1959 Corvette Stingray Racer

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  As I have mentioned elsewhere, the 1957 Corvette SS is my all time favorite car. Well, a close second is the 1959 Corvette Stingray Racer which was built on an SS chassis. Built in "secret" during the official AMA ban on factory racing support, Bill Mitchell took it racing "privately" in 1959 with good success, winning the SCCA National Championship in 1960 with Dr. Dick Thompson as the driver.  It was the inspiration for the '63 Sting Ray.  GM pressured Mitchell to withdraw from racing. He drove it as his personal vehicle and it eventually became one of the most famous show cars. 
  I am puzzled as to why it has never been offered as a scale model. Back in the 60's, there was a vacuum-formed body in 1/25 that has been used to make a model, but in my search I haven't seen one for sale in over 20 years searching. I imagine the price will be outrageous if one pops up. 
  So it turns out the French company Starter offered a resin model of it in 1/43 many years ago. Long story made short, I was able to track down and get a built one for restoration.

The glass is broken. The photoetch script is a lost cause. Wheels and tires are a joke for now.  It was nicely painted, but the wrong color. Too dark.   







So, within a few hors of careful work I was able to disassemble it completely. 



And here is where we are now.  Next step: Carefully strip the paint from the body.

What do you think? Your comments are always appreciated.

Thanks,
Ismael

[Chris K. Hale]

Cool Deal, cant wait to see the restoration... Chris

[tatocorvette]

Thanks Chris!

Easy does it. I'm treating this with the care as if it was the real car 

Couple hours of work. So far so good with good progress.





Thanks,
Ismael

[grandsport3]

Ismael, The 1/24 body back in the 60's was a Scuderia Scale white plastic vacuform that came is a series of four: Stingray, Lotus Elite, Front engine Chaparral and I forget the other. I had a clear test shot of the Chaparral and it was very crude. thanx, John

[Joel_W]

Ismael,
Another one of your special Corvette builds. Looking forward to seeing how you work your magic on this one.

joel

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

Slowly moving in the right direction. The casting is very nice. Very minor bodywork will be required.  








Thanks,
Ismael

[kyledehart5]

That’s looking spiffy Ismael!

[tatocorvette]

Thanks Kyle

Hello again,

  First mist coat of primer.  Will get a very close inspection for any bodywork imperfection before proceeding to more primer.





Thanks,
Ismael

[sam]

You will do anything to get out of building a Ford. 😁

That is one sleek race car.

[Joel_W]

Ismael,

The magic is already happening on another Chevy Vette build.

joel