So it came to pass in mid January that old23 and I braved the cold frigid temperatures here on the shores of the St.Larry River, hitched up the dog sled and headed across the border of reality line to Massena NY to pick up the cars at Ye Olde Ship It Shop! Later safe in the warm confines of the man cave in Cornwall, home of the "World Famous Autodrome"......this year's event had taken on a distinctly "Eyetalion" flavour...dats a some spicey a meatball..... hence the track was now the Autodromo!


Don Dom Palermo and his "family", realizing they had lost the rights to the Jersey F1 event took over a controling interest in this the final event of the VRAA season. When asked by the Pope for permission to say this years invocation Don Dom was heard to say, "Eeeehhhh, fogitaboudit."


As is tradition the Princess Fridgidairs, now known as "Gli Asini Reale Freddo della Scozia" started the opening ceremonies very early as they must march, as tradition dictates, behind, and never pass, their mascot the Bejewelled turtle, or, now known as tartaruga d'oro.


Anticipation for the passion of this great race filled the air with romantic stirrings, and this being a very Eyetalian event, hence Catholic, marriages were conducted on the spot by Father Veloce from Our Lady of Pregnant Pauses Parish.


The Eyetalian broadcast crew took up their place to cover tomorrow's qualifying and the dulcet tones of Rete Televisiva Italiana announcer Ricardo Linguagrossa filled the air..."CIAO!!"...roughly translated..."eeeeh howUdoin!?"


The Ompah band had yet to see the German contingent, but were warming up to play.


All things British, including Sir Nige were being removed from the track....after all who wants boiled beef when you can have scaloppini?


A great cheer fills the air as the Ferraris are unloaded. The stadium should be filled with Eyetalian fans tomorrow, hopefully none were traveling by boat.

..and so "Letta da bigga parti sharta!

EEHHHH! Buongiorno, come stai! Its me....Ricardo Linguagrossa!...calla me Ricky!...shesa nice a day no!?....so Don Dom he gotta de deal for ewe..tella me .."Ehhh ewe do dis comercilla or we take ewe for a liddle ride"..ok..I do..so comona down to da Palermo used car lot. All kinda deal fo ewe..and...you find a body in de trunk...car shesa free...good deal eh?...now back to da race....mornink cuma..so nice..resta cars dey unloada...


...liddle lonely Japanessa car out on track...so cute but...merda palla..no chanca to win


..den da cara froma Germania get togeder...team looka bit nervosa..team boss.Herr Yodel..hesa gotta no sensa umour u no?


..so all da garagista dey get togeder too!..dos Inglese...dey still fighta de WorlWara two...we still cano decide wad side we on....so Party!


..ina da back grounda de "Tunder froma Downa Under"..dey unloada car...still no can figure wheech side up here ina Kanada!


..hhhheeeeyyyy!...leds no forgetta de ATS...we do all we can fora her...shesa sucha struntz...so il Papa he say de prayer to Santo Jude..patron santo of a de lost causes....maybe little one for Ricky too...so he hava nice chance wid da bella pit crew...no?

È mezzogiorno! tempo per mangiare mangiare...so I go fora now...

The signala...she's a weak..butta we gotta de colour!..Dis a Marconi Flecktor model so beautiful...
So good to be home on home track....eacha car qulificationeh for uno minuto...most 5, 6 seena even 7 laps ina dat time....big srprises...detaila comments latera...like to hava breakfasta first so here is ealy reporta...smile or cry....VIVA FERRARI!

http://wmg.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pb...%2F870790ad.pbw




..so I'm backa now...mmmm nicea Timmy Ortono cappuccino....little biscotti...nicea....so now you see bigga upsets forshure...but dunna worry...race tings always dey change heh?...computora screen first numero is order when de car she go.....den da name...dey so funny and fini wida de time she get fastest....I'm so appy!....you wanna know how dey go no?.. I give you race cara numero and a lddle commenta...


..so sita down..ok..de binga binga gilrs dey get you want you wanta......

