Have any of you guys built a Ford 3l? Options

[bastumannen]

Hi everyone!

I'm currently building The Airfix kit of the Ford 3L P68. The shape of the body suplied in this kit in my opinion is quite awful. The real car is a real beauty in my opinion! But it makes it more fun trying to create the right shape out of it . The sides of the body look way wrong, kinda to square. So this requires some serious sanding and filling of material from the inside of the body to allow for all this sanding. Also the rear of the car was way too square and needed to be redone. I'm going for the #7 car that raced on Nürburgring in 1968. So the nose will have to be sculptured too I managed to squeze a sidewinder into this one thanks to some fiddling. I made a torsion bar brass chassis (my first) for it and it drives very well after some initial trial runs.
I don't know how to post pics here, I keep getting fault messages when I try. But here are a few in progress shots: My Starphoto page (bastumannen)
I'll be back with more pics and descreptions as I go.

I'd be greateful for any links with photos or other interesting info about this car.
I'd also love to see some other peoples versions of this car for ideas and inspiration!

Toby

[Tropi]

NOW I remember you from SCI!
Visitor to Australia.
The rose tinted Aston Martin in the sunset!
Nice set of pics, Toby.

[howmet tx]

Excellent photos and an excellent job! Funny though, I always felt that the Airfix Ford was about the best of their kits scale wise. I've been meaning to get mine running for ages now. Especially after a feature in Motor Sport a few months ago- I'll check out the issue if anyone's interested. There are some superb pictures, and the Airfix version seemed to compare well. Of the Airfix kits it's the LeMans Ferrari that has taken all my attention so far, trying to make that look like the real thing is a challenge! I've got a few of them running now, but I always want to do a bit more with that ugly nose... And now it looks as if Proto are making one anyway. Should have saved my time! It also intrigues me why Airfix chose to model the 3L in the first place- it is a gorgeous shape, but it was one of the most unsuccessful cars ever! Why didn't they do a GT40 or a Ferrari P4 all those years ago? Keep us posted with progress on the 3L though, I'm interested in what you end up doing, 'cos i'll probably nick all your ideas!

[Russell Sheldon]

Hi Toby,

Take a look at these links:

http://www.vsrnonline.com/Photos/FordP68_6...otoGallery.html

http://www.vsrnonline.com/Mags/MC/Vol5/MC_V5N7_p322.jpg

http://www.vsrnonline.com/Mags/MC/Vol5/MC_V5N7_p323.jpg

http://www.vsrnonline.com/Mags/MC/Vol5/MC_V5N7_p330.jpg

http://www.vsrnonline.com/Mags/MC/Vol5/MC_V5N7_p331.jpg

Kind regards,

Russell

[howmet tx]

I've found my Motor Sport... it's August 2003, Vol LXXIX, no.8. It has a superb track test of the restored 3L at Spa with some great detail shots, although the car has that ugly 'duck's bill' modified nose. If you can't get hold of a copy, get in touch....

Best of luck

[bastumannen]

That's rigth Tropi! The Swedish Aussi


Thanks Russel! Those are great references.

I've also found these links:
NVSAAC Gallery GT40 and Ford 3L -68 season
Ultimatecarpage Ford 3L
MCars
Another kit from March Models in 1:43

Thanks, for the info on the article in Motorsport, Howmet! I'll have to try to aquire that somehow. You wouldn't happen to have a scanner, would you ? Thanks for the kind words too! And feel free to steal as much as you want of my ideas . That's why we are here!
The modifying starts right with the interior. Had to try and shape those seats a bit to make them look better, they are still a bit square, but there is a limit to everything. Then the ridge between the seats was lowerd a bit and rounded of. I felt there was a need for a fire extinguisher so I made one from an old IKEA pencil . Put it in my powerdrill and machined it down to the right diameter, cut it to lenght and rounded the edges of (then painted three times to get that shineyness, I'll ad some white labels to it too later). I also raised the hight of the fire wall behind the driver, and put a thin piece of see-through plastic as a window. I made a gearstick from 0,8mm pianowire and superglue (put the wire in a vise grip and applied superglue to the bottom end numerous times to make a nice rounded end). There are another couple of little pices of plastic glued in at various places to simulate other details. The driver is form MRRC and his hands grip the steering wheel and the gearstick. I would have prefered a driver without goggles since he's inside a closed car, but after I painted them I think it looks alright anyway. So the interior is almost finished. I can't go back and ad things to it once I glue the body halves together, so I'll have to seal it of somehow not to get schmotz in there whilst running. This is bit of a compromize in the design, but I couldn't come up with anything else at the start of the project.

Does anyone have any hints as how to make a DHV motor top for diplay through the rear winow? Or could they be bought as separate spares from any manufacturer. Not overly happy with the round shaped things that comes withe the kit. (Yes I know, I'm probably too picky here, but what the h*ck, the secret is in the detail isn't it?)

And another silly question... Did they wear seatbelts by this time always, or was that up to the drivers still? If they did what was the usual colour? Also what helmet colours did Gardner and Atwood have at that time? I was going to make the #34 car from the BOAC 500 first so I painted the driver like Bruce McLaren, but then I couldn't find those decals so I changed to the #7 car from Nürburgring since Patto's place had them. ...and that forces me to do that nose job too...

