1968 RKE/JRT SCCA Trans Am Javelin

[swede70]

Greetings,

This was some material cast to help facilitate repair work and especially delicate paint work across my Javelin Trans-Am projects.  In essence I could be called a masking coward given if I can break something up to do things mindlessly and cleanly - that's what I'll do!  

From top left, a '68-'69 standard shift boot (to be combined with the Hurst shift lever for RKE/JRT entries), plus a '70 Penske hand laid fiberglass fresh air/intake housing.  The second row depicts an AMC Model 20 rear end (just half given I have a small supply of third members shared with the Dana 60 SC/Rambler tool), a '70-'72 passenger's footwell sited battery box less mounting structure, and a reasonably clean transmission crossmember given these are often glue burned on rebuilders.  The bottom row is made up of a broken up standard ram air system intended to better facilitate paint work for having a separate base (two are seen upside down and scrubbed of the topside detail), plus a separate seal, air filter element and air filter lid (something that might be chromed).  Thanks...

Mike K./Swede70

Edited May 29, 2021 by swede70

[afx]

Nice looking parts Mike.

[oldscool]

I somehow missed this one until now. Excellent fabrication work.

[swede70]

Thanks again for the kind notice...

Not hugely exciting this, but seen is a scratch built shifter platform intended to be shared across Javelin projects mated to the irregular contours of the the Jo-Han Trans-Am Javelin floor.  It still needs a bit of help, although it's mostly there.  Also made out is one my resin battery boxes resting quietly in the passenger's side front footwell, although some further material will be added to it.

Of passing note, the interior is a very rough casting sold by a certain unsteady and less than reliable source on eBay.  One can make out evidence of core shift along the driver's side door trim top facing the camera, while even more flash was witnessed when this hulk was pulled out the box it came in.  No effort was made to integrate the locating tabs into the casting that otherwise cleanly site the part to structure provided by Jo-Han and hidden within the tail panel area (i.e. nothing hangs off the back of the rear parcel shelf as one would expect), while in this instance the eBay seller made a very crude effort of things consistent with roughly casting the locating tabs individually and just tossing them in the box.  In 1985 this would have been state of the art, whereas in 2021, it's substandard and not worth the money. Thanks...

Mike K./Swede70

Edited May 31, 2021 by swede70

[swede70]

...while this would some group shots of my later Trans-Am Javelins receiving roll cage work one at a time consistent with ensuring reasoned symmetry if nothing more.  It's a bit easier if similar work is undertaken across the three seen here lest I forget lessons learned for going back and attempting to generate like results on what often came out of the same shop in-period.  Some bars still need to be added, while each is a compromise given what Jo-Han afforded in terms of space within each interior.  Thanks.

Not a great angle, but at least efforts to ensure that the cages fill out the space afforded, that they rest tightly without strain and appear reasonably symmetrical can be appreciated at a glance.  

The wet sump oil pans are resin copies of the early issue part which included hardware along the mounting flange.  Given I'll need to create either Aviaid extended wet sumps or Weaver Bros. dry sump pans, it's nice to have an easily replicated starting point as it's certain I'll waste a few examples learning to do what I must.   

Mike K./Swede70

Edited June 1, 2021 by swede70

[swede70]

Greetings,

Long unenthralled with the inner fender/inner wing detail afforded by Jo-Han even within the space of their SC/Rambler tool (modified iterations included and seen further up this thread), hope exists to scratch build something that could be fit to my range of Javelin Trans-Am projects.  Differences rooted in the use of and for later abandonment of the trunnion front suspension design for ball joints would be factored in, as well as subtle alteration of dimensions and quirks characteristic of the Jo-Han '68-'70 chassis versus the '71 and later chassis.

Seen below is some very basic and preliminary work consistent with setting the stage, as well as a few reference images courtesy of the 1:1 restoration crowd (a '70 with the new ball joint front suspension turret design being featured here then):

 

Back to my little scale world, a dead '69 AMX body gave it's life to afford material from atop each fender as well as the cowl area to ensure whatever might be added below will mate seamlessly to the underside of any Jo-Han Javelin shell, while the next step would be to fabricate carefully shaped fill panels to flesh out the front subframe top surfaces situated further down.  

If all this comes off, then the rest might be sensitively fleshed out.  Early days then, and while the engineering hack is pretty ugly, at least the dimensions for such seem stable and true enough to allow for shameless experimentation.  Thanks..

Mike K./Swede70

Edited June 13, 2021 by swede70

[swede70]

...while this would be a pair of reference images for a '68-'69 trunnion front suspension with taller, solid suspension turrets, and further, with the fenders in place. Use of a a separate lip beneath a standard Jo-Han body shell wide enough to mount panels or panel work beneath solves the problem of creating an undercut profile (where dictated or required) that nevertheless fits tightly above along the whole length of whatever assembly is worked up.  Thanks...