1 ..Senior Moose...i usea dat in my hair...your car Italiano..lasta lap quickest but mmm..meh!
2 Stubbo..hope dis name no talka abouta you..hehehehe..tail hang out in turns
3 slowquick..make up you mind..maybe u quick...car she slow and heavy
4 Kalbfelb..wat is dat..Martian name...car nice, handle good...feels planted
5 Nigel..ehhh..mange cake!...car slippy..she gotta no go
6 ..heh Crazy..maybe you are...car driver always smile...dunno why...she struntz
7 old23..my compadre...you car nice but not so fast...she crash once too...ciao baby
9 RIR...heh de boyce dey looka for you.."friends?"...back enda of car slide out but come back,handle good
10 chenglaw..so sorry fora dat name and you car...sounda like grinda de coffe beans..maybe change u name to chensaw..
11 Haystack..good name for wrestler..I maka joke...car gotta no umph. no joke
12 MikeAkers...so maybe you live on da farm wid akers of land. I joke, like you car..needs long straight away
13 Mnews..bada news...car she almost no can drive//I do a little worka before race
14 Snior Livingston...you grandpapa travel a lotta in Africa?..car..nice..hot!
19 Mrossmassier/max...dats a nice short nik name..car tail very happy
20 Flycaron...den fly caroff..but you car handle nice..bitta slippy
21 JHardy..heh? you longa lost brother of Frank and Joe Hardy boys..no?...car shesa noisy..careful
26 Beidmatt..I guessdat name better den floor matt...anyway you car should be drifter...
30 EcurieMartini...so I could use a liddle martini now..chinchin...you car gotta no umph..zzzz..
69 Ferrari1950...holly crappa..shesa home town rocketta...nice!..

....everybody we try runna as fast asa we can...how you say in mange cake..chips fall where dey fall eh?......Buona fortuna a tutti!

...and so the race is over now for another year.


The Mounties had to be called in to dsiperse the celebrating tiffosi for it was a grand day of spectacular racing and a true battle to the end for a race winner here at the 'dromo and for the overall championship. The results were in doubt to the last heat but in the end it was a glorious day for the "Eyetalians." They are all off to various ristoranti, caffès and bars partying the night away. Today's results below tell the story of tight battles, incredible skill, magnificent duels and races of legend. I'm left to write the final report.......





...this outcome would have startling consequences for the championship! Phil's Ferrari #4 would prevail by a mere half a lap over Marek's Ferrari#69 who was barely a lap ahead of Matt's #26 Ferrari. And that was enough for Matt to take the championship from the Brabham's. Stu hung on for second overall though with Robert edging out Stubbo for the podium. Stubbo had a bad day but enough previous points to pip Marek. Ken's ATS was coming on strong.




Congratulations to all the winners and podiumites! Thank you drivers and marshalls , Petera, Big Bri, BrianG and of course Stewee, without who's statistical skills we would be nowhere. Our lunch and supper were superb pot lucks. Timing was by Olevetti (so nothing suspicious therel) and the winners have the option of receiving the prizes donated or a free trip on an Italian cruise ship.

On behalf of the "Family" and all of us here at the Autodromo,


Grazie mille grazie a tutti. Complimenti ai vincitori e campione. Arrivederci all'anno prossimo.

"Mommy who were those funny smelling swarthy men who wave their arms around and talked so loudly?"

"Those were Eyetalians honey and that was garlic you smelled. They're really very nice. Now say goodbye!"


Ciao!

Aside from the track in the man cave and all the various cars collected, there also resides my ever growing library of automotive books, art, videos, static models, die casts and Hot Wheels. Its a cozy place to disappear to iduring the long winter evenings here in Canada. The library now fills five shelves on the far side of the track. Most volumes were picked up used but there are gems that were gifts or purchased out of sheer desire.



Being a bit of a history buff these latest volumes acquired on sale at a discount for birthday and Christmas are fabulous as references for decades that stir my soul.



Paul Parker has assembled great photographs of each decade and assembled them year by year. I just drift back in a cloud of nostalgia and never tire of reading over or looking again. Published by Haynes and real gems they are.


My wife thinks I could be up to worse. Gotta love her. Every boy should have a man cave.

