70s Era Asphalt Modified

[CabDriver]

A couple of years back I built the evergreen MPC Rat Trap Vega, then last year entered it in a local show and it won best oval car:

The prize was…another of the same kit 🤪

And the condition was, build it and bring it back next year and enter again.  Deal! I doubt I’ll get away with another box-stock build with some light detailing though, so for this year’s entry I decided to see how far I could detail up one of these fairly-simple kits and really bring it to life - kinda like those amazing full-detail NASCAR builds done by people I admire like Clay Kemp and the late Dave Thibodeau.

First step in the manual is tires (why do NASCAR guys often start with the tires?!) and I wanted to switch out the treaded kit ones for a set of slicks.  I COULD print some, but the aftermarket has plenty of options so I ordered a set that I suspect are designed specifically for this line of MPC kits.  They slide right on the wheels like a glove!

These are actually injection molded rather than resin, and they come with waterslide tire lettering which is a big bonus in adding some detail.  So, how much detail can we add to a tire,  whilst I pondered that, I spent an hour or so cleaning up the mold lines, rounding off the edges and sanding some flats on the bottom to make them appear as though some weight is squishing them a little.

Kit tire on the left, new replacement tire center, sanded and prepped tire right:

I then shot the tires with a coat of Createx base (which is a translucent clear, almost like a primer) that allows better paint adhesion to tough-to-paint surfaces and tomorrow I can hit them with some airbrushing to add some realism.

Next step: the wheels - what can we do to THOSE to add some detail and realism?  Well, first thing that struck me was the lugnut detail is kinda soft and uninspiring, so I drilled them out…

…and 3D printed a whole bunch of replacements…

…and now I have separate pieces that I can paint more easily and that look a little better I think:

Tomorrow’s job on the wheels will be making some balancing weights and valve stems and playing with those tires some more.

This is gonna be a fairly deep dive into a bunch of probably boring little details (like sanding tires and making lugnuts) so if you’re not into that - apologies for being boring 🤪. 

More soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[presnell]

NICE!!!

[TarheelRick]

Got one of these in the stash, may use some of your tips - when I get to it.  Sort of like a "roundtoit".  Anyway congrats on the award.

[Rattlecan Dan]

Very Nice Work. " Pinky " is cool. I Love the MPC Modified kits myself. Waiting for your next one!

[CabDriver]

Thanks fellas!!

Day two is still step one of the instructions…tires.  Talk about dragging out a simple thing…

First up, airbrushed some Vallejo colors to add some shading and realism (hopefully) to the rubber.  I used a little white to mix a lighter tone of their black, gray and brown for some extra variation):

Then, a coat of gloss clear to help the decals stick, followed by the decals themselves:

Then, a coat of satin matte clear to get rid of that gloss:

They’re starting to get the subtle color variations and finish I wanted now…final step for right now was toning down the white lettering somewhat with Tamiya pastels:

Before and after shot:

Now I’ve almost run out of work to do on the tires, back to the wheels…except I want to add brakes to this thing, and I need to figure those out before I can finish the wheels.  Printed up some disk brakes and calipers:

My printer nailed the detail on these I think:

And my next job was modifying the kit steering arms to accommodate the disks.  Whilst I was at it, I switched out the inner part of the wheel rims for some from the parts box with a more in-scale wall thickness:

I’m still contemplating what to do with the rear brakes - I suspect drums would be a more common option for this era of Modified?  Haven’t totally figured that out yet…but more soon, soon as I do!  Thanks for looking!

[Rattlecan Dan]

Wow. Looks like you're going all out on this one. Keep up the good work. Anxious to see the results.

[bytownshaker]

Will be following your build, loved watching this era of modifieds saw Richie Evans, Jerry Cook Maynard Troyer etc  at our local track.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Nice hardware for "Pinky", and a great start updating this blobular old dinosaur of a kit with 21st century bits.

