Technical Help request, injected 426 Hemi dragster, model

UPDATE:

Started the front axle and polished it up today. Piano wire, polishes and solders nicely. The wire is 2.5mm, makes for a scale 1.5". The front end will have posable (sp.?) steering. The axle and parts are exact scale. Kingpins at 8°, 44" pin to pin. Radius rod and torsion bar brackets scaled also.
Next up is further with the torsion bar connections, then the tie rods.
A large ***ortment of parts arrived today, motor and rear ends along with a pair of 5 slot Halibrands with nice slicks!

Next up are the torsion bar mounts and tie rods.

Mike..

 

UPDATE;
A few things done with the rear end, a ways to go yet though.



Next up are clutch and go pedals, along with brake handle and cylinder.

Mike..

 

UPDATE: Today the ch***is was completed, can't really think of anything to add at this time.

Brake cylinder and handle '(functional), studs for mounting the rearend triangulation bars, the rearmost steering support as well as a rubber tire for the wheelie setup out back.



I'm shooting to have this project finished by Christmas, should be doable.

Mike..

 

Hey Mike...could you throw a quarter, or a dime into a shot or two, for scale?

I’m losing my grasp on reality!

Thanks!

 

@Shutter Speed, great to see your presence again, appreciated!

Good idea about the "dime" photo, I've seen this before and it does help to relate. Here's one;



This project car is of a fairly good size, 1:16 scale. I've never built this big before.

Length overall when completed, tire front to rear push bar, will be about 15". So this should make for a decent sized shelf model car.

My largest model is a historical wooden sailing ship, more than 3'. No way I'll do those again, having built 7 of them over the decades, must be all together more than a mile of fine threads for the rigging.

Still wondering how this was ever accomplished. Thanks again for your interest.

Mike..

 

Now you’re talkin!
Thanks Mike

 

UPDATE; the idler pulley br*** bracket was bothering me, plus already having trouble mounting the pulley....no room.

So a new one was made up. I got a real plan with measurements from Roger Lee, so this one is now perfect scale, looks right, and the pulley fits better.

Here the old br*** unit,


Here the new with aluminum plate and stainless steel tube spacers;



Now the idler pulley seems to be too large, I'll make a new one using aluminum tube, it should look a lot better for the motor.

Mike..

 

Its a very nice build , one point, and its your choice in the matter, but builders did not brace the back of the rear end housings

 

@dreracecar, great photos, much appreciated.

The original car has the Chrysler 8.75 back-braced, as did many builders using the unit in other types of cars. Perhaps this is just a Chrysler 8.75 thing, as I believe most FEDs used a GM unit.



These photos courtesy Roger Lee. Actually I'm kind of happy about the way it came out, hadn't done it before and am grateful for the modeling experience.

Mike..

 

I know Roger quite well, and the pics you are using is of a pieced together car and not a single build. Housings with back braces were more towards the beginning of the rear engine area as the tires were getting bigger and the stock housings needed the support. Again you have a nice build going on.
For more complete reference material visit the "CARS" section of www.cacklefest.com

 

@dreracecar, OK, got it!

I know that website well, a wonderful source for historic cars, and in my case a wonderful source on how to build correct FED models.

Beautifully restored cars, what a thrill to view!

Many thanks for the reference and info.
PS: Should I get in a builders bind, could I ask you for specific information?

Mike..

 

6 of those cars/builds are ones that I did and another 6 that are not on those pages

 

WOW! just found this thread.
You are a VERY talented, and very patient person!!
How many hours do you think you have in one of your beautiful models??

 

@RatPwrd, thanks for dropping by and commenting, glad you like.

I have no idea about the time spent, only that most of the time currently is spent fixing my mistakes. Way too many of this nowadays, but things will get back to known territory soon. Actually, there is not much left to do that is category "unknown". Happiness when that time comes around.

Mike..

 

Dont worry about mistakes 99.7% of the people looking at it dont know it

 

Ya Mike that old fed that I had years back, the one I told you about, it had the Chrysler 8 3/4 in it .
It didn't have a brace on it for extra housing strength, but it did have a sticker on the housing that read ....
"Bullet Proof" ....
........Almost.
That made me feel alot better, sense the rear end housings in them cars are what your nuts rest on when your seated in them.
Here's some shots of rear ends in some cars, most of them I believe are vintage.
I know your builds are very accurate, but when you are working with information from original blueprints and photos of actual cars your bound to hit a few snags occasionally due to parts being swapped out and as technology changes parts change.
I certainly wouldn't let that hang you up...your work is so amazing anyways, just keep doing what you do till you can't do it anymore...
Thanks Mike
Terry (aka Rudestude)

Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

One thing is that the perceived "blowing your nuts off" never happened with or without the strap in back on a conventional housing--- Alum QC housings were a different matter and usually required braces and luckily those went out of favor.
On the pics posted above, 3 of those are my builds for customers. The last pic wound up to be the "BIVENS & FISHER" RCS dragster "CHECKMATE". In particular interest is that this is a "Legs Under" ch***is where the driver sits further back and his legs/ankles are under the RE housing

 

I saw that...that would of been crazy...but I guess if it wasn't a little bit crazy, it wouldn't be as much fun and any body could do it...all most.

Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Hey dreracecar, we have got to "push" alot of your beautiful restoration work! Pushed Paul's "Poachers" car 3-4yrs, Pushed the "Mastercard" car once, and the 'Checkmate" car at Irwindale last years Nitro Revival!! Also have pushed Jerry "The King" Ruth a couple times, and the "Anaconda".
Have had a great time doing this with my Dad Larry for a few years before he p***ed from cancer. Since I have been going with a close friend Mike, and it has been a great experience for all of us meeting great people, welcoming us into their teams, and getting to be part of the"show"!!

 

Appreciated. I've never done a bracket like this before, so I just want it to be correct. Meantime, I realized there aren't 2 bracket plates, just one!

Ugh! More stuff to change! I do think the next one will be right. Some new and thicker aluminum plate came in the mail today, so the 5/8" scale is correct for the newest (and last) venture.

At this time, thinking this might be the last hurdle. The rest should go smoothly.

Thanks for your interest! A great thing when real restoration pros chime in on a model car build. I've read all the restoration articles on the cackle cars website. I'd love to tackle a full body FED, and have even tried doing the nose in aluminum. Next attempt will be in br*** though, easier to fix.

Here a shot of two cars with bent metal sheet, The Old Master is done in br***, made in 2019.

 

@rudestude, thanks for showing the photos, great shots!
@RatPwrd, great photos and interesting read! Good stuff when knowledgeable guys drop in, makes for an interesting time.

Thanks guys, Mike..

 

REPLICA OF THE IVO'S SHOWBOAT DRAGSTER
search this here on the HAMB, Although bigger scale, this guys model building skills are world cl***

 

Yes, I know of that fellow from a FB group. Very large model, the parts are machined and simply sensational. That array of injected Buicks appear as if they can be fired up. Yours is not bad either....
lol.

 

UPDATE on the FED build. Clutch can and other small things.

The resin clutch can I had was OK, just a little puny. Here the new one, scale this time. Also, the steering is all done, except the delta handles, this later on. Also, a new firewall/motor plate, this one is more scale as well.



Still a bit to do here, 2 bolted revision covers and the linkage cross bar. More soon.

Mike..

 

This weekend the can was bolted to the motor plate, ran out of bolts though. Meantime ordered.



Problem is though, I don't like the painted look. The paint was stripped with brake fluid and now all is shiny again.



This will be sprayed with Tamiya Clear Red and it will be very similar to an anodized unit. I've abandoned the Roger Lee replica due to issues, I'll finish this car my way. I'm happy.

Mike..

 

New stuff...

The car has a seat. This model has a br*** unit, previous models had aluminum ones. Br*** was much more difficult, the bends and radius issues are better made in a softer material, br*** is not soft.

Anyways, the seat is soldered on and moving forward with this project. I like it. Upholstery comes along later.



Next up is a steering handle, maybe with real wood grips, more later on....

Mike..

 

Hello guys, been a while, so I'd like to update this project. Some issues came up with the owner of the real car and I just lost interest to go further with it....So, a new car was started to be finished alongside this one.
The new car is a vintage 1965, Woody Gilmore 150" ch***is, with the 392 motor from the car shown here previously. The initial project gets a 426 motor, and the rest will be built further as I please with no more static from the bleachers. A good thing.

Meanwhile, the new car is about finished, latest step being lacing the front wire wheels, shown further down here.

Here the new car alongside the longer original project....



Here shown is the motor out @ 21", so this motor will need a chopped off #7 & #8 zoomie pipe to clear the tire. I just like the nasty look. The steering gear has also been moved forward so the link clears the slicks. Now it sits right up against the motorplate...


Same 392 motor as before. Maybe a detail of interest, you see the tiny rod running through the block at #1 ? This keeps the motor in perfect position through out the entire build, snug against the firewall. I hate wiggly sub-***emblies. The motor sits as if it was soldered onto the ch***is.





....cont'd

 

Further along now, a few details....



Now, needed are some zoomie pipes.
....Cont'd

 

Zoomie pipes are 4mm aluminum tube, stuffed with 3mm br*** tube so they won't crush while bending....

Holes were drilled into the exhaust ports to accept long studs so the tubes will fit snugly while adjusting the position. I don't care for making flanges. First of all, you can't see them, secondly they just dd immensely to the already pita anyways. Don't need them....

Now to lacing the front wheels.....cont'd

 

No proper scaled br*** or copper pipes were found anywhere. The size needed just does not appear in the AC and heating business, where I usually find lots of real br*** tubes.

So, all of this round stuff was formed from flat br*** sheet. Strips cut to approximate size....some excess has to be available or else the annealing process will twist things out of shape. With a series of available br*** and copper tubing I could make two inner rims for each wheel, that when soldered together would slide into the outer rim. This will be cemented to the rubber tire. Here the 1st wheel....



cont'd...