Lola T-70 Mk III

[Scale-Master]

Two more brass flanges were made and added to the rear side of the bulkhead.

[Anglia105E]

The strengthening pieces being added are very interesting, and especially the brass flanges. That front end clip fits nicely by the look of it, Mark.

I keep noticing several boxed kits sitting there on top of my tall cabinets, just waiting patiently for me to bring them to the table and build them. Most likely it will be the 1935 - 1954 Delahaye 135 by Heller in 1:24 scale..... then there is a 1930 Bentley 4.5 litre Blower by Revell, and a resin body 1960 Ford Anglia...... waiting.... like your Lola T-70 Mk III

David

[Scale-Master]

It needs reinforcement.  The body plastic is rather brittle and has many fit issues.

 

The windshield frame is very fragile and the way the kit is designed the center of the roof holds it to the rear bulkhead and the doors are hinged off that little center section too.   In order the shore up the greenhouse and be able to fill in the seams and allow the doors to operate (and to make it safer for the occupants…), I decided to add a simple roll cage.

The first hoop was made from Plastruct 3/16 tubing to replicate 2.25 inch steel tubing.  I found a roll of tape that was the approximate diameter to match the arc of the roof & doors and clamped the tubing to it while heating with a hairdryer.

When it cooled, I spot heated it again with the hairdryer to make it conform to the inside contours.  Steel pins locate it to the bulkhead and brass receivers were installed into the tub for the roll bar to slide into. 

[Scale-Master]

There were gaps in both door sills and under both sides of the rear bulkhead where it meets the side pods.  I guess I should consider myself lucky that the gaps were consistent side to side.  Strips of sheet styrene were used for filler.

[Pete J.]

I'm always nervous about adding shims anywhere on a model.  A good engineer friend of mine frequently reminds me that these seem to multiply.  Change dimension A and now B,C and D are out of wack.  It takes a skilled craftsman to manipulate these thing and your just the person to do it!

[Scale-Master]

1 hour ago, Pete J. said:

I'm always nervous about adding shims anywhere on a model.  A good engineer friend of mine frequently reminds me that these seem to multiply.  Change dimension A and now B,C and D are out of wack.  It takes a skilled craftsman to manipulate these thing and your just the person to do it!

That is a valid concern Pete, but since I started out by truing and hard fastening it together with the tub as the constant, and after countless unbuilds/rebuilds the  gaps were consistent. 

I could always fall back on the reality that these (real) cars are not known for their precise fit, but I want it to have some semblance of symmetry. 

Plus it needs to be engineered to be paintable after all the changes are done.

[Anglia105E]

I am liking the technique of bending the Plastruct tubing around the roll of tape with the clamping and hair dryer, Mark...... that is a good way to form a curved tubular section of styrene.

David

[Scale-Master]

Good to know some of the tricks I share might get used by others.

 

The engine cover does not fit as well as the front clip by a long shot.  At least the top of the leading edge lines up with the bulkhead fairly straight.

But the insides of the scoops are about 0.055 taller than the same spots on the bulkhead.

And the gaps where it meets the side pods are off in a different way on each side.

[Scale-Master]

To fix the discrepancies at the scoops the outside of the bulkhead was built up with sheet styrene. 

I also trued up where the bulkhead meets the side pods.

 

[Scale-Master]

After dry-fitting the engine cover and massaging the fit, I averaged out most of the ill-fitting areas and then shimmed the bottom edges with a couple blocks of styrene that were shaped to fill the gaps.

[Scale-Master]

Now that the mating surfaces of the engine cover are getting close I noticed shapes at the bottom of the scoop openings in the engine cover are very different, and the one on the right does not match the contour of the bulkhead at all.  At least the one on the left follows the bulkhead even if it doesn't align to it…

[Mooneyzs]

Mark.... What an awesome new project.  I haven't been around here much lately. This is going to be another fun one to follow along and looking forward to your updates.  You are already off to a killer start, it's looking good.

[Scale-Master]

Thanks Chris!

