11 replies to this topic

[Bruce Wayne]

A friend wanted this kit to be made into a Slot Car, but since it measures about 3.5 in wide at the rear fenders, it had to be just for fun and not as a race car. With free reign I felt I might be able to pull it off so took on the challenge .
It's a very nice older Nitto "Limited Edition" 1/24th scale Porsche 935-77 in Martini Racing livery


The body itself is crisp and well molded. There are few sink holes or mold parting lines. Since the friend wanted it left in bare plastic with the kit decals, this will be a big plus.


Judging by the box art, there are several versions of this kit, and this particular one is only the basic kit without the motor or wire and connector kit bag, but that's okay we won't need them. What's nice is that all the kits are suitable for motorization in one form or another, and there is plenty of room for a scratchbuilt Sidewinder set up.
I wanted to keep it simple, so using a BPR/Bryan Warmack Sidewinder motor bracket to start the back half was just the answer. In order to accommodate larger rear tires, it was spaced up in the rear with a piece of .032 x 1/4" brass sheet, which will double as a weight platform if needed. The bracket will angle down when finished, but the holes for the can bushing and attachment screws will be opened up and slotted to allow the motor to sit flush with the bottom. This mess was wrapped with a loop of .062 and ran forward for the main rails.

[Bruce Wayne]

The noise piece, guide tongue and all the pans are .062" brass. The fronts pans started off as 1" wide before carving, but the rears required a 2" wide starter piece in order to be wide enough for the 3.5" overall width.



Making the chassis was simplified by using my new jig from R-Geo (Thanks Rick!). It made setting the ride height, wheel base and width an easy matter of finding the right jig holes. Another loop of .062" was set in the center and soldered the length to double up the main rails.


Going off Dennis Sampson's advice, it will be of the "Rattle Pan" design to again keep things simple. The front pans are braced by an L of .062 wire ran through front axle uprights which were scratched from .032 x 3/4" brass sheet. The side pans are connected by two pieces of .078 wire, held in place by four .055" Z-widgets.
I pinned the guide tongue because I've had them move on me before when re-soldering on something as simple as a lead wire guide, so no more of that with two pieces of .078" wire stuck through them!

[Bruce Wayne]

By sectioning the kit interior, and channeling/raising the floor by 3/16" we can have a nearly full interior. The four corner posts are Plastistruct 1/4" tubing. They were let into the interior panels and later reinforced as they will be used to mount the body.


More work is needed, but here starts the process of building up some added plastic around the tubing to brace them as body mounts.


By taking an additional 1/8" off the bottom of the seat, we can use a full driver figure.

[MG Brown]

Those wishing to tackle this project can use the AMT 935/77 #8866 kit as it is a reboxed version of the Nitto without the motorizing parts. It is incorrectly labeled as 1/25th scale on the AMT box if I recall.

It is possible to build the 1.4 litre version with this kit, but be prepared to make some corrections:

[Bruce Wayne]

The kit livery features strips that cover the rockers and sides of the car, so pin tubing and other methods were ruled out. However, since the interior will be firmly and solidly attached into the body once all work is completed, we can use it to mount the body.


A mock-up showed that some big tires will be needed to fill the wheel openings. These are some huge Pro-Tracks, so cutting down the kit wheels to fit them should be easy.

[jimgonsalves]

Awesome job so far bruce, cant wait to drive it. What kind of power plant are we thinking? something fast? with wide tires?
Im stoked
jimibling

[Bruce Wayne]

What kind of power plant are we thinking? something fast? with wide tires?

jimibling

Thanks jim,

Power it with a mini-motor/pinion of your choice. It was built to be heavy down low to counter-balance the top heavy body/interior, so a HD motor with grunt. I'm thinking of handing it off to you with ~56T 64P PM spur gear at least to be in the mid 5.xx:1 gear ratio range. Start off with a 9, 10 or 11 tooth pinion then you can go up or down one tooth in order to go from the King to the Flatster as far as my experience goes and be a good starting point. Anyone with other and all suggestions are welcome to chime in.

The rear tires shown are right out of the tube, so trim 'em till it will handle. We may go to 1/8" axle too for balance, but these pictured are the right size at 1.062" diameter though.
The fronts are junkers just for jigging, and they may ultimately be a smaller hub size too for a staggered proportion to the rear. Either way the finished products will be new and cut to size. Hopefully I can get Dennis to give me a lesson on how he letters his tires too (hint!)

[Bruce Wayne]

Those wishing to tackle this project can use the AMT 935/77 #8866 kit as it is a reboxed version of the Nitto without the motorizing parts. It is incorrectly labeled as 1/25th scale on the AMT box if I recall.

It is possible to build the 1.4 litre version with this kit, but be prepared to make some corrections:

Thanks for the tip M G, that is a good to know and might be very useful info if replacement parts or decals are ever needed.

It's been too hot to work lately, and with other race car projects going on, this one has been in the "curing" stage (aka solar Treatment )

Some progress has been made though, as the interior sub-assembly is nearly complete.
As the kit does not include a driver figure, a suitable sit-in shoe was found in an old built up Tamiya 1/24 sports car kit. He needed a complete paint makeover as well as a severe diet to his lower extremities in order for his thighs to clear the Momo steering wheel .
The seat belts are made from strips of masking tape painted dark grey. The buckles and latches were formed from bits of 0.005" tag wire and glued on with watered down white glue.
The deeply molded instruments on the kit dash were detailed with paint. The completed dashboard is mounted to an added cross piece so that it can be assembled all in one with the interior and steering wheel instead of onto the body as the instructions would have you do it.




I've done my best to replicate the helmet and uniform that Jacky Ickx wore...


Now on to the hard part, the decals and paint detailing of the body.

Attached Images

• 

[Bruce Wayne]

After too many months this project is now nearing completion with only the drive line undone. The owner wants to use a Puppy Dog motor, for the added power, rebuild ability and better braking it offers over the standard Falcon or TSR. They will be installed within the next few weeks and the car track tested.

I have to say one of the biggest challenges was applying the decals. They were like none I've ever used before, requiring a good 5 minute rest period after wetting in order for them to slide off the heavy backing paper. They were on the thick side too, so thick it was impossible to get the stripping to lay flat around the rear fenders without wrinkling. They are however quite opaque and look good once installed. Since the pics were taken, the front tow hook was painted red and the E and Spark decals have been added to the cowl. I would like to get a better camera for close ups and zoom capability, but these are the best I could do for the time being...




The kit wheels were turned down so that they fit into the Pro-Track wheels. I used a threaded axle and locknuts to secure them in my tire truer, cut the rims off with an Exacto knife, and finished them to final diameter with a sanding stick...


And the underbelly, minus it's powerplant...


All in all it was a fun project and I'm happy with the results.
Thanks for looking.

[MG Brown]

Looking good- should be a fun one to drive once it hits the track.

[NHBandit]

Awesome work !

[Lou E]

Beautiful work on the chassis and body, very cool!