My son sent me the new Carrera AutoUnion for Christmas. Needed little else then removal of digital innards. Runs great. Couldn't resist a little humour.......

So as Santa sat upon the newly installed throne at the Autodrome late at night, checking his list of who is naughty and nice, he was suddenly moved to think of Christmases past.....



the wonderful gifts that childen of all ages so enjoyed, while the sounds of V12's filled the air.



Then he was given to pause of what the true spirit and meaning of Christmas Day was.....


...and so Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year.....now its time for me to prepare my sleigh (modified for Cornwall) and get ready to race into the night helping Santa deliver presents to all....hic!

Recently at the Autodrome our group of intrepid racers met for some Christmas cheer, good eats, mild libation and fun racing, all in the spirit of the season. One our our august group, the creative Peter McG brought several his most recent works along for some parade laps. Peter makes these gems himself and his tastes are rather eclectic. Last year in August(2010) we were party to some old British and Italian runners as well as a bevy of Japanese micro cars of his creation (blogged here). This past week Peter brought along the following, his art of the last month! Where does he find the time? He creates his chassis from scratch and bits in the bin and old Scaley stuff and what ever he can find. Some are slick runners while others run like the true period pieces they are. Except for the Testa Rosa Peter carves molds and forms his own bodies. He described the process as soften plastic, punch mold into it hard and smooth...or does he use a vac machine? Anyway the cars are gems of creativity and always bring loads of ooooooooowwwwws and aaahhhhhhs from the rest of us. I share some pics with you.








Enjoy!

That site where one bids provided me the opportunity to get my hands on one of those Holly Grail cars the other week. The Monogram Lola GT arrived in the mail Monday and she is a lovely little car. Were cars really that much smaller back in the day or are todays racers that much bigger?


The box is in good shape and I have yet to decide whether I'll frame it like I did the Ferrari 158 box. The instruction sheet is marvelous but a photocopy, nice to get though. The car itself was in great shape., including the deacals.


I managed to remove the interior with gentle prying so I could paint it. The rear axle was far to wide so I replaced it with an appropriate one from EJ's. The chassis, gears, motor and all running gear needed only only a light sprucing up. Even the rear tires were in good shape though I replaced them with my own urethane copies.


I love the original colour of this tiny gem, so it stays. Wheel inserts were painted to match the look of the real car as per my Google search. I've left the original decals for now till I decide whether to replace them with repops.


The little Lola lead to the Ford GT, seen here, Monogram's first generation car.


Hard to imagine the array of offspring this car generated and how successful they were. My tiny Lola runs great with gobs of power from the old Mabuchi X110 can. I was surprised at how well the wire drop guide works, but since the original wire spring was in place , everything is very stable in the corners. It gives modern Scalextric Ford GTs a run for their money.

Thank's to the ultimate car page:

Motorsport was going through a big revolution in the early 1960s; from front to mid engined racers. Not surprisingly endurance racing was the last category to fully pick up on the latest developments. For size reasons, the mid mounted engine much favoured smaller engines. Never quick to react to changes, Ferrari continued to run front engined prototype racers up until 1962, which were able to fight off the mid-engined competition with their well developed chassis and hugely powerful engines. The 1963 season proved to be a most important year and a turning point in Le Mans history; Ferrari entered a mid-engined V12 prototype and maybe even more important was the small Lola Mk VI GT roaring down the long straights.

Eric Broadley's Lola made their racing debut with the front engined Mk I sportscar late in the 1950s. With the subsequent Mk II - V single seater races Lola participated in Formula 1 and Formula Junior racing. Broadley recognized the slow adaptation of mid-engined design in endurance racing and figured he could have a shot at it with a new car. Apart from the technical difficulties, the development was also hampered by the governing body's decision to run the world championship for GT cars as of 1962, rather than the full blown sports cars of the past. A second class was added though to keep the spectacle alive, one for 'experimental GTs'. This allowed for prototype racer, but required them to be equipped with road equipment, like a spare tire.

