Stewart Frazier, a good friend and avid collector from the UK, had the great idea of putting together a collection of 1/43 scale models of cars raced by women drivers. The collection is very impressive and Stewart's ability to hunt down obscure models and kits from all over the world is remarkable. 1/43 is not a popular scale in the USA. We teamed up to get a rare 1/43 Danica Patrick car, but this dance won't be complete without a "Cha-Cha", and since there aren't too many builders of 1/43 scale dragsters I feel obligated to contribute to the cause.
The car I'm building is Shirley Muldowney's first professionally-built dragster. It was a Don Long chassis with a 327 Chevy "mouse" motor with a 350 crank.
The chassis will be made by splicing together the back of a GMP Swamp Rat VI and a Corgi 1/50 scale "pusher". The engine is from a Tom Daniel "Bad Medicine" hot rod.
The rolling chassis is together.
The motor is done (except for the bug-catcher) and dry fitted. So far, so good.
Next up is the steering linkage. I've decided to make the linkage by combining parts from GMP dragsters. I've used a pin vice and 22 gauge bit to drill the parts and copper wire to hold things together.
The control arms have been fabricated and the body is ready for the first coat of primer.
The front suspension with control arms and steering linkage attached:
The first coat of primer is done and it's looking pretty good. I've got a few areas that need a bit more filling and sanding, but that is par for the course.
The engine is ready.
And, the paint is done.
Assembly is underway.
It's all done except for a few decals.
The Citroen 2CV AA/FA conversion is a pure flight of fancy that was inspired by a old Norev model I found on ebay. The body was heavily modified to fit a chassis that was constructed from a GMP Swamp Rat dragster.The interior is scratch-built. The wing and drive train are from my parts bin. Thanks to bigericwhite for accepting my offer on the cool little Citroen and to autex for the GMP donor car.
The conversion of a Greenlight Mustang into Connie Kalitta's "Bounty Hunter" funny car required quite a bit of time and patience. The chassis came from a WWE funny car. The interior was scratch-built from sheet styrene and tin. The body was reshaped and spoilers were formed from styrene and Milliput. The chassis was modified and the engine relocated. The windshield was modified to allow for the bug catcher. Decals are from Jim Heller and are very sharp. Jim always provides great service and stands behind his products.
The Anglia gasser is a classic. This one was built from a Donor car I found on Ebay and parts from a GMP dragster and a Tom Daniel hot rod. Thanks to stillbill77 for the deal on the donor car.
This is another model that I've been wanting to build of a while. It is a pro comp Dodge Challenger. The donor car is a Johnny Lightning Dodge Challenger. The interior was scratch built from sheet styrene. The engine is from a GMP dragster. The ET wheels were fabricated from the parts bin. Many thanks to derekshome for the great deal on the donor car.
Here she is with Dodge graphics.
This is another "what if" car: What if the Ford Drag Team had developed a Fuel Coupe? The chassis, engine and front wheels are from a WWO funny car. The rear wheels are from a GMP Swamp Rat IV. The body is from an AMT plastic kit bought from TCR526. The decals are from Jim Heller.
I've been wanting to do an early "Left Coast" hot rod of quite a while. As luck would have it, I was able to score a GMP Swamp Rat and an Ertl Chevy Royal Mail for good prices, so it was a natural to splice them together. The GMP was modified by shortening the front end and relocating the fuel tank, removing the drive train and installing a new pumpkin (from the parts bin) behind the drivers seat, and modifying the roll cage. The body was chopped and channeled and extensive filing was done to the inside and the radiator (just the frame remains). The push bar was scratch-built from spare parts. The paint is Testor's Gray Primer. The decals were printed on clear decal paper and include flames, pinstripes, Iron Crosses and of course, Rat Finks. How cool it that daddy-o? Thanks to jackie.beal for accepting my offer on the GMP cars (you da man!). And thanks to dave9992 for the great deal on the Ertl Royal Mail.
"Beetlejuice" is a AA/FA built from a GMP Swamp Rat 1B dragster and an unbranded VW Beetle. The differential, rear wheels, Drag chute and wheelie bars are from the parts bin. The interior body structure is scratch built. I printed most of the decals on Testors decal paper. A few are from my stash. Thanks to Margrpark for the deal on the beetle and to c_*_*_s for accepting my offer on the GMP donor car. The driver name "Holger" is a nod to Holger Nikolai, whose excellent 1/43 scale conversions are an inspiration.
Most of my model conversions involve refinishing and small modifications. The Bruce Larson USA-1 car is a different story. This car was built using a Road Champs WWF funny car as a donor for the chassis and engine and a Yat Ming Camaro as a donor car for the body. The chassis was shortened and the wheelbase was changed. The engine was modified to allow it to fit under the body, then the tube frame/roll cage was painted with Tamiya Guards Red Acrylic and interior detail added. The body was extensively modified to remove the exterior trim, mirrors, front bumper and grill. The cast-in window trim was filed down and the body lines were softened a bit with fine sandpaper. All of the holes and gaps left behind were filled with Milliput and sanded smooth. The nose was reshaped with Milliput and a piece was fabricated to fill the grill area. The interior body piece/firewall was scratch built from styrene and putty. The decals have no white component so the USA-1 CAMARO graphic won't show up on the black grill. I reproduced the graphic and printed it with a black background, then trimmed it and applied it to the grill panel. The sponsor decals were applied just above the lower side stripes for the same reason. There is also no white lettering on the upper side stripes or on the rear stripes. The white letters came from a sheet of HO model railroad letters and were individually applied. The drag chute was scratch built from putty. The body was finished with Pledge Revive It (née Future). The decals are from Jim Heller Decals and Custom Cars and the lettering is Microscale 90101 Railroad Gothic.