Loving those "boring" details too.   

[CabDriver]

Thanks fellas!  

It’s Monday, so I didn’t get a straight 8 hours at the bench today…but got a little done on three different mini-projects that I’m mentally figuring out as I go.

First project was easy - I went to the mailbox, opened the mail and checked out the Detail Master hood pin set that I’ll be using to, well, pin the hood.  They’re some serious small clevis pins!

They’ll work out perfect for the hood, and I’m considering opening up the trunk too so you can see the fuel cell and the rear axle.  Looks like, from my research, a lot builders would weld the trunk closed on this era of car so I’m still debating if I’ll end up going that route…

As I posted elsewhere on the site I was struggling to understand how the front suspension would actually function on this this if it were real, and it turns out, it kinda wouldn’t.  Here’s the kit parts in place:

I’ll be working through and replacing as much of that as I can with something a little more detailed and less ‘blobular’.  Broke out the soldering iron tonight and some brass and made a start on a swaybar but didn’t get super far on that.
 

That part was mostly a little practice to see if I could make something convincing with brass bar, tube and eventually some 3D printed hardware, but I’m also experimenting with printing rod ends that can simply slip onto the end of regular old brass roundbar.

They’re cool in principle, but it’s tough to print them properly in-scale because you need a big enough hole to slide the bar into them, whilst keeping a thin wall thickness on the print.  Plus, UV cure resin is like glass if you try and drill it so you really need to nail the size of them AND account for resin shrinkage.  More experimenting to do on those…

Speaking of printing, I did some more research and couldn’t immediately find examples of these cars running disks on the rear but DID find a few shots showing rear drums.  Body-off shots of this era of oval car seem to be tough to find so I’m relying on a lot of blurry old analogue photos…but I think drums are a safe and logical bet for the rear end.

A while back I printed a bunch of brake drums in varying (scale) quarter inch increments and I sorted through some this evening that will work well and not require a bunch of modifications to the axle and wheels:

I’ll print some that are tweaked to easier fit the square mounts on this round axle tomorrow, but now I have (mostly) decided on a direction anyway…

A long post with not much actual action, but I also had to diagnose a broken 1:1 car (my Mustang is having some new electrical problems this past couple of weeks and I’m trying to decide which thing to fix first on it) AND assemble a new cat tree for my wife (well, my wife’s cats), so more deep-dives into the kinda boring detail that Bill and I enjoy tomorrow!  Thanks for looking!

[CabDriver]

Happy Tuesday y’all!  A little more progress…and if it seems like I’m kinda skipping all over the place, it’s because I kinda am - but it makes sense in my head.  

3d printed the brake drums this evening - had to modify the file I was using to accommodate the square mounting pegs on the kit axle, but no biggie - and they fit like a glove.  A slightly loose glove, but that’ll change once there’s a few layers of paint and primer on there…

I’ll detail these parts up some more, but I’ve got a good solid starting point now…

Whilst I was printing some stuff I tried my track rod ends again and tried a new trick…by mounting them on pins for the curing I can make sure the holes are nice and clean and opened up fully whilst the resin is still a little pliable and sticky, and then when they’re cured the holes don’t shrink down to being unusable.  Seems to have worked great, and I’m pleased I’ll be able to use some of these on the build to add a little detail:

Not that you can see them in that clear resin very well, but they should look good with some paint anyway 🤪

Whilst the printer was running I dug through my stash for a better engine to use than the MPC big block in the kit.  It’s not TERRIBLE…but this Revell version is nicer.  Kit part at the back, Revell at the front:

I’ll be using the MPC intake manifold and valve covers, plus a couple of upgrade parts like these machined pulleys, a better carb and one of my printed distributors.  Check out the detail on that carb 😍

Next couple of jobs will be finishing up the wheels (which I why was focusing on getting the brakes done so I could test-fit everything) and then I can start mocking up the engine properly and figuring out the suspension so that I can THEN work on the frame.  See, told you it makes sense to me 🤪

More soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Edited April 5, 2023 by CabDriver

[Straightliner59]

8 hours ago, CabDriver said:

…and if it seems like I’m kinda skipping all over the place, it’s because I kinda am - but it makes sense in my head.