It was for the experimental GT class that Broadley designed his new Mk VI GT. Inspired by Colin Chapman's Lotus 25 Formula 1 racer of 1962, a monocoque chassis was constructed, with a front subframe to support the radiator and suspension. The engine and transaxle were bolted on the monocoque. The gearbox and rear bulkhead supported the rear suspension. For the first car Lola used mainly steel for the monocoque, but the for following two aluminium was used. Suspension was by double wishbones coil overs all around. Despite being designed to hold a big V8 engine, the Mk VI's wheelbase was shorter than the marque's single seaters of the day.

John Frayling was commissioned to design a low drag coupe body for the chassis. His previous work included the original Lotus Elite. The fibre glass body he sculpted very well suited the small chassis, with very short front and rear overhangs. One of the more striking features were the doors, which cut into the roof considerably, to accommodate for quick driver changes in endurance racing. This solution was carried over in its much more famous successor, but more about that later. Another novelty was the central air intake for the engine located in the roof of the car. The cut-off Kamm style tail of the car was livened up by a pair of Ford Cortina rear lights. The completed car was a very attractive racer, more than a match for Ferrari's new 250 P mid-engined prototype, at least in the looks department.

The first car was completed in time to make a late debut at the 1963 Racing Car Show in the UK. This was the steel monocoque, which understandably stunned the crowds. It made its debut at the Silverstone Daily Express Meeting in May, where it was driven by Tony Maggs. Starting from the back, Maggs had never driven the car before, but still managed to finish an incredible fifth. Next up was the Nürburgring 1000 km race, where wheel nut problems put the car out of the race. Meanwhile Lola worked hard on completing a second car to race at Le Mans.

Although Broadley drove the new car, complete with aluminium monocoque chassis, from the factory to Le Mans himself, Lola were actually too late for the official scruteneering, but the organizers accepted to take a look at the new car anyways. Unfortunately they were not too happy with the central air-intake, which according to them blocked rearward vision. Refusing to give up the team created new intakes on either side of the car and removed the original intake. It did not improve rearward vision much, but the organizers were impressed with the work put into making the Mk VI eligible. Another point of concern was the fuel tank; it was too big. This was solved by inserting a number of empty bottles in the tank.

Eventually one car was ready and eligible for the 24 Hours race. All the scruteneering problems gave Lola no time for real testing, which was most obvious on the long straights; the wrong gearing was chosen. Drivers David Hobbs and Richard Attwood had to back off the throttle at speeds which later proved to be at least 30 mph under the car's potential top speed. Despite the gearing problems the Lola clocked very competitive lap times and was running as high as fifth in the race. Sadly the gearing was not the only problem of the Colotti gearbox; it also started to suffer from a selection problem in the race. In the 15th hour of the race Hobbs crashed out as a result of the gearbox problem. It was to be the last outing for the Ford powered Lola Mk VI GT.

Ferrari dominated that edition of the Le Mans race, filling the first six places. This news was not very well received in Detroit. In the spring of that year Ford had tried to buy Ferrari, but when the deal went sour, they set out to design a Le Mans racer of their own to beat those 'fast little red cars'. Work had already started before the 1963 Le Mans race, but when the Ford powered Lola Mk VI proved to be a highly competitive racer, the plans were changed. The Le Mans car was purchased and Eric Broadley was commissioned to help design the new Ford racer. Much of the Mk VI chassis design was carried over, but executed in steel and combined with a Detroit designed body, which did include the canopy doors. Ford dubbed the racer 'GT40' and the rest is history.

Broadley quickly left the project again after Ford decided to make modifications to the chassis that would make it suitable for road use as well. He believed that this would hamper the race car from ever becoming a winner. Ford extensively used the Mk VI GT as a running prototype for the GT40, but was never raced again. The other Mk VI was sold to John Mecom and fitted with a Chevrolet engin. It raced with some success in various North American races. Today the Mk VI GT is a little known racer, despite being one of the most influential racing cars ever built. With proper preparation, it could probably have been more of a contender for the Le Mans victory than the GT40 ever was in 1964 and 1965.

And there you have it. Now if I could just find Monogram's Copper Cobra with the open rear wheel wells....the hunt never ends!

