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240Z PART 2: At the end of Part 1, both bodies needed wheel arch flares. If cutting the wheel arches from the Lindberg body further from the flare did not solve the sanding issues, I have suggestions that worked on the models shown: Option 1: Sand off all of the flare down to the body surface above the rocker panel. Glue ¼" x 0.010" strip to the edge of the wheel opening so it stands proud of the body 1/16" or so. When dry, sand the strip flush with the rocker panel and to the same height above the body all around the opening. Use a fine paintbrush to flow several successive fillets of enamel paint or thickened primer around the new flare. When the flare matches the others as closely as possible and the paint has completely dried out, gently sand out any problem areas and prime. I normally thin out the inner edges of the wheel openings to more closely resemble sheet metal but go easy so you don't break anything loose. Option 2: Remove the original flare as above. Both Evergreen and Plastruct make quarter round styrene strip. I do not have access to the Plastruct material locally but I found Evergreen 0.030" quarter round at the local hobby shop. Bending it over an X-acto knife handle with the curved edge to the outside, I glued it to one end of the wheel opening. When that set up, I cut the strip to length and glued it to the other end of the arch. It's tricky to get a smooth bend but patience and care should do it. When both ends are dry, blend the strip to the body with liquid cement, then sand and prime as usual.
The options above work just as well on the Scalextric body but the ABS plastic used doesn't respond nearly as well to styrene cements - you'll have to use superglue or ABS cement. Of course, the bodywork behind the new flare has to be completely finished before adding the quarter round. Option 1 gives a more subtle flare but it takes a number of coats of paint and thus a lot more time to achieve. Option 2, especially on the styrene ARII body, goes much more quickly. The quarter round flares are somewhat prominent on the finished body but can be knocked down with sand paper. The rear spoiler as provided by both ARII and Scalextric is correct for the BRE racing 240Z but a "spook" (scoop/spoiler) made from sheet styrene goes under the nose. Add-on front aerodynamic devices were forbidden by the SCCA rules at the time but apparently full width under nose brake ducting was OK. The spook shape is somewhat complex: if you have access to one of the Revell 1/25 kits a look at the part itself will be a big help. (I looked at this problem for some time before I tackled it and what's described here is MY solution: if you have a better one, please email me c/o this website and let me know). Begin with a length of 1/8" x ¼" Evergreen strip. Glue a 1/8" square strip to one edge so you have a 3/8" x 1/8" strip to start shaping. Laying it on a sheet of wet 240 grit sandpaper, taper the bottom until one edge meets the top surface. It should now be a triangle in section: 1/8" high in front, 3/8" wide across the top and the bottom connects those two points. Mark the center of the strip, then, using a ball cutter in your Dremel or a round file, carve the vertical curve into the strip about 2/3 of the depth. In plan view, there is a bend in the center matching the nose and the ends match the ends of the lower pan. Sand the surface you have ground out with rolled up sandpaper until you reach the right shape with a smooth finish. There should be a narrow (1/32"+) lip at the forward edge and both ends. When you are happy with the shape of the spook, open up two rectangular brake ducts in the top edge with a square file. Some re-shaping of the lower pan and the front of the chassis may be necessary to achieve a good fit before gluing the spook to the body after painting. Note from the photos that the spook is mounted very upright below the pan. Fill the headlight cavities to look like body colored covers. When the body is ready, paint gloss white with red above the fender break line if you are building the #46 car and set aside to dry completely. The tail panel around the taillights is dark gray. The second team car (#3) was painted white with medium blue panels rather than red and the decal stripes need to be reversed to suit. |
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240Z PART 3: Finishing the 240Z is fairly straightforward once the bodywork is done. The ARII 240Z looks large compared to the 2000 roadster and 1000 sedan but all major dimensions are within one scale inch on the finished modified body when checked against an original dealer brochure; it's a bigger car than I realized, I guess. The Scalextric body is nearly the same size after shortening but the wheelbase turned out to be 1/8" or so longer than that of the ARII chassis after all the bodywork was complete. |
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The entire front suspension was moved forward by cutting the forward part of the wheel arches behind the front strut tower loose from the chassis, adding in a 1/8" strip, then re-assembling. The lower suspension arms must be cut from the oil pan and new notches cut into the chassis ahead of the old ones. The rear of the chassis has to be shortened and narrowed slightly and the rear edges of the interior tub trimmed to fit this body as well. When the chassis and interior parts fit correctly, remove the snap-in hubs and sand the brake rotors flat for enough wheel and tire adjustment to achieve just the right stance.
