fujimi 356 porsche EM motor and trans

[jbwelda]

so as not to further hijack the thread on the holy grail ferrari i thought i would

start this one up.

much was said there about the porsche 356 enthusiast model from fujimi.

as i mentioned i happened into a case lot of these in the testors box for a very

low price. all ive actually built is the motor and transaxle along with the very

cool motor stand so i thought i would show those who are unitiated into the

wonders of this model just what they are missing...and also to let those who

have it realize the rewards of building at least part of this spectacular model.

so heres some pics of my long-ago build of the quad cam carrera motor

(known to grenade itself at the slightest provocation) and also the pretty

darn impressive transaxle assembly that mates to it.

first up a view of the motor on the stand showing the side view:

i modified it a bit, added oil lines to the tank in back of the shroud

(for the dry sump crankcase i believe these motors sported) and wired

the dual plug setup as well as some small changes like added screen to the air

filters etc but essentially it is more or less right out of the box.

here is a view of the bottom showing the drain plate and plug, muffler detail

and the almost too cool engine stand:

and finally a close up of the motor itself showing more detail:

notice the carb linkage, cooling fan detail and all that other magnificent quad cam delight!

now heres something that is usually glossed over in most kits as far as detail

goes but not in this kit! the tranaxle, first a shot of the back (business) end...

note the throwout bearing (!) and arm and overall incredible level of detail:

and finally a side shot of the transaxle showing the brake shoe detail (!) along

with one of the hyper-detailed finned brake drums:

one should also note that things dont stop here...there are disk brakes and

many many more parts to build either the earlier B coupe or the later,

improved C coupe along with a million options in between on everything

from the wheels (which are another whole story in and of themselves...

never have i seen such finely detailed porsche wheels ever in my life

outside of 1:1) to the brakes to a lot of stuff ive forgotten.

anyone needing a cool mill for their porsche or vw models need look no further

than this kit! not that it was easy to build...as i recall not much really fit together

all that well out of the box and a lot of fiddling around was necessary to even make

it fit together as well as shown but to me the result is well worth the effort!

hope you enjoy; sorry about the pic size and quality...and man at this size every

imperfection just jumps out at you...it looks much better in real life.

and i need a new photo host so i can resize these darn things!

Edited September 6, 2007 by jbwelda

[ismaelg]

Beautiful! Those Fujimi kits are certainly exquisite!

I can see that engine and transaxle in a hopped up VW...

Thanks,

[LVZ2881]

Beautiful! Those Fujimi kits are certainly exquisite!

I can see that engine and transaxle in a hopped up VW...

Thanks,

thats for the insight into the Fujimi EM kits...

I have the Fujimi Enthusiast '76 Porsche Carrera RS and the '84 Toyota Celica kits in my stash to build later when my skills improve a bit...

[jbwelda]

i dont think ive ever seen the toyota EM kit but i have the later carrera on my shelf...its nothing on the order of these 356B/C kits, believe me. you just have to see and hold

these to know just what youve got there. ive always been disappointed in other EM kits

after first having found this one.

i dont know the parts count on the 356, but its, literally, a bazillion. boxes literally bulge,

esp the old testors ones i have. and actually you have to watch it if you buy the testors

versions, because the boxes are so flimsy and full, the top of the coupe gets bent over

from the weight of other kits on top of them, and your roof posts get bent or broken.

thats how nearly all the kits i bought were, thats why i got them so cheap too. i figured

i would use the motors and chassis on various things or dioramas, or chop off the tops to

convert to race cars or speedsters or something.

of course now you buy them in a nice reinforced fujimi box in all kinds of variations,

but i believe back on original issue the coupe may have been the only version available.

totally cool kit, buy it if you see it. even if you just built it curbside the dimensions all look

right and the remaining detail seems to me to be spot on. then you can use that engine

stand to hold up a V-8 block in a garage scene!

Edited September 6, 2007 by jbwelda

[MrObsessive]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane Bill! I built this one too when these came out in '87(?)...............One thing I remember very distinctly is that the instructions want you to install the transaxle first in the floor pan, followed by the engine.

What this yielded is a gap big enough to stuff a cat through! Better to assemble the engine/transaxle as a unit, then put it in the floorpan.

I have mine laying around here somewhere..............it was wrecked once by my no longer living cat when he knocked it on the floor many years ago. If I can find the carcass, (The model NOT the cat ) maybe I'll post pics of it.

Another thing that DID bug me about the kit, is the body----particularly the hood and trunk, are riddled with sink marks! I didn't know how to fill them then, but 20 years hence of building has taught me a lot!

[novadose71]

I bought one of those at a swap meet a few years ago and quickly looked through it and put it in storage with the rest of my unbuilts. Might have to dig it out, that engine looks good. I think I'd put it in a Meyers Manx buggy (vintage racer? ) , if my body was thrashed, which it's not, I hope. Great work.