I belong to a group of model builders in town that meet twice a month at the local Royal Canadian Legion. Now they are not slot racers...yet...but some are master modlers. Last year each of us built a Korean War era aircraft. This year each is building a military craft...tank or carrier, used by Canadian forces during WWII. Upon completion they will be given to the Legion and put on display in the lobby. Parked on the far side of the track is my Universal Carrier ready for a dull coat and a bit of weathering. Two figures to accompany it are in the process of completion.....Its a bit of a stretch from race cars but it is a vehicle of sorts!.....hhmmmmmmmm...where can I place a guide and, an FF can...oh nevermind!



During WWII Britain and Commonwealth Armies used a vast number of small , fully tracked weapons carriers. The Universal Mk.II came into being around 1940. The carrier had an open top crew compartment on each side of the engine compartment and lightly armoured superstructure. The Ford V8 put out 85 horse power with a top speed of 48 km/hour. Armament varied with mission.but often carried a Bren light machine gun.

My version has Canadian markings in the European theatre. Now to get back to slot cars......

So I have several boxes of stuff collected over the years that needs to be used up. The challenge is to incorporate stuff that is left over as much as possible. I started by digging out an ancient clear body shell by Shark. Original price $1.19 circa 1965? This thing was warped, yellowed and ugly, but I just had to have a Maserati 300 S. I Googled a reference picture of a car that Stirling Moss raced in Cuba! The idea was to keep things simple. So the wheels are Monogram taken from other cars and plastic. Tires are original on front and mine on rear. Driver is cobbled together. Decals are what ever was around. Paint is rattle can Tamiya outside the body to cover aging.





Now the under pinnings are one ugly mess but work very well. Had a sidewinder Penelope Pitlane front end and an EJ's inline rear laying around from other botched projects...don't ask. So with solder and silicone and a dremel and drill etc. Frankenchassis was created, powered by a Vanski FF can. I think that is a BWA pinion and an Avant Slot crown. Axles are drill blanks cut to size.


Well its not sophisticated but looks good from a distance, beside cars of the era on the track, and actually runs just great.


I used platsic blocks glued to the chassis and drilled holes through them with a pin drill, then used bent pins through the body to hold it in place. It kind off straightens out the warp of old age. You can see the block peeking out in the wheel well. I also painted the exposed chassis parts yellow for a more integrated look.


Decals are close enough to Moss' car to be evocative of the look.

From the Ultimate car web page I quote...
"Following the Grand Prix / Formula 1 World Championship first held in 1950, the FIA started a World Sportscar Championship in 1953. With legendary races like the Mille Miglia and the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the calendar, the championship was immediately popular. Main contenders for the title in the year were Ferrari, Jaguar and Aston Martin, who all had cars with engines that displaced well over 3 litres. Ferrari took the first title, which convinced Italian rivals Maserati to construct a car capable of competing in the new Championship.

Maserati had very little experience with large displacement engines. Their largest engine at the time was the 250F Formula 1 engine while the largest sportscar engine produced up till then was the 2 litre unit powering the A6 GCS. Throughout the 1954 season Maserati experimented with a hybrid sportscar, which used the A6 GCS chassis and the 250F engine. The engine provided lots of power, but its high compression ratio made it a reliability nightmare on races longer than two or three hours. Work continued on a new larger engine which offered similar performance, but used a much lower compression ratio.

There were two options for the larger engine; bore and stroke the 250F engine to its maximum or design a completely new engine. The first option would yield an engine with a 2.8 litre displacement, which was deemed insufficient, so Maserati went for the second option. The completely new six cylinder engine derived from the 250F design was to displace 3 litres. Two gear driven, overhead camshafts were installed to operate 2 valves per cylinder. Ignition was taken care of by two plugs per cylinder.

A new chassis was designed especially for the 3-litre engine. The biggest changes from the A6 GCS chassis were the incorporation of a DeDion type rear axle and a transverse four speed gearbox. The DeDion axle offered a similar amount of rigidity as a live axle, but the un-sprung weight was decreased considerably. Mounted on the chassis was aluminium roadster bodywork, designed and built by Fantuzzi. Later cars featured longer nosed bodies to increase aerodynamic efficiency.

