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Post by Oldtimer on Mar 3, 2018 8:33:06 GMT -8
James Garner's American International Racing (AIR) took delivery of three 1968 L88 Corvettes, with the intent of racing them in the international endurance trifecta (Daytona 24, Sebring 12, and LeMans 24).
The cars were prepared in the AIR shop in Culver City, California by such racing luminaries as Dick Guldstrand and Bob Bondurant.
Two of the Corvettes were fully race prepared, with the third to be used as a show car and backup.
Carousel 1 made an 1/18 scale Corvette L88 in the right color, but the wrong year (1969 - the roof is different between the two). I acquired two of the them over a period of time.
The Carousel 1 L88's came in two versions, streeters (such as the donor blue one's) and racers. My first task was to convert the models such that the blue donors had the racing equipment, which was primarily to transfer over the interior, convert the headlights, and add a fuel filler. Actually pretty simple (I have an entire tutorial on converting the headlights), until you look at the price tag of acquiring two racers to scavenge the proper pieces from.
So, here's a picture of the two racers on the Grid prior to the race.
And thanks to Brian Moore ("4wheels" here on the message board), here's a picture of the two models on my display. I still need to duct tape the headlights, change over to Goodyear tires, and paint the exhausts white, but wanted to share these here as soon as I could.
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Post by robhart on Mar 3, 2018 13:28:44 GMT -8
Very nice!
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Post by garydavis on Mar 9, 2018 13:46:50 GMT -8
Those two look REALLY good oldtimer.
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Post by dustymojave on Mar 10, 2018 0:43:10 GMT -8
Nice!
Shame you didn't have the option of using convertible Vettes to build them, like the originals.
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Post by Oldtimer on Mar 10, 2018 6:31:57 GMT -8
Nice! Shame you didn't have the option of using convertible Vettes to build them, like the originals. It was a toss up between expense and expensive. |
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Post by Oldtimer on Mar 13, 2018 11:33:29 GMT -8
Got the taping done on one over the weekend.   |
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Post by 4wheels on Mar 13, 2018 13:33:43 GMT -8
That looks great, is it actual tape or decal?
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Post by Oldtimer on Mar 13, 2018 13:41:03 GMT -8
That looks great, is it actual tape or decal? It's 1/8" silver pin-striping tape, and black electrician's tape cut into 1/8" strips for the top. I've used 1/16" pin-striping tape before, on another model, but looking at the actual pictures, the tape on the headlights looked pretty wide. |
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Post by slim on Mar 13, 2018 17:48:40 GMT -8
Awesome!
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Post by garydavis on Mar 19, 2018 19:04:36 GMT -8
Man....that looks GREAT! It sure looks like duct tape in the picture..
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Post by Oldtimer on Mar 20, 2018 5:31:58 GMT -8
Man....that looks GREAT! It sure looks like duct tape in the picture.. In a former life, I had a lot of experience with the real stuff. Looks like I've still got the touch.
Thanks!
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Post by Chris K. Hale on Mar 20, 2018 5:59:25 GMT -8
While building the Lotus 56 Offy I had noticed the Two scoops on the side of the nose and the Transition from Red to Black on the rear "Duckbill" were attached or Sealed with Duct Tape...  so I got out some real Duct Tape matched the color and sprayed some decal sheet, then scaled it down and applied it, I left the ends kinda rough and even left a bubble or two to look more like Duct Tape had been hastily applied as on the real car... But not thinking I cleared it..so most people just think I did a crappie job on a couple of silver/grey stripes!!!  Chris |
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Post by Oldtimer on Mar 20, 2018 6:58:53 GMT -8
While building the Lotus 56 Offy I had noticed the Two scoops on the side of the nose and the Transition from Red to Black on the rear "Duckbill" were attached or Sealed with Duct Tape... so I got out some real Duct Tape matched the color and sprayed some decal sheet, then scaled it down and applied it, I left the ends kinda rough and even left a bubble or two to look more like Duct Tape had been hastily applied as on the real car... But not thinking I cleared it..so most people just think I did a crappie job on a couple of silver/grey stripes!!! Chris Ducts were probably covered during qualifying, to reduce the drag of the inlet, as well as the air seal between the bodywork and the ducktail. Interesting that they didn't remove it for the "official" picture.
Nice detailing on the model to catch it.
Eventually, as most of us know, the duct tape industry caught onto the fact that duct tape wasn't just for taping a/c ducts anymore, and the proliferation of colors happened. Our last race car was dark blue, with some orange, red, and white stripes. We had a roll or two of each color, just in case.
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Post by dustymojave on Mar 22, 2018 14:46:51 GMT -8
As a race car fabricator and prep mechanic and racer of my own car, I've always kept rolls handy of various colors of duct tape to match the race cars. But until the late 70s, the only colors I saw duct tape in were silver or olive drab for the military, and that was Arno brand that was stronger fabric than most duct tape and less of a plastic coating. But I grew up knowing it as 200mph tape even in the early 60s. The Air Force used the Arno tape in green and silver even when my dad was in the Korean war.
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