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Post by David Mitcham on Jan 19, 2016 15:35:16 GMT -5
Something a little different for me. I bought one of Marlon's Shadowfax Alfa 308 shells and decided not to build the 1938 car but the one raced by Jean Pierre Wimille immediately after WWII. Wimille is an interesting character not least because of his French resistance exploits in the War. There aren't many period photographs of the car or of the race version I have chosen - the 1946 Coup de la Resistance held on circuit to the north east of the Bois de Boulogne - apart from the two below. The race was a contest between Wimille and Raymond Sommer in a Maserati 6CM which the former won.   The build is at a fairly early stage but I have constructed the chassis and running gear from my miscellaneous parts box, making use of an Atlas 3 pole motor and some ancient bevel gears attached to part of a spare steel chassis on Pendle wire wheels. Its goes surprisingly well! Apart from an initial preparation of the body (a very nice casting) and a first coat of primer there is still a lot of work to do but the aim is to keep it a simple and fairly quick build!   More to follow in a few days I hope together with threads on a couple more projects from the 60's. Best Regards David |
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Post by Aurora on Jan 20, 2016 7:48:15 GMT -5
David, nice use of vintage parts. How do you attach that Atlas motor to the steel chassis? Just last week, I tried to buy some of those vintage wire wheels from Pendles, but they were shown on the website as "out of stock". Now I see where they went...  . Matt |
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Post by David Mitcham on Jan 21, 2016 8:18:27 GMT -5
Hi Matt I happened to have a couple of brass parts from an old chassis which matched up nicely with the screw holes at the magnet end of the Atlas motor. These were soldered to the steel chassis with a couple of wire retainers at the rear. As a bit of a lash-up it works very well. Sorry about reducing the Pendle wheel stock to nil! Best Regards David  |
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Post by Aurora on Jan 22, 2016 7:56:05 GMT -5
David, thanks for the explanation. I've got a few old open frame motors and have been wondering how to install them in a chassis - your arrangement might be the solution.
Matt
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Post by Peter Seager-Thomas on Jan 26, 2016 11:02:55 GMT -5
I think there is a certain delight in building cars up using older parts, and anyone who knows Tom Wysom will know just how fanatical some enthusiasts can be about this.
What an excellent subject for the car being built.
Peter.
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Post by David Mitcham on Jan 27, 2016 5:04:11 GMT -5
Thanks Peter. If only your fantastic wheels were still available - the Pendle ones are okay but yours would be perfect!
Those immediately post-War races are very interesting although there isn't a lot of information about them (certainly not photographs). Jean Pierre Wimille was regarded as the best European driver at the time and had had a very successful pre-War career too including winning Le Mans in 1937 with Robert Benois in a Bugatti T57S. If Wimille hadn't been killed in 1949 practising for the Buenos Aires GP in his Simca Gordini its highly likely that he would have been the first World Champion as Alfa Romeo would almost certainly have retained him as their lead driver.
Best Regards
David
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Post by David Mitcham on Feb 29, 2016 15:16:36 GMT -5
Slow progress but here's where I've got too. Nothing startling - body painted, suspension detail added and Jean-Pierre Wimille more or less ready. Tomorrow I should finish detail painting and add the windscreen. Its hard to tell from the limited photographs I have whether the wheels should be black (think I'll do them black anyway) or whether its down to the dull black and white (grey). Also I've guessed at Wimille's driving attire being blue! The style of numbers and their exact location will be guess work too.   Best Regards David |
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Post by David Mitcham on Mar 30, 2016 13:55:10 GMT -5
Its finished - well almost. The Alfa badge is missing - awaiting a decal - and 'ECRURIE NAPHTRA COURSE' is absent from the sides - I'm going to try producing an image to create a decal when time allows. The front and rear track is probably too wide but I'm quite pleased with it especially considering I have not done much to the Shadowfax shell (it doesn't need it!) and only added a minimum of suspension detail.    Best Regards David |
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Post by Andrew Rowland on Mar 30, 2016 15:08:04 GMT -5
Looks smashing David, lovely build!
How does it run?
Andi
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Post by David Mitcham on Mar 30, 2016 16:46:52 GMT -5
Hi Andi
Entertaining is how I would describe how it runs! The motor tends to deliver the power in lumps so with narrow tyres it can be a bit tail happy. It seems to need quite a lot of amps. But its fun and I suspect is a bit like the real thing in terms of drivability.
Best Regards
David
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