The 300S, as it was named, made its competition debut in 1955. Although its performance was promising, the 300S was let down by poor reliability and developmental problems in its first year. After the difficult 1955 season, some modifications were carried out, including the aforementioned sleeker nose and an increase in engine output. Some of the sport's finest drivers drove for Maserati in 1956, including Stirling Moss, Jean Behra and Carroll Shelby.

The two years of hard work really paid off in the 1956 season! The 300S' first major victory was scored in the Nürburgring 1000 km race, with Moss, Behra, Schell and Taruffi at the wheel of the winning 300S. More victories followed that year and Maserati finished a commendable second in the World Championship behind the almost unbeatable Ferrari team. Juan Manuel Fangio took another major victory in 1957, but by that time development of the 300S was halted in favour of the even larger engined 450S. Ironically in 1958 a 3-litre displacement limit was imposed, leaving the 450S obsolete, after which Maserati withdrew from sportscar racing.

Today many of the 28 300S Maseratis constructed are still being raced in historic events. Featured above are various chassis, including a rare short nosed version. The cars are pictured at various events, including the 2003 Nürburgring Oldtimer Grand Prix, 2003 Spa Franchorchamps Ferraris days and the 2002 Le Mans Classic."

...and so whilst reading the forum I find out that George Turner creates a beautiful resin casting with chassis of this car...sigh...oh well mine will do for now! Enjoy!

P.S. Stew got me searching...found a blog in Spanish with beautiful pictures!....translated the story via Google...
"CUBAN CONOGRAFIA VI: Colors of the Grand Prix cars of Cuba, Havana, 1957.
A little history

The first official race car which was organized in the Cuban capital took place in 1903 between the bridge of La Lisa and Guanajay, west of Havana. The distance traveled on a dirt road and irregular, was 40 km and involved only five cars with their drivers and the uniqueness of each driver as co-pilot was his wife. First place in the competition went to Damaso Lian, owner of the first gas station in the country, who with her French Darracq car covered the distance in 57 minutes. From this first event is set to the Automobile Club of Havana who organize other races hereinafter. The success brought by the race of 1903, caused them to organize the first international race on February 12, 1905 with the presence and blessing of the new U.S. President Republic: Tomas Estrada Palma. On this occasion, attended by pilots of Cuba, France, Italy and the United States, Ernesto Carricaburo national pilot at the wheel of a Mercedes Benz owned by the wealthy Henry Conill, won the victory and set a new world record speed for the time. This route, also on the dusty road, between Arroyo Arenas (Havana) and San Cristobal (Pinar del Rio), Carriburo was made in one hour, fifty minutes and fifty-two seconds ("1.50.52").

The Grand Prix of Cuba, 1957.

In Cuba, organizes sports car competition, and Fangio are invited to compete. The Maserati 300S made on one that pays the Brazilian team "Madunina." The Maserati had been involved with this same team in Buenos Aires thousand miles of runs on 20 January that year. The circuit of the competition was diagrammed in a street layout in the coastal area of ​​the city of Havana called El Malecon circuit. In the qualifying, Fangio took pole with a time of 2'04 .6 "to an average of 161.537 km / h. At the start there are some drawbacks that Fangio relegated to seventh place. This situation forces him to start a new attack that ended on lap 68, when being in second place behind the Marquis De Portago, it must stop at the Box. The competition was suffered by the most seasoned pilots and gradually began leaving Eugenio Castellotti, Harry Schell, Phil Hill and Stirling Moss. Fangio then passes to lead the competition, a position that will not leave until the checkered flag. Next year's edition of 1958, the Argentine pilot would be kidnapped by a group of "revolutionary" tarnishing the prestige of the race.

Circuit "El Malecon"
Laps: 90
Perimeter: 5 591 meters
Distance: 503, 190 km

Race Results
1. Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina)
2. Carroll Shelby (USA)
3. Alfonso de Portago (Spain)
4. Peter Collins (Great Britain)
5. Olivier Gendebien (Belgium)
6. Alfonso Gomez Mena (Cuba)


The link is here...
http://memorandumvitae.blogspot.com/2009/0...s-del-gran.html

It's time for another build for the Vintage Race Across America ( and Canada) VRAA. This year the Ferguson is parked in the museum and out rolls a Ferrari 1512 in NART colours. Body and chassis are Penelope Pitlane.


