Maserati A6GCS Spyder

[absmiami]

Here’s a rare bird - or sports car kit ...  Strada 24 produced some really cool sports car kits about 10 years ago - before disappearing intO the garage resin kit ether ... the caster was fr Argentina. 

[absmiami]

I’ll send the caster an email and I’ll post his reply if I get one ...  kits were curbside with some nice photo-etch. -  enough to give you a start...  produced in very low numbers  and not available for years now -  I assume the caster made his fortune and turned to other pursuits ...

[absmiami]

The body casting was a thick, and

one piece - but the lines were quite good -  I carved out the trunk and bonnet and thinned out much of the resin structure - big mess ... adding tabs inside the openings to support the separated bonnet and trunk ...

[absmiami]

So the plan is to add / make just about everything else and build one of the two factory team cars from the 1954 Sebring race. For the record - both cars DNF’d - but the factory would be back - with greater success - later in the decade ...

[afx]

This looks interesting.

[Bainford]

Man, you sure do get into some cool subject matter. This looks like an interesting project. 

[Dann Tier]

9 minutes ago, Bainford said:

Man, you sure do get into some cool subject matter. This looks like an interesting project. 

Definitely!!!....really looking forward to this!!

[Venom]

Sexy body lines! ...Sounds like you already got a bunch of time into it thinning the shell...I’ll love seeing this one come to life knowing how good of work you do.

[89AKurt]

Cool subject, will pull up a chair.

[absmiami]

Remember - this was designed by Fantuzzi in 1953 !  How influential were the lines of this little race car?  When Mazda drew the body design for their series I  MX5,  in 1987 - ish. ...  bet they had a picture of this car displayed on their design studio wall .... curves have always been the car designers best friend - right, Mr Tesla ?

[afx]

Suspect it might have had some influence on the AC Ace

[absmiami]

Yes. But there is more influence from Pinin Farina on the British sports cars in the early fifties.  Compare the lines of the early Ferrari Barchettas .  Enzo must have taken one look at the A6GCS and realized he might want to do business with Medardo Fantuzzi - and that turned out pretty well ...  my favorite mid-engined Ferrari is the 206SP.  did Fantuzzi nail that - or what?  That garage resin kit is crawling to the top of my tobuild list ...

[absmiami]

So the phone ads on the list are sometimes infuriating ...  do I really need to be reminded what my ear wax looks like ?  But today I’ve got a nice one ?  The Ragnar relay runner’s events are returning to Florida - and that’s very welcome almost-post pandemic news ...

[absmiami]

Openings for the headlights ...   drilling, grinding and sanding ...   drilling, grinding and sanding ...  keep wondering what I’m going to do when I grow up ...

[absmiami]

And two manatees. ...  designed by Fantuzzi ...

[Dave B]

Andrew, I am extremely jealous, what a great kit to have!!

Dave B

[absmiami]

David. I’ve sent the castor an email - hope the link is current ...  Maserati made less than 50 spyders - betting that strada24 Sold less than 50 kits. I’ll post the answer if I get one - either way - it was a fortunate purchase ...

[Venom]

On 3/13/2021 at 8:26 AM, absmiami said:

Remember - this was designed by Fantuzzi in 1953 !  How influential were the lines of this little race car?  When Mazda drew the body design for their series I  MX5,  in 1987 - ish. ...  bet they had a picture of this car displayed on their design studio wall .... curves have always been the car designers best friend - right, Mr Tesla ?

Sure do see some body line similarities here (FIAT Barchetta)

Edited March 15, 2021 by Venom

[Pico]

How many unfinished projects do you have on your workbench?

[absmiami]

This post suggests thaT I mite be somehow scattered or unfocused...    I resemble that remark ...

[Codi]

Fantastic bodywork on an interesting subject Andrew.  She is a beautiful car.   cheers, tim

[Bernard Kron]

You posted on the thread I just started on the same car, but far from the same casting, or approach to building it for that matter. When my kit popped up on eBay I wondered why the notion of an A6GCS/53 was so fresh and appealing in my mind. Now I realize that I had visited this thread when you first posted it in March.

Do I understand correctly that it's your intention to build a chassis, motor, suspension, etc.  My casting is far too thick to even consider such a thing. And mine came with no fancy photoetch. Is the flange for the windscreen on yours cast in place? Mine has none at all, even though it came with a correctly shaped windscreen. Overall I think yours may be somewhat more faitfhul to the early Fantuzzi race bodies. The grill, for example, is smaller and more 3500GT-esque on mine. Also I think yours captures the slightly nose high front end look caused by the large, open front wheel arches. On mine that's somewhat more subdued. Mine will be far less ambitious, trying to use as much of the original kit as possible, even the cast wire wheels/tires. I'm in the midst of clean up and determining what details to change or add. Overall my kit could have been far, far worse that it turned out to be. And you can't beat the subject...

[absmiami]

Sotheby's is selling chass 2053  -   w Sebring race history  -  at Amelia in March

having received clearance to fly to Utah in early May for the last GSL

- do I dare propose an additional long weekend in Amelia in early march ??

or should I just slurp up the online catalog pix and behave ??

 

????   ??   

 

 

[absmiami]

project took a little nap whilst I searched for better info on the chassis - which Maserati was evolving on a nearly yearly basis in the early fifties.

Low and behold, I was able to glom an internet image of an A6GCS that had come to an unfortunate end in a road race back in the day...  

[absmiami]

Marcello - our Sourh American intrepid caster - took a serious swing at the chassis for this kit -