• This topic has 13 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 3 years ago by Avatar photoKen.
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    • #15421

      This is the first of two Indianapolis front motor models that I am building.  Both cars were driven by Jim Rathmann, who battled closely with Roger Ward and came in second in 1959 (Roger Ward won in 1959) and Jim won in 1960 (Roger Ward placed second in 1960).  Many say that the race in 1960 will be remembered as one of the best of all time with these two leaders trading places between first and second fifteen times after their third and final pit stop.

      Some photos of the actual car

      1

      2

      Here is my attempt using a resin body kit made by Gianluca Ostorero; a world renowned scale model maker/builder located in Italy.  A very nice chap, very helpful and easy to work with for anybody interested.

      I have already painted the inserts, driver seat and drivers body in this photo.

      3

      I completed the chassis with a BWA Scan prior to the recent release of the rules… it will be switched with a BWA 050 motor.  I temporarily hot glued the motor in place for testing purposes and to be able to easily remove it.  The chassis is made of brass.

      4

      Here is the completed car.

      5

      Here is a side view…  The lighting is poor in this photo.  Also, the front windscreen is not yet installed.

      6

      My second car will be the 1959 WATSON Roadster SIMONIZ Special #16 that placed second in the 1959 Indianapolis 500.

      8

      9

      Photo of the driver – Jim Rathmann

      10

       

      My 1959 model should be completed with a scratch built chassis and slim 050 BWA motor some time next week.  Stay tuned.

      Thanks for looking.

    • #15429
      Avatar photoKen

        Sharp looking cars Jim! :good:

      • #15435

        Great looking model Jim.

        Those Ostorero roadster bodies are the nicest I’ve ever seen and they sure build up into a fine looking slot car. I’m looking forward to seeing the progress on your Simoniz Special as well. Would you please  post a few more pictures of  your chassis to help those of us who haven’t finished ours yet?

        Cheers

        Steve

         

         

      • #15436
        Avatar photoDB

          Great job Jim.  What wheel and tire size did you use?  I am struggling with finding rear wheels that look realistic for my STP Kurtis Nova.  Thanks

        • #15437

          Thanks guys

          For my first model- the 1960 Watson Ken-Paul Spl; I used the wheels and chassis that came with the model kit… see the wheels and brass etched chassis on my jig in the photo below.  The chassis will require some modification to accommodate the 050 motor.  Instead of a rib, the wheels had a channel and the inside of the stock tires had a strip of rubber that fit into the grove.  I used the stock tires for the front and the Dart ribless tires for the rear that I trued down to a mounted diameter of 23.40mm, and the front to 22mm.

          Front wheels are 14.75mm x 8mm wide

          Rear wheel are 16.50mm x 9mm wide

          The the finished slot car weighs 86 grams, which will be reduced once I swap the motor with an 050.  I may add weight to it.  My 1959 model will likely weigh less than 80 grams due to a lighter scratch built chassis and 050 motor.  I will use the RS slot 15mm x 7mm wheels for this model and use the new tall Dart tires with the RS slot wheels.

          kit 1

          chassis 1

          chassis 2a

           

           

        • #15440

          Thanks for the details Jim. That’s a great looking little kit.

          Cheers

          Steve

        • #15558
          Avatar photoMiA

            Steve: Thanks for donating the springs last night. :good: Now that I’m getting one of Art’s Indy roadster kits it looks like I will have need of them too.

          • #15561

            I’m happy to hear you’re building a roadster too. I’ve got a second set of springs on order that I hope to share with the club .The last set took several months to arrive and this one seems to have disappeared from tracking, fingers crossed they will show up in a month or so.

            Cheers

            Steve

          • #15564
            Avatar photoKen

              I still have one 6-inch length of spring material donated by Steve that will be cut up into 15mm lengths and donated to the club for the next wave of builders that might need them.

              Thanks Steve! :good:

            • #15566

              JMSracer,

              If you may please be so kind – please post a link directly to his website kit or to his aftermarket link so that we may purchase one of his body kits should we wish to do so. The width of the wheels and tires (as shown) for the kit are outrageous. Too bad. But then again we have no rule on those…

              Thanks!

              The Happy Canadian Scale Modeler!

            • #15568
              Avatar photoKen

                One suggestion might be to limit the wheel width to 5mm front, and 7mm rear? It would be closer to the look of the 1/1 version.

                I would have to install wider wheels/tires on the rear of my Ferrari Bardahl Special to be competitive. Jim would have to put his extra-wide wheels on another build.

                It means extra work for the quick builders that are helping to form this new class. But it has yet to race. Now is the time to get all the cards on the table and make a few rules we may have over-looked.

                I kind of figured when I made my car before the rules came out, that it might need to be further updated. The D7.5’s weren’t released at the time I built the Ferrari. I can throw these skinny rear wheels on another car without any feeling any pain. What I can’t do is change the tire height. It’s fixed by the chassis. So I’m in a little trouble there. However, I’m not complaining. :good:

              • #15569

                In “Building a Front Motor Indy Roadster” when Art asked for further feedback on the class rules I had opined that “Wheels and tires can be tricky but as some of the earlier roadsters had fairly narrow tires that wouldn’t look out of place in the Coppa D’oro and  some of the later roadsters had tires wider than the F1 cars of the same era I would stick to the reasonably scale appearance guideline. With the low power front motor configuration wider tires are not likely to provide any benefit just a little more flexibility in choosing and building our cars.” I stand by my original opinion. I would like this class to encourage diversity in models and building and limiting the wheel sizes would do the opposite.

                Cheers

                Steve

              • #15570

                Yes, I agree with your views on allowing some flexibility with wheels and tires Racer68.  Although we all have some flexibility, I believe our goal should be to build our models to look like the original cars but on a smaller scale.  I think the stock wheels that came with my kit are on the wide side.  I have already stated that I will be using 15×7 RSslot wheels on my next build.

                A link to the Ostorero webpage is posted below for anyone that may be interested in a more diverse variety of models for this class.  Once you click on a model, you will be presented with 9 or 10 pages of models to choose from.

                3 – Kits – Slot

              • #15571
                Avatar photoKen

                  If a few already want to leave it open. Count me in. :good:

                  I think wheels/tires that are too big for a BWMS050 front motor drive system might slow a car down anyways. :wacko:

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