Revell Parts Pak Dragster - Completed with final photos

[Bernard Kron]

OK! One last swing at the apple in 2019. I started this one in April, 2013. The picture below is from June 1, 2013 and shows most of the basic parts I had going by then. The basic chassis is a Revell C1122 Dragster Frame Parts Pack. The front axle is from one of the Revellogram '29/30 ford "Rat Rod" kits. The rear whitewall slicks are from Modelhaus. The checker board decals were adapted from a Revell '32 Ford Roadster kit and the Caribbean blue body paint and mango chassis paint are by Krylon. Since then I stole the wheels for other projects. I started on it again in the past few days and I'm currently building up a small block Chevy from the Revell Slingster kit. It'll have a GMC 671 blower and 2-port Hilborn injectors. I'll also use the spoked Halibrand mag front wheels from the Slingster. With the paint scheme and short wheelbase chassis I'm going for some Old Skool funk with this one. It's a pretty simple build-up, and with the body and chassis largely painted out I've only really got the motor, steering and interior bits before final assembly ahead of me. I should have it done by year's end, I think.

[robhart]

Where are the brakes?

[arcticwolf]

I know squat about dragsters but I suspect they only put them on the rear axles back in the day. Which might explain the reason for the parachute.

Just a guess.

[Bernard Kron]

This project is moving along nicely, although it has involved a great deal of scratch building. This is the nature of building out from a Parts Pak chassis, with nothing much coming from any one kit. But at least one bit of the scratch building was unexpected. I usually use pre-wired distributors and magnetos from Morgan Auto Detail (M.A.D.). They look good, come in a variety of distinct styles, and save a great deal of work. But I ran out. Going into the holiday season and with a personal deadline of end of 2019, any hope of ordering more and getting them in time was pretty much out of the question. So the simple Vertex style magneto you see in the pictures below was scratch built one desperate afternoon. The rear wheels were found in the depths of my parts box. They look like some sort of AMT piece but the source is lost in the mists of time. They were stripped of their chrome and, along with the Halibrand spokes at the front, finished in Testors Acrylic Jet Exhaust to simulate a Dow 7 coating. As mentioned in my last post, the small block Chevy is sourced from the Revell Slingster kit which supplied everything south of the blower casing including the blower manifold and the headers. The GMC 671 is from one of the countless Elephant Motor setups from the long wheelbase AMT Ivo/Too Much/Digger ‘Cuda/etc./etc. kits I have used over the years. The Hilborn 2-Port was cut out of the blower/injector piece from an AMT ‘40 Ford kit. The build is a bit further along than the photos show, with much of the interior completed, including the floor and most of the steering gear, as well as most of the front suspension bits. 12/31/2019 still looks like an attainable goal for completion.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[afx]

I like the patina.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks JC.

Just some quick snaps to show that I actually got ‘er done in 2019. More formal pictures and details (including about the "patina", LOL) tomorrow. The only major last minute change was a set of Curt Raitz’s fabulous Tru-Wire front wheels to lighten up the front end and balance with the white walls at the back.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[Bernard Kron]

Below are the final “beauty shots”. This project is now completed.

Some folks have commented on the “patina” of this thing. This kicked around in my stash since I started it back in early 2013. I actually got fairly far with it, including painting the body and applying its signature checkerboard scallops. But when it came to clear coating, with Krylon clear, I seem to have gotten a defective batch and the clear just didn’t seem to want to harden. Eventually I gave up on it and stuffed it into a plastic bag along with the Modelhaus T140 wide-whites slicks. Stupidly, I bagged it too early and eventually dirt and tire marks got embed in the paint. Last month I took it out one more time. Six years on, the clear had hardened up and stabilized. I tried to clean it up where I could but it only made things worse so I thought “Why fight it” and decided to finish it up, accepting the worn patina for what it was – a Survivor from another era. Hence the “patina”… and the name I have given this old prototypical early 60’s digger.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.