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Post by Calvin on Nov 21, 2013 23:30:53 GMT -5
I just wanted to start a double WIP thread on the first winning Indianapolis Roadster!  Its kinda funny modeling a car that won both years, but I'm building two of the same car....  (do you get what I'm saying?) The grey primer car is going to be the 1953 Winner and the White primer car is going to be the 1954 Winner which will need some modification to the body to make it 1954 specs. A while back I scratch built some wider tires out of the monogram Kurtis Kraft kit and cast them out of resin, and I forgot I had them..... they should work pretty good for the 1954 car as from looking at the Bob Clidinst drawings the tire width was 5/8 wider than 1953EDIT: {tire TREAD width was 5/8 wider in 1954}....my scratch built tires are little overkill IMO but they will be OK.  This is a beautiful car - I whished IMS would do a book on this car kinda like the 1964 Winner...... Also, just think Bill V. real easily could of been a 4 time STRIGHT 500 winner. I dont know when I will really get going on these but I just felt like talking about this car tonight....I dont know just had mood for it.  Just one more stupid thing to say.....and I'll be quite....deep down inside I wished I could of built my 1953 winner in 100 deg heat.....okay okay I'm starting to get weird! nevermind.  |
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Post by indycals on Nov 21, 2013 23:57:19 GMT -5
Looking at hi res photos from both 53 and 54, both years the tires are marked "7.10-16" on the fronts and "8.00-16" on the rears.
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Post by Calvin on Nov 22, 2013 2:35:26 GMT -5
I should make it clear that the Clidinst drawings says the tire tread width was 5/8 wider in 1954. But Michael is correct about the tire size. I always thought the tire width was the tread width? or is it the wheel size? .........Heck I'm kinda confused now!
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Post by clm1545 on Nov 22, 2013 9:57:50 GMT -5
Calvin
The first number is the overall width of the tire, not the tread. You can have different tread widths on the same cross section widths. The second number is the wheel size. In pre metric days, the size was in inches. Before belted tires the cross section was round.
Take Care
Craig
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Post by indy on Nov 22, 2013 10:46:23 GMT -5
Nice to see some Vukovich builds. One of the best ever at the Brickyard, without a doubt. He certainly had a chance to write the rewrite record books long before anyone had ever heard of AJ.
Jordan
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Post by Calvin on Nov 22, 2013 14:21:55 GMT -5
Craig, thanks for the info....I really didn't know for sure how they measured the tires.
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Post by ttocs78z28 on Nov 23, 2013 9:46:56 GMT -5
Look closely at this image for tire tread detail from that era. The tires, look at the tires...........  |
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rick
Hot Shoe
Posts: 142
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Post by rick on Nov 25, 2013 14:04:38 GMT -5
One could make a strong case that this is the most famous/dominant ever Indy 500 entrant. This car 'led' 435 laps over the course of three races for a total 1,087.5 miles.
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Post by 2lapsdown on Nov 25, 2013 15:51:29 GMT -5
It would be hard to argue that point Rick
John
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Post by jamesharvey on Nov 27, 2013 11:16:04 GMT -5
Intriguing question. We might want to consider the Mike Boyle Maserati driven by Wilbur Shaw in 1939, 1940, and 1941. This is a three year sequence very similar to Vukovich's 1952, 1953, and 1954. Shaw led 304 laps for these three years and crashed on lap 152 while leading the 1941 race. Ted Horn drove the Boyle car after WWII finishing third in both 1946 and 1947 and fourth in 1948. Vukovich will always be one of my favorites since my first Indy was 1953.
Jim
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Post by Calvin on Aug 25, 2014 11:27:42 GMT -5
Primer!  |
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Post by indy on Aug 25, 2014 12:38:55 GMT -5
Interesting mod between the years.
Jordan
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Post by indycals on Aug 25, 2014 15:25:33 GMT -5
Interesting mod between the years. Jordan The car in the museum has the 1954 bodywork with the 1953 paint job. |
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Post by Calvin on Aug 26, 2014 22:50:09 GMT -5
Tamiya AS-4 Grey Violet  |
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Post by Calvin on Aug 28, 2014 12:31:32 GMT -5
I used Tamiya AS-20 Insignia White as I thought it was the best for the 1954 Winner.....which is an off white - pretty hard to figure out for sure but I'm happy with this choice.   |
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Post by IndyCarModels on Aug 28, 2014 15:05:31 GMT -5
Very Nice!!!!
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Post by indy on Aug 28, 2014 15:08:37 GMT -5
Ahhh, this is the NASCAR chassis grey color guys recommend. What other color choices did you consider? Racing White? Others?
Nice to see the '54 Vuky build coming along.
Jordan
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Post by Calvin on Aug 28, 2014 18:09:44 GMT -5
Ahhh, this is the NASCAR chassis grey color guys recommend. What other color choices did you consider? Racing White? Others? I thought about Racing white, Pure White over light grey primer, and I noticed this AS-22 which IMO turned out to be the right choice! Its funny you said Nascar chassis because I was thinking the same thing how it looks just right for that as well! |
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Post by harveythedog2 on Aug 29, 2014 12:17:18 GMT -5
I think the 54 color looks great Calvin. When I did mine in 1/18th I choose a color called "Stone White" from an automotive paint store and looks like a perfect match to yours.
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Post by 2lapsdown on Feb 3, 2015 13:33:26 GMT -5
I dug out my kit of this car today and while looking for other builds of it I came across this post. What ever happened to these projects?
John
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Post by Calvin on Feb 3, 2015 16:43:15 GMT -5
I plan on redoing the grills on them with Paper clips......so I most likely will have to saw off the noses in order to insert the grill from the inside.....we will see how it goes - should be interesting!
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Post by 2lapsdown on Feb 3, 2015 17:08:02 GMT -5
Yikes!
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Post by jeffaary on Jun 18, 2022 23:04:33 GMT -5
Late to the party, but I'm currently building the 1953 & 1954 Indy winners. In trying to determine the actual color of the 1954 car, I came across Ray Brock's book Against Death And Time. According to him the car was a pale yellow. Vukovich was awarded the 1953 pace car, which was painted Ford Sungate Ivory. I suspect Vukovich painted the race car to match his pace car.
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Post by jamesharvey on Jun 19, 2022 9:04:21 GMT -5
The 1953 car was the same color as it was in 1952 - a dark gray. The car was repainted for 1954 and it was a light gray. There have been color arguments about this for years. To my eye, it is a light gray not shaded toward blue. I saw my first 500 in 1953 and was there in 1954 as well. In the end, we paint or detail what feels right. Good luck.
Jim
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Its kinda funny modeling a car that won both years, but I'm building two of the same car.... 
(do you get what I'm saying?)
