1968 BRM P126

9884 Views 50 Replies 14 Participants Last post by David Lawson, Aug 26, 2004

David Lawson

Discussion Starter · Jun 21, 2004

Without wishing to monopolise the 1960s F1 theme (I would love to see some others work), here's another car currently under construction which I mentioned I was planning in another thread.

Once again it's one of the excellent Classic shells. This BRM raced during a dip in the team's fortunes after Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart left the team at the end of 1966 & 67 and the team struggled with the H16 engine before admitting defeat and switching to the V12 for 1968 that would eventually have some success in the 153 and 160 chassis in the early 1970s.

BRM's were always very well engineered and this car looked superbly packaged as well as being a good looking design, it was always one of my favourites. I always remember a high spot being Richard Attwood's great race at Monaco in 68 when he came close to winning.

The standard Scalex motor that I prefer to use for home track use just fits this slim bodyshell - here's a couple of work in progress pictures. You'll see that I've just broken through the shell with the Dremel around the engine exhaust and intake area as space is at a premium but I'll clean that up when I prepare the shell for painting.

David

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JohnP

· #4 · Jun 21, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

Thanks David - been getting those '60s F1 withdrawal symptons all over the weekend! Must start another soon myself - I've got a couple of MRRC bodies in reserve although I do have a fancy for one of those Classic BT26's.

Anyway, the BRuMmer looks terrific so far - but who's got the drive? Will the pilot be wearing a sensible sombrero instead of one of those silly racing helmets I wonder?

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JohnP

· #12 · Jun 22, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

QUOTE is your reference to the great Pedro Rodriguez? If it is then yes he'll probably be the driver rather than Attwood - still not decided yet.
Yes, I was indeed referring to the great Pedro! Other possibilities could be Mike Spence (who drove the P126 in South Africa, the Race of Champions and International Trophy) and Piers Courage in the Parnell car.

Great to see so much interest in this thread

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JohnP

· #17 · Jun 22, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

QUOTE Any chance of any pictures of the, pardon the expression, rear end?.....I'm desperate for inspiration....
...at least you didn't ask to see a picture of David's Johnson (111 of course)

Maybe this will help a little Alan:

It's a picture of my Lotus 79 chassis under construction although the... um... rear end is the same on my Honda. Ideally there would be an additional brace soldered from the bearings to the top of the motor once installed. Unfortunately, I couldn't do that on the Honda because the Scaley motor has it's plastic endbell at the buisness end.

David seems to have used a similar "bracketless" method although I have to say his looks to be a far more robust job!

P.S. the piano wire is 16swg.

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JohnP

· #23 · Jun 25, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

I think the belt and braces approach is a pretty sensible idea myself David - particularly if the car is to be hammered in a proxy series! Although it's hard to tell from the pictures it looks like you've shaped the rear brace so you can solder it along the axle bearing. That seems like a mechanically sound idea to me. Trouble is, from a construction point of view I find that rear bracket the hardest single piece to get right: even with just four bends and I'm guessing you have six there!

The other thing I suppose is that by soldering the motor up solid you forego some of the handling benefits from natural flexing of the rails. On the other hand your motor won't fall out!

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JohnP

· #24 · Jun 25, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

QUOTE I've always favoured the robust or agricultural approach to making things
I couldn't agree more David. In fact the vehicle to the left is my 1st reserve proxy entry:

...try getting past that!

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JohnP

· #28 · Jun 25, 2004

QUOTE the Prof may well rule against your agricultural vehicles on grounds of tyre width
Gah, hadn't thought of that one Alan. No rule about how many skinny tyres you can have at the back though.

Wish I'd bought one of those Pink-Kar AU hill climbers now!

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JohnP

· #31 · Jun 29, 2004

That's one handsome chassis David! The shell is coming along nicely too - may I ask what paint you used? I have a MRRC BRM P261 waiting in the wings and I'm wondering what to use - shame Humbrol gave up on those racing colours!

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JohnP

· #34 · Jun 30, 2004

Thanks David - looks good to me. Whilst trawling the www for references I also discovered this handy link:

EQUIVALENCES FOR RACING COLOURS WITH TAMIYA

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JohnP

· #37 · Jul 1, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

Beautiful

I think this one might be too nice to risk in the proxy race as well David!

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JohnP

· #45 · Jul 7, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

Ah, that Scaley motor - denied the line about David's Johnson popping out

But that grid is looking very tasty now David and personally I think the BRM is your best yet.

It'll be interesting to see how you go about making that Cooper-BRM (I can guess where the back half will come from). I'm currently sanding away at a lump of plaster to make a '66 Maserati engined T81 - bit of a labour of love I must say. It may not have been the most successful of racers but it was a great looking car that just seemed to ooze power.

Fantastic work David

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