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Posted

I'm calling this one done.  This is the fenderless version of the '49 Plymouth that the Ramchargers first raced in the 1959 season.  There is a build thread in the WIP section.

There were many innovations on this car that are still being used today, such as ram induction and tuned headers.  The wheel base was altered and the car was raised sky high.  The crankshaft of the engine was 36" above the pavement to assist weight transfer, later outlawed by the NHRA and beginning a long contest of wills between the NHRA and the Ramchargers.

My model started 15 years ago with a resin clone of a die cast.  The resin copy was then chopped and many of the body proportions were corrected.  I then recast the chopped model.  It got stalled because there are no parts available.  The advent of 3d printing and a club "Shelf of Doom" build brought it back to life.

The chassis and some of the interior is from the AMT '41 Plymouth.  The rear axle is Monogram '57 Corvette. The Hemi came from the AMT '57 Chrysler 300 (prepainted version), with valve covers cloned from the Revell Hemi Hydro.  Many of the other parts were scratch built or 3d printed.

Anyways, here is the finished project.  Comments and suggestions are welcome.

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  • Like 17
Posted

That wild homebrewed tunnel ram hath been perfectly executed in scale ! A work of art unto its own. 

Delightful replica of the High & Mighty !

Keep 'em coming !

Posted

This is the most amazing model car I have ever seen.  You should be proud of the results.  This is a difficult build at best and you nailed nearly every detail.  This will look very good on the shelf.

Posted

What’s not to love here let’s start with the ram tube intake , the headers, the hand mixed paint, hand lettering, spot on body mod’s, detailed chassis, and everything else. It’s just so bitchin . Great work!

Posted

What a magnificent scale model of one of the weirdest, loudest and most innovative drag cars that ever raced. I’m particularly impressed with how accurate you were able to make body  relative to period photos, the four bar rear suspension, the crude hand lettering (probably much more difficult to do than it looks?) and the scratch-built/ 3D printed crude tunnel ram and wild trumpet headers. Very very cool!

Posted (edited)

Great to see the fruits of labor and love for the passion! I too really enjoy finding, duplicating, and trying to figure out how to reverse engineer one-of-a-kind classics in 1:25 scale. Well done!!!!

Edited by Lobo2me
Cleaned up some typos...fingers are like a bunch of bananas sometimes!
Posted

A wonderful build of a iconic drag car.  Nice that you took the time to finish what to me looks like a challenging build.  Be proud of it.

Posted

Thanks everyone, for all the kind comments.  This one really pushed me to improve my skills and remember some that I had forgotten.  On to the next one!

BTW, I'm working on a putting together a "kit" that will include the resin body and 3d printed parts.  It should be available by the Fall.  PM me if interested.

Posted

Looks great! I've only ever seen one other model of it. That one was built by Neil Van Zile. It's one of my favorite old drag cars, just for its dedication only to being quick and fast, and absolutely eschewing aesthetics. Excellent job, sir!

Posted

Nice work, Bill. An excellent job of one of the most important cars in door slammer drag racing history. I am very glad to see this model built, and such great effort to replicate its unique features in detail. I've been wanting to build a model of this car ever since I first saw it in a magazine in the 80s. On a couple of occasions over the years, I had done a search for a decent starting point, but came up empty. Now that you have done such a great job on it, I don't have to. Thanks for removing one more project from my overcrowded project list. You have really done this drag racing icon justice.

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