guido of ScaleKraft eons ago. The casting is quite thin - allowing construction of the Cooper frame from Evergreen styrene tubing and stock

[absmiami]

[absmiami]

nothing fancy - just evergreen stock, some drawings, trial, and error - lots of error.  there is a white metal suspension arm attached - more on this later ....

 

kinda choppy - learning how dto do this ....

[absmiami]

this is what I am building :::

[absmiami]

I photographed the car bout ten years ago at Limerock

and this is a bio on the car fr the internet

Chassis Num.wpd

[absmiami]

 

okay - I learned that you can not open a word perfect link here - so  here's the bio:

 

Chassis Num: MK9-14-55

In 1955, the car was sold new by Cooper Works to the USA and its period race history is unknown. It was imported back to the UK by Clive Osbourne in 1970 and sold to Roger Sweet in the mid-1970s. In 1980, it was sold to Richard Crosthwaite.

This 1955 Cooper T36 MK9 was driven by Stirling Moss at the 2nd Festival of Speed at Goodwood in 1994. Subsequently raced by Oliver Crosthwaite. It was sold in 2002 to Charles McCabe, the present owner, who has campaigned the car in North America.

The car is powered by a Norton Manx 499cc single cylinder engine with a short-stroke magneto ignition. The engine produces around 50 horsepower and is matted to a Norton 4-speed manual gearbox. The oil system is a dry sump setup with a separate 1 gallon fuel tank. The clutch is a 'Dry multi-plate' setup with a Norton motorcycle pattern. The front brakes have two leading shoes while the rear is a single disc HRG-Lockheed, centrally mounted unit. The total weight of the vehicles is a mere 530 pounds.

[absmiami]

so this is the Deeks Cooper F III kit with the white metal parts - including suspension, wheels, and engine

some preliminary work has been done on the nose ...

 

[absmiami]

front frame construction using evergreen rod - 1/16th - with one of the Deeks white metal suspension arms n white metal - modified to attach to brackets - again made from evergreen

[absmiami]

the bulkhead support tubes between the seat and the engine compartment are made from 1 16th sheet stock, filed, shaped, etc.  Evergreen rod bends a little, but not alot, at least not well ....

[absmiami]

the brown stuff glued to the end of the bodywork is renshape

it files nicely and adheres well with zap formula glues

was used here to fill in where a portion of the body had broken off

[absmiami]

[absmiami]

beginning work on the rear frame and suspension pick-ups

again Evergreen strip, files, saws, and liquid glue

[absmiami]