1984 LeMans 2nd place

[alwaysindy]

Well right in the middle of my “Resin Casters Indy and F1 Tour” I decided on a break to just build something plastic oOOB...I had read about John Paul Jr. and his fight with Huntington’s disease...

Now Paul Jr. is a controversial driver because of his involvement with his father’s drug smuggling operation...he served time because he would not testify against his dad...thus his legacy is somewhat tarnished...however, the man was a badass in a racing car...he won the Daytona 24 in 82 and 87...won Sebring in 82 and 2nd there in 93...in his 4th CART start, beat Mears at Michigan to win...also won an IRL fall race at TMS in 98...

This is the Porsche 956 that he and Jean Rondeau drove to 2nd place in 1984...

Body and suspension are done....wheels, tires and body painting remain...


It was a blast to get away from resin for a while...the resin kits always have better choices for race cars, but the CA glue drives me crazy sometimes with spills, smears etc...after this build, I am finishing Kevin’s 73 pole car and will then begin a Calvin kit...

I’ll post more when the paint dries...
Tim

[raceparke]

Tim,
Nice start on that classic kit. What markings are available for that version?
Dan

[alwaysindy]

Real car...



And the decals...

Dan:
Please notice it is one color (no masking!)...
Tim

[indy]

Good start, looks like a very AJ paint scheme. A straight forward paint job should be a nice change of pace.

Jordan

[indydog]

Oooooo.... that's nice! I love the 956/962.

[kurzheck]

Great start. I'm the biggest 956/962 fan. Are the decals dayglo? This is going to look great when completed.

TRev

[alwaysindy]

Jordan:
AJ sports cars...

And...

And...

All owned by Preston Henn...

Trevor:
They don’t appear to be dayglo, but they are very bright!

This is why I think JPJr is underrated...the man could wheel a race car...the following is from M. Pruett “The Ballad of the 1985 Daytona 24”...

While IMSA’s Daytona Prototypes and P2s squabbled over pole position last week – fighting for fractions of a second until Ozz Negri claimed the top spot by 0.108 seconds, let’s take a moment to celebrate the pole-winning lap set by John Paul Jr. in 1985 where he put a full 1.7 seconds between himself and second place. Fifth was 3.9 seconds arrears.

The fact that Paul Jr. was free to sit in the car, much less earn the pole, was newsworthy at the time. Jailed after being indicted for a number of crimes associated with his drug-trafficking father John Paul Sr., it took $125,000 handed over to the great state of Florida by Phil Conte to pry Paul Jr. from his holding cell.

The embarrassed 24-year-old rewarded Conte’s faith with a stellar performance in qualifying, and a reported audience of 33,000 watched as Paul Jr. led the field into Turn 1 and held the point for the first hour of the race. Deep in the GTP pack, NASCAR legend Bobby Allison – a surprise name on the entry list – spooled up Buick’s fearsome hand-grenade – and rocketed from 19th to fifth by the end of the 3.5-mile lap. Two laps later, the eldest member of the Alabama Gang brought the Pegasus Racing March to pit lane in search of remedies for its electrical woes.

Waiting for more black paint...
Tim

[alwaysindy]

There are times when you can’t win for losing...anybody got a spare Tamiya Porsche 956 windshield? Mine somehow cracked when I was painting it’s trim...can I get a replacement from Tamiya? How? Thanks in advance for any help!
Tim

[kurzheck]

PM me your address and I'll send you one. Though I can't be sure when Canada Post will get it to you.