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Post by arcticwolf on Jul 6, 2020 18:34:18 GMT -8
OK, one Can Am and (hopefully) one pre Can Am. I picked up 2 accurate miniatures McLaren M8 kits from a nice guy in Thunder Bay I buy from occasionally. One sealed box and one missing a few bits - like the engine and transaxle! But price wise it was buy 1 and get another 2/3rds free, so what the hell. To make up he threw in a very nice 350 Chevy with a powerglide, lol. All I wanted was the chassis, so no loss. I've wanted a M8 for a while, and the Accurate Miniatures kit is like a 1/12th kit shrunk to 1/24th, I love them (I have 4 and counting). So I'm building Bruce's car OOB as there's not much they didn't include. This is just a mock up, nothing glued, to check for fit and so I can get some measurements and do a bit of engineering:
The other part of the project is to take the spare chassis, modify it, add the visible parts of the tube frame, and a 4.5 litre Olds V8 and 4 speed transaxle........ so I can hopefully modify a Tamiya McLaren Elva slot car body and come up with , maybe, a fully detailed replica of Bruce's first racing sports car. It was he and that car that really got me hooked on motor racing. McLaren, Surtees and Gurney were my heroes when I was a kid! With the chassis mock-up, I can now tell that the M8 is a bit too wide (That I can fix), from the firewall back it looks great, and the front half is too long. Oops. Not so easy to fix. Gentlemen, this will be a long term endeavor, lol. However, as I have found from previous mistakes, er, experience, having another car side by side as a reference is a big asset. This is what I'm staring at:
Wish me luck and I'll try to keep you posted.
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Post by tatocorvette on Jul 6, 2020 18:54:23 GMT -8
Great project! Will follow up with interest.
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Post by sam on Jul 6, 2020 20:27:47 GMT -8
Very interesting. I will follow along.
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Post by afx on Jul 7, 2020 2:19:21 GMT -8
Great project. I want to build an Elva at some point as well, I'll be interested in what you come up with to represent the Olds engine.
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Post by 4wheels on Jul 7, 2020 8:04:12 GMT -8
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Post by arcticwolf on Jul 7, 2020 12:57:19 GMT -8
Great project. I want to build an Elva at some point as well, I'll be interested in what you come up with to represent the Olds engine. My initial idea is to use the Ford engine/transaxle, crossmember and exhausts from the MPC Lotus indycar kit. Either the bundle of snakes or the stacks would be valid for the McLaren, and I can modify the Ford enough to look right. I have 2 Lotus kits, I could sacrifice one, or better still make modified resin copies. All in the planning stages so far, the trick might be in mounting the McLaren suspension to it all. We shall see. Like I said, a long term project! |
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Post by arcticwolf on Jul 7, 2020 13:03:24 GMT -8
Thanks for the link Brian. Yeah, the tube frame is the "fun" part, lol. What you suggested is pretty much how I thought, although the tub will have to be narrowed. I could build it as a curbside, but where's the fun in that? I'm hoping to have a lift off body and a complete car underneath. Probably biting off more than I can chew, but don't we all love a challenge?  |
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Post by Chris K. Hale on Jul 7, 2020 20:23:58 GMT -8
The Elva/MK-1 was actually a Stressed Space Frame basically a tube frame with sheet aluminum streched over it, I believe the Lotus 11 also used one, it may have been a Colin Chapman design or not. Here is my Elva file on Fotki public.fotki.com/pmodwrks/race-car-and-genera/elva/ I will down load the Mk-I McLaren file tomorrow which has a bunch of good stuff too, 159 pics. I have plans to do an Elva, since I have 3 AMT Elva kits , 1 Mint the others basically parts. I was going to build the Space frame on the AMT Elva pan since a lot of Elva versions used a full pan as described in the Great article Brian downloaded. So many versions can be done, I was thinking the lime green version by Dan Blocker also known as "Hoss" on the Bonanza show of the 60's. I also got a McLaren Mk-I body from my Big Brother Patrick that will get a similar treatment. So many Projects , So Much Time.....This is a thread I will be watching to see the versions You Guys come up with... I have a set of Nickey Chevrolet decals from Cady Decals to one car too.. Chris |
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Post by mustang1989 on Jul 10, 2020 5:25:16 GMT -8
Just can't go wrong with AM kits. Looking forward to seeing what you'll be doing with these builds.
