Ford F3L/P68 at Brands Hatch 1968, Alan Mann Racing (old kit reworked)

[1959scudetto]

5 years ago, I got a very rare, built kit of the Ford 3L/P68 from an Italian ebayer (see below). My goal was to rework this and turn it into the #34 car from the 1968 BOAC 500 in Brands Hatch:

As some of you encouraged me to write a WIP about it (which never was my intention), I finally decided to do it: Dave Bantoft gave me the last kick with his beautiful 3 D printed model, and I loved to watch Pierre Rivard’s WIPs on several sports racers over the last few years.

Don’t expect too much – I just want to show how I tried (and often errored) to achieve some degree of similarity of the model with its 1:1 counterpart.

A big help with reference material is Ed Heuvink’s book on the subject and of course the internet.

Whereas at first glance, the model looked 90 % correct, it happens to have several issues and lots of details that have to be modified or added.

The model has some features shown at the public presentation that were not on the car at the first race, so I believe it is supposed to be the very early version, albeit with an eye-balled rear body which is very wrong.

Molded in dark green, the model had been clearcoated (also the glass parts !), so stripping the paint and removing the decals were a must (even a bath in brake fluid was not enough to remove this so I had to scrape the decals with a hobby knife and sandpaper. The clear parts have been polished - they were intact but the headlight covers will be replaced. They have been damaged when I removed the headlights which were chromed blobs.

Obviously, the model was a battery-operated toy like many Japanese kits of the time (I'm sure this one dates back to 1968), therefore the Cosworth DFV under the opening hood looks a bit oversized, whereas chassis detail is non-existant, the front axle has a simplified steering mechanism.

Edited July 23, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[Dave B]

Looking forward to this Helmut, you can do it and I'm sure it will look great when finished.  I have a couple of other articles if you would like me to photograph them and send to you.  Haven't got a scanner, sorry.

If you want any help just ask

Dave B

[1959scudetto]

19 hours ago, Dave B said:

Looking forward to this Helmut, you can do it and I'm sure it will look great when finished.  I have a couple of other articles if you would like me to photograph them and send to you.  Haven't got a scanner, sorry.

If you want any help just ask

Dave B

Thank you for your generous offer, Dave - at the moment I have enough pics for this build. (But if necessary at a later date, I will certainly come back to it).

[1959scudetto]

When comparing the model with the real car, you will note similarities as well as differencies:

Here you can spot the chromed headlights:   

The front half of the car looks quite ok, maybe the 1:1 has a more pointed nose, but I can live with that:

The fuel filler has a cover, the indicators are included in the light housing (missing from the model). The side windows on the real car are not pointing inwards as on the model - this leads to the biggest issue:

the window line results in 2 heavy longitudinal grooves above the rear wheels that run to the rear spoiler - these have to disappear !

First I thought that there were measurement issues - wheelbase, car length etc. but these are almost correct.

The window above the engine is too large and in the wrong position - relocating it a bit further back is the solution...

Here is a pic from a historic race in the 90's with several modifications inherited (David Hobbs at the wheel): though a bit distorted through perspective, it clearly shows the placement of the clear back cover (this also makes reshaping new NACA ducts a must) - the big additional left side duct for the oil cooler is totally missing from the model. Also the roof-mounted mirror has to go, and a roof window has to be cut.

This leads us to the rear end: the original photo shows the car on its presentation to the public (NO rear spoiler, but 2 openings on the deck) - compare this with the rear of the model - you get the picture....

Plastic sheet, putty and a lot of time will be needed here !

 

Edited July 22, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[Dave B]

Helmut, be careful, the David Hobbs car has been restored and may not reflect as raced back in period.

Dave B

[1959scudetto]

12 hours ago, Dave B said:

Helmut, be careful, the David Hobbs car has been restored and may not reflect as raced back in period.

Dave B

I know, but the body proportions as a whole should be mostly identical (certain details of course not...)

[1959scudetto]

The front indicators (left and right of the water cooling opening) were missing from the model, so I took out my Dremel and round files and made 2 holes.

Then I cut 2 pieces of aluminium tube at a 45° angle and inserted them into the holes, fixing them with superglue. As this was not enough, I secured the tubes from the inside with 5 min. epoxy and held them in position for a while by inserting a piece of insulated wire - now it worked.

After painting the body, I will insert the indicators (have them already prepared : 2 transparent pieces of sprue with leftover amber indicating lights from amt truck kits glued on top of each - remember: don't throw away any leftover parts - you'll never know if they will be helpful some time...) - clear covers will finalize this.

