WIP - Building an accurate Old Calhoun

[Deleted]

Building a better Old Calhoun


Howdy all!!!!

Well..after much conversations with Gregg, better know to all here as Stone cold44, he wants to build an accurate 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner...Better known as Old Calhoun. (My name sake here on the forum.) So we talked about it, and I'm going to build the sucker and do it as an tutorial here on the forum. Those who want to follow along and build one as I go....please do and show your work here on the forum. Maybe we can even have a contest to see which one builds the best "Old Calhoun?" This will be fun!

First, lets get started, I first check my sources and data that I can find, old photos and such. Videos of race day is good place to start. Doak Ewing at Rare Sportsfilms Inc. has the best I've seen. First Turn Productions has one that is made up of old 16 mil. film that is good as well. The video offered at the Speedway Gift Shop is okay, at best. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum has the original "Old Calhoun" restored to the 1963 version. Some of you know that Parnelli drove Old Calhoun i the 64 500 to only have it explode in the pits and almost frying Parnelli in the process. Here is how Old Calhoun looks today.



This photo was taken in 1997 before the car was shipped back from overseas to the Goodwood Historics.



These were taken by me inside the museum. This is one of the very few cars inside the Hall of Fame Museum that has been restore properly and is very accurate...according to Bob Clidinst, who saw the car run in both 63 & 64. This is a beautiful car and I love the beast! Well...get out your old AMT Watson kits...this should be fun! The AMT kit is "okay at best", it's not very accurate and some parts are out of scale, so just follow me and I'll show you all I know and how to improve the kit and get an beautiful model as well.

Best to all of you!

Russ

[Calvin]

Wow! this is going to be fun! I have an AMT Watson and the Indycals. So Im ready to follow you!

[clm1545]

OK Russ, I'm ready.

[kurzheck]

I'm buying one on Ebay so I can build along too. This should be a learning experience.

[Patrick]

I have the body and assorted parts to give away( no engine or chassis)...email me off line.

Patrick

[Deleted]

Step One

First thing I like to do with any project I start, is lay out the parts, then look over Bob Clidinst's drawing of the car. This way I know it is accurate when I'm finished.



I then read over the instructions and see what needs to be revised. Kit instructions are a guideline, not written in stone. The good old AMT Watson has many parts that are..well, superfluous. Well to be honest with you....bad is more the word. I plan to remove as many of those parts as possible. So I lose the wheels and tires first off. They are no way near accurate. According to the kits instruction you need to build the engine, first off.



Absolutely the first thing you need to do is strip the lousy chrome plating off of all the parts you're going to use on this kit. The cheese chrome is awful to deal with and looks poor anyway. The best way to strip chrome off quickly is to take good old Easy-Off Oven Cleaner and spray the parts...outside to be on the safe side. Don't breath this stuff in! It's quite toxic!



Once the parts turn a ugly yellow, they are stipped and must be washed off. Take the gooey parts to the kitchen sink, and wash them under hot water. I use a par of clamping tweezers and a very old toothbrush for this...and, after fishing many a part out of the garbage disposal, I also place a drain catcher over the drain. The parts are a bit snotty feeling with the Easy-Off on them. I then dry them.



Now, we're ready to start. I know the kits Offy Engine is way too small, but it's only there to hang an exhaust pipe too anyway....but I like to make it look as good as I can, so I assemble it like the instructions say too and paint it, with a Aluminum paint and give it a wash of flat black heavily deluded with paint thinner, and dry brush it with testors steel and then go back and do high-lites with sliver.



More later and best to you all!

Russ

[sandysixtysfan]

This will be a great build article and I'm looking forward to learning more from this.
Wow, two front engine builds, this and the '55 DVL Spl, at the same time... Life is Good !

Sandy

[Deleted]

Step Three

Now that you have the engine completed to your own satisfaction, it time to move forward.



You'll notice I added most everything to the engine but the transmission shifter, more on that later. I use Humbrol flat black on the hose, it's the best flat black I have used. I use testors flat black for the dark wash on the engine because it's cheap and almost like water anyway.



