Ford Levacar Mach 1

[bh1701]

...and now for something completely different!

The Ford Levacar Mach 1

Around 1959, Ford developed this concept car that was basically a hovercar that blew air out of vents on its bottom to lift it up about 1/4" to 1/2" off the ground. When it was displayed, it was on the outside a circular platform and was tethered to the center of the circle. It would glide around the outside edge of the circle.

AMT made a model of it at that time, and it came with a rubber hose you could attach to the back. When you blew into the tube, the model would rise up off the ground.

I remember building this kit back around 1960, and was lucky enough to find an unbuilt kit recently on an auction site.

The color is Tamiya TS-95 Pure Metallic Red.

The decals for the rear fin were unusable, so i created my own replacement decals.

When it sits on the display base, there is a small clear plastic block under the center of the model that lifts it up from the base.

Thanks for checking out this blast from the past!

Bart

[Street Rod]

Great work on a really cool little car! 

[PappyD340]

That's a really cool build!!

[shoopdog]

Very cool indeed!

[Mike 1017]

KOOL!!!!

[stavanzer]

Great to see this Built!

You did a wonderful job on the kit.

 

Good Show.

[SpikeSchumacher]

Very cool build, Bart! Reminds me of the Jetson's. 

 

Mathias

[Hi-Po]

WOW, I had no idea that kit existed!  Great job on the build.

[ea0863]

Such a cool little car, thank you for sharing!

[Bainford]

Well that's an interesting little critter. Nice work on this ancient kit. Thanks for posting. It's very cool to see these rare relics built and presented on the forum. 

[Warren D]

Good job, I never knew the kit nor the prototype existed.  I wonder if it ever got off the ground, literally speaking

[Tom99]

That is a most cool build!!

[ChrisR]

very nice.

[Daddyfink]

Wow! That is super nice! I have an old built one that it still pretty clean, sadly I am missing one of the side exhaust, rocket?, pieces. 

[bh1701]

9 hours ago, Daddyfink said:

Wow! That is super nice! I have an old built one that it still pretty clean, sadly I am missing one of the side exhaust, rocket?, pieces. 

Jesse,

Hopefully you can find some way to restore the one you have and to fix your missing side exhaust tube (that's the official name of that item per the instruction sheet!) The 2 parts were identical. Maybe you'd be able to make a mold/casting using the one you have? I am not experienced in doing this, but I am sure there are folks who are knowledgeable about that process on the forum.

I was lucky enough to find a pristine unbuilt kit at a price I was willing to pay. It wasn't cheap, but it was in the range I was willing to pay.

Good luck with your LevaCar.

Bart

[Daddyfink]

2 hours ago, bh1701 said:

Jesse,

Hopefully you can find some way to restore the one you have and to fix your missing side exhaust tube (that's the official name of that item per the instruction sheet!) The 2 parts were identical. Maybe you'd be able to make a mold/casting using the one you have? I am not experienced in doing this, but I am sure there are folks who are knowledgeable about that process on the forum.

I was lucky enough to find a pristine unbuilt kit at a price I was willing to pay. It wasn't cheap, but it was in the range I was willing to pay.

Good luck with your LevaCar.

Bart

I think I may have a friend of mine try and 3D print one for me, and looks like I will have to make some decals as well. 

Thanks! 

Jesse C. 

[mustang1989]

Interesting........and VERY cool. You pulled this whole thing off in very good fashion and LOVE the out of the ordinary subject matter.