I hope I haven't bored you all silly with all the details here, just let me know and I'll stop the in detail description.

I'll keep you posted, I'ts just that I have an exams week coming up at uni now, so it might be a while before anymore progress is made.

Toby

[howmet tx]

Hi

Just to say that the Matchbox Surtees TS9 kit contains a good Cosworth representation which would be good for your 3L- but you'd have to scratchbuild the inlet stacks, cos the kit has that giant airbox covering them.
I got mine from 'Carkits' and there are usually more in their catalogue. Otherwise it might be fun to clone the parts, and I could send you castings....

Cheers

[philsmith]

Problem with the Matchbox kit is that it under 1/32 scale (or over! i.e. its too small)
Best Cosworth engine to use is the Airfix from the Matra F1 car, it's just about spot on.
But I think the Airfix 3L is probably a little under scale anyway.
I did reseach for this when I was building the Lotus 49 (never finished!) for the Marconi race

[howmet tx]

So it is!

Anyway, if you do want that Motor Sport article, I'm afraid I'll have to send it by ordinary post, as I don't seem to be able to get it to carry across the e-waves.
Get in touch if you still need it.

Cheers

[bastumannen]

Thanks guys!

howmet, thanks for offering to send the the article! But it seems too much to ask for really! So, I'll see if I can locate it locally here...

thanks phil, for the suggestions! It's just that if I found the Matra F1 from Airfix I'd probably like to build that car too and then I'll be needing the enginge there . I suppose that it's no longer in production, and therefor quite rare... Correct me if I'm wrong. Do you have any pics of your Lotus 49?

I think it's mostly the air stacks that I'll be needing, because the rest of the engine seemed to be covered. I actually don't know about this, so if anyone knows about this I'd be very happy to know. I haven't found any pictures showing a view through that rear window. Does anyone have a good method for producing air stacks from scratch? I'm all out of ideas...

How does resin casting work? Is there a good guide somewhear on the web? I'd love to try it out! Seems like the possibilitys are endless!

Toby

[BEEJAY7]

Toby

Try golf tee's for the stacks, they can be shaped pretty easily and for resin casting see :-

http://www.mgussin.freeuk.com/00Features.htm

Regards

Alan

[howmet tx]

Hi Toby

The offer's still open on the Motor Sport article- it includes a fabulous picture of the engine bay. For the intake stacks, Max Winter of Max-Models now does a very nice line in accessories, including engine detailing kits. You can certainly get all different styles of inlet stacks to suit, including nice little copper ones that would do for the Cosworth, I think.

The best news on his site though is that he's now going to sell lightened economy versions of his Can Am bodies as racer specials. Affordable M6As and Lolas!! Yay!

[bastumannen]

WOW Thanks heaps John! It sure worked with my other address. What a great article! Thanks for scanning it with such a resolution too! Those pics were fantastic . Now it'll take even longer for me to complete this car...

Sounds very nice with the stuff from Max-Models. Where can I get in contact with him? ...affordable Can Am too, mmm! And not to mention of the right scale too I presume, not the 1:28...

Alan, thanks for the resin casting link. That should get me started if I get around to it. I was thinking of maybe casting this Ford when I'm done with all the reshapings of the body, so that I could make more... And golf tee's hmm, interesting. Do you mean the little trumpet shaped pins that you peg the golf balls on? The plastic ones I presume? I take it they would need a lot of work?

Toby

[bastumannen]

...I love that car even more after having read the article! It's so gorgeus and groundbreaking, yet so prone to breaking down. A sad but great story!

I remember first seeing this car myself at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed 2001 (I'm only 26 so I wasn't around in it's time, damn I wish I was born earlier). My jaw kinda' dropped as it rolled out towards the track there. I felt all embarrassed that I didn't know this car then, so I asked my friend in a quiet way what it was, because I didn't want to look stupid. luckily he didn't know either . It just looked so fantastic that it had to be a famous car with some great history. Now I know a bit more... And what a car it is! (I greatly recomend the Goodwod festival to anyone, by the way!)

Toby

[howmet tx]

Hi Toby

Glad the article finally got through. It's a really gutwrenching story isn't it? I too love that car. Do you know the Can-Am Honker that came from the same stable? Just as sexy and just as disastrous! Classic/Betta do a nice body shell...

Now when I said Maxi-Models were AFFORDABLE, I might have been getting a little carried away..It is a relative term, and I don't know how many of us multi-millionaire ex-stockbrokers there are on this forum. But you MUST repeat MUST visit the website, which you can find just by searching for MAXI-MODELS. Well I did anyway, and I'm clinically incapable of operating a computer by myself. Guaranteed exact 1/32 scale! Perfect and beautiful kits and VERY useful accessory packs- wheels, drivers, engines, rear-view mirrors. Gorgeous stuff. But Max IS advertising a cheaper range of body kits for racers/scratchbuilders. Best news I've heard this year, except for the fact I've already paid up for the expensive versions. But my accountant assures me that the taxable expenditure can be off set against my offshore investments and unearned income profits in the next fiscal year will be unaffected. I will now summon my young P.A. to send this message for me.