The instructions say to do the basic chassis and rear suspension next. This is where the instruction sheet and I part company for a while. I am more concerned about the body preparation and painting, I worry about the sus[ension after the body is painted. So I assemble the frame for the Watson next...all of it as you can see.



I even include part 19, the steering column and parts 22 the seat support, the front and rear right hand side torsion bars. All where painted the basic frame color, now assembled, I paint the frame.

More late....

Russ

[Deleted]

And now, for a commercial anouncement....

There are many thing I have always hated about this kit. A kind of love hate relationship, if you will. I love the subject matter!!! When anyone says, "Indy Car" to me, I think of the Watson Roadster. My mind goes right to Old Calhoun or Foyt's 64 beats he named "Old Betsy." I hate the lazy execution that went into the manufacturing of this kit. Half A**ed at best. Some of the kits parts are God Awful at best. First is the nose.



Not a correct angle on it at all! If you have ever looked at the model of Old Calhoun I built before, (The one in the small photo to the left of this screen.) You'll notice a different nose on it. The nose was made a long time ago by Gary Doucette, of Front Motor Model fame. It's okay and I have improved it greatly. Also....the kits wheels and tires. The wheels are fine, the tires are just plain excrement!



In this photo are both the kit parts and the new improved parts. The "NEW AND IMPROVED" parts are available from a forum member here, DrDave. His resin casting are very good, He offers tires and wheels and accurate noses for all years Watson's. Lance Sellers did a Watson Conversion set for both eh 1963 & 64 Winners, and they are awesome, but....Lance said they didn't sale very well and he has no desire to do it again. Like I have said before, you snooze, you lose. DrDave can be reach here via Personal Message and you can get the proper parts from him.




Also....The kits decals are lousy!!!! Fred Cady did a sheet and that's what I used on the one above. Fred has since retired and Michael Portaro of Indycals has stepped in and produced a great sheet for this kit. It's only $9.00, but it's well worth it and it's the sheet I'm using on this build. Cady's sheet was great, but you had to layer the different colors on top of one another. If it was off register, it was your own fault. Indycals option is much better!

I love given good products a plug. Best to you all!

Russ

[stonecold44]

I'm back home now and already 3 steps behind. This is a great tutorial, especially for a first-time roadster builder like me.

A couple of questions:

What is meant by a "flat black wash"? Do you brush the mixture of black and thinner over the whole engine and whatever sticks, sticks?

What color do you paint the frame?


Gregg

[indy]

Yeah, Gregg the wash ends up gathering in the recesses and helps give the parts some dimension and these older cars weren't cleaned to the nine's like today's cars.

Great job Russ! I just got back into town tonight and was pleasantly surprised to find such a great WIP pop up in a weekend.

Jordan

[Deleted]

Howdy Gregg and everyone else!

Thanks for the kind remarks. To answer your questions Gregg. Using a "black wash" adds depth to the model parts. The Offy Engine was notorious for throwing oil everywhere, especially back in the 1960's. No matter how much the chief mechanic tightened parts down, the Offy would throw oil. I have pictures of Foyt in 1964 and the sides of "Old Betsy" were smeared with oil. You should see the photos of Old Calhoun after the 1963 race. What a mess!!

As for the color I paint the frame it's the same color to pain the nose with. It's Dupi-Color called T 359 Intense Pearl Blue. It's a perfect match for all the color photos I have of Old Calhoun, who frame was painted the same color.

Officially Step Three



Once the frame is painted a coat of Dupi-Color Scratch Filling Primer, (the best I have used to date.) I then paint the frame rails the same color that the nose will be painted later down the road. Dupi Color, T 359 Intense Pearl Blue. The I paint a single coat of Aluminum on the body's belly pan. It's seen through the cockpit as the floor of the car. Next step, it to get the frame and engine ready to close up the body.

Best to all of you!

Russ

[Calvin]

Man...your rolling right through this :0 by the time im done reading one part you have the next one up already!

[Deleted]

Step Four

To add the engine to the frame. Some work is needed to get this done. First you'll have to add the fire wall for the engine to fit.