This Stone, Woods and Cook car was built from a Testors kit. It was a simple strip-down and repaint. Nothing was modified. The paint is Krylon straight out of a shaker can. I don't remember who made the decals.
Below are cars that never existed in real life. I try to keep them true to the particular theme. These are fun to build, and I often dont know what the end result will be until I'm well into the project.
The Cyclops II is an A/GS (supercharged gasser) built from a White Rose 1949 Ford police car and donor parts from a Road Champs WWF funny car. The chassis was modified to accept the large drag slicks, the front wheels and tires, the engine with supercharger, and the gasser fuel tank. The body was more heavily modified. The rear quarter panels were opened up, the side molding removed and the hood opening added for the blower. The bumpers were removed as were the police fixtures and the wipers. The font grill/bumper assembly was cut down and a drag chute and push bar were scratch built. A roll bar and three spoke steering wheel were added to the interior. The interior is painted gloss black with hand painted details. the engine was detailed with Tamiya acrylic paints. The body is Testors purple acrylic pre-thinned for airbrush use. The decals came from my stash and were straight-forward except for the sponsor stickers, which needed to be applied to white decal paper and then sealed and trimmed so they would show up on the window. The body and glass were finished with Future. The NHRA tag was printed on a standard inkjet printer.
The A/S (A Stock) Racemaster Special was built from a Road Champs Hemi Cuda that was sold at KayBee Toys many years ago. The chassis was modified to lower the nose and the fog lights were removed. The original graphics were tampo printed and were removed with the careful use of non-acetone nail polish remover, so no repaint was required. The decals came from Jim Heller and were original to an earlier Barracuda that raced at York US30. They are excellent quality and include some really cool sponsorship markings from central PA speed shops.
If you were a kid into cars in the 60's you had to have a model with the red candy stripes. Ramchargers were the original factory-backed drag racers, and their cars were instantly recognizable. This conversion started as a Matchbox Plymouth Road Runner. It was disassembled and the paint was removed very carefully so as to preserve the detail on the rear end of the body. The white paint is Valspar out of a rattle can, and the black on the interior, scoop and wing is Krylon. The decals are from Jim Heller and are really nice. I bought the set for an older Ramchargers car and adapted them. I narrowed the stripes by one and used the leftover stripe to extend the roof stripes. Other than that the decals are as delivered. The NHRA tags were printed on my inkjet and sealed with acrylic. While this isn't an exact representation of an actual Ramchargers car, It shows well and is one of my favorite conversions.
This was a build I'd been planning for quite a while. I finally found the donor cars at the right price. The Topolino AA/FA is a classic. This one was built from a Brumm Fiat Topolino and a GMP Swamp Rat 1b.
I had so much fun building "Vendetta" that I started looking for donor cars to do another AA/FA. As luck would have it, I found a couple of donor cars at the right price, so no solo run for Vendettta. She'll line up next to the Chevy "Rat" motored Magic Dragon. I did this one with a bugcatcher and a high-mounted chute as well a slightly different interior.I went "candy crazy" with the paint. It's Tamiya clear green/clear red over a silver flake base coat. The graphics are from my decal stash. Thanks to CarZeus for accepting my offer on the dragster and to chuksgawnpostal for the cool little Topolino.
One more time! This AA/FA started out as a GMP Swamp Rat III. The integral differential was removed and the chassis modified to accepr a new drive shaft and rear differential. The roll cage was moved forward and the steering arm and steering column shortened. The frame was chopped and the front suspension and fuel tank were relocated. The body was made from a 1/43 diecast Hispano-Suiza that was channeled and modified to fit the frame. The wing is from a Brumm F1 Ferrari . The chute is from the GMP and the mount is scratch-built. Thanks to Starlite Diecast for accepting my offer on the GMP dragster.
This '55 Chevy Gasser was inspired by a car owned by my neighbor. I tried to make a model that captures the spirit of the busted knuckle bracket racers. The 1955 Chevy body, interior and frame are from a Road Champs model. They were heavily modified. The rear wheels, front axle, scoop and engine from a "Tom Daniel Ice' T" toy car. The headers and fuel tank are scratch built from aluminum rod and tubing.
Bob Sullivan's Pandemonium is generally considered to be the first true "funny car". This is a model of the earliest version of the car. This car was an unusual build for me as it is all plastic. The body is a NOS Motorific Barracuda. The chassis and frame are scratch built, as is the interior and roll cage. The engine comes from a WWE funny car and the wheels are from a Tom Daniel "Bad Medicine" car. The excellent decals are from Jim Heller and they speak for themselves. The Motorific body came from Slot Car Central.
This is a "what might have been" gasser that started out as a Dinky Austin delivery van. The engine, wheels, suspension and exhaust are from the parts bin. The decals were left over from another build.
I've been thinking about building a wheel-stander for a while and when I found a good donor car at the right price I just couldn't resist. The donor car is a Greenlight VW pickup. The parts came from a Tom Daniel hot rod. The interior features a roll cage and extinguisher among other details. I plan to hinge the top section of the cab so it will tilt forward to show the interior details.
This one has been on my list for quite a while. It's the "Jungle Jim" Liberman Camaro.
Progress - 
The first round of "softening" is done.
Ready for paint.
