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Post by Oldtimer on Jan 8, 2018 11:03:47 GMT -8
When originally produced, the 1/18 scale series of Boss 302 racers came with four-two throat-Webers, as they were allowed on the original model of that series, the Alan Moffat "Trans Am" Mustang that ran in the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) from 1969 to 1972. That car, due to the rules of that series, correctly ran a Weber set-up, however over here on the domestic side of the pond, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) limited Trans Am cars to first two, and then only one four barrel Holley.
Welly/GMP/and now, ultimately, ACME, carried the multi-carb feature over from the original version of this mold, to a series of Trans Am liveried Boss 302 models. Welly, as they produced their various competition versions of the Boss 302 Mustang, finally partially corrected this flaw in their last generation by covering the top of the engine with a Bud Moore-style induction system, however the multi-throat carbs are still visible.
ACME recently produced a Smokey Yunick version, but as the Yunick Mustang only actually ran in Nascar, that sanctioning body only allowed one four barrel carb, as well.
And since ACME choose to use the later body mold (with two windshield wipers), it is a pity that they didn't accommodate us with a more correct engine intake appearance.
Truly unfortunate for such an iconic model.
I good friend of mine, Mike Kotwick (I think he goes by Swede70 here) is a very prolific resin caster and customizer. He cast up some facsimile air cleaners and carburetors for me, and here is the result.
The correction requires that you take the model apart (pretty straightforward, although the two screws in the rear wheel wells have to be attacked at an angle), plus there is one screw that holds the engine together which also needs to be removed.
I then cut the incorrect multi-barrel carb off (although in retrospect, what I should have done was filed in the voids with JB Weld or something similar to make a high-rise intake). I covered the exposed area with some plasticard which I subsequently painted gray/silver.
Notice on the semi-correct Welly/GMP/ACME versions, the shock tower braces and other engine compartment details are removed in order to fit the air cleaner. My goal was to retain as much as possible.
Here's what Mike's resin piece looks like. I had to stack two carbs, and then grind the bottom one down to make the air cleaner at the right height (hence the plan on the next one to epoxy in the bad carbs).
Couple of in-progress/test fit shots.
And then the final, following the old racer's tradition of "hammer to fit, paint to match". I drilled a hole up through the original stalk that holds the engine together, and created a carb mounting stud out of an 080 x 1" screw.
And then simply (yeah, right) set the air cleaner down onto the carb stud.
Only piece I had to remove was the incorrect already fuel injection/multi-carb overflow/make-up tank.
And now my Smokey Yunick Nascar Mustang (in spite of all its other faults), is fuel induction correct.
Just a half dozen more of these in my collection to correct, and I'll be done.
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Post by robhart on Jan 8, 2018 16:27:55 GMT -8
Nice work. The news to me is that Smokey Yunick ran a Mustang in Nascar.
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Post by Oldtimer on Jan 8, 2018 17:04:39 GMT -8
I think there's a great deal of debate over whether or not there was a Yunick Trans Am Mustang. He did enter one in Nascar's companion Grand Am series.  |
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Post by dustymojave on Jan 8, 2018 23:04:57 GMT -8
It seems (IIRC) that he had entered it in at least one Trans Am race. Don't know if it was actually raced in TA though. I'm not sure. The car is being raced in Historic Trans Am now. This is a 69 Boss 302 I worked on restoring in 192. Our restoration made it WAAAAAYYYY better than the car had EVER been before. It was originally an also-ran in the hands of a privateer. We turned it into a contender competitive with any of the top dollar cars in the Vintage TA races that it still gets raced in now, 25 years later.   The blue duct tape on the airbox is thanks to an overeager crew member cross threading the stud before I got to the track that weekend of it's 1st outing at Palm Springs. The chrome lid is a standard 14" air cleaner with an aluminum shell feeding and wrapping it. The airbox in the diecast kits you show is an imitation of the Bud Moore 1970 Boss 302 airboxes. |
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Post by Oldtimer on Jan 9, 2018 5:57:13 GMT -8
Got the picture of the Grand Am version inserted into my reply.
This is also, apparently, the one being raced in Historic Trans Am, although the write-up on the car clearly shows it never raced in Trans Am, and I would contend that the air intake shown in contemporary pictures of the car were not Nascar legal in the period it was raced.
I'm working on a Nascar-type cowl induction conversion, and should have pictures of it soon.
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Post by robhart on Jan 9, 2018 13:16:48 GMT -8
Who is the guy in the driving suit crouching in front of the car?
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Post by Oldtimer on Jan 9, 2018 13:24:28 GMT -8
Who is the guy in the driving suit crouching in front of the car? Bunkie Blackburn
He was the driver of the Mustang when it raced it's one Nascar race.
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Post by Oldtimer on Jan 13, 2018 7:55:28 GMT -8
Here is a progress report on creating the Nascar cowl induction option. Using another donor Mustang, this one the #2 driven by Dan Gurney, I surrounded the multi-carb base with 1/4 inch masking tape, and filled the void with JB Weld, which I then ground down to just the tops of the original carbs. I am still using one of Mike's four-barrel carburetors, and found a reverse air cleaner top (from, you guessed it, a Nascar stock car). I will also fabricate a connection between the air cleaner box and the cowl (you can see one of Mike's pieces - intended for a GMP Trans Am Camaro - in the background of the pictures).    There will be more grinding to fit and painting to match. |
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Post by mustangrex on Feb 18, 2018 10:25:09 GMT -8
I have the Welly 69 TA #16 and it has the same four webers. I guess they do not care much about accuracy.
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Post by Oldtimer on Feb 19, 2018 16:07:53 GMT -8
I have the Welly 69 TA #16 and it has the same four webers. I guess they do not care much about accuracy. And trust me, I have communicated with ACME about this, and you are right, they don't care, as they know that 1/18 scale racing collectors are desperate for new models, and are willing to pay market price, even if they are patently inaccurate. |
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