ismaelg Posted January 22, 2008 Posted January 22, 2008 Hello, It's finally done! What a fun project this was! I figured that if I was ever going to build a '68 Ford, this was it! 1968 Dan Gurney's Indy 500 car: Weslake powered Olsonite Eagle. He finished 2nd in that race, one of his Eagles won the race. Make sure you check the complete page I did with many more pictures, details and a cool surprise! Click here for more details, sights and sounds I'll be the first one to admit the model may not 100% accurate, mainly because of lack of reference material. I believe this is the configuration he used for qualifying. MPC Eagle kit, 1/25. Reissued in the '90s Cobra Colors paint Kit's decals with whites from Cady decals Here is a list of modifications: - reworked body for better fit on the sides and top - machined ignition module - ignition wiring - fuel plumbing - machined cap for the quick change transaxle - home made aluminum velocity stacks - plumbed oil filter - brass half shafts - 3 piece machined shifter - brass rear sway bar - aluminum sheet gas tanks tops - 6 parts each independent coilovers in brass steel wire and aluminum - brake lines - steel wire front sway bar links - aluminum rear sway bar brackets - aluminum upper rear coilovers pins - steel rear sway bar links connected to lower arm - solder headers - machined aluminum tailpipes - scratchbuilt seatbelts and hardware (I know the real ones are black, but I did them in dark red to add some color and contrast to the dark cockpit) - brass roll bar - machined dry sump oil tank cap - aluminum gas tank caps - aluminum rear wing with steel wire bracing -.. and many others I don't remember now Your comments are appreciated. Thanks!
Harry P. Posted January 22, 2008 Posted January 22, 2008 Very impressive, especially at such a small scale. At 1/8 scale this would be impressive. At 1/25 it's amazing!
curt raitz Posted January 22, 2008 Posted January 22, 2008 Fantastic... I have really enjoyed following your build of this model you have inspired me to start building the Rislone Special version of this car thanx for a beautiful model
Gray Smith Posted January 22, 2008 Posted January 22, 2008 Wonderful work. You've done this kit justice. thanks for sharing with us your adventure...great job man Gray
cruz Posted January 22, 2008 Posted January 22, 2008 Phenomenal craftsmanship Ismael!!!!! The decals really set it off
Raul_Perez Posted January 22, 2008 Posted January 22, 2008 Ismael, I agree with what the others have said!! I really enjoyed watching this one get built!! It is an excellent display of craftsmanship and workmanship!! You've made Mr. Gurney proud!! So, what's next?!
crispy Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Wow Ismael! WOW! You've really out-done yourself. Fantastic!! Chris
dub Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Absolutely top of the pile! Definitely your best effort yet. Only one problem.... We expect you to go this far or more from now on! Seriously, after that build, you should find a snapper to throw together! It would be a good break. Keep up the great work!
simonr Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Without any doubt a masterpiece!... I don't know to say if I had the best time watching the progress on the build up of this historical car, or if I'm enjoing better looking to the pictures of the final product. I n any way I think it's a great piece of history. Te la comiste bro!..espero verlo pronto en vivo y a todo color. Simón P. Rivera Torres
Randy Kern Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 This was fun and informative to watch it come together. Now this is an Indy car! They had more style then, and those pipes look fantastic. Incredible work.... you've done it again, Ismael!
JHDrew Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Bravo!!!!! Love to see the old kits built to their potential. One to be proud of for sure.
Brendan Posted January 23, 2008 Posted January 23, 2008 Awesome job on the kit. Maybe we can get Gregg to do a writeup for the magazine. Hint...hint.
Mike Posted January 24, 2008 Posted January 24, 2008 I've always liked the look of this car, but never bought the kit. Great work!
Bowtienutz Posted January 24, 2008 Posted January 24, 2008 Great Job I watched the buildup all the way. Now you need a new challenge how about the 6 clyinder Rambler powered indy car that ran in 67-?.
Ken Posted January 25, 2008 Posted January 25, 2008 Incredible enough to inspire one more person to dust off a kit. I started mine a couple of weeks ago. I am no where near as fast as you though. Just got the engine block together and painted. You were right though, the kit parts need some work to fit well. As for the wheels, mine were horribly warped, but I have enough kits to possibly piece together a decent set of four. Funny, I have 4 or 5 of these kits, but hadn't had the gumption to start one till I saw yours. Great work Izzy!!!!
MojaveRacer104 Posted January 29, 2008 Posted January 29, 2008 Great job Ismael! One of my all-time favorite race cars...And since race cars are by far my preference over non-racers...well, you get the picture! ... And that brings us to the point of commenting that your photos are excellent too! The lighting, depth of field, composition...all are shaming my efforts. All the pieces you made for this are very well done and scale-correct. I will now look forward to other works by you. Richard
Peter Lombardo Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Great job on a difficult kit. Your detailing is a cut above. I have looked at the kit at swap meets a few times over the years but never thought it was worth the trouble to build properly....you showed that it was worth the effort....nice job.
43magnum Posted February 1, 2008 Posted February 1, 2008 great job. I got that kit for Christmas a long time ago. I was only 10 but I remember building it on my grandmothers kitchen table in one day. Of course the paint wasn't dry, fingerprints everywhere. I now have the kit again and will try to do a better job. Just an FYI, the latest edition of RACER masgazine has a large special report on the Gurney Eagles but they are the F1 version. Lots of nice pics and some action shots and a good read.
tim boyd Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 great job. I got that kit for Christmas a long time ago. I was only 10 but I remember building it on my grandmothers kitchen table in one day. Of course the paint wasn't dry, fingerprints everywhere. I now have the kit again and will try to do a better job. Just an FYI, the latest edition of RACER masgazine has a large special report on the Gurney Eagles but they are the F1 version. Lots of nice pics and some action shots and a good read.
tim boyd Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 Ismael, somebody posted this link on the Spotlight Hobbies board this evening....I had never seen any of this or your in-process builds. What a great model! Kudos to you and congratulations. TIM BOYD
Mike Posted October 29, 2008 Posted October 29, 2008 Superb workmanship Ismael. I've always liked this car, you've brought it to life.
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