Here is my response on the SA site regarding this car and the model.
"Now my comments on David Thibodeau's very nice Challenger we're seeing all over the web site these days...
I want to state AGAIN...that this is NOT meant to tear down David's work. It's intended to share the knowledge of these race cars that I have, with David and the rest of you.
1. The method used to flare the fenders is similar to that used to flare fenders on 1:1 cars.
2. #15: An Exhaust tunnel is needed where the floor pan has been cut out for exhaust clearance. Just cutting it and leaving it open may not be very visible on the finished model on a shelf, but neither are other details he’s gone to efforts on.
3. The sub-frame connector ‘X’ bars added to the underside of the car are not accurate for the car as raced in the Trans Am series in 1970. The SCCA rules did not allow that modification and anything which was not specifically allowed, was automatically disallowed.
4. On the engine, those very nice machined aluminum pulleys are not correct, as replacement of the pulleys is not an option in the 1970 rules. Also, David's pulleys are about 3-4” thick scale from front to back. Correct would be about 1.5”.
5. Breathers:
#16: “I added pieces of .062” solder into each valve cover to serve as a basis for the unique oil venting system.”
#17: “I used .060” plastic tubing for the oil breather tubes.”
… Ummm….Which statement is correct?
They DO LOOK VERY GOOD and proper!
6. Re Engine #16: “304 cubic inch block”
“Even though it’s a 340 block in the street T/A, it looks the same.”
That would probably be …because it IS the same Mopar LA small block engine. The same basic block is used in the 318, 340 and 360 cubic inch engines, like the fuel injected 5.2L “Magnum” in my 2000 Durango. But the SCCA Trans Am rules up through 1972 restricted the racers to a maximum of 5000cc, which is very close to 305 cubic inches. Modifications to crank, rods and pistons to achieve this were allowed, regardless of original displacement, whether originally factory made smaller or larger. For instance, in 1971, Bob Tullius entered a 1964 Pontiac Tempest as a GTO. Pontiac never made a 305 cid engine. The factory original engine for a 64 GTO was 389 cid. So they de-stroked the 389 to slightly less than 305 and were close contenders for the championship. By the same token, the engines for the Autodynamics Challengers and AAR Cudas in 1970 were de-stroked to 304cid. but externally they were still the same block and heads as a 340.
7. Fuel cell #15: “I swapped the kit fuel cell for one from a late-model Revell NASCAR kit.”
The stock tank is NOT a “fuel cell”. It’s a “gas tank”. There are substantial distinctions between the two.
8. Interior #12: The 5-point harness is good and looks nice. But the shoulder straps should be 2” scale, not 3” scale. 3” shoulder straps were not in use then and the rules actually state “Shoulder strap webbing shall be nylon or dacron polyester of 2” nominal width.”
Also, the buckle should be of the “hook and slot” type rather than the later Quick-Snap style that David used.
9. Tires #20: The Slixx tire decals used represent the markings on 1980s and later Goodyear race tires. The “Goodyear” lettering should be about ½ as large.
10. David states that he cut out the rear seat and replaced it with sheet plastic. This would be right, but photos show the back seat as molded. It’s not likely to be readily visible inside of the finished model though, especially painted in light gray like the rest of the interior."
---------------------------------------------------
I agree with Patrick. I have issues with using "restored" race cars for reference. It's clear that David used mostly restored shots of the car to build his model. As one who has professionally restored such race cars, I know that often decisions on "restorations" are made that demonstrate what I call "creative memory". The 'X' brace is definitely incorrect, the exhaust tunnels ARE correct though. David's model doesn't have a finished tunnel, just a huge gap hacked into the floor pan.
I disagree with IMSAnut re the Challengers coming out of AAR. They were built and maintained by Autodynamics on the other side of the country from AAR's shop in Santa Ana, California. The roll cages are noticeably different from external photos. The Challengers have a pair of vertical bars from the top of the right A Pillar of the cage to the floor. One goes straight down roughly parallel with the windwing. The other angles down and inward. This would logically land on the cross-tube doubted above.
In those photos linked by Kurzheck in Racing SportsCars, note the flat black on the hood scoop and roof rather than the gloss black often seen lately and on David's model. However, also check out the gloss roof in this photo from Tony Adamowicz' web site...
Note that photo and the ones adjacent to it on the page are of the "restored" race car. All the photos I've found of the 76 and 77 cars in 1970 show flat black. The roof, in fact appears to have substantial texture like modern pickup bed liner. The hood scoop in certain 1970 photos seems to be semi-gloss.
Bernard, this text is the caption under a picture on the Tony A to Z web site:
"Here's the only known photo of Tony actually driving the #76 Challenger at Riverside Raceway in the season's final Trans-Am race." So he drove #76 at Riverside, not #77.
I would be happy to provide reference information for building future models of vintage SCCA road race cars to David and or any of the other readers of this forum. Message me through this forum.
Richard
Note: This post has been re-edited due to some portions having gotten out of order in the copy and edit process to create this post originally.
