2025 Cannonball Run - 50 years since the 1975 run.

[Mattilacken]

Welcome Cannonballers to the 18th Annual Cannonball Run Community build!

The Cannonball Run Community is proud to present this year’s Cannonball Run theme:
1975 CBR – 50 years anniversary!

Back in 1975 the third Cannonball run was held, ant the winner did it in 35Hours and 53 Minutes.

To honor the women and men that ran back then we will do it on similar terms, a pre 1975 race.

Since we want as many builders as possible to participate, the rules will be quite open.

Vehicle Rules for 2025 CBR:

- All cars, trucks and SUVs before 1975 are allowed. Race cars as well as street cars are eligible. 

- Anny condition is allowed as long as it would “make the trip” (papier mâché and chicken 
wire is no good).

- All modifications to the chassis, external or interior of the cars are okay if it’s based on 
materials and style found in 1975. 

- Carbon fiber is not allowed since it wasn’t available in 1975.

- All cars must have lights, driving lights and brake lights.

- License plate(s) is mandatory. It has to be “registered” somewhere in the world, why not 
India or Japan as in the movie.

- All engines available in 1975 and before are allowed.

- Engine swaps are allowed if it complies with the 1975 rule. 

- All Speed parts available before 1975 are allowed.

- Turbos and other power adders are allowed if they have no modern EFI or similar, refer to 
the 1975 rule.

- Wheels should resemble what could be found 1975 and earlier but can be larger in 
diameter and width.

- Tires are free as long as they are street legal.

- And please feel free to prep the cars so they can drive nonstop in those 35h 53min or less!

Race Guidelines
1. The build can be either a new or started kit up to 25% complete. A re-builder or parts box 
special is acceptable. 1/24 or 1/25. If you absolutely must do a 1/20 model we’ll likely bend the 
rules as we have before, but that’s the limit.

EXCEPTION TO RULE 1. If you have a previously started racer from a previous running of the 
Cannonball (SA or MCM) 50% complete or less, they are eligible to run this year as long as they 
meet the theme requirement. All of our previous runs are still available on either of the two 
forums. If you are going to do this, please be certain it was involved in a previous run. We 
will continue to implement this rule each year, as the goal of this CBP was always to get people 
building and finishing models.

2. Before starting please post a photo of your kit(s) or pile o’ parts. No limitation on type of 
vehicle or technology used.

3. If for any reason you plan a build and wish to declare another entry in place of, you may do so 
at any time prior to the 48hrs. deadline. (please see important dates below)

4. Have fun!

That’s it for rules. The following is just FYI:
-You may start a separate build thread for your build if you wish, but please keep the CBR thread 
updated.

-Build time begins on 12:00AM January 1st, 2025, local time and ends at 11:59PM on December 
1st, 2025, local time. That’s a total of eleven months!

-After the finish, we will create a poll and we’ll have the “race”: a public vote.

-The finished builds thread will begin on November 14th so that you may post your completed 
vehicles. The final voting poll will based from this thread. Good quality photos are essential to 
best showcase your hard work. No one has won this with poor photos in poor lighting.

-You may build as many models as you wish for this CBR, but only one can be entered in the 
finished builds thread and public voting poll prior to December 3rd.

-You can enter this CBR at any time up to 48 hours before the end date of December 1st.

Important Dates: 2025
January 1st, 12:00am: Official build start of the 2025 Cannonball Run
November 14th: Finished build thread opens
November 29th, 11:59pm: Last day to enter the CBR build
December 1st, 11:59pm: Official build end
December 3rd: Polling to elect a winner opens
December 13th, 11.59pm: Polling closes
December 15th: 2025 Winner announced

Let’s Race!

Edited December 22, 2024 by Mattilacken

[W-409]

This will be fun!

I'm in with a '62 Chevrolet Bel Air. My starting point will be a Glue Bomb that I bought at a swap meet several years ago, then later I robbed the engine from it for another project. Now that this thing will be rebuilt, it will have another 409 for power.

 

After the year changes, I'll start tearing it up and stripping the old paint off.

 

[stitchdup]

i tink i'll be in with a italeri ford escort mk2. it will have a heavy engine set back to improve the handling which should fit within the rules as german touring cars did it around that time. i've got a ford v6 around here somewhere but i'll have to check if its a cologne or essex engine.

 

[Mattilacken]

This year I will be racing with a 1974/75 Laguna.

The idea is similar to what the two guys did in the cannonball movie, take a Stockcar which initially in the movie is a 1975 Laguna S5 which after being sunk in the pool gets replaced with a 76 Monte Carlo. 

 

Plan at the moment, may change since I have the files to print a ‘73 Laguna, is to take a nascar chassis with the Laguna body. Underneath equip it with a potent small block Chevy to keep hp up but fuel consumption down, and ad extra fuel tanks to be able to challenge. 

