AMT '66 Buick Mod. Stocker....

[4wheels]

As a young teenager, I built all of the 6 original Mod. Stocker kits more than once, and the 3 later releases at least once each. All suffered horrible fates! I spent some of my adult life relocating all of them and own at least one each of all 9 originals. I couldn't resist picking up the re-issues as they were released, and this is one of them. Here are some pics of the major sub-assemblies of my '66 Buick Modified Stocker re-issue box-art build:

Interior, basically box-stock with parts box gauges. Engraving on the kit dash was so light as to be unusable.





Kit engine, box stock, paint detailing only.



Chassis bottom, entire chassis and suspension consists of TWO pieces! Paint detailing and resin dirt tires from Big Donkey and Fred's Resin Workshop. Left front is an old AMT Goodyear. Drilled out exhaust ends.



Removed heater box and paint detailed the firewall. kit doesn't supply a radiator so I found one in my spares, added an accordion dirt screen.



Rear and left front are kit wheels, I removed the front spindle hub from both rears.

[tatocorvette]

I have seen that 3 gauge cluster in my parts box!
There are some kits you just keep going back to.
I see a front tire is different to the other. Any reason for that?

Thanks,
Ismael

[4wheels]

Same reason the right rear is bigger circumference than the left rear, helps you turn left!

[tatocorvette]

Cool! I was not aware the rears were also different.

Thanks,
Ismael

[4wheels]

The best illustration/explanation I've ever seen regarding rear tire stagger was done by (I think) Mike Joy a LOONG time ago during a NASCAR broadcast. He rolled a red plastic Solo cup along the pavement, and as one end is a larger diameter/circumference than the other, it rolled in a circle, exactly what stagger makes your race car do. Since most short track cars run a locked rear, it works well.

[4wheels]

Here it is finished:




Had to add a radiator hose and clamps to my parts box radiator!



A little "battle damage" to nerf bars and I drilled license plate holes in the bumpers.


More battle damage and the right front, according to the rules of the era, had to be a "safety hub".

The yellow ovals were challenging, as the decal numbers were apparently bigger in relation to the door height than the "artist's rendering".  I actually made .040 styrene templates for the ovals and the dark green areas on the "C"-pillar so all would be the same size and shape.  First 3 color paint job in many years, dark green and yellow are Tamiya and the lighter green is "Limelight" by Model Car World, first use of my airbrush in probably 20 years.

[tatocorvette]

Very nice! Really like the battle damage especially on the passenger side bar.
I'm not familiar with these. Did these race in dirt only?

Thanks,
Ismael

[4wheels]

No, similar cars ran on asphalt as well. My next completion will probably be another from this series, done as a blacktop racer.

[afx]

Great build Brian. Where are the wheels and grooved tire from?

[afx]

The front left is called a floater. With the cars in a near constant power slide the front left experiences very little load and thus provides little in the way of traction. Some teams choose not to carry the extra weight of a full size race tire/wheel.

[tatocorvette]

Thanks! I'm familiar with the stagger concept as Indy cars use it on ovals but of course it is far more subtle. The floater makes sense as there is very little loads on the front left. I've always admired power slides as they are harder to do than what you think. Ask me how I know (front engine rear wheel drive, FWD, rear engine, all epic failures)
Doc Hudson explained it very well: Go left by turning right.

Thanks,
Ismael

[afx]

Modern dirt modifieds are setup with extreme chassis roll to load up the right side for increased corner traction.

[Don]

Nicely done. Not sure I’ve ever seen one painted to match the box art.

[mustang1989]

Very well done!!! Wow!!

[Joel_W]

Outstanding build for sure. We've got a 1/4 mile track in Riverhead that I finally intend to watch some races this year. It's paved, but I hear that the action is insane.

joel