After the engine is in place, then I add the transmission shifter to the transmission. I then add the radiator to the frame. I test fit this with the body. If you don't, you'll run the chance that I did of having glued the radiator too high and the nose won't fit. I place the frame with engine into the boy pan to make sue everything fits. I hen try to test fit the upper body parts with the hood.

Next thing is to add a picky little detail to the cockpit shroud....look at the photo...There is a small vent in front of the cockpit opening. It has a center brace if you will, that splits the opening. I take a small piece of Evergreen plastic and and glue it into place to accomplish the look.



Side tutorial - dry brushing

I have used a few terms that some may not be familiar with. One was, "Paint with a flat black wash." Okay, to do this you'll need a small cheap bottles of testors flat black paint and paint thinner. Cheaper the better! Delude a small amount of flat black paint, the testors flat black is mostly like water anyway, then delude it by a rate of ten to one, you'll not be concerned with covering the part, more like enhancing the part. Take a good thin brush, mix it with the diluted wash, take the tip of the brush and place it onto the part yo want "washed". The capillary action and gravity will allow the paint to run into the nooks and crannies of the model part and thus give you the effect your looking for. After all.....Offy powered roadsters were messy!

DRY BRUSHING - Fist, take a part that has been painted with a flat color. Few parts on a Watson should be painted with a lossy paint color. For the example, I'm using the Watson's rear end housing I first have stripped it of all the lousy chrome plating, then paint eh housing with humbrool gun metal paint. I then take one of the old cheap Testors Paint brushes...you know, the white ones that come in the Wal-Mart model building kits? I then take testors steel paint, which is a flat color, I take the paint brush, dip into the paint, then rub the paint brush back and forth on an old piece of paper towel until there is no visible paint left on the brush, I then lightly dust the model part with the brush, until the lighter color is on the part. I then take the good old testors silver and repeat the process. Thus, dry brushing.



Next step...dealing with the new nose cone....

Best to you all!

Russ

[herk56]

Great progress, Russ! I've built a couple of these over the years but you have enlightened me in several areas. I've got Lance's conversion for this one, sorry to hear they didn't sell well. I didn't buy the '64 conversion as I already have his great kit of that one. I'll post a WIP pic or two of the '50 Parsons car Hall of Fame build soon, not much progress yet, the resin body needs a lot of prep.

Brian

[stonecold44]

Here's where I've gotten to this point: I got all the chrome parts that Russ stripped with Easy Off done. I actually used the picture here to reference which ones to strip. And just as he said, the parts had a slimy feel that washed off with hot water and an old toothbrush.
Since some of those parts will be needed on the engine, I only got as far as gluing the two halves together, but I'll be able to paint the whole assembly tomorrow. At the same time, I assembled the frame, again minus the parts that were striped of chrome.

One quick question: What color do you paint the firewall and the gear shifter?

Since I'll be bogged down at some point while I wait for my nose and oil tank from Lance Sellers (sorry guys, I think I got the last one) and wait for word from dr dave for tires, I'll be starting another build. This is the mystery one that you voted on.

Also, I'm finishing the STP Lola that should have been done by now. I had to repaint the rear wing and sidepod and that should be done in the next few days. Pictures to follow.

Gregg

PS. This tutorial is really great. Thanks Russ! Anyone want to do a similar tutorial for the McLaren? I want to do the 1974 or 76 winner but the AMT kit needs more help than I can give it without being walked through it.

[Deleted]

Step Five

Well....The next step is to deal with the cars rear end and drive shaft. First, fish through the rear end and rear and axle assmenbly into the frame. Be careful with this...you don't want to break anything important.



Next, I take a small piece of K&S Brass tubing and cut it to length to be the drive shaft. I also take the next size up and put that onto to simulate the brackets for the drive shaft at the end of the transmission and beginning of the rear end. I glue the axle intot eh rear end but not the transmission....I leave that until I have the rear suspension glued into place. At this point, I paint the cars brake and gas pedal assembly and glue it to the bottom of the steering box per instructions.

Now, for the noses...I have been polishing a turd of a nose that was once part of another cottage industry guy's attempt to do a 63 Watson Nose.