 

 

Edited July 23, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[Pierre Rivard]

How wonderful that you have decided to jump in with a WIP of this wonderful race car. WIPs are my favorites because of the exchanges made possible between participants as the work progresses. So many learning opportunities.

You have a fun challenge with this one as decisions have to be made about what the kit offers and what the real car looked like through it's life (looks like it evolved a lot) and of course what level of modifications are doable. This will be fun to follow and I am rooting for you. Go for it my friend!

[1959scudetto]

A small update: first the roof-mounted mirror has to go... (here the car is on its kit wheels - these are wrong and have to go, too)

After carefully removing the glass trying not to break anything which I did succeed in, I made a quick 1:1 sketch with the car's silhouette and the dimensions of Fujimi's GT 40 wheels (my first choice):

Cutting the rectangular hole into the roof was a delicate task as the plastic is very brittle: s**t happens as we all know:

So  glueing, puttying and sanding was to be done. Additionally the body dropped onto the floor and the left A-pillar broke - this was quickly reglued with a drop of Revell liquid cement.

I had even more respect before cutting into the glass, but this was not a big problem - you just have to work slowly and carefully in order to avoid damage. The window hatch was cut from packaging material and glued with 3 tiny drops of white glue (maybe I will re-do this because it's shape is not correct (I happened to find a picture where this can clearly be seen a day later):

I also fabricated a cardboard template for an engine cover :

Let's have a look at the original  kit wheels (back and forth side) : made of rubber with a chrome insert mimicking the spokes. As the real car had 6 instead of 5 spokes, these are an absolute NO-GO and can't be used !

Either I will use Fujimi's wheel/tire combo or I will try something with my alternatives - see below: tires are amt(?) Goodyears, resin wheels are from Mini Exotics Ford Mirage transkit, the aluminium (slotcar ?) rims were included in one of the kits I aquired recently - they have spoke inserts glued in - maybe I can do something with them.

That's it for today - next time: my first big setback !

 

 

Edited July 30, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[1959scudetto]

Correction department: Dave was right, I was wrong: the rims of the P68 DO have 5 spokes , so the GT40 and Mirage wheels are not an option - I will try to work over the kit's wheel inserts with the aluminium rims.

Edited August 3, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[1959scudetto]

The trial and error method strikes again - with ERRORS !

The biggest task here is trying to correct some fundamental things about the engine cover. First I removed the steel wire mesh in the end plate and under the 2 deck openings:

the deep grooves along the whole engine cover have to be flattened - they were not present on the real car. The window had to be relocated a bit further back, it also was l little bit narrower than in the kit.

After carefully removing the glass I made a paper template and transferred this into thin plastic sheet (the front end was slightly curved, whereas the back end was almost straight), then glued it onto the body.

After drying, the NACA ducts had to be carved into it:

The 2 openings have been closed with thin plastic sheet - 

And finally, the 2 fins connected with the rear spoiler had to go, the spoiler was too wide and had to be narrowed, its ends had to be modeled from the ground up using plastic sheet,cut into small triangles:.

a small strip of plastic to level out the engine cover with the cab roof:

Everything was done using Tamiya white putty - used it for the first time - highly recommended!

As the rear end is still too wide and I did not want to go even further, I tried to make the slab-sided rear body more rounded: grinding away material from the lower contours , then  apply 2 layers of sheet plastic and lots of putty for blending everything in!

At last, I wanted to remove the rear lights, but they seemed to have been molded in one piece with the back panel which had been painted matte black by the former builder. Solution here: cut/grind away the lights and make a new back panel with a smaller opening.

Testing with a paper template...

At last make a new spoiler from plastic sheet, punching it from the backside to simulate rivets/screws.

A small plastic strip around the  rear panel to give it a bit more depth, then gluing the new one onto the old panel with putty around the edges:

After lots of sanding and applying more putty, it was finally taking shape...

After building an additonal NACA duct opening on the left for the oil-cooler, I finally realised that the window opening was TOO SMALL !!!

As I did invest a lot of time in this one, I wanted to get it - well, if not right -  then at least more correct.

Back to the start - I broke out all the frames and scraped away the putty for my plan B: use the original glass (it was almost intact apart from the outer edges which would be blended in with putty anyway) and mask the area that should not get any paint (I even managed to cut the ducts into the brittle clear plastic without breaking it):

Trial and error, as we say...

