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Post by 1961redlegs on Jul 24, 2015 19:08:27 GMT -5
Just finished last night, Bob Sweikert's Kuzma. He finished sixth in the real car in the 1956 Indianapolis 500 one year removed from his 1955 win. The tragic death of Bill Vukovich overshadowed Sweikert's 1955 triumph. As such I don't think he fully gets his due as a driver. His win in the 500 was just one jewel in his "Triple Crown" season. He also won the National Championship and Midwest Sprint Car Championship, becoming the only driver to pull off that trifecta. One month after driving this car in the 1956 "500" Sweikert himself died after crashing a sprint car at Salem Speedway. This is from Gary Doucette's Sweikert Kuzma kit. It is box stock with the exception of the wheels and tires of which I used replacement speedway Haldibrands from ARM. The car is painted Tamiya yellow. This is a great kit and was a lot of fun to build. I hope you like it!      |
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Post by IndyCarModels on Jul 24, 2015 20:40:56 GMT -5
Very Nice!
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Post by billj on Jul 24, 2015 21:53:29 GMT -5
Super nice model! You did a great job  |
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Post by indy on Jul 24, 2015 22:04:11 GMT -5
This is very nice. My memory gets fuzzy when I try to recall winners before 1960 and I have to admit that I never remember Bob Sweikert. Nice history lesson, he certainly showed a ton of talent in 1955. Nice tribute to his last ride at the Brickyard. Cool that DA has come back as a sponsor at Indy after a 50 year absence.
Jordan
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Post by clm1545 on Jul 24, 2015 23:25:31 GMT -5
Nice work, Jerry. It looks super.
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Post by racerbrown on Jul 25, 2015 7:25:25 GMT -5
well done jerry!
you must make gary awfully proud to have his kits looking so good.
thanks for sharing.
duane
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Post by kip on Jul 25, 2015 7:35:50 GMT -5
Very, very nice work. I like the low angle photos.
kip
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Post by sandysixtysfan on Jul 25, 2015 8:31:52 GMT -5
A great looking model. Well Done!
Sandy
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Post by 1961redlegs on Jul 25, 2015 14:32:20 GMT -5
Thank you everyone for the kind words, I have nothing but good to say about Gary's kits as he really has put a lot of effort into his offerings. I hope this encourages more people to buy and build resin kits. We have a lot of great resin builders.
I was going to do a WIP but Raceparke's Bryant Kuzma build was so good I couldn't top it! I used a lot of what he did with his in the building of mine.
Sweikert was a force of that era and I hope this build allows us to remember him more.
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Post by Calvin on Jul 25, 2015 17:10:54 GMT -5
It looks wonderful!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2015 0:45:18 GMT -5
I agree, this is a nice looking car and would make a great addition to any collection. Sweikert's career was very brief. His race shop was in my old neighborhood and housed a bunch of cars over the years. This house is across from Mike's Tavern on 16th street (North) Luett Ave. www.google.com/maps/place/N+Luett+Ave,+Indianapolis,+IN+46222/@39.7887436,-86.2225945,19z/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x886b57a51a2aa565:0x9739a2074938f060 It is the building which is now Apparel By Design and More. You have to take Livingston and then the first left. Bob's original house and shop was located there on the cornet. When I was a kid Don Brown worked out of this shop, and then Bill Puterbaugh lived and maintained his race cars out of this huge garage. When Bob won the Indy 500 he used his winnings to build this home, The fourth house going south from Lafayette. A childhood friend, last name of Crouch, his parents bought the house in the early 70's. When they bought it it still had a very fance scroll type "S" in wrought iron on the chimney. The house used to have an in ground pool in the back yard but a kid drowned in it and Sweikert had it filled in. The house was super delux as it had when they called a "carriage house" out back as well. I guess now they would call it a "mother in laws quarters." here is a map (maybe) www.google.com/maps/place/Marble%27s+Southern+Cookery,+2310+Lafayette+Rd,+Indianapolis,+IN+46222/@39.7989149,-86.2116369,19z/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!1m3!3m2!1s0x886b5439c3259e67:0x7bb60aec3f599fd9!2sKessler+Blvd,+Indianapolis,+IN+46228!3m1!1s0x886b56fdcbae7e29:0x45ee6805c8c0b52a Like it's the home just south of Marvels Southern Crockery, and a vacant lot backs up the Sweikert home. Back in the day that vacant lot was a Dog and Suds root beer stand. I know where a lot of drivers used to live. Tony Bettenhausen Sr's home was just down the street from my old home on McCray. Jimmy Reece lived right across from Speedway H.S. Rodger Ward lived in the area that is now 21st and Cunningham. Bobby Grim's daughter used to baby sit me! (and she is a really good looking woman for her age today, around 65 or so) The Parson's, The Carters, etc. |
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Post by lance on Aug 1, 2015 23:23:24 GMT -5
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Post by gwstexas on Aug 2, 2015 9:41:02 GMT -5
Love those roadsters! This a great build!
Gary
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