Bernard Kron Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) One of the themes of this year’s NNL West is LSR cars. LSR is a loose term referring to “Land Speed Record” cars. Over the years the expression has broadened in its meeting from specifically cars designed to go for the world Land Speed Record to more generally streamliners and streamlined cars designed to run on dry lakes or salt flats. For example a streamlined modified ’53 Studebaker coupe can be referred to as an LSR car, as can old school belly tankers. In this spirit I decided to build an early postwar period hot rod streamliner, in the style of cars like the SoCal streamliner from around 1950. The idea came to me when browsing on eBay and encountering the Testors EasyBuilder streamliner cars. These are little 1/32nd scale plastic models originally produced in 1961 by Hawk as rubber-band powered cars. They are ultra simple model car kits with no underpan, four wheels, two axles and a basic streamliner body shared by all four variations. The only difference between them other than the color they are molded in is the long rectangular plastic strip which runs down the middle of the topside and the related bubble top. These determine whether the car is dual engine, single engine, front engine, rear engine and where the driver is located. Here’s a picture of the kits. I bought the Bonnie Buggy for less than 10 dollars including shipping. I figured it was like buying a resin body. Here’s a scan of the instruction sheet. Beyond basic! My plan was to build a 1/25th scale model from this 1/32nd scale kit. The original Hawk models were supposed to represent the big aero-engined LSR car like Malcolm Campbell’s Bluebird. So they have tiny little bubble canopies to create that illusion. But you can easily fit 1/25th scale tires inside the body and the overall look is that of the hot rod streamliners I referred to earlier. Here’s a picture of the iconic SoCal streamliner in 1950 with the driver standing up in the cockpit. These cars were incredibly compact with small frontal area and low weight. That’s how this flathead powered car could average 208.927 mph at Bonneville that year. I started on this car in December, but between the Holidays and finishing my 3-window Deuce Coupe model I had going at the time, I didn’t get much further than some basic fitting and modification work. I determined that a flathead Ford motor could fit, albeit with clearance for the carburetors which would stick up slightly above the deck line. My original plan had been to build a full detail model for the NNL West but I soon realized there just wasn’t going to be enough time to scratch-build a chassis and suspension, let alone do all the bodywork I had planned. So I decided I would do a slammer style build using the driver figure from the recent Monogram Slingster release, which has a nicely detailed face and the right period style helmet and goggles. I would make sure that everything I did would allow me to go back and add the chassis later. The first thing I noticed about the Bonnie Buggy was that the shape of the nose would virtually guarantee the car would get airborne due to front end lift. So I decided to modify the nose so it would be lower and more blunt. The body also has an indented lower panel that runs front to rear that would need to be filled in order to allow me to extend the sides downward a few scale inches to adjust for the additional ground clearance the 1/25th scale tires created. And lastly, I would have to discard the kit center strip and create a new central panel in order to control the driver and engine locations. Here’s where I’m at today with less than 3 weeks to go until the NNL West. It’s going to be a real thrash just to get a slammer done in time. I think I can do it but it may show up in white primer with some red numbers and Sta-Lube decals rather than a proper glossy paint job. We’ll see! Here are the basic parts for my slammer. The driver will get his arms and depending on the final size and shape of the cockpit opening I may add a steering wheel. The headrest and engine cover was sculpted out of styrene strip with my Dremel. The underside of the headrest was open up to allow for clearance of carburetors when I go back and build the full-detail version. The bellypan was made from styrene sheet and the central panel will be glued using temporary adhesive. This is a side view with an inset showing the original shape of the nose. All the white plastic is styrene strip and sheet I added to fill the side panel inset and form the new nose shape. Below are a couple of final shots. The tail will have the opening slot you see to allow for exhaust of internal air pressure, rather than using louvered bodywork. I have a lot of work ahead of me. The center strip needs to be cut into individual panels and the end pieces glued into position and smoothed into the bodywork. The side surface, nose area and tail still need some more filling and shaping, too. It should be an interesting 3 weeks! Thanx for lookin’, B. Edited January 21, 2015 by Bernard Kron
Tom Geiger Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 Now that's really cool! I have those Testors repops and had thought the same thing, but you actually did it!