 

 

Edited August 1, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[Bainford]

Helmut, I'm glad you decided to do a WIP on this project. Such a great looking race car, and with DFV power to boot. Lots of great work so far. Too bad about the rear deck work, but the re-work looks good. This is a fun one to watch come together. 

Edited August 1, 2024 by Bainford

[Pierre Rivard]

Hang in there Helmut. This so much reminds me of the ESCI/AMT SWB transformation. You thing it will be a few changes but one thing leads to the other until eventually the pieces of the puzzle come together. This is a great project and will work out just fine.

[1959scudetto]

Thanks, Trevor and Pierre, for your moral support. Rest assured that I won't give up on it. This was always one of my favorite racecars (because of its looks only!) - more to come soon.

Edited August 1, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[Dave B]

Looking good Helmut.  You've already done more than I had to and you're putting in the small detail I missed out like the adjusting screws on the rear spoiler!!

Dave B

 

[jaymcminn]

Excellent work so far. The sum total of all the modifications you're making here will be breathtaking!

[1959scudetto]

Yesterday I drilled the hole for the fuel filler cap (after puttying and sanding flush the contours of the cap cover in the body). It has to be modified, still:

The lower part was cut out from an old, molested 250 LM body (first use of my new Tamiya saw):

and glued from the underside with liquid cement trying not to interfere with the dasboard (black):

Metal fuel filler cap from Scale Productions (Germany) will be used for this, also the roof-mounted mirror. P/E Wiper from Detail Master or from the Fujimi GT40:

More to follow soon...

 

Edited August 3, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[Pierre Rivard]

Hey...I've been looking for a nice LM 250 kit... I guess it's too late now...?

Love what you are doing with the Ford P68. This is really enjoyable to follow and definitely the kind of stuff I like to work on. (currently working a little OOB and I'm so bored by it)

[1959scudetto]

Sorry, Pierre - about 30 years ago I cut up this LM - wanted to turn it into a 250/275 P, but then Monogram reissued their old 275 P kit, so it was obsolete and I used several parts for other kits (have two further 250 LM in my stash, though), most remaining parts will find its way into Tamiya's 275 P2  slotbody kit (with wheels from Jason).

I definitely will build something OOB next time !

Edited August 4, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[1959scudetto]

On to the next problem: the wheels: after finding out that they must have 5 spokes, I decided to do something with the original kit rims and the aluminium slotcar wheels.

First step was punching out the spokes with sharp wood-carving tools of my father-in-law:

result: 2 successes - two failures. So I cut out 5-point-stars from thin styrene sheet and glued the "spoke puzzle" roughly back on them.

after bringing them into the right shape, they will be glued to plastic rim inserts as their diameter is too small to put them directly into the aluminium rims.

I found some old amt leftover parts that were of a too large diameter to be put into the rims. As I have no lathe (that would not have been of use anyway, because neither material was thick enough) I simply cut about 2 mm off the circumference of the plastic rim, glued the ends together with liquid glue and inserted them into the metal rims to keep them in position - voilà, worked perfectly.

You will hardly notice the cut - at least not after filling and painting.

Here  is a quick mock-up :

2 spinners could be saved, the others will be taken from a Fujimi GT40 kit.

 

Edited August 5, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[1959scudetto]

After a 10-day break, I finally found some time to return to the bench: first I carried on with the wheels (already tired of puttying and sanding and puttying and sanding...)

First, I glued the 5-point-star centers into the narrowed amt-rims.

Then they were primered and shot with red from the can - I decided to use Tamiya TS 49 bright red (will also beused for the body):

Here is how the wheel inserts look now (they will get silver spinners and inserted into the aluminium wheels) - before painting I masked the outer diameter and glued them with reversed painters tape onto a piece of cardboard:

Edited August 18, 2024 by 1959scudetto

[Pierre Rivard]

That's a lot of work on these wheels. For sure I'm missing something here but the kit wheels looked pretty good, what was wrong with them?

[1959scudetto]

52 minutes ago, Pierre Rivard said:

That's a lot of work on these wheels. For sure I'm missing something here but the kit wheels looked pretty good, what was wrong with them?

Maybe that I've exaggerated a bit, but I didn't like the way the kit wheels were made (if you scroll up a bit, you may or may not see it). Moreover, they had no tread. Anyway, here is how they look now (some tread and different depth front and rear, not only diameter):

Spinners are still missing, and a little drybrushing with Humbrol matt white enamel  is still needed.

[Pierre Rivard]

Now I get it, you had to get better tires and then create wheels that would fit correctly into them. You gotta do what you gotta do!

[Gramps46]

Keep at it my friend, you are making good progress.