Kurtis Indy 500 car

[MicroNitro]

Hi,

I was reading Jairus's post on cutting down the 47 midget and had the idea of cutting down and resizing Monograms Kurtis 500 car to correct it being to long and the tapper on the sides. I think it is starting to look about right. I made it 7/8" shorter, an 1/8" from the nose and a 1/4" from the hood, cockpit and tail. Then I took a pie cut out of the width zero at the nose to 1/8" just behind the seat to get ride of the incorrect taper it had. I needs some more cutting in the rear pelly pan to give it more of upward curve. Also I will need to fill the cut down on the right side. Please let me know if you think I am on the right track with this. In the photos the white on is the one I have cut down. thanks

[ismaelg]

Jim,

It is evident that you know what you are doing. That is some great work there. I think it is worth casting in resin once you are done with the bodywork. I would be interested since the kit is not that hard to find. Maybe Jeff from Time Machine Resin?

Thanks,

[Jairus]

Jim, really? You think it was that far off?

Shoot, I have one of those kits here that I am working on building up into a nice slot car.... now I have to re-think the whole project!

Not sure if you are correct, so back to the research board...

Edited January 15, 2009 by Jairus

[MicroNitro]

I have taken measurements off off Kurtis 500's at the 500 Hall of Fame and I think I have done the math right. All the 500 series Kurtis's seem to be very close in size. The Monogram kit was made to be 1/24 scale and I am converting to 1/25 scale. But even at 1/24 the Monogram was too long. If you stand in front of the car and look down the side there is little if any taper in the hood sides witch the monogram had quite a bit measurements back this up.

The wheel base is 96" on the 1:1 witch I think would make it 3.84" in 1/25 scale. The monogram is 4.10" and after the modifications I did mine is 3.80" so mine ended up a hair to short (0.04"). I probably sanded to much trying to get the gaps tight after cutting the .25 out of the cock pit. The overall length is about 170" on the real car and mine is 6.75" and Monograms is 7.20". The width of the actual car at the fire wall is 37" and the monogram and my modified one are about 1.76". I think I have it real close to correct.

The Monogram kit has very good detailing lines and the Dzus fasteners even have the slots for the tool. I have a lot of Indy and cart kits from Etzel, Sellers and Jorgensen and the Monogram just looked too long displayed with them.

I have always been a fan of the Indy 500 I started going to the race when I was 7 years old. We only live about an hour from the track, so we go over to the museum often.

[Jairus]

Okay, I am convinced!

[Kribblig]

Nice work you are doing. I like the look of the Monogram Kurtis but always suspected it was a bit too sleek and not boxy enough.

Your corrections are capturing it nicely. Just for kicks here is the Monogram 1/24 KK500C beside Etzel's 1/25 KK500G, note how much shorter it is.

Hosted on Fotki

[MicroNitro]

I have gotten a little more done on the Kurtis

Looking at photos I realized I had made the hood too long so I redid the nose. Also the rear needed the sides to have less tapper so I added some pie shaped pieces to each side. Only the first 500C had the cockpit cut out on the right side so I started to fill that to make it correct for the car I am doing. I have also gotten rid of the outlet ducts on the engine bay.

At the speed I am working on this I should be finished in around 2020

[ismaelg]

Looking great Jim! I'm loving this project.

Is the grille opening the correct size or is it a tad small? Maybe the chrome molding makes it look smaller.

This body needs to be casted

Don't worry about the timeframe. You may finish it by the time I'm done with Danica's car.

Regards,