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Revell March 83G 'Kreepy Krauly'
#00 Review by Nuro. Historical information from Russell Sheldon
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The March 83G evolved from the 82G, the first car designed by Adrian Newey, and later into the 84G. Designed as a "customer" car, the March was built with a honeycomb aluminium monocoque with an engine bay capable of accommodating a wide range of engines, from Chevrolet’s V-8 to Porsche’s turbocharged flat-6. The bodywork was designed and developed by Max Sardou, who had designed the Porsche 917/20 "Pig". The 82G featured front fenders reaching forward with an adjustable wing between the fenders. This "lobster-claw" front end was to become a March GTP trademark in the following years.
Success came March’s way in 1983 when Al Holbert bought three of the five 83Gs built, winning the IMSA Championship driving both a March 83G Chevrolet and a March 83G Porsche. Holbert switched to a Porsche 962 for 1984, but the March was still the car to beat, with Randy Lanier winning the 1984 title with the Blue Thunder Racing Team March 84G Chevrolet. Kreepy Krauly March 83G/84G
Blue Thunder March 84G The Blue Thunder March was in fact a 84G (84G–04), powered by a Ryan-Falconer 366 cu. inch Chevy injection engine. Randy Lanier won five races outright and took two second places with this car to win the 1984 IMSA Championship, the car being shared on occasion with co-driver Bill Whittington.
There’s a lovely story about the Blue Thunder March. Other Marches suffered from using early versions of the Hewland DG300 gearbox which broke regularly. The Blue Thunder March’s gearboxes seemed to never break and, after the season was over, it was discovered that this was because their engineers had thrown away reverse gear and made all the other gears just that little bit wider, to take the torque that a beefy race-prepared 366 Chevy could put out. Of course, the rules state that it’s illegal to run a GTP car without a reverse gear, but it seems that no IMSA Tech Inspector ever checked! March 83G Porsche - Chassis 83G-04: Daytona 24-Hours: Van Der Merwe/Martin/Duxbury; 1st March 84G Chevy - Chassis 84G-04: Sebring 12-Hours: Lanier/B. Whittington; 2nd
The Revell 1:32 scale models: |
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| These two models are both very attractive. The 'Blue Thunder' #56 has a wonderful two-tone metallic blue with white and black and the 'Kreepy Krauly' #00 again has two blues, this time non-metallic and white. Remember the Daytonas and Corvettes - Revell must have bought allot of that blue paint). The tampo applications, although simple, are flawless. The cars have plenty of details such as vented side windows, front air-dam, detailed filler caps, side exhausts, etched wheels and rear engine details. The interiors are detailed with a well painted driver - although his expression makes me wonder if he is about to crash. | |
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| We see for once a sidewinder motor configuration on these Revell models. With 14 tooth pinion and 37 tooth contrate. This 1:2.64 ratio makes for higher top speed with lower torque. It handles quite well, but the magnet feels too strong. It really sticks to the track. I removed the magnet to see how it handled. It slid all over the place as you may have expected. The rear tyres having little grip on my Sport track. There is very little room for weight up front as the cabin almost touches the chassis pan. I would say, change the rear tyres first, then add some weight. I ended up refitting the magnet and then we had some good racing between these two cars. They certainly look good together on the track. | |
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We have had a few members offering advice on
how to get this car running better:
Thanks to all that have contributed.
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- Nuro 04/05
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The Kreepy Krauly March - chassis 83G-04 - used a Porsche engine and was one of the three cars originally bought by Holbert Racing. It was sold to Kreepy Krauly in late 1983 and upgraded to 84G spec for the 1984 IMSA Championship. Driven by the South African team of Sarel Van Der Merwe, Graham Duxbury and Tony Martin it won the 1984 Daytona 24-Hours, with Van Der Merwe also winning the 1984 Lime Rock IMSA race. Kreepy Krauly is a South African company which manufactures
pool cleaners.
The 1984 Daytona 24-Hours also marked the debut of the Porsche 962. Driven by Mario and Michael Andretti, the Porsche qualified on pole, alongside the Kreepy Krauly March 83G. Sarel Van Der Merwe took the lead almost immediately and the March was never headed. 
Charlotte, May 20, 1984. Randy Lanier leads the March 84G of John Morton and Tony Adamowicz, ahead of the Kreepy Krauly 83G/84G.  |
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 24th May 2013 - 01:36 |