Fiat Abarth Assetto Corsa: Complete (#2 for 2022)

Following a minor paint event that required fixing, the Fiat Cinquecento hot rod is done. 

I've decided to treat this as a standard Fiat 500, where someone has managed to get their hands on a 695 SS motor and wheels. So the engine lid is hinged at the bottom, and the flares and oil cooler under the front bumper are back in the box for another 500D for which I have some nefarious plans... stay tuned. 

Meanwhile the aircooled twin is a proper little monster, making a rip roaring 38 hp. 

Stay tuned! More to come.

Porsche 962C: Overview

A paint malfunction at the last minute on the Fiat 500 has me upset, so what better than a Model Factory Hiro kit to get over it! 

 

 

Also a FaceTheBook group is running a Porsche challenge build, with the deadline to finish being 9/11 (get it? 911? haha, Yeah, me neither.) which gives me plenty of time to tackle one of these beasts. I'll be going for the 1986 Le Mans winner as piloted by Derek Bell, Hans Stuck and Al Holbert.

 

 

The 962C benefits from a monocoque, meaning the rat's nest of flexible little tubes as found in the 908/03 and 917 is not present. However that doesn't mean nothing bent, starting with the window frames in the doors. Some gentle massaging has got the bent doors as well as the floor pan and other seemingly rigid items more or less straight. 

I've always wanted a 962 to go with Tamiya's lovely 956, but sadly neither Tamiya nor Hasegawa offers a kit with engine. So MFH it is. 

Including the Dauer and TWR variants, the 956 and 962 won 9 times over 15 years at Le Mans, starting in 1982 and ending in 1997. Quite the record; and the platform scored many more WSC wins in the same period under a number of badges.

Next to the grocery store to pick up some steel wool or Brillo pads, as there are no resin bits in this baby. The kit as delivered weighs 1163 grams with packaging; I'll report back on the weight of the completed kit as it isn't going to be a flyweight. Stay tuned!

Fiat Abarth Assetto Corsa: Chassis and body

So a decision was made to save some of the Abarth bits for another 500 in the stash, and to make this one to a home-made hot rod converted by an overly enthusiastic youngster. 

 

 

The chassis is complete and fits the body well. The fender flares would have been useful given the fat little tires from the Abarth kit, but it will all work without. 

At the moment I am struggling with a hinge for the engine lid, which will be set up to tilt out from the bottom, as in the original 500, rather than up from the top as in the Abarth versions. Accordingly I am calling this a 500D.

The first attempt was too weak, and came apart after a couple of flexes. Plan B involves a 1 mm rod inside a couple of pieces of 1.5 mm tube (1.050 ID). Plan C involves gluing it in open position. Stay tuned!

Fiat Abarth Assetto Corsa: Overview

If you can find them, these out-of-production Gunze Sangyo High-Tech kits can be quite nice. (They can be frustrating, too; one day I'll tell you about the Lotus Elan). 

This is one of the three Fiat 500 versions made by Gunze Sangyo. The kit of the 500D reproduces a factory stock vehicle, with the aircooled 500 cc twin; this one and the 695 SS have been hotrodded by Abarth. 

The Interweb is not familiar with the Assetto Corsa version; a search only brings up Gunze Sangyo or Italeri kits. And photos of the 695 engine show a different cylinder head and a large sheet metal box around the cylinder liners and head. But the kit box claims the engine is a proper 695, so we'll go with that. 

Online photos of the 695 engine show the plugs located next to the intakes, and the exhaust pipes taking off either end of the head where the plugs are located in this kit. No matter, it looks cool. And the Abarth script on the oil pan is just raised enough to be able to scrape paint off the raised lettering. 

The Abarth engine retains the Fiat block and head, along with the pushrod valve actuation, but with new pistons and other bits. It has also been bored and stroked, from 67.4 x 70 to 76 x 76 mm. The result is 38 hp at about 5300 RPM, compared  to about 21 hp at around 4400 for the base 500. 

The rest of this little bomb appears to be relatively straightforward. It will look good next to the 1000 TCR. Stay tuned! 

Lancia Flaminia: Complete (#1 for 2022)

Not a bad kit, but still a bit problematic, especially the taillights. I could probably improve these; currently the finish is bare metal foil.

The Gran Turismo class is indeed classy, at least in the late 50s into the early 60s. Subtle shapes and two (or maybe 2+2) seating, combined with high performance bits. The Lancia (2.8 litre V6) was probably a bit cheaper than either the Maserati (3.5 litre six) or the Ferrari (3 litre V12), but it did come with a transaxle and de Dion tube, with optional disc brakes in the later years. Alfa had the 2600, which was likely comparable; this Giulia will have to do as I don't know of any kits of the 2600. 

What's next? Hard to say. Stay tuned!