Earlier this week, I received a HWEP package courtesy of Vdubyajohn with a trio of GT40s. The main star, the Gulf livery GT40 by AW will get a detailed review soon. The question remains on what to do with the other two that came along for the trip, one by HW and this one shown here by an unknown brand.
I examine the unbranded GT40 first, wondered what can be done to it. Until, an idea that presented itself. The A pillar on the right side of the car broke off, at first I assumed it was a crack in the paint and as I tilt the area towards the light, that chunk of metal fell off.
Since it now looks weird with the roof on with one pillar missing. I contemplated on the idea of removing the roof. I vaguely remember the existence of an open top Ford GT40, a quick 2 minute search and found this:
The Ford X-1, a Ford GT40 speedster prototype developed by McLaren with a mission to shave off 1000 lbs of weight and to pursue further development of the 427 cu in. engine.
Satisfied with my research, I set out to experiment on transforming this car as close to the X-1 as I can. The roof removal begins.
I’ve given this GT40 a nickname, “Potato Chip” the reason for this name? It’s about as brittle as one. With no saw on hand I started removing the roof from where the A pillar broke, my best bet was to gently pry the roof up and back towards the back where it’ll cleanly snap at the rear hood line. What I got was metal shattering and flew at my face. With half of the roof gone, and the body of the car cracked in several places. I grabbed a pair of safety glasses and finished removing the remaining roof.
It ain’t pretty, but it’s a start. A lot still needs to be done if the project continues like fixing the cracked areas of the body, fabricating a dashboard and sourcing an engine. I’m not sure if I’ll go to the trouble of filing down the nose to get Roy Lunn’s original flat nose design judging by the quality of the metal.
To me this is the enjoyment of having an unbranded, Made In China diecast. They may not be that detailed or well made as a HW or MBX. But they’re great guinea pigs for rookie customizers like me and I don’t have to worry about messing up. They’re dime a dozen at thrift stores and flea markets and it can double as target practice when I’m tired of them.
That’s all for this post, we’ll see if there will be a part 2. Cheers