 

Might print interior, or not.

[atomicholiday]

Hey, I started this project a couple of weeks ago, so take a look at what I have done and let me know if this qualifies.  I’m totally cool with it if you guys think it’s too far along.  I’ll just pick something different if that’s the case.

I’m planning a box-art build of the old Monogram ‘69 Camaro, doing the orange box art car (not pictured).

Progress so far: most parts have been trimmed and cleaned up, ready for primer.  Some parts have been shot with black primer already.  NO final painting has been done yet.

Thoughts?

 

[Fat Brian]

I think I'm going to dust off a previous Cannonball entry. This was my entry in the 2019 Vannonball build but I never really got started on it. This old Revell kit looks like bugger to build with all the opening parts. I'm trying to decide if I want to try to keep all the opening doors or glue them shut to make it an easier build. I'm going to be swapping the engine and transmission to a Porsche unit, I think 75 was the last year of the 2.7 liter engine. There's also a possibility I go mid engine with it but I want to try to keep it air cooled first.

[Mattilacken]

37 minutes ago, atomicholiday said:

Hey, I started this project a couple of weeks ago, so take a look at what I have done and let me know if this qualifies.  I’m totally cool with it if you guys think it’s too far along.  I’ll just pick something different if that’s the case.

I’m planning a box-art build of the old Monogram ‘69 Camaro, doing the orange box art car (not pictured).

Progress so far: most parts have been trimmed and cleaned up, ready for primer.  Some parts have been shot with black primer already.  NO final painting has been done yet.

Thoughts?

 

By the looks of it, I say go for it!  

Edited December 22, 2024 by Mattilacken

[Mattilacken]

Great to see so many entries already!

 

Januari 3

 

2025 Cannonball Run Entry list:

1. '62 Chevrolet Bel Air  (W-409)

2.  Ford Escort MK2 ( stitchdup)

3. ‘71 Plymouth ‘Cuda. (Mattilacken)

4. ‘69 Chevrolet Camaro (atomicholliday)

5. WV type 1 Van (Fat Brian)

6. ‘69 Dodge Dart (Tim08)

7. ‘67 Ford Mustang (JimmyRiggins)

8. '70 Plymouth Superbird (Keef)

9. ’71 Renault Alpine A110( White Rabbit)

10. ‘75 Chevrolet Monza 2+2 (MeatMan)

11. Dodge Super Bee (Slusher)

12. ’70 Dodge Super Bee (Sam I Am)

13. Lamborghini Espada (Tooltime-fan)

14. ‘70 Chevrolet Malibu (KWT)

15. ‘75 Volkswagen Golf (oldcarfan)

16. ’60 Ford Starliner (blue303) 

17. Shelby G.T. 350R (xbazzarex)

18. ‘73 Mercury Cougar (bill_67)

19. ‘64 Corvette Grand Sport (beans)

20. ’71 Porsche 911 T (Misha)

21. ’73 Dodge Charger (Pat Minarick)

22. ’71 Ford Maverick (bobthehobbyguy)

23. ’70 Ford Torino (kromolly)

24. ‘63 Renault Estafette (camaro69)

25. ‘73 Dodge d300 (53gmc)

Edited January 4 by Mattilacken
Updated participants. January 1 2025

[atomicholiday]

30 minutes ago, Mattilacken said:

By the looks of it, I say go for it!  

Thank you!  
I found the box with the car I’m going for.  I don’t normally do box-art builds, but I’ve thought this one was sexy since I first saw it in the late 70’s.

Edited December 22, 2024 by atomicholiday

[Tim08]

I'll go with this 68 dart. Gonna go with the 440 and try to keep it on the sleeper, grocery getter side.

 

[JimmyRiggins]

Here goes run number two for this build.  Here’s to sticking to it and getting the build done this time around!

A brief rundown of the car:

1967 Mustang (wide body kit inspired by vintage road racing, slammed down to the ground… sparks may fly!, a nice enough interior to make you forget you’re riding in a purpose built race car)

Cosworth DFV Motor (over TEN THOUSAND RPM screaming down the highway!, tuned for reliability, not much less than 500 horsepower, set waaay back and low in the engine bay for weight dist. And a low low centre of gravity, there’s a reason that these had their place in f1 for decades!)

An A-Daptor kit to fit the motor to a nascar Top Loader transmission (the small block bell housing should allow for a slightly larger than original clutch to compensate for the added car weight over a f1 chassis, nascar engines have been known to rev up to 8 or 9 k… I’m sure with the right tricks of the trade… this transmission will be up for the task!