Here we go. Chassis is carefully bent along scored lines into shape. Three motor choices were allowed in this years race and after carefull testing the Vanski long FF can proved worthy over the BWA can and the short can.


Motor is held in place for testing with tape, siliconed later, tabs on chassis removed so can can be more central for balance. Ranch design tiny gears were tried but again after much testing settled for slot.it combo.


The PP inserts were carefully ground around the edge to fit wheels supplied to last years VRAA entrants and the body was primed and painted Tamiya white. Engine detail paint is started.


TSRF giude was used, post held in brass tube soldered in place. The decals from the kit were great, though I cut them at the rear cowling to make them easier to apply in sections.


Some suspension detail is needed for the "look" After a strugle I reverted to the tried and true paper clip. Upper siliconed to body.

.

Lower arms are soldered to notches Dremeled in chassis



Rear detail. Silver paint on all parts.


Front upper detail cut from sheet plastic and glued in place.


Moving along. Little gold on tips of intakes.


Driver head ready. Front lower suspension bent and glued in place. Legs from Fly driver installed and paint started. Boots are brown now. Transmission and rear is painted silver. So is the gear to be less noticeable. Exhaust pipes are cut from cheap paint brushes


Trial fit and decals on nose and cowling now applied.


Wind screen cut out and glued with Testors clear parts cement. Map pins sanded flat on one side become mirrors. Makes for a sturdy fit for long travels and much racing. Little strip of electrical tape cut thin makes a nice band for goggles.


Not fantastic but a sturdy car that looks darn good.

According to Wiki:

Curiously, Ferrari ( John Surtees) in a 158 varaiant won the 1964 World championship by competing the last two races in cars painted not in the traditional Rosso corsa but in white and blue, as these were not entered by the Italian factory themselves, but the US-based NART team. This was done as a protest concerning arguments between Ferrari and racing authorities regarding the homologation of a new mid-engined Ferrari race car.
Ferrari also raced a 180 degree V12-powered car, called 1512 or 512 F1. In the years 1964 and 1965, both the V8 and V12 were used. The 1965 56.0 x 50.4 mm 1,489.63 cc V12-cylinder engine developed 220 bhp (164 kW) @ 12,000 rpm compared to the 210 bhp (157 kW) @ 11,000 rpm of the 1965 67.0 x 52.6 mm 1,489.24 cc 1965 V8-cylinder engine.

And from the web page of Ferrari Magazine:
It was a touch of rebelliousness at Maranello in 1964 that resulted in the British driver John Surtees claiming the World Championship for Ferrari at the wheel of a car painted blue and white. At the time, Enzo Ferrari was having difficulty in persuading the international sporting authority to homologate (recognise) a new car for the following season’s sports car championship.

Convinced that the Italian national body was not giving him the support he deserved as a licence holder, he called in Luigi Chinetti, Ferrari’s united States dealer, and invited him to enter the cars for the two final races of the season under the name of Chinetti’s privately owned North American Racing Team. Thus it was that Surtees claimed his title in Mexico in a car wearing uS colours. Despite the rules (which were never seriously enforced), national colours were worn by most of the formula one teams until 1968.

And my number 69 is the race number for the VRAA and not based in reality so there you have it.

Well it has been a while but after a very wet spring our summer has been spectacular so blogging and slot cars have taken a bit of a back seat to day trips, company, good food and drink. The pictures for this post have been here for a while but the brain has been in neutral. Tonight its time to finish this up and post.
A fine neighbour of ours often buys mdel kits at auctions. He loves aircraft and military stuff...the odd car or two. This little Airfix kit was in a plastic bag with no instructions. Looked 1/32 so he passed it to me gratis. Parts were mising but after all this is a one off special so a slot car it became. The kit is the seventies release of the MG Magnette.


