Honker 2 Can Am car by Mark Gussin
When this car raced in 1967 it was a complete disaster. Mario Andretti, who is never one to mince his words apparently said "That was probably the worst car I ever drove. There was nothing about it that was right". And he also suggested to the sponsor Paul Newman that they switch roles - put Mario's name on the car nose and have Newman drive it!
Never one to only model successful cars I bought the Classic fibreglass bodyshell some time ago. A few years ago I photographed the restored car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and then the final link in the chain, Phil Kalbfell and Dave Bantoff announced their Tasman Proxy Race for pre-1968 sports cars. I had the reason to put it all together!
pictures taken at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
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The intention was for it to be simple, easy conversion to a slot car and so Barrie Pitcher's Tassie Devil chassis was the logical answer. This chassis makes the whole task of this type of slot car construction so much simpler. I've illustrated on a table here a list of key components. Body mounting was done using side pins that fit into tubes soldered to the chassis. As you can see components for the car are all readily available. Paint was a little difficult and the first attempt was much too dark (as can be seen from the picture!). Here in the UK you can get car paints made up fairly easily so I chose one of these specials and used that. Decals were made up using my now faltering (because it has had so much use) Alps printer!
the car just after restoration |
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wrong colour!
that's better!!
Interior and motor detail were cut out from the Classic bodyshell and scratch built. The front ailerons and rear spoiler were also added.
Roll-over bar was made using soldered and painted brass rod, exhausts were made from metal tube, wheel inserts were made using bit-box wheels cut down.
