Clarkson, Ledbetter & Friend Ardun powered competition roadster

[Bernard Kron]

Note: The Lions Dragstrip conmmunity build started by 3men2s can be found under Drag Racing Models ( http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19929 ). This is my entry and I'm just getting started. I noticed that the Drag Racing Models forum doesn't get many hits so I'll be posting my progress both under the "Lions Dragstrip Open" thread and over here under "On The Workbench". My first build pictures should be coming up in a day or two.

Thanx for lookin'

B.

OK, I'm putting my oar in. The long pole right now is that I need a Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland Ardun head conversion kit (part no. DD-16) ASAP if I'm gonna get this baby done by 12/31! If anyone has one they can spare I'll gladly replace it the moment I receive mine from Norm!

Here's the scoop:

This is the Clarkson, Ledbetter and Friend Ardun powered competition roadster. I first saw it on page 102 of 50 Years of Rod & Custom. I've collected other information on it but it's a pretty obscure car.

Here's the CLF mill:

Plans are to use the body from the Tony Nancy comp roadster and the Ramchargers FED frame with the steering converted to external mount. There are also body conversions to consider revolving around the parachute shroud and a body extension forward of the fiberglas T shell.

BTW, I would give my first born for a clear copy of the logo on the cowl so I can make a decal!

Here are some more pics of this car. I think it's drop-dead gorgeous and only hope I can do it justice!

Edited November 20, 2009 by gbk1

[Foxer]

Definitely a looker. Welcome to the Lion's build, Bernard. Looks like my comp coupe will have something to race...

[Bernard Kron]

Definitely a looker. Welcome to the Lion's build, Bernard. Looks like my comp coupe will have something to race...

Thanx Mike! If I’m not mistaken we may be the only non-door slammers who have shown up so far. Have I got that right?

Well I’ve made some “progress†on this build. Actually more like two steps forward and one step back.

The Tony Nancy Competition Roadster body comes in three pieces, left and right main body halves and a turtle deck. I want to avoid visible seams and also needed to have a complete body for trial fit to the chassis so I glued all three pieces together with styrene reinforcement under the seam along the body halves to provide when I sand and fill the seams later.

The next step was to construct a chassis. The chassis on the 1:1 is a Woody Gilmore “flexi†frame so I thought I would use the Woody flexi frame in the MPC Ramchargers FED kit. The suspension and front of the frame looked almost identical to the CLF car. I built up the frame and then mocked up the body, making sure the bottom of the shell was aligned at the firewall with the bottom of the frame, just like on the CLF car.

Then I took a profile digital photo of the mockup using tires from the Tony Nancy kit. I noticed that the Ramchargers tires were considerably wider than those shown on the 1:1.

Here’s the original picture:

I then took the picture and stripped out everything but the car:

Lastly I laid in this shot over the original side view of the 1:1. I made sure to match the bottom of the bodies and the overall size of the body and tires. Here’s the result:

As you can see, starting rearward from the firewall area, the Ramchargers frame sits much lower than the frame Woody built for the CLF car. I suspect the driver sits much higher up in the CLF car and that the chassis kicks up at angle from the firewall. In addition the Ramchargers’ overall wheelbase is about 12-13†longer. And lastly the firewall on the Ramchargers car sits further back implying that the CLF car either was running an in-out box or had a length of driveshaft to sit the engine forward. The Ramchargers car was state of the art for its day and ran a slider clutch and no transmission.

The bottom line is that with next to no additional data on the CLF car I’m flying blind trying to figure out what’s happening underneath the bodywork. It would take massive butchering of the Ramchargers frame to come up with something that matched the side view picture of the CLF car.

I’ve decided to proceed according to my original plan by using the frames from the Tony Nancy double kit and build a tribute to the CLF car rather than an exact replica while trying to stay as close to it as possible but allowing for the limitations of the skills and materials I possess. Next step, combining the rear end of the Tony Nancy Roadster frame with parts of the Tony Nancy Dragster chassis to stretch the wheelbase out as close to the 1:1 as possible.

Thanx for lookin’,

B.

Edited November 16, 2009 by gbk1

[curt raitz]

Too quote our dear friend Raul..."Are you nucking futs!"

you really like punishing yourself, heh! - not that I've got room to talk...

I just gotta get Photoshop, what a nice tool to have...

Just keep building Bernard, looking forward to watching you build this car

c'ya

[randx0]

nice choice,I hadn't seen this car before but I like it thanks for posting the pics and I look forward to seeing your progress!

[Raul_Perez]

Too quote our dear friend Raul..."Are you nucking futs!"...

Well...I probably would have agreed with Curt, but it looks like you've already got a pretty good start on this one!!

It sure looks like you've done your research homework, too!!

Good luck and keep up the GREAT work!!

Later,

[Bernard Kron]

Thanx guys! Definitely navigating uncharted waters here...

Quick update. A modeling friend on the TRaK board suggested a small angle cut on the Ramchargers chassis might do the trick. It would be right behind the firewall vertical tube. I mocked it up in P-shop, and with a little more liberty on the "tribute" side (full set back on the engine) it comes out likes this:

Time to start cutttin'!

B.

[jbwelda]

personally speaking, lower is better.

super project going there and i remember that car and always loved its simplicity and clean look.

[Raul_Perez]

You are a PhotoShop Wizard, Bernard!!