Styrene rod works great for roll cages and you can start from scratch or add on to the original parts as you wish. My BRE Datsun reference file disappeared halfway through this project and I thought the Revell kit roll bar was way too simple so the original kit parts were modified by removing the inside pair of bars at the rear, then bending and shortening the two remaining bars to fit the rear shock towers. A new hoop was added behind the drivers seat, mounting through the holes in the floor, and additional bracing added. Check the fit of the glass, interior, cage and chassis to the body often: I ended up trimming the glass inside the roof to completely clear the roll cage. I deviated from the Revell kit instructions by painting the entire interior flat white except the black seat, center console, roll cage and dash rather than painting everything shades of black. Use the original ARII kit shifter, steering wheel and hand brake after detailing. The yellow racing exhaust is made from styrene rod with styrene tubing tips. The pipes are held in place by small craft store brass loops glued to the chassis proper. See the photo for the exhaust layout. The chassis is also flat white with black suspension components rather than all black as suggested by Revell. I made the paint changes for visibility, not superior knowledge; the interior and chassis on the original car were very likely black. Add the decals as shown and assemble the body to the chassis. The clear taillight lenses were painted red, orange and white from the backside, a narrow piece of chrome tape added horizontally and the assembly installed for a less than realistic appearance. Driver, interior and chassis detailing is a matter of personal choice. For some reason, the Japanese cars never seem to get the exposure they deserve even though they are very popular worldwide. I hope this leads you to take a closer look. |
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DATSUN 2000 ROADSTER RACER (Part I) |
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The ARII 310 roadster is available in two different
versions but the only difference is the hard or soft roof provided.
As the BRE racers ran an aero windscreen either kit will do nicely.
The model itself is quite attractive with very acceptable detailing
including separate clear light lenses. The body looks small compared
to the 240Z but still within an acceptable tolerance for 1/32; however,
it looks great with other small sports cars like Aurora's Austin Healey
100-6 & Sunbeam Tiger, the Revell Alpine & AH 3000 and Triumph TR-4
and MGB by Airfix and that's the main thing.
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Cockpit and chassis detailing is about like that found
on some of the better 1/32 Airfix kits (ARII does include inner door
panels) but additions and changes will have to be made for the racing
version. The only major flaw in the kit is a rear deck that is approximately
1/8" too short behind the rear wheel openings. I had several kits on
hand so I attempted correcting the racer by cutting the tails off two
bodies, one 1/8" longer than the other, and gluing the long tail onto
the long body. By the time I fiddled everything into a decent fit across
the sloping rear deck, the car was just about the same length as the
original so I don't know that it's worth the effort. The finished racer
you'll see here was not extended. |
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The
cars did not run bumpers so fill the mounting holes in the rear
pan. Trim
the rear chassis locating strips until the rear seat unit fits tightly
against the lower surface of the cockpit. Trim off the windshield
frame
and cleanup the edges of the cockpit leaving the trim strip in place.
The two large square holes in the front pan were made larger towards
the
center of the car but just hung there without much reason to exist
until I filled the space behind with the oil cooler from the ARII
240Z grille
- probably not correct but it really looks good. The front bumper mounting
holes in the front pan were also increased in size and filed square.