The three noses are, from left to right, the lousy kit nose, the one I have been working on to get to DrDave, the last one is the nose done by master craftsman Lance Sellers....I have one and I know you guys wish you had one too.....BUT, DrDave will have one and wheels and tire for you to buy from him. His castings are quite good! The nose goes into the mail this week.....Best to you!

Russ

[Deleted]

Gregg...

I painted the firewall aluminum and the gear shift I paint eh base flat black the sifter shaft silver and the knob red.

Best to you!

Russ

[Calvin]

Nov 18, 2009 2:00:58 GMT -5 stonecold44 said:

Anyone want to do a similar tutorial for the McLaren?

No
Because I would have to personally teach everyone the art of sculpting more than model building.

[Calvin]

Wow Russ! This is the best info I've seen.....Ever....on any open wheel kit. Your going to make us Rookie Roadster builders look good when we start on ours

[indydog]

This is great Russ! I'll have to pick up a few of those noses from DrDave when he has them ready.

[Deleted]

Step Six

Body preparation - The next few thing you'll have to do is get the body ready to close up. I like to have a lip or set-back to have the vac-formed windscreen I'm going to make for the car to hang on to. Today, I was doing this part when my daughter snapped this photo of me at my work bench...



Here we see Tiny here working on a model. This what I was doing at the time....



You can't see fro my daughter's photo work, but, I am holding an X-acto Knife upside down and scrapping a small indentation around the cockpit opening. This will give the windscreen I will vac-form something to set onto.



This is the bodies upper half sitting onto the lower half. Notice the slight grove around the cockpit opening.

Next is the dash. Not a particularly accurate part of the model, normally I'd scratch build a more accurate one for myself, but this one is close enough for government work, as my Grandfather would say....The kit dash has some nice detail, if not 100% accurate. First, you paint the dash a semi-gloss black and let it sit for a while. Then, you dry brush the dash so the nice raised detail comes out better. Then, you take a detail brush and go around the gage on the far raised left hand side of the dash. The take your detail brush and go back over the raise detail with a little more silver paint. I added the red under the on/off switch just like it was on race day 1963. Now, to finish the dash, I place a small amount of Elmer's White Glue inside the gages to simulate glass. Here it is....




Onward and upward...Best to you!

Russ

[2lapsdown]

I see you're wearing your Parnelli Jones t shirt in the photo. Nice touch, it's also nice to see the face of "The Man behind the curtain".

[Patrick]

Hey, Russ...I'm amazed that your hands are not xacto cut up (mine are!) and, ya, it's nice to see you at work!

Patrick

[stonecold44]

So that's who I've been talking to. What's on the TV, a race? Seriously, it's good to see how a master at his craft does the fine tuning on a project.

For an old dashboard, there sure is a lot of character to it.

[Deleted]

Russ - OUTSTANDING!! Prob'ly THE BEST tutorial I have ever seen! If I weren't hip deep in a '23 conversion (don't ask, it's being a pain!) I would be following along! I'm thinking a Watson will be the next project. Even without building along, there are lotsa great tips & techniques. And, being on the Forum, it's accessible any time. ....When I grow up (if?) I want to be just like you!!! ;D

[Deleted]

Gregg...

What was on the TV during my build is the high-lite film from the 1963 500...great stuff from Doak Ewing at Rare Sports Films. I tend to need a little inspiration during a build. I agree...the dash has much character to it. I love the old Watson Roadster!!

Best to you!

Russ

[Deleted]

Nov 18, 2009 21:25:17 GMT -5 Patrick said:

Hey, Russ...I'm amazed that your hands are not xacto cut up (mine are!) and, ya, it's nice to see you at work!

Patrick

THANKS A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cut the Bejesus out of myself after I read your post...

Best to you!

Russ

[Deleted]

Sheriff Bart,

I was looking in the wrong section for this............ I forgot to look in the WIPs!

So far it is looking great. BTW: Your reinforcement of my own idea of *shrinking* the cockpit opening of the AMT kit for an earlier Watson seems to be going very well. ;D

Thanks for posting all of this.
Mongo

[indy]

So, who was it a while back that was talking about using scalpels instead of xactos?

Jordan