blunc Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 (edited) are ya gonna put a hi-performance v16 from a Pyro 1/32 scale Cadillac in it? Edited January 14, 2015 by blunc
Ace-Garageguy Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 Great project Bernard !! I have only one tiny disappointment regarding it...you've beaten me to the punch. I started a very similar build several years back, now on the "resting" shelf, having solved the scaling issue by extending the lower part of the body shell the same as you have. A masterful decision on your part, if I may say so. I'd started to make the car first Ardun- and then old-Hemi-powered, but found a gluebomb chassis from an AMT Watson Indy-car that would take a flathead, but nothing wider. Recycling the Watson chassis into a different form of race car seemed to make a good story, as many the last of the big Indy roadsters got recycled into super-modifieds, and it wasn't uncommon to rebuild race-cars that were almost completely destroyed in those days, sometimes into something entirely different. I love seeing your project, and will be following along as it progresses. Best of luck getting her done by deadline. I imagine she'll be quite a hit at the show.
iBorg Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 I've often thought of the same thing.....if you're looking for running gear how about a Revell midget as a donor?
Racephoto1 Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 Also remember that those cars were pushing the v8-60 flathead to 200. That motor started out at 156 cubic inches. Talk about horsepower per cubic inch ratio.
Bernard Kron Posted January 14, 2015 Author Posted January 14, 2015 (edited) Thanks everyone. The first time Alex Xydias and Dean Batchelor ran the SoCal Speed Shop streamliner at Bonneville, in 1949, they started on the first day with a V8-60 and it managed to run an average of 156.39 mph. The same motor had already gone over 135 mph on the dry lakes. But then Bobby Meek's from Edelbrock's shop suggested they drop in his full-race Merc. They got the conversion done over night and ran the rest of Speed Week (the first Speed Week ever at Bonneville) with the big flattie in it. With an extra 100 hp, by the end of the week they were doing north of 193 mph. The next year they came back with their own full-house Merc and with it were the first to break 200 mph with a hot rod. They only ran the V8-60 in the first few months they had it. The speed of the car wasn't actually the result so much of raw horsepower - most full-size flatheads were lucky if they saw the far side of 300 bhp no matter how much carburetion and exotic fuel mixture you threw at them - but rather of low frontal area, smooth lines and low weight. Dean Bachelor had based his body design on the pre-war Mercedes Benz and Auto Union streamliners. It was a superb piece of intuitive aerodynamic design. I considered using a V8-60 because it would sit a bit lower and I wouldn't have had to mess with the headrest quite so much. I've got one but I'm saving it for a really tiny belly tank I have. In any case it doesn't really matter since it will be all I can do just to get this one done as a slammer in the next 2 1/2 weeks. Edited January 14, 2015 by Bernard Kron
jbwelda Posted January 15, 2015 Posted January 15, 2015 awesome! I am looking forward to seeing this in person at NNL West! jb
Bernard Kron Posted January 21, 2015 Author Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks you guys. I hope to see some of you (and my streamliner, fingers crossed...) at this year's NNL West! I now have a “body in white” with the major bodywork completed and white primer laid down, ready for finish sanding. I added a splitter panel in the middle of the rear vent slot. The basic color will be Duplicolor Oxford White, a shade similar to the Duplicolor white primer you see in the photos. There’s some minor touchup still required but I should be ready for the initial color coats tomorrow. I’m fast running out of time with only 8 days left to button things up. My decision to keep it as a slammer for now seems to have been a wise one. I’ve designed the decals and have made some Photoshop mockups. If time allows I’d like to add some red trim color, but whether I do or not will depend on how the color coat goes. The two décor options are shown below. Thanx for lookin’, B.
Bernard Kron Posted January 28, 2015 Author Posted January 28, 2015 OK!!! She's done, and with 3 days to spare. For starters here's a Photoshop teaser. I'll post the official "beauty shots" in Under Glass. Thanx to everyone who followed along, B.
bobthehobbyguy Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Love it. Like the idea of using photoshop for figuring out the graphic options.
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