braided lines historically accurate?

[jaymcminn]

My next project is probably going to be the Trumpeter GT40. This kit is controversial, to say the least, but I'm pretty confident I can make something out of it. One thing I've noticed is that the kit seems to be based off of a restored or replica car... details such as the Optima battery are definitely incorrect and will need sorting. Another thing I'm wondering about is the braided lines everywhere... Would these be correct for a GT40 in 1966 or would it have used rubber lines? I'm building this as the Arcadian Blue Miles/Hulme #1 car with an aftermarket decal set.

[Cato]

Jason,

You'll find that Trump used George Stauffer's restoration of the car for reference. Good and bad. George used many parts to make it eligible for vintage racing, like the Optima. He also added the roll cage, which the car did not have in the '66 race. The cage came at Daytona later on.

Unless you have very specific photos for chassis 1015, you'll find the kit is compromises and guesses on Trump's part. The fuel pump array is another area where the 1:1's used different arrays and numbers of the SW 240-A fuel pumps.

The 427 also needs a lot of additional detail, at least where you can see it on top. Forget the oil filter (you won't see it) and concentrate on making accurate throttle linkage, a coil and coolant lines.

The cars in '66 used fabric covered oil and fuel lines, not braided stainless. I found that using the kit supplied 'hose', stained with NATO black and dull aluminum fittings, (not red / blue) gets you very close.

One of the 'lumps' they put on the bulkhead should have a line from the pumps to it then a line across the bulkhead to the carb front inlet.

Many thicknesses are all wrong, like the air pan and water deflector over the distributor. I used .005" aluminum and made scale ones. Throw out the clunky anti-roll bars, suspension arms and trailing arms. I made them from .075" wire.

For the right look, you must lower the front suspension about 3mm.

I have a 1:1 427 in my Cobra so ask if you have further questions.

Almost forgot, don't spend on the KA detail set, you can duplicate everything using scratch stuff or modified kit stuff. The seat eyelets are way over scale on their PE.

Ultimately, you can come closer than Trump for #1 but you may just get a 'decal' model rather than dead-nuts accurate.

[jaymcminn]

Thanks, Cato. I'm not going to get too bogged down in replicating this chassis as it ran on such-and-such date. I just like the livery and want it on my shelf. I might even do a 1/24 Ford GT (modern) to match it. That having been said, I definitely want to try to remove some of the clunkiness of this kit. Your suggestions about the out-of-scale sheet aluminum pieces and suspension pieces would go a long way toward helping that. I'm relieved that the kit braided line can be salvaged as well, and I appreciate the heads-up about the ride height... that's kind of my pet peeve! I'm planning on using RB Motion .044" photoetched washers for the seat eyelets over slightly modified kit seats (the KA seats look like the mold melted or something and those eyelets... yeesh!) which would help the interior a lot. I'm going to be getting inspiration soon when I go to the Revs Institute automotive museum here in Naples soon, which is an amazing collection just opening up to the public again after 20 years. They have not one, but two GT40s, as well as Corvette Grand Sport #004... another build I want to tackle soon. I'll post up pics as soon as I go and definitely will take advantage of your offer of help. Thanks!

[Cato]

I understand your goal.

I haven't seen the RB seat PE but I just carefully picked-out the stock seat's circles with silver pen and it looks much better and more subtle than you'd imagine. Also, paint the seats NATO too; they took a beating and were never full flat black.

Be sure to get the cables and wires to the fuse panel and put a regular battery on the floor with its cables. It adds a lot of 'feel' to the model. Those cockpits were a mess and pretty scruffy.

[Ace-Garageguy]

The cars in '66 used fabric covered oil and fuel lines, not braided stainless. I found that using the kit supplied 'hose', stained with NATO black and dull aluminum fittings, (not red / blue) gets you very close.

Yup. Early (post-WWII) high-performance hose used in top-line race cars was still primarily military aircraft surplus. One of the biggest suppliers of AN fittings and hose these days, Earl's Supply (now Earl's Performance Plumbing) was a dealer in surplus AN stock in the wayback, and was even cited in Carol Smith's (oversaw the prep on the '66 and '67 LeMans-winning GT-40s) "Prepare to Win" race-car-prep bible as a trustworthy source of surplus. The hose had woven abrasion resistant coverings, but the stainless braid wasn't a widespread spec yet. Black was the predominant color of the hose (with the mil spec # lettered periodically on the braid) and many surplus fittings were anodized light green-yellow (a chromate appearance).