The
BRE 2000 racer also has a spook below the front pan: a flat vertical
valance panel to keep air from getting under the car. It's represented
on the
model by a strip of 0'020" strip bent to match the inner surface of the
pan. A second 0.020" strip is glued parallel to the ground at the bottom
of the first, then shaped to provide a narrow lip to the front of the
air dam. In the best photo available it looks to be flat black. Clean
up the mold lines, fill the mirror holes on the fenders and the body
is
ready to paint. |
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DATSUN 2000 ROADSTER PART 2: September, 2000 As it turns out, many vintage Sunbeam Tiger racers run the same sort of aero windscreens used by BRE on the 2000. No, that didn't help a damn bit in finding a usable solution; I just mention it for those who might want to do a Tiger at some point. I much prefer to find adaptable kit parts for these projects if possible; not everyone has access to a vac-u-form machine or the plastic to use in it but anyone reading this will be able to find the kits I draw parts from on the Internet - where did you think I bought them? As astonishing as it may seem, the upright rear window from the ARII Datsun 1000/1200 kit is very nearly perfect for this application. Converting the sedan to a convertible would use up the rest of the kit parts or simply replace the rear glass with clear acetate. Cut the glass unit through the approximate middle of the rear side windows. Lay a piece of 240 grit wet or dry paper - wet - on the bench and sand the cut smooth and straight side to side. Eyeball down the window about ¼" and cut the lower part of the glass away. (If you are careful, the unused lower half may suit another model so put it away somewhere safe.) Sand the remaining part of the glass until the forward lower edge is just where the glass starts to curve. The top of the aero screen is flat as it goes back towards the driver. The screen should be about 3/16" tall and 3/8" to ½" deep front to back when finished. Polish the two round mold marks out of the inner corners of the screen. Tint dark gray with several coats of Tamiya smoke on the inside. It should have a small kick-up just ahead of the driver but that's impossible without vac-forming a new part. You'll note that the new screen is slightly narrower than the body opening. At final assembly, glue the screen to the dash and bridge the gap with a strip of black crepe or masking tape. Add small dots of silver paint at intervals to represent rivets holding it in place. |
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The correct wheels are a problem because BRE used their own unique 4 spoke mags on all of the Datsun racers. They look very similar to those used on the Lotus 47, 40 and 38 but nobody does those in 1/32 scale either. The wheels from the rather rare Matchbox Surtees kit have four spokes but are not really right. The original wheels from the Scalextric 260Z slot car could also be used but they aren't very good either. The wheels here are modified from those in the Surtees kit and then cast in resin. The rims were cut from both ends of the wheel, leaving the flat four spoke center plate. A short length of 3/32" styrene tubing was glued to the center, the hole in the tubing matching the hole in the spoke plate. Strips of 0'040" square styrene were glued to the plate, centered on each spoke and extending beyond the edge. When the cement was dry, the tubing hub and strips were sanded level. The spokes should be thicker in the center, tapering to the outside and you are welcome to try making them more correctly. 1/32" holes were drilled into the plate against the hub between each spoke. Four lengths of 1/32" styrene rod were cut and one end of each piece rounded off. The rounded ends face the outside surface of the plate and extend just past the top of the hub. Glue from the back and let dry, then cut and sand any excess on the back side flush to the plate. Cut the original Surtees rim to a depth of 3/32"+ and trim the four spokes so the rim .is centered on the wheel. The wheel centers are medium metallic gray with silver rims and studs. Monogram glue kit ('69 Nova, Charger, Camaro, Firebird, LN7 etc.) tires are used just as on the 1000 sedan. Bruce Paterson's markings look great on the 2000; designed for the 510 and 240Z, they are certainly close enough to go on with. The hood is red between the centers of the front fenders side to side and from the nose above the grille back to the windscreen. The kit headlights were installed and also painted red. The photos show the decals placed as I think they should go; the large "Datsun" above the grille is made from white model railroad rub-on letters while the small "DP" on the sides are black run-ons. |
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There
are several Internet pages dealing with the Fairlady roadsters that will
provide photos of different racers if you wish to head off in your own
direction. The 2000 Fairlady certainly makes a change from all the Triumph
TR4's and MGB's and I find that building a model of an actual racer is
always more satisfying. |
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(At
left is the ARII body with red Lindberg inserts and white Evergreen
quarter round strip in place.)
(Here
you can see the 1/8" strips in the fender wells installed to push the
front suspension forward.) .