Sprint cars?

[Aaronw]

I saw a Sprint car kit the other day at my "local" Hobbytown (if 2 hours can be considered local), I think it was from Revell. It looks like it can be built as a sprint car with a rounded nose, or as a wedge shaped open cockpit racer.

Anyone know about this kit? Does it build up into a decent sprint car? It is the only kit of a sprint car I've ever seen, so I thought about getting it, but thought I'd ask about it first.

Thanks

[RyanSilva]

I have a AMT Grant King sprint car kit that is just like that. Its a nice kit! specially for building a sprint car type hybrid/open wheel track car (thats what im doing)

Its an older kit, but the mold is not that tired.

[ricky12]

I THINK THE KIT IS PRETTY ACCURET FOR THE TIME ITS BASED ON IF ITS THE MODEL KING RELEASE I HAVE SEEN THEM AT HOBBY LOBBY. ITS BEEN A FEW YEARS BUT THERE ARE SOME MODERN SPRINT CARS STILL RUNNING AROUND ON AUCTION SITES. I LIKED BOTH STYLES MYSELF

[Uncle Mike]

That's an AMT kit, not Revell, & is the same kit as mentioned by Ryan. You're probably looking at the recent Dirtrack Racecars private run reissue of it.

The kit was first issued in the 70's & can be built as a Grant King sprint car, or as a 70's era super modified, (the "wedge shaped" version), & has been reissued several times since then. It can also be backdated with a bit of work, (removal of the roll cage & replacing it with a roll bar or no roll bar depending on which era you want to replicate, different tires with grooves in them for dirt, different rims, engine/induction swaps, etc.), into an earlier sprint car from the 50's or 60's. Either way it is a nice kit.

You'll really need to replace the front tires with something wider & more appropriate for the car than what's in the box. Those front tires are the old AMT Firestone Supreme street tires of all things!! They are also too narrow for the rims provided, You'll also probably want to either cut grooves in the rear slicks or consider replacing those.

On the positive side, it is a very nice kit, (representative of some of the excellent but often overlooked new tools AMT did in the 70's), that builds up into a great & era correct replica, (tire reissue problems excluded), of either a sprint car or a super modified, (including different roll cage pieces & other difference between the 2 besides just the body panels), & includes 4 different decal sheets, which some or possibly all of are real life race cars. I know at least 2 of them are but can't recall which ones. The decal sheets are small, but most sprint cars in that era didn't carry a lot of decals, so with some additional minor research you can nail the cars down very closely.

In short, buy the kit. It's a fun build, (or was when I first built it in the 70's, I haven't started on my reissued one yet). Plus it's a limited run that was done 2 years ago, so it's probably getting a little scarce, & who knows when it will return?

BTW, Monogram, (& later Revell using the same molds), did a series of very nice World Of Outlaw sprint cars in the 80's & 90's in 1/24 scale, if you're looking for newer era sprinters. A few of those have been slightly updated & reissued, & the older ones pop up at swapmeets, auction sites old kit dealers & the like all the time. Some can still be found at the occasional hobby shops even now.

A Big 10-4, Mark. I wanted to replicate a 1956 CAE Sprint that my friend Rich Davis offered me in '77.

This was an old flathead Sprint, CAE chassis, round nose, traditional tail, (hard fuel tank) and I wanted to put it on the street. (I had a hot rod shop)

This CAE car had been 'updated' to 301 CID smallblock Chevy, but still had its in-and-out box, and Halibrand Champ rear.

I stepped aside for a racer friend that needed a new 'ride' that season. Wish now that I hadn't.

So, I'll build the model! (last time I pulled parts, I had a whole tabletop of scattered pieces, not as simple as one would think!)

But it is a worthwhile project, and I'm now torn between what I was gonna do (a Street version!) or a true-to-era race car. (I had my '27 T Highboy Roadster set up with a hidden receiver (hitch) for the 2-wheel trailer! Imagine an open-wheel fenderless CRA-type Roadster towing a Legal Sprint to the races)

We did more outrageous things than that in the 'Shop Years'...(1976-1987)

[Aaronw]

Thanks, I guess I'll get it next time I'm down there. They only recently added it which seems odd if it was re-issued a few years ago.