Sometimes, it's just necessary. 🙂 Looking good, Jim!

[CabDriver]

15 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Sometimes, it's just necessary. 🙂 Looking good, Jim!

Thank you!!  Love your work btw!

 

A little progress tonight, and a little failure…my track rod ends, which I thought I had figured out, all split overnight.  Back to the drawing board - still determined to figure out how to make those, but the thin walls just split and cracked on me.  I can beef them up some, but I was trying to get them properly in scale AND hollow.  I’ll keep playing with that.

In more productive news, I started slicing up the suspension to get it where it would actually feasibly work.  Separated the lower ‘wishbones’ (kinda wishbones), and sliced the linkages away from a nonsensical tubular support they were attached to and added the sway bar that I had soldered up earlier this week…it’s very rough right now, but at least mechanically feasible now…

I still need to figure out how to fix the much more visible stuff on the right-side-up of the suspension - I’ll definitely be making some coil overs and probably separating that radiator and replacing the little hood pins…so, basically, scratchbuilding the whole thing probably 🤪

I ordered some photoetch radiator mesh material on Amazon and it arrived today so that’ll be a big step in adding some realism to the rad:

Started some bodywork - removing mold-seams and filling in ejector-pin holes in the underside of the body (although there’s more to do yet there)…I think I’d like to hide some body structure up inside that roof if it won’t interfere with the rollcage too much:

And finally a quick mock-up to see if everything still fits together right.  Had to tweak the motor mounts very very slightly to get the new improved Revell block to fit properly but otherwise it just fell right in there:

Just a small update but it’s all progress!  

More soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[Straightliner59]

1 hour ago, CabDriver said:

I’ll definitely be making some coil overs and probably separating that radiator and replacing the little hood pins…so, basically, scratchbuilding the whole thing probably 🤪

Ain't that the way it goes?!😁 Sometimes, I think it's just as easy to scratchbuild something--but, that might just be because I enjoy that more than cleaning up parting lines and stuff. It will be a pleasure to watch this come along. Thank you for your kind words, Jim.

[TooOld]

This is going to be awesome Jim !  With your ability to print parts and your painting skill it's sure to be a winner !

Those hood pin sets look great when finished . A couple of tips : 1 - The scuff plates don't fit over the needle eyes , eye hit the needle with a file .  2 - My set came with thread for the clevises , looks like yours may have wire ? I used some copper wire strands colored with a silver Sharpie .

[CabDriver]

Thanks Daniel!  And thanks Bob for the tip - yeah, I think my hood pin set has wire in there - I’ll have to open it up and take a look.

A little more progress…

Got the frame cleaned up for paint (after this photo was taken, obviously 🤪)

And into primer:

Did a little more cleanup and then got it shot with a nice bright Createx red:

I’m trying to show off all the little details on this one, and not just shooting everything black will hopefully help with that…

Drilled out the wishbones so I can add some bolt detail to them come assembly time:

Cleaning up those wishbones after this pic took as long as cleaning up the frame, but with that done got some paint on these and a few other suspension components, plus the block and some engine parts:

And did some prep on the body (even the stuff I think no one will ever see, just because of my conscience and not being able to NOT do it…)

And I made a start on detailing up the radiator some, shown here before I had started painting the frame:

I separated it from the shock mounts, made new mounts for it I’ll add some detail as I go to bring it up to speed a little…

Excited to lay some clear on the frame, give it some light weathering (I’m going for ‘lightly track used new built’ rather than ‘end of season ruined’ for this one) and start to stick some parts onto it!  

More soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[Bainford]

Things are looking great, Jim. Therse MPC modifieds and super stockers were some of my favourite models growing up, and I find they still have that cool short-track vibe right out of the box. I'm glad to see one of these kits getting the full work-out. Great work so far.

[1930fordpickup]

Looking good Jim. 

[CabDriver]

On 4/11/2023 at 10:08 AM, Bainford said:

Things are looking great, Jim. Therse MPC modifieds and super stockers were some of my favourite models growing up, and I find they still have that cool short-track vibe right out of the box. I'm glad to see one of these kits getting the full work-out. Great work so far.

Thank you sir!  I’d like to build the whole set, and then forward date them somewhat too and make something more like they were running in the 80s.  So many projects in my queue (and the more I research ONE project, the more new ideas I get…)

23 hours ago, 1930fordpickup said:

Looking good Jim. 

Thank YOU too!

Another update, seeing as I’ve been kinda bad about posting updates…I’m kinda in that ‘primer and paint’ stage where nothing is really getting BUILT right now, but I made SOME progress anyway…

Got the engine components painted in various metal finishes, plus some of the suspension components…

…and then gave all the mechanical bits a blackwash.  I’m going for used-but-not-ruined as my weathering ethos on this…just a nice clean well-maintained car that has maybe just been refreshed a little for a fresh season at the track:

The intake manifold is amongst the more complex parts on the engine in terms of adding detail - drilled out all the molded-in holes and replaced them with 3D printed nuts and bolts:

Those washes really help bring out some detail in these parts, especially coupled with a lighter colored fastener…

I spun up some parts on the lathe and used some aftermarket pulleys to start dressing this thing up…plenty left to do still but I’m kinda building this as I go so I don’t lose any crucial tiny pieces 🤪

Shot the carb too - need to make a plate to mount it to the intake and then figure out all the details THAT will have added to it:

Got the frame in color:

And then hit it with some clear (and got WAY nicer of a finish than I really need…but this too will be getting some light weathering):

I decided that  kit radiator was a good enough starting point for some additional detail, so I added a filler neck, hose in/outs and then shot it all Testor’s enamel black for that glossy-enamel look that radiators seem to always have - I should probably figure out a catch-can for it too, although I’m not sure if those were required by most tracks in the era when this would’ve raced:

And finally, I did a little filler work on the body to get it smooth and hit it with primer…

…and then, having turned it from white to gray I immediately then turned it back to white again as a base for the rest of the paintjob:

MOST of these cars didn’t have super complex paintjobs, but some were nicer than others anyway - I’ll be going for the ‘nicer than others’ option but still shooting for something period correct…

And that’s where I’m at so far…oh, and I still didn’t finish the wheels, but I got them painted and in clear anyway 🤪

Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[Pierre Rivard]

Just caught up with this one Jim. You do beautiful work and your printing of nuts & bolts adds tons of realism. 

Superb work overall!

[CabDriver]

Thanks Pierre!

A little more progress this past working week…had a super busy week but got a little done…

Masked up some lines on the body:

Then shot Createx bright green:

Shot some Createx intercoat over that, left overnight and then remasked:

Then shot a darker Wicked Colors green over top…

(That green shade really messed with my camera…)

Then, removed the masking and tada…a nice basis for the rest of the paint on this I think:

Plenty left to do, but this took a few days to handle so I’m doing a photo-dump whilst I can still find the pics in my camera roll…more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Edited April 22, 2023 by CabDriver

[TooOld]

COOOL ! Love that paint job !  Funny how some colors just don't like their picture taken . 

[CabDriver]

14 hours ago, TooOld said:

COOOL ! Love that paint job !  Funny how some colors just don't like their picture taken . 

Thanks Bob!  

