David Thibodeau Posted May 17, 2012 Posted May 17, 2012 The late 90's was my fav era of Cup racing.... and I was a huge fan of the final draft T-bird before they went to the guppy taurus..... One of my favorite schemes and driver was good old Mark Martin. How can you not like a consistent, clean driver like Mark? Let alone that awesome valvoline bird... SO.................. I decided to start another extremer of his car.... you just cant have one, or two of these started!! Here is body pics! I slabbed the sides, cut the front grills, and opened the trunk and flaps. I also hinged it, and added under trunk and hood detail.... you know the usual stuff... It still needs some fine sanding and such. Dont worry about the side grills. I will tape them up!
David Thibodeau Posted May 17, 2012 Author Posted May 17, 2012 Next up was a fully detailed Chassis.... This time I decided to use the kit greenhouse bars but scratched the firewall forward including the front nose bars..... I added square brass tubing to represent the hollow frame rails on the real cars... Another cool piece of advice from Clay....
martinfan5 Posted May 17, 2012 Posted May 17, 2012 I have to agree , I really miss everything NASCAR from the 90's
David Thibodeau Posted May 17, 2012 Author Posted May 17, 2012 Complete and in paint!! And!!!!!!! Ta da!!!!!!! Body in paint and partial decals... Let me give you a little detail here... Body was based in white, masked off and Valvoline blue from the old uncle stash was used. Then the car was cleared, polished, and slixx decals applied so far!!! I am enjoying this one so far.... its not too old, not too new.... just right. Thats 3 6's on there!!
David Thibodeau Posted May 17, 2012 Author Posted May 17, 2012 I decided to get more done on this project and bring it back up. Its really cool doing a late 90's Cup Car and a Ford to boot. The engine is just about complete with the usual detail treatment. The pulleys were made on the lathe. Pro tech line and fittings along with DM fittngs were used. Test fit of the engine in the bay. More decals were applied to the body. I also made the roof flaps out of brass. Thanks!
bbowser Posted May 17, 2012 Posted May 17, 2012 Awesome build Dave. Great engine detailing, the pulleys really add pop! Mark has always been one of my favorite drivers, remember the Stroh's T-birds?
Kmidd65 Posted May 17, 2012 Posted May 17, 2012 Man, David! That is some superior craftsmanship so far! I always enjoy seeing your builds. I may need to slate the ACME NNL in the schedule again this year so I can get down there and see this one in person. I really appreciate you sharing with us!
JustBill Posted May 18, 2012 Posted May 18, 2012 Another fan of the nineties here brother! This is a great build subject. Mark is just a lovable racer I think. I've never heard a bad word about him. I also don't believe I've seen a Ford get this sort of treatment either. Great stuff! Keep us posted!!
AceofBass Posted May 18, 2012 Posted May 18, 2012 Amazing!! It looks like I could just dive into that blue paint!
GoatGuy Posted May 19, 2012 Posted May 19, 2012 Beautiful. I have two Birds in progress collecting dust and this will get me going again. Appreciate the inspiration.
ClayK Posted May 19, 2012 Posted May 19, 2012 Awesome work so far buddy. I know this is your favorite era, and it's showing in the work. That engine is fantastic! CK
hgbben Posted May 19, 2012 