A one off fully independent suspension (Scca inspired wiremag wheels, 9 inch diff with a locker, 4 wheel disc brakes, wide track, racing spring setup… she handles)

I had originally intended to retain the stock fuel tank, but as most do… it had some rust issues and I just wasn’t satisfied with the way it’s moulded  in.  So out went the old and in went a new 1974 spec 22 Gallon NASCAR Fuel Cell!  as an added benefit, the fuel tank clears the ground by a much greater distance!

 

Good Luck Everybody!

Judging by the  lineup so far, this is gonna be a good race 😉

Edited December 23, 2024 by JimmyRiggins

[oldcarfan]

I'm having trouble deciding. I've got a lot of ideas floating around, so I'll have to narrow my focus. I'd like to do a Trans Am, or a Mustang, but I'm really partial to small foreign cars. The BMW 320i, the VW Golf, and the Ferrari 308 all debuted in 1975 so I guess these would be admissible?

[Wagonmaster110]

Decisions, decisions. I mostly have pre-75 year kits. Just need to decided on one to build.

 

Tim

[oldcarfan]

18 minutes ago, oldcarfan said:

I'm having trouble deciding. I've got a lot of ideas floating around, so I'll have to narrow my focus. I'd like to do a Trans Am, or a Mustang, but I'm really partial to small foreign cars. The BMW 320i, the VW Golf, and the Ferrari 308 all debuted in 1975 so I guess these would be admissible?

I've been browsing the type of cars raced in 1975. Group 5 in Europe and IMSA were getting pretty wild and wide. NASCAR went to LeMans. As for  Cannonballers, gas prices had gone down a little, so even a 4 door Dually with a 454 could be an option!

[53gmc]

Going the opposite direction of everyone else and going to build a 73 dodge d300. Placed a few orders online including an engine replacement 

[Mattilacken]

20 minutes ago, 53gmc said:

Going the opposite direction of everyone else and going to build a 73 dodge d300. Placed a few orders online including an engine replacement 

Sweet!! Will it be a diesel??

I was thinking of putting a Mercedes 5cyl 240d with turbo in my car but would be a boring car I guess, but due to lower consumption would make it longer per gallon. 

[Mattilacken]

43 minutes ago, oldcarfan said:

I've been browsing the type of cars raced in 1975. Group 5 in Europe and IMSA were getting pretty wild and wide. NASCAR went to LeMans. As for  Cannonballers, gas prices had gone down a little, so even a 4 door Dually with a 454 could be an option!

Sweet!! Those are al epic!! 
And all you mention should be good racers and as long as they were available in 1975, go for it! 

Edited December 22, 2024 by Mattilacken

[53gmc]

1 hour ago, Mattilacken said:

Sweet!! Will it be a diesel??

I was thinking of putting a Mercedes 5cyl 240d with turbo in my car but would be a boring car I guess, but due to lower consumption would make it longer per gallon. 

Gonna go single carb hemi. Trucks big enough to haul extra tanks to keep it fed for a while haha

[oldcarfan]

9 hours ago, stitchdup said:

i tink i'll be in with a italeri ford escort mk2. it will have a heavy engine set back to improve the handling which should fit within the rules as german touring cars did it around that time. i've got a ford v6 around here somewhere but i'll have to check if its a cologne or essex engine.

 

This should be a cool entry! Is this the same kit as the rally version?

[JimmyRiggins]

8 hours ago, oldcarfan said:

That Camaro looks MEAN! I’d love to see that reimagined as a model!

Edited December 23, 2024 by JimmyRiggins

[stitchdup]

31 minutes ago, oldcarfan said:

This should be a cool entry! Is this the same kit as the rally version?

theres a few differences. the engine induction set up and suspension are change. now i think about it the 4 pot would be a better engine choice

[oldcarfan]

7 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

theres a few differences. the engine induction set up and suspension are change. now i think about it the 4 pot would be a better engine choice

The Ford 2.3 liter Pinto engine can make good power when turboed!

[stitchdup]

24 minutes ago, oldcarfan said:

The Ford 2.3 liter Pinto engine can make good power when turboed!

they were getting 500+ from the 1.3 turbo versions of this engine in the 70s. not sure they would last the race though

[Keef]

I’ll give it a try again, maybe I’ll have better luck this go round. Put me down with this as my entry please. 

[MeatMan]

On 12/22/2024 at 9:49 AM, Fat Brian said:

I think I'm going to dust off a previous Cannonball entry. This was my entry in the 2019 Vannonball build but I never really got started on it. This old Revell kit looks like bugger to build with all the opening parts. I'm trying to decide if I want to try to keep all the opening doors or glue them shut to make it an easier build. I'm going to be swapping the engine and transmission to a Porsche unit, I think 75 was the last year of the 2.7 liter engine. There's also a possibility I go mid engine with it but I want to try to keep it air cooled first.

 

I love it!