 

I hand filed the opening and reshaped where it meets the bulkhead.  Better, but still more fine tuning needed.

[Scale-Master]

The right side of the bulkhead needed to be fattened up too, both to thicken the cross-section and to bring it up to the height of the engine cover.  I used .018 sheet styrene.

[Mooneyzs]

Mark.... nice work, I like what you have done. Looks like it fits like a glove now.

[Scale-Master]

Thanks Chris, it is getting closer, but so many things have to match up that each step forward brings in more things that have to play along.

 

I thinned the left inside of the bulkhead with a Dremel and hand sanding for continuity then added some .010 sheet styrene to bring it up to the engine cover.  At this point I'm using the doors as guides to shape the body line in the bulkhead as well as the engine cover.

[Scale-Master]

Until the doors are modified and installed the work on the bulkhead and engine cover is on hold.  The front roll bar was made the same way as the rear one.

[Scale-Master]

I sawed the oil and fuel fill columns off the tub.  I doubt I'll reuse them; probably machine new ones, but they are not very visible with the dash installed either…

[mad mike]

Hello Mark,

you're doing some great work on your Lola! Seeing that you customize a lot I wanted to ask you what you'll be doing with the engine. If you're interested I could make you some special parts on my printer, I've made lots of engine stuff for my 1/8 projects. Just asking because I think it would be great fun to support such a cool build.

[Scale-Master]

Thanks Mike!  I am designing several parts for this in SolidWorks.  I have a printer that I'm working with for the 3D parts and he's in the 40 micron range right now.

I'm planning to replace the engine with a more accurate SB Chevy.

 

When I mounted the front roll bar to the cowl/windshield frame I paid attention to get a good fit for the windshield.  But now the hood/fenders/nose doesn't fit very well to it.  Not a surprise and an easy tradeoff.   But it also turns out the dark blue plastic the body is molded in is really brittle. 

A goal from the start was to not have the body panels under tension when assembled, but now it is very important due to how many cracks and parts have broken under just modest stress.  Brass reinforcements have been added along the way including the pins and machined tubes for mounting points at the cowl.  To cut down on the load/stress I had to add mounting points to the front of the tub and hood too.

[mad mike]

Alright, I'm looking forward to the setup you choose for your sbc!

[Pete J.]

Hey Mark, following this with great interest.  These old 1:12 scale Tamiya kits were amazing for their time, but that was a long time ago, back in the day of hand cut molds.  Back then getting two symmetric sides was a real challenge and close was pretty amazing.   I know it is cost prohibitive but I really wish they would go back and rework some these molds.

  I ran into the same issues that you have here in the 935.  Lots of plastic and putty just to close the body/chassis gaps.  I discovered the asymmetry when made a replacement front windscreen.  The kit part had a join line running down the middle of it.  I made a pattern from card stock and cut a new one from thermoform plastic and when I put it in it would only go in one way.  The window opening was really asymmetric left to right.  

It is fun to see your solutions.  Are you planning on selling the 3D parts you are making?

[Scale-Master]

I procured what I need for the engine block over the weekend, but that facet of the project is not what has my attention at this time.

 

Yes, symmetry is a problem on this one too.  I reshaped the fender openings and flares to try to make them more even.  The real cars were also hand-built and I've noticed have some issues in common with the kit...

I agree on the idea of re-engineering the kits; too costly in all likelihood, but it sure would be cool to have fresh ones that fit like modern kits.

There is a possibility of selling some of the parts, it depends on if there is a market for them. For example, I'm working on making new wheels, but they will be a custom variation of the 6 spoke Lola wheels that will use machined aluminum outer rims.  Not much use for them without the metal parts and I the price I've have to charge to machine more is not going to be competitive.

[Scale-Master]

A little sheet styrene and reshaping remedied most of the discrepancy at the cowl/hood panel line.

[Scale-Master]

More shimming and shoring up to try to true out the tub and body.  I added several support ribs to the tub in the side pods and the rear of the side pods are now anchored to the tub with screws too.

Edited June 18, 2019 by Scale-Master