sprint car WiP, gonna eventually be...

[18degrees]

the #4 of Ohio sprint car icon Danny Smith.  The only problem is that i haven't been able to get any decals as of yet... the fair to middlin' sheet that slotcarfever sells on ebay, well, it isn't available to me due to some issues that i had with them a few years back.  and the Circle Track Decals, well, he sold out to PrintIt not too long ago, and i contacted them about the sheet and there is some sort of re-formatting that has to be done before they can print a sheet.  so that request was already lodged, hoping they can accommodate me.

kit is a Saldana Revellogram kit with a few modifications, added front shock mount points and will eventually add them to the rear.  added spuds for the back posts on the nose wing and for the nerfs.  nerfs are from SWS Chassis and i am waiting for wheel centers from him.  wheels are also from SWS and the tires are from Modelhaus.  seat is from Dwight on Shapeways and is pretty accurate for what Danny runs, at least as far as i can tell.  the (functional, 2 piece) shocks are from Jaye and are pretty damn nice.  using the right side body panel from the kit, hood is from Mike's/Big Donkey - it's a J & J hood and Danny runs a Maxim, but again it looks pretty accurate for what he runs.  cut some panels from sheet styrene.  i added a left side safety bar and did a few other cuts and adds to the chassis bars for perceived accuracy.  modified the front "bumper" or whatever the technical sprint car term is for it.

i think that covers all the details so far. the office is done and so is the engine, just waiting to install.


















and for those of you who don't know who Danny Smith is, look him up.  he's a pretty entertaining guy and a freakin' sprint car icon.  he is pretty much relegated to field filler status these days for bigger shows, saw him run an Outlaw show at Jacksonville a few years ago, but he still manages to win... in fact, the quote i saw was that if you take out the year that COVID shut a lot of stuff down, he's won some sort of sanctioned sprint car race for the last 44 years

[Michael F]

Great start!

These fine looking wheels caught my eye

[Spooker]

I remember when Danny started, he was the baby-faced kid that could go like hell!  He's been around forever and won a ton of races.  This will be an interesting project.

[18degrees]

I remember when Danny started, he was the baby-faced kid that could go like hell!  He's been around forever and won a ton of races.  This will be an interesting project.

Yup, just gotta get the decals and wheel centers

[Volzfan59]

I'm no sprint car expert, but I really like this. The engine looks great, as does everything else. I do have a few questions.

1. What is the purpose of the "V" notch in the chassis between the cockpit and the engine bay? Is it a built in crumple zone? Like I said, I don't know much about sprint cars, but I love learning.

2. What is a "spud"?

Thanks,
Steve

3. Is the seat from the kit? That's a great looking seat!

[Spooker]

"Spud" is a short piece of tubing that a nerf bar, bumper or wing strut fits into, secured by a bolt, pin or clip so as to be easily removable/replaceable.  You can see the spuds for the side nerf bars in the side view pics of the chassis.

[Volzfan59]

"Spud" is a short piece of tubing that a nerf bar, bumper or wing strut fits into, secured by a bolt, pin or clip so as to be easily removable/replaceable.  You can see the spuds for the side nerf bars in the side view pics of the chassis.

Ah, learn something new everyday. Thank you Brian!

[18degrees]

I'm no sprint car expert, but I really like this. The engine looks great, as does everything else. I do have a few questions.

1. What is the purpose of the "V" notch in the chassis between the cockpit and the engine bay? Is it a built in crumple zone? Like I said, I don't know much about sprint cars, but I love learning.

2. What is a "spud"?

Thanks,
Steve

3. Is the seat from the kit? That's a great looking seat!

about the v notch in the chassis, it's just how modern sprint car chassis are built.  the kit chassis is terribly outdated, so i tried to make it better.  the actual bar configuration is supposed to be longer and steeper, i was going to try to do it 100% right but on the right side it woulda interfered with how the shock rods attach.  i think this is what you were talking about





and the seat is from Dwight, Custom Dirt Cars i do believe, on Shapeways.  last one i had in my stash.  added some self-adhesive padding.

[18degrees]

have some more photos.  everything is done, 3 coats of Tamiya pure white on the body panels and wings.  mostly kit pieces, i fabbed a few panels out of styrene sheet.




wheels.  i finally got in touch with Justin Glass (SWS Chassis) about my pending order and it just shipped, so i snaked the wheel centers out of another build.  bead lock is a kit piece, the mud plug (in another pic) is from DirtModeler.






the overall workspace with everything painted






and i took this pic of Smith at Jacksonville, IL in 2019 at an Outlaws show.




still waiting to hear from Print It about the decals.

[Rattlecan Dan]

Man, sure looks like you're doing it right. Good luck with the build.

[racecar dave]

Good looking build.Keepus posted.

[18degrees]

so this will be the last post until the S & T because, well, everything is done that i can do without decals.  none of the stuff (body panels, wing sideboards, front wing boards, fuel cell, etc) is glued in place, just kinda sitting there for the pics.  the LR shock isn't in place because i have to decal the panel where the shock attaches, just gonna wait that one out.  wish PrintIt was more responsive, i inquired about them on 7/14 and they replied pretty quickly, the provided a list and asked me to give them a SKU, which i did... they said it would be a few days... 3 weeks now.  never answered my follow up email about it either.  if anyone has a direct contact there i would greatly appreciate it.









On a complete side note, but still about sprint car racing, i made my annual pilgrimage to I-55 Raceway in Pevely for the Night Before the Ironman (I truly love sprint car racing but I don't wanna sit thru a full program plus 55 feature laps so I only go to the prelim every year).  Some dude named Larson was there, he won the race from 21st starting position.  The margin of victory was .053 seconds... it was a barn burner.  In all seriousness, Larson didn't qualify for the A Main thru his heat and had to run the Last Chance Showdown, I think most in the crowd (including me) wrote him off at that point.  Boy, were we wrong  . He then put another whoopin' on the field the next night too for the big win.

After the race we went to the pits and I didn't even bother to fight the crowd at his trailer.  Spent a few minutes talking to James McFadden (always entertaining), Corey Day (amazingly talented young driver and a piece of the future of the sport if pavement doesn't take him away) and Danny Sams III.  Been wanting to see Sams race, he's from Florida and ventures to the midwest throughout the year; I have been following him on Twitter, he was pretty cool to talk to, super friendly.  Especially when you throw money at him for a shirt and decal (he didn't finish too good so I thought I would help him pay for dinner ).

[Volzfan59]

Heck buddy, I think that it looks great in white and red, unadorned! Seriously, great looking sprint car.

[18degrees]

So i just got an email from Print It about their difficulties sizing the sheets in their system or whatever. Asked me what scale i needed and sent me a link... i couldn't order them fast enough. Hopefully will be here in a week or two so i can finish this one up.

Since i couldn't finish this, i got thinking about the mods that would be needed to update a chassis. I ended up doing some fab work on a spare chassis and fabbed up nerf bars and body panels, the only kit piece i used for the body was the hood. Still have some stuff to do to the chassis but the body panels are painted and some decals have been placed. Used some leftover random decals for a fantasy build (the driver is "DAVE") haha. Will eventually post pics end explain the chassis mods i did.

[18degrees]

Decals arrived yesterday and worked on them last night and tonight. Got the LR shock installed and all the body panels decaled and glued in place. All i have to do deals with the top wing, have to glue the right side board in place, attach the wing supports, and glue the wing in place. Will be posting the finished product here in a few days.