Today was pretty productive - nothing got FINISHED but I got a lot done…

Did a bunch of work on the engine - 3D printed a distributor and wired it, made some A/N type fittings so I could plumb the carb and added some photoetch and some threaded bar for the air filter to spin onto:

Then painted the oil pan, added a printed drain plug and a little drop of Future around the plug to make it look like it has a little oil around there:

It’s actually almost done, apart from the starter and throttle cable and anything else I think of.  Apparently a lot of these cars ran a large well-charged battery and no alternator, so that allowed me to keep it fairly ‘clean’ (but still dirty…)

I finally got around to gluing all those individual lugnuts to the wheels, and got them assembled, complete with valve stems…they need some very light weathering but they’re close to being ready to install…

Next up, a light wash on the frame to give it a little life.  I’m not going for super-dirty on this build, but I wanted to add a little bit of wear and tear at least…

The underside got a little more weathering than the top, but not a bunch…dry brushed some Vallejo steel on the edges of the frame, added a couple of little scuffs and some very minor rust and called it good…I figure these things run low and they probably scrape and grind the tracks a LITTLE anyway:

And next up was a straight three hours of assembling - most of which was adding photoetch and printed fasteners…I didn’t finish yet so I’ll post better pics when I have, but something I’m pretty pleased with is how good the disk brakes look on my quick mock-up here…love that my printer managed to print the vent holes to where they’re actually visible:

 

Oh, and from earlier in the day, a quick motivational mock-up of how some of these (semi) finished pieces will look all together:

Still a LOT to do, but it’s coming together slowly…next jobs will be making shocks for the front, finishing up the hardware and fasteners and then detailing the radiator.

Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[dwc43]

Just so you know the next time, the big pulley goes on the water pump and the small one goes on the crank. On the real thing that set up will make it overheat with the small on top and big on the bottom. That creates a ratio that spins the water pump too fast. We slow the water pumps down with big pulley on top and small on bottom. It keeps the water pump in the 3500 rpm range when the engine is singing at 7500 or better. 

[CabDriver]

4 hours ago, dwc43 said:

Just so you know the next time, the big pulley goes on the water pump and the small one goes on the crank. On the real thing that set up will make it overheat with the small on top and big on the bottom. That creates a ratio that spins the water pump too fast. We slow the water pumps down with big pulley on top and small on bottom. It keeps the water pump in the 3500 rpm range when the engine is singing at 7500 or better. 

Really?  Huh!  Did not know that...is that specifically an oval trick?  I struggled finding good reference pics so I went with how a street engine would be....minus the alternator obviously.

GREAT insight on something I hadn't found out through research (it's really tough finding pics of this era of pavement car showing decent pics of the body and frame...) - THANK YOU!

[dwc43]

4 minutes ago, CabDriver said:

Really?  Huh!  Did not know that...is that specifically an oval trick?  I struggled finding good reference pics so I went with how a street engine would be....minus the alternator obviously.

GREAT insight on something I hadn't found out through research (it's really tough finding pics of this era of pavement car showing decent pics of the body and frame...) - THANK YOU!

Yes, that's how it works. Mostly circle track stuff or lower budget drag cars. Most drag cars that still use radiators use electric water pumps now. Less drag on the engine. By the way, same thing for blower cars. Bigger pulley on the blower slows it down compared to rpm and you get less boost and vice versa.  I understand getting pics are hard to do as well. No one wants to show off their tricks and secrets. 

You can see in the pic below the huge water pump pulley compared to the smaller crank. You can also see the diff in size between the crank, water pump and oil pump pulley. It depends on what rpm you run the engine at as to what ratio you want from the pulley. When it comes to water moving it through the engine too fast will overheat it just like moving it too slow will do the same thing. My late model modified dirt track car makes roughly 800 to 900 horsepower and as you can see it makes enough torque coming out of the corner to pull the LF a good 6 to 8 inches off the ground. 

And you're welcome. If you need any help with race cars, hit me up and I'll try to help out. And by the way, it looking great so far. And I tossed in another pic for a cooling mod you will see on circle track cars too.