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Post by Chris K. Hale on Jul 10, 2020 9:45:12 GMT -8
It took a couple of day to get it done, but I am sure everyone will Enjoy the 237 photos of the McLaren MK-1 and Elva. There is some really great stuff for all to enjoy ans give a little more insight into the various chassis and engine combos. I checked my AMT Elva kits, I have one mint and a box that contains enough assorted parts to build another, most likely to be used under the McLaren MK-1 resin body I have,, Have Fun Guys. Chris LINK public.fotki.com/pmodwrks/mclaren-mk-i/ |
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Post by Joel_W on Jul 10, 2020 13:20:55 GMT -8
Paul,
I've got the AM kit in my stash for a few years, and keep on almost starting it. Every build blog I've read said it's a super difficult build, not many get to the finish line, but those that do were worth the effort. I'll be following your build and "Borrowing" as many ideas as I can, as I really want to get this build to the finish line sooner then later, as I'm running out of laters.
Joel
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Post by arcticwolf on Jul 10, 2020 19:01:20 GMT -8
An update. Joel, the M8 is not a difficult build at all, just super detailed for the scale, you'll love it. And so far everything seems to fit! My choice here seems to be, do I chop up my other M8 kit for the Elva build like I had planned, and I'm thinking not. I did some layout and a cardboard template for the floor pan. The wheelbase is shorter on the Elva, the sheet metal is a different shape, the car is narrower but the cockpit is wider. Why not just build it from scratch, at least frame wise. This is what I'm looking at:
I can make some resin castings modified to suit. Styrene sheel and tubing. The challenge might be the suspension bits and I still need period correct wheels and tires anyway. We'll see. Meanwhile no reason not to proceed with the M8, I've got it this far:
Before I started I made a mold of the engine/transaxle bits, so really I could build a second M8 out of what I've got. My own Bruce and Denny show, lol. With all the help from the guys here with the research photos, I've got a good grasp of what the Elva was built like - maybe I will try a scratch build. As you can see, some dremel work started on the Elva body.
I got a new dremel, rechargeable battery powered, much lighter and easier to work with for what we do, and all the same bits still fit. Highly recommended.
cheers guys Paul
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Post by Joel_W on Jul 11, 2020 12:50:49 GMT -8
Paul,
You're really flying through this build. I'm just super impressed.
I've had my reservations about using their rubber molded braided lines and fittings as mine have a ton of molding flash. Yours look excellent. Are those the kit ones, or have you gone with AM instead?
One issue that build after build I've read online mentioned is that the top half of the body shell had a noticeable gap between the bottom of the door and the lower section. From what I've seen in pictures, it looks like there's a metal hinge that should be there. Have you gotten to the point of test fitting the top and bottom as yet?
Joel
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darylh
Full Time Ride
Posts: 126
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Post by darylh on Jul 11, 2020 14:42:31 GMT -8
Acc Min's tires are a possible problem. On my build and the builds of some others, the tires would crack and split after spending some time mounted on the kit wheels. I'd recommend finding some replacements.
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Post by arcticwolf on Jul 11, 2020 17:03:42 GMT -8
Paul, You're really flying through this build. I'm just super impressed. I've had my reservations about using their rubber molded braided lines and fittings as mine have a ton of molding flash. Yours look excellent. Are those the kit ones, or have you gone with AM instead? One issue that build after build I've read online mentioned is that the top half of the body shell had a noticeable gap between the bottom of the door and the lower section. From what I've seen in pictures, it looks like there's a metal hinge that should be there. Have you gotten to the point of test fitting the top and bottom as yet? Joel Not flying, Joel. I've been poking at it for a couple of months, on and off, more so lately as its too hot to work outside. Yes, there's lots of flash and vinyl isn't the easiest thing to clean up, but you can. Painting all the fittings red and blue takes forever, lol. One thing I did do was paint the lines, it just looks better than leaving them grey like they suggest. I haven't test fitted the body panels yet. On the real car, the doors had a simple piano hinge along the bottom, on the kit they went with something totally different so I won't be surprised if there is a gap. But I'm not going to have opening doors anyway (nobody ever opened the doors, they just climbed in), so we'll see when I get to it. Maybe a little metal strip to simulate the piano hinge if the gaps a problem. Mostly I've been busy making resin bits for the other car (and a new nose for a Ferrari), polyester resin doesn't seem to agree with me, but at least it sets fast when its 95 degrees outside, lol.
Paul
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