|
Cheetah by Mike Sells This is not a model of a specific car but
a representation (as I remember it) of the first Cheetah I ever saw There were never enough Cheetahs built to
qualify as GT cars so they were raced as big bore modifieds against
the likes The body is by Cox and modified only by opening
the hood vents and |
at an SCCA regional race in 1964 at an airport road course south of
Minneapolis, Minnesota. I had begged and pleaded and whined until my
father (a model railroader with zero interest in automobiles) finally
agreed to take me to the races less than 10 miles from home. I suspect
Mom intervened in the interests of male bonding - it wasn't called that
then, of course - and the old man actually enjoyed the racing, I think.
He was quite taken with the AC Aces while I preferred the Cobras, Corvettes
and Cheetah. The older I get, the more I agree with him. 
of Maserati Birdcages, Listers, and the "'Ol Yellers" of the sports
car world. If memory serves - and mostly it doesn't - the Cheetah finished
3rd or 4th in class. What I DO remember very, very clearly is the Cheetah
braking at the end of the main straight from 140+ MPH to about 35, blowing
2 feet of flame past the rear wheels from the wide open side pipes with
every downshift. Most impressive to a 14 year old who was just learning
about sports and racing cars; that single experience has warped me ever
since. 
severing
the hood from the body. The chassis is built from Evergreen styrene
rod carefully cut and welded together with liquid cement to match the
original road test found in a 1963 issue of "Sports Car Graphic". Paneling,
which adds considerable strength to the chassis, is Evergreen 0.015"
styrene sheet. The wheelbase of the actual car was so short and the
engine set so far back that the driveshaft was a single U-joint. Suspension
components are Airfix/MPC Ferrari 250 LM pieces up front with a modified
MPC Corvette differential unit in back. Rear radius rods are parts box
items while the four wheel disc brakes are from the Airfix Porsche 917.
The body was 
left
in one piece until after the chassis and suspension was in place to
make sure everything would fit correctly. The engine block is a Chevy
small block from the Monogram '69 Nova kit, topped with Monogram Dodge
Charger carbs and ram tubes. Exhausts are more Evergreen rod bent to
shape and fit to the end of the brass 
tubing
side pipe. The wheels are by Monogram, found in the Dodge Charge street
machine kit; front tires are 1/32 scale slot car types while the rears
are from an IMC NASCAR kit. Radiator, seats and shifter are all parts
box items. The steering was originally poseable but proved to be too
delicate and has since been glued solidly in place. This is one of my
favorite display models.