Body was assembled on plastic chassis and gutted to fit simple scratch build from left overs. Ninco wheels, TSRF guide, a very small motor sourced from a Canadian electronics firm out west, card stock, Tamiya paint......


...things were startin' to come together. Found an old EJ's kit exhaust pipe....front top fender bracket was manufactured from piano wire...spare was from another Airfix kit with an odd BWA wire insert......


Some left over white numbers...looking rustic...


..tea strainer proivdes wire grill...stick on some lights..no lenses so some roundy bits do the trick..add some sort of can for the driver to enjoy a beverage whilst bonding through the hedge rowed lanes....


...the car is dimunitively small, but a very good performer..TADA!...Jolly good , wot!

According to Wiki..
The MG K-type Magnette was produced by the MG Car company from October 1932 to 1934.
Launched at the 1932 London Motor Show, the K-Type replaced the F-Type Magna but having at first a slightly smaller capacity engine it took the name Magnette. The chassis was similar to the Magna but strengthened and had the track increased by 6 inches (150 mm) to 48 inches (1200 mm) and was available in two lengths with a wheelbase of either 94 inches (2388 mm) or 108 inches (2743 mm). The steering was modified with a patented divided track rod which was claimed to reduce kick back at the steering wheel. The brakes were cable operated with 13 inch (330 mm) drums made of "Electron", a light alloy, with shrunk in steel liners. Suspension by half elliptic springs and Hartford friction shock absorbers all round with rigid front and rear axles. Wire wheels with 4.75 x 19 tyres and centre lock fixing were used.
The engines were based on a Wolseley overhead camshaft design used first in the 1930 Wolseley Hornet and subsequently used by MG in the F-Type but subject to a major re-design. The stroke was reduced from 83 mm to 71 mm to reduce the capacity from 1272 cc to 1087 cc and a cross flow cylinder head fitted. Fitted at first with triple SU carburetors it produced 39 bhp (29 kW) at 5500 rpm. In early 1933 a modified version of the engine was announced that had improved valve timing and only two carburettors but the output was up at 41 bhp (31 kW). This engine was called the KB and the previous version, which continued in use, the KA. In late 1933 they were joined by the KD with a larger 1271 cc capacity by returning to the F-Type stroke of 83 mm but with the improved cylinder head and timing power was up to 48.5 bhp (36.2 kW). (The F-Type had only been rated at 37 bhp.) In addition there was the KC engine for the racing cars. This retained the 1087 cc capacity but with the aid of a supercharger power was up at 120 bhp (89 kW) at 6500 rpm.
Drive was to the rear wheels through either a four speed non-synchromesh gearbox or ENV made pre-selector type.
All the road cars were capable of reaching 75 mph (121 km/h).

The original K having the long chassis was first shown with the saloon body, KA engine and pre-selector gearbox all costing £445, quite expensive at the time. It was soon joined by a tourer with KB engine and manual gearbox. Later the saloon could also be had with KD engine and pre-selector.
54 K1s with KA engines, 74 with KB engines and 53 with KDs were made. Not many of the saloons were sold and surplus bodies/chassis were later fitted with MG "N" type engines and sold as the MG KN Magnette.

The K2 was the open 2 seater and so had the shorter chassis. It had at first the KB engine and manual box but later cars could have the KD with pre-selector.
16 were made with KB engines and a further 4 with KD engines.

The K3 was the racing variant..(AHA, my little gem...hehehe!) and used the short chassis. The KC engine at first used a Powerplus supercharger replaced later by a Marshall-made one. They were prominently mounted in front of the engine below the radiator. Pre-selector gearboxes were used. They were successfully raced in 1933, winning the 1100 cc class in the Mille Miglia driven by Capt. George Eyston and Count Lurani and scoring an outright vistory in the Ulster RAC Tourist Trophy (TT) race where the car was driven by Tazio Nuvolariat an average speed of 78.65 m.p.h. The K3 attracted the great names of the racing world - Sir Tim Birkin of Bentley fame, Whitney Straight and 'Hammy' Hamilton. Only 33 were made and as well as the works cars they could be bought for £795 but subsequently quite a few replicas have been made often from the K1 and K2 models.

TTFN old boy!