I wish that I had more time available to spend learning how to use all of the tools in PhotoShop. It really is amazing software...

Maybe that'll be a weekend project the next time Curt stops by.

Later,

[Bernard Kron]

Got the frame cut today. My friend’s suggestions worked great and are remarkably subtle. I removed the stock axle mounting brackets and installed new ones of styrene sheet. The axle location is now immediately below where it was before, about one axle housing width lower. I then cut about two razor saw thicknesses out of the top tube at the firewall junction and carefully bent the frame to rejoin them. Although you have to look hard to see any differences when comparing the two frames the chassis is now tucked up neatly inside the body with a nice amount of roll bar showing.

Here’s a comparison of the stock Ramchargers frame and the modified one. The red outline in the bottom image is the modified frame laid over the stock one:

Here’s a shot of the Tony Nancy kit body mounted on the modified frame with the CLF engine, rear tire and front end images pasted in with Photoshop:

Now on to chassis assembly and bodywork.

Thanx for lookin’,

B.

Edited November 18, 2009 by gbk1

[Bernard Kron]

We have plastic! The build is gradually exiting the virtual world. I’ve got the chassis and backend painted and assembled and most of the interior bits installed. I found an old set of resin Ardun heads in my stash (from another supplier and rougher than RepMin stuff) and began building up a RepMin block. Glad I did because setting and installing the rear end correctly was impossible without it. The block took a fair amount of cutting and trimming to fit. I also discovered that I needed to construct a small fairing in front of the body shell to cover the firewall and footwell area. I did that in sheet aluminum. It’s smaller than the 1:1 and not quite so visible.

Next step is to fool around with the front suspension and continue work on the Ardun. I also need to shorten the rear axle some to get the rear wheels and slicks from the Tony Nancy kit to set in closer to the frame. Tons of scratch building and kitbashing on this build. The MPC Ramchargers FED kit might be slightly underscale. Everything from other 1/25 kits all seem to be just a tiny bit large…

Here are some pics. The first one is the now traditional Photoshop mockup, this time consisting only of a front wheel and roll hoop pasted in to the actual, real body, engine and chassis! So far the stance and overall look are holding up pretty well. The other two shots are just to prove I am truly entering the world of plastic once and for all…

Thanx for lookin’

B.

[Raul_Perez]

Looking good, Bernard!!

And, how many models is it that you're you planning on having finished for the NNL West???

Later,

[Rider]

Great photos, and the build is coming along well. Where did you get the engine from?

[Bernard Kron]

Thanx everyone! I think the 1:1 is such a beautifully built car I only hope I can capture even part of its visual impact.

Looking good, Bernard!!

And, how many models is it that you're you planning on having finished for the NNL West???...

I'm not planning anything , just trying to get a handful of presentable builds done in time. I'd be happy with four or five but I'd settle for just one really good one if it came to it. The quality, variety and creativity at the NNL West is just staggering!

... Where did you get the engine from?

The block is from Replicas & Miniatures Co. of Maryland. The heads you see are resin pieces from my parts box and are being used for mockup purposes. They're not in the best shape and I want nice clean ones to spray with Testors Metallizer Buffable Aluminum Plate and polish out so they gleam like on the 1:1. I have a proper set coming from Replicas & Miniatures that will be in here in a few weeks. They'll go on at the last possible moment so I don't scratch them up. I had originally planned to use the Ardun heads from the Revell '50 Ford Pickup kit. They're nice (though not of the quality of the RepMin pieces) but they lack the correct spark plug tubes and have their water outlets at the front. The 1:1 shows the outlets in the middle with a smooth blank surface at the front of the heads. Arduns came at various times with outlets at the front , the middle and even the rear. My understanding is that RepMin gives you the options for any of the three positions. In any case, since I needed some nice smooth, clean heads to polish I figured I'd spring for the RepMin pieces. I'm sure I won't be disappointed.

Current plans are to scratch build the injectors, use the pump drive from the Tommy Ivo Showboat kit (it has an accessory drive for the magneto on it), a Morgan Auto Detail prewired magneto if it doesn't look too big, and cut down the zoomies from the Ramchargers kit so they look more like those on the 1:1. My only other concern is to locate some intake stacks that are short enough.

[randx0]

how did this one turn out?

[Modellpularn]

Great project, I really like that type of rail! You haven't mentioned anything about how and if you're going to lower the engine. Looks like it's way too high now!

[Danno]

I missed this one previously, too. (Obviously spent too much time working before semi-retiring!)

Nice work, Bernie. How did it turn out?

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks for re-discovering this. I stepped away from it when the L.A.D.S. challenge ended. I revisited it briefly last spring and got some bodywork done, including (much to my amazement) the rear fairing for the parachute.. There's a ton left to do, beginning with coming up with a proper set of injectors and making a decent aluminum fairing behind the engine (which would take car of the engine height at the same time). At the time, last year, this was definitely a case of biting off more than I could chew. But with another dozen or so completed builds under my belt since then, and hopefully a bit more skill and confidence, I've been thinking of getting back to it, with an eye towards finishing it in time for the 2011 NNL West. I have a couple of other builds in line at the moment but it's definitely on my mind. I haven't built a race car in several months and I miss it...

[Foxer]

OOO OOO OOO! There's still a chance I can beat ya for the Lion's build, Benard!

Edited November 16, 2010 by Foxer