1968 McLaren M5A

[Mark Huber]

The McLaren M5A was designed by Robin Herd  and began racing in 1967. The chassis followed the lines of the smaller M4B (upsized from McLaren’s M4A F2 car), but the main fuel tanks were within the side pontoons. Additional fuel was carried above and below the driver's legs and the extensions from the monocoque that supported the engine. Only one M5A was ever constructed. 

The M5A was the first F1 car to use BRM’s 101 3.0 litre V12 engine, which produced about 365 bhp. In fact, the M5A raced with the BRM V12 in 1967 while the works BRMs continued to struggle with the H16 engine, introduced the prior season.

The M5A's first race was the1967 Canadian Grand Prix. After an early spin, Bruce McLaren moved up to fourth place, before a pit stop to change a flat battery  pushed him back to seventh place by the end of the race. At Monza, McLaren qualified third, but the car broke connecting rods while battling for fourth place and retired after 46 laps. The M5A fared no better in the last two races of 1967 season with McLaren retiring from both.

McLaren missed the season-opening 1968 South African Grand Prix, and reigning World Champion, Denny Hulme, who had joined the McLaren Racing team, took over the M5A, now painted “McLaren Orange” rather than the red livery of 1967. Hulme finished 2 laps adrift in fifth place to score the M5A’s first championship points.



Two Robin Herd/Gordon Coppuck designed M7As, powered by the Cosworth DFV V8 were delivered to McLaren and Hulme before the next Grand Prix races, and McLaren racing sold the M5A to Jo Bonnier. Bonnier campaigned the M5A in 7 more Championship Grands Prix and several non-Championship races for the remainder of 1968.  Bonnier’s best result came at Monza with a sixth place. Bonnier retired the M5A at the end of the season.

I’m building the M5A to represent the car as raced by Denny Hulme in South Africa. There’s still a fair amount of work remaining, including revising the front suspension; I will replace the faux rocker arm with an upper single link, trailing arms and external shock/springs.

The body shell was crafted and cast by Marc Tyler.  I sprayed the shell with Tamiya Camel Yellow TS34.  The chassis is a modified and extended Beardog Mk III, the rear tires are NSR, the gears are Slot-it, the driver is from Le Mans Miniatures (to be replaced by an Immense Miniatures driver) and the motor is a secret.  Yes, there is a motor in there.

[munter]

I am guessing the motor is a 030 shorty.

Do you still want the inserts or have you found alternatives?

[chrisguyw]

Hi Mark,...Looking good !!

While it appears a bit late for this project, Tamiya's Brilliant Orange (TS-56) was developed for use with their McLaren M8A Can am car (1968 season). TS-56 is listed as the body match colour in the instruction sheet for the M8A.
Licensing issues prohibited Tamiya naming it "McLaren" orange, but , it is the closest match I have ever seen......I have done a few with TS-56, and the colour looks bang on .

Cheers
Chris Walker

[Mark Huber]

Chris,

I agree that Tamiya Brilliant Orange is perfect (or as near perfect as is possible) for the McLaren Can Am cars. Shade may be somewhat in the eye of the beholder, as I prefer Camel Yellow over Brilliant Orange for the 1968 M5A and 1968 M7A F1 cars. I write that having never seen any of these cars up close and personal (and the restored M5A has been repainted red anyway). Be that all as it may, I'll leave the M5A as is, even though the shade is a little lighter than I'd prefer. Perhaps some day, I'll actually try an airbrush.

On another note, I began the process of adding injection trumpets (brass ferrules) to the cylinder banks. After breaking the fragile and thin resin engine tray twice, I succeeded in getting 6 of the 12 trumpets in place. I should have added some supporting plastic card underneath the resin piece BEFORE I began this endeavor. Live and learn.

Edit: it turned out the resin shelf was too fragile which I discovered to my dismay when I tried to add the other set of ferrules. I had to start over by fashioning new cylinder heads and adding them to what was left of the engine block. The result raised the profile of the engine assembly a bit more than I wanted, but it will (have to) do.

[Mark Huber]

After a lot more sanding and a bit more snipping, I was able to lower the engine detailing plate to a height I can live with. I'll probably replace the resin tail pipes with aluminum pipes. (Which is why the originals are now missing).

[Mark Huber]

I've added the 'real' Denny Hulme to the car, thanks to a recent release from Immense Miniatures.

[Aurora]

Looking good Mark. You've nailed the proportions.

[f143]

Both car and driver look terrific.
Nigel

[Mark Huber]

Denny up close. I felt like I was handling nitroglycerin as I was attempting to place the various decals on the overalls. I didn't achieve exactly what I wanted; on the other hand I didn't blow up Denny, so I'll call it a qualified success.

[Mark Huber]

I think Denny fits about the way I want; the acid test will be when I add the instrument panel and steering wheel.  I've already trimmed Denny's hands so the steering wheel shouldn't be too much of an issue. (Famous last words.)

[Mark Huber]

I wasn't happy with the engine detailing, so I scrapped it all a few days ago and started fresh. Perhaps I'll keep this one.