2025 Cannonball Run - 50 years since the 1975 run.

[Mattilacken]

2025 Cannonball Run Entry list:

1. '62 Chevrolet Bel Air  (W-409)

2.  Ford Escort MK2 ( stitchdup)

3. ‘74 Mercedes 300TD SLC (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 Vega (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)🏁

26. ‘71 Ford Interceptor (spencer1984)

27. ‘74 Ford Gran Torino wagon (iamsuperdan)

28. ‘58 Plymouth sports fury (Rescued Customs)

29. ‘66 Chevrolet  Malibu (Chasten)

30. ’66 Fairline GT/GTA (geras24)

31. '69 Ford Galaxie (Stavanzer)

32. 73 Nissan Skyline GT-R (Badge73)

33. ’75 Chevrolet Laguna (RockinRoler)

34. ‘67 Chevrolet Impala (meechum68)

Edited September 8 by Mattilacken

[Mattilacken]

10 hours ago, MeatMan said:

Calling the Vega done! Also, please remove the Monza from the list (#10). I like how this one turned out.

Sweet build there! Looks great! and super cool stance! Corrected on next page.

 

9 hours ago, meechum68 said:

Here is the color I settled on,

Looking cool!

[MeatMan]

12 hours ago, meechum68 said:

Here is the color I settled on,  Not as wild as I was thinking, but after laying the silver down, I knew had to do something sexy and clean. 

 

Nice!

[Big Messer]

13 hours ago, MeatMan said:

Calling the Vega done! Also, please remove the Monza from the list (#10). I like how this one turned out.

While it is a very nice build it would not be a good choice for a transcontinental race... unless you want to go at a 1/4 mile at the time...

[Mattilacken]

6 hours ago, Big Messer said:

While it is a very nice build it would not be a good choice for a transcontinental race... unless you want to go at a 1/4 mile at the time...

Never the less he is entitled to build it and race it how ever he likes   

Edited September 5 by Mattilacken

[Big Messer]

33 minutes ago, Mattilacken said:

Never the less he is entitled to build it and race it how ever he likes   

I never said otherwise, just that it would not be a good choice. Now I have a kit for a wheelbarrow somewhere...

Edited September 5 by Big Messer

[MeatMan]

22 hours ago, Big Messer said:

While it is a very nice build it would not be a good choice for a transcontinental race... unless you want to go at a 1/4 mile at the time...

Is it as bad as a van, or a truck? You can detune something like that to change the axle ratio, run on one carb, and its light weight. The biggest issue would be with the big rear tires. If you look at the chassis pic, it has an expanded main fuel tank, with two saddle tanks. In the end its all I had in the model year range, and I was not about to buy another kit. Your reply is appreciated tho.

[Big Messer]

1 hour ago, MeatMan said:

Is it as bad as a van, or a truck? You can detune something like that to change the axle ratio, run on one carb, and its light weight. The biggest issue would be with the big rear tires. If you look at the chassis pic, it has an expanded main fuel tank, with two saddle tanks. In the end its all I had in the model year range, and I was not about to buy another kit. Your reply is appreciated tho.

The thing is that it is a car specifically built to go fast for very short distances, the extra large gas tank being a liability, while a long distance rally one has to go fast, have very good handling properties and be able to carry some luggage (some spares, extra gas and tire, some food and tools). You want all four tires to be the same size. A van or truck will most likely outrun it. Detuning it would not be a good idea because it will reduce its efficiency. Replacing the motor with one running at lower RPMs (for durability) may be a better option. A F1 car will outrun everybody... until you run out of gas or need to change a belt or hose. But a very nice build.

Edited September 6 by Big Messer

[Sam I Am]

Have you ever built anything that your just not happy with the finished product?  Well...this is the second in a row for me. 🙁 

I'm calling this one done. I wanted it to be a subdued color so it would fly under the radar. I think that is the only thing I achieved. It ended up with a badly fitting chassis and glue marks on the roof and rear glass.

[Big Messer]

Have you ever built anything that your just not happy with the finished product? 

 

(Sigh) Let's not rub salt in the wounds. I am depressed enough already...

[Beans]

9 hours ago, Sam I Am said:

Have you ever built anything that your just not happy with the finished product?  Well...this is the second in a row for me. 🙁 

My last two cannonball entries fit that description very well.  One I never finished the other was just a mess when I got it done.

Yours came out way better than both of those.  

[oldcarfan]

21 hours ago, Sam I Am said:

Have you ever built anything that your just not happy with the finished product?  Well...this is the second in a row for me. 🙁 

I don't usually dislike whatever I build, bus I do tend to find flaws and to second guess myself. I'm trying to cut myself some slack though. I figure I'm getting too old to argue with myself.

[Lunajammer]

On 9/7/2025 at 9:04 PM, Sam I Am said:

It ended up with a badly fitting chassis and glue marks on the roof and rear glass.

Spot flaws may be undesirable, but they're not deal breakers. I love the look of your car. I'm a sucker for deep dish steelies anyway and that hint of classic nascar really makes this car look tough.

[Sam I Am]

Thanks everyone. I'm sure it will look better in my eyes as time passes. 

On 9/9/2025 at 2:49 PM, Lunajammer said:

 that hint of classic nascar really makes this car look tough.

That was another vibe I was trying to capture, thanks for noticing. 

[Big Messer]

The glue mark on the paint is fixable with some polish, or repainting the roof. The glue mark on the glass may be even easier: many real cars drive around with stickers or decals on the rear window, something I never saw on a model. And the ill-fitting chassis: car seems to be sitting right. Put it in a diorama so nobody will ever lift it!. 

[blue303]

I have been slowly making progress. Next up is learning how to do bare metal foil.

[MeatMan]

12 hours ago, blue303 said:

I have been slowly making progress. Next up is learning how to do bare metal foil.

Looking good!

[Fat Brian]

On 9/14/2025 at 7:24 PM, blue303 said:

I have been slowly making progress. Next up is learning how to do bare metal foil.

That's a good kit to learn on, plenty of foil work and odd shapes. If you can make that one look good there aren't many others that will give you trouble.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Back on this project. Using as much of the Cobra kit to keep things simple. It's shaping up nicely.

6 minutes ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Finally back on the bench.

Chassis was lengthened using  a second chassis. Only thing I need to do is lengthen the driveshaft..

Using the Cobra interior. Seats, dash and stretched tub. Using the top part of the maverick dash. A rough mock up of work done so far.

 

 

 

[blue303]

I made some progress on the foil work. I still have some more to tidy up and correct some tears. Unfortunately I had a couple of bits of paint pull up but hopefully I can touch up the paint well enough that it doesn’t show up much. 

[bobthehobbyguy]

More progress. Things are coming together nicely. The interior now has been roughed in and just needs more cleanup.  Nice thing is that the chassis and engine comments are assembled from the box and only needs a longer drive shaft. The interior has been stretched and the interior utilizes the Cobra seats and dash. This really keeps the project from spinning out of control. 

 

1 minute ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

More progress on the interior. Found something to use to fill in the tunnel in the interior. Added plastic to clean up the underside of the interior and to add strength to the unit. Mocked up the body with the glass and the interior tub to make sure there are no issues. It will need a little more adjustment. I had to use a second dash to match the position of the Cobra dash. Need to continue cleanup on the interior. 

 

More to come.