Mike K./Swede70

Edited June 13, 2021 by swede70

[absmiami]

AMX body  …   Rest In Peace 

[swede70]

Greetings,

Having secured three auction items relating to period Jo-Han box art some time ago, I finally had the negatives scanned and one image printed in 12 x 18.  This would be the '72 Roy Woods Racing Trans-Am Javelin, sans box lettering as again it's just the artist's illustration.  

The end panel/box top art in question is shown here as kit GC-2700.  

I worried that the negatives might not be usable for any number of reasons and hesitated to do anything at all with them, hence pleased that a nice result was obtained. Distracted/invested in other scale projects at present, always SCCA Trans-Am themed (but of course). Thanks...

Mike K./Swede70

[swede70]

Greetings and a brief return to my otherwise neglected thread...

Having come up with a promo-issue Jo-Han 1969 Javelin SST shell molded in Frost White, the thought here was to refinish the forward and rear thirds of the same to suggest one of the rare tri-colored Trans-Am promo releases, these done in either red, white and blue or alternately blue, white and red from nose-to-tail.  I didn't have a stock interior or chassis plate molded in white to complete the appearance of things, hence remains of a Bittersweet (Orange) metallic same-year Javelin promo were refinished to suit.  

Seen above would be the promo shell stripped of the metallic blue it formerly sported, while discoloration is witnessed across the surface of the body that could only be cleared up for a prolonged dip/exposure to a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution with the body situated in a glass flower vase and set in sunlight consistent with allowing a certain process to work.  Also spied within the photo would be the essentially as-cast brown plastic chassis/plate, hence some imagination is required to forecast what will be the final result.  Rather depressing to ponder the appearance of such at this juncture...

Quite a difference then for the hydrogen peroxide dip combined with prolonged sunlight exposure.  Given the original Trans-Am promo relied on the Frost White shell to basically telegraph an otherwise wholly finished white center section, it was important that the center band suggested be clean.  Some putty work would be done to address other problems in terms of scratches and irregularities discovered across the stripped body shell, but all that was possible with the center band was to polish out what I could and essentially leave it be.

A spoon test of the blue and red aerosol paints I hoped to employ suggests things might work out.  Hoping too that the choices seen here will translate into success when the '68 and '69 RKE/JRT racers are painted in turn, whereas I believe the paints chosen look a touch better than what Jo-Han applied in the day to speak little of how company line workers faltered in relation to masking the necessary pattern.  Tamiya TS-23 Light Blue and TS-68 Pure Red are made out here.  

Seen above would be an actual R/W/B period release of the promo, accurately telegraphing how clumsy the masking was of the body while also relating how box wear bores through the finishes applied: i.e. witness the leading edge of the hood as well as the wheel arch lips which reveal a bit of the underlying white plastic. Often these models present poorly when they do surface on the market, belying the reality that they are among the most valuable Jo-Han American Motors Javelin promotional releases.

-

Although hardly perfect, a pretty good end result then even as my own masking won't make headlines.  I decided to paint the interior in the style of a '69 RKE/JRT Trans-Am racer without being too bold, whereas the chassis was finished in a semi-gloss white, again akin to the 1:1 period topic.  I didn't want to deflect criticism of producing a fake intended to deceive, hence the choice to come up with something obviously different in a key detail.

-

While lastly, here I've situated the replica finished in B/W/R with an original R/W/B variant to telegraph what was achieved.  The plastic glass was polished, metal promo chassis pins were set back into position for use of a soldering iron, while the wheels and tires are made up of Jo-Han '73 snap kit Javelin/AMX blackwalls combined with X-EL '69 AMX Magnum 500's and recycled period promo axles.  Thanks for your review of this post.

Mike K.

Edited August 16, 2023 by swede70

[swede70]

Greetings...

Seen would be the beginnings of a second attempt at a '69 Ronnie Kaplan Engineering/Javelin Racing Team flared SCCA Trans-Am shell, the difference being that I've opted to graft the rear clip of a period glue burned '69 Javelin SST annual kit to the front two-thirds of the (now usual) Jimmy Flintstone '70 Penske Javelin flared resin body.  For so-doing I can add bubble flares to stock-profile standard rear quarter panels, retain the crisp shape(s) of the annual tool where material was saved, and generally sidestep the odd tapered profile of the J.F. effort as things narrow towards the rear of their resin effort which causes fit issues when adding the tail light unit and bumper.  Very tedious to mount the effort thus far, although happily nothing has strictly shattered - yet.  

A fine study of the 1:1 topic at rest...

A new urethane mold offers up fuller front and rear trim caps/extensions.  I'm hoping to do further copies consistent with allowing for the possibility of blending the additions on the front, grinding off some material and working up thinner fender trim caps to better match the actual topic.  

Nothing permanently glued here given things are still in flux, but not horrible with regards to gaps and within the realm of being further refined.  The flush exterior door handles so difficult to paint/finish are witnessed half drilled out in anticipation of adding resin clones cut out from a dead Jo-Han Javelin/AMX shell and rendered separately.  At least I can try (and retry) finish options apart and away from the painted body (at some point then) without wild risk of either damaging the finish or being sharply underwhelmed by a compromise/rushed effort on the latches.   

The bubble flares stand to come, having been done once before for forming sheet plastic laminate pucks finally filed to shape and carefully fit.  Hoping to swap all the '69 RKE/JRT chassis and interior build over to this refined effort if all proceeds apace - ah, a touch of progress then!  Thanks for your review of this post.  

Mike K.

Edited October 29, 2023 by swede70

[Ace-Garageguy]

Fascinating build evolution. Much to learn from following this.  

Edited October 29, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[swede70]

Greetings...

This would be a brief run through of how one might implant Jo-Han (or Testor's) '69 S/C Rambler rear suspension and chassis shapes into an otherwise unassuming '70 Javelin chassis plate/casting.  Done twice before, although doubtlessly with greater finesse this time over.  The example seen is intended to be an early-season '70 Penske Racing SCCA Trans-Am Javelin and perhaps configured as a Peter Revson ride given one just doesn't see his Trans-Am mounts rendered all that often.  

If supplies exist consistent with allowing you to do such, the cast-in leaf spring detail on the promo-style Jo-Han AMC chassis (where applicable) can be filed down so that SC/Rambler leaf springs and associated hardware may be overlaid.  At worst you'll be afforded the chance to actually paint things up cleanly for applying yourself just so.  A good amount of material exists to file material away rather aggressively (albeit carefully as not to chip or damage every other surface in proximity to said area), while the results literally are plain...

To the left would be the remains of my long suffering SS/AMX release in the form of a scrap chassis, while situated to the right would be a two-piece SC/Rambler chassis having just arrived via helicopter from a donor...

At far left would be a stock SC/Rambler chassis again less trunk pan, middle would be the carefully trimmed part that includes an effort to preserve the driveshaft/driveline tunnel, while seen right would be my '70 Javelin race chassis (note no cast-in exhaust detail to say little of a fuel tank here) awaiting further work.  Some gaps around the rear subframe require plugging to clean matters up - although none of this is terribly hard in total. 

This is how close the subframes align; i.e. pretty close and definitely worth considering if one is contemplating a detailed AMC build utilizing leaf springs.  The SC/Rambler rear subframe was trimmed a bit at the back, with a new cross member added to tidy things up.  Plugs to close up the gaps atop the rear axle as well as the holes situated further forward inside the rear subframe relative to the floor were soon fabricated to result in what's made out below:

While this is what resulted.  Rushing ahead a bit, notice too the Model 20 AMC differential found in rather rare Jo-Han AMC funny car kits which is combined with abbreviated axle tubes and the usual SC/Rambler Dana 60 differential pig.  The staggered shocks are positioned opposite of what they ought to be given this is a temporary mock up and I simply didn't have the parts to orient things correctly, while with two SC/Rambler kits or resin clones of select items, this oversight can be addressed.  The fuel cell housing is scratch built, a 1:25th Revell '69 Camaro Z/28 driveshaft is employed, while a cast resin Jo-Han Javelin promotional model radiator support cross member was further added.  At some point I'd found an early-tool Jo-Han AMC oil pan with mounting hardware faintly rendered and cast-in, hence it was copied and shows up here floating in space with an enlarged early-season wet sump.  Modified Jo-Han '70 Rebel Machine upper control arms account for the odd shapes situated atop the axle locater perches seen forward.  I'm unsure at this point what a limited take of revising matters up front across the suspension might constitute.  

More SC/Rambler sacrifice on-view, with another set of inner fenders/wings slowly be grafted in even as the pair just rest atop things here.  Indeed - I'm wary of the extent of what I can achieve for revising the inner fender/wing detail, unwilling at this juncture to swap in Ford assemblies or contours if I might come up with something original.  Approaching the end of this post, here again another radiator support has lost it's cast-in radiator, the heater blower motor has vanished from the firewall, while the lone track bar/Panhard rod is a late AMT NASCAR item soon to be repurposed.  Thanks for your skim of this thread update.

Mike K./Swede70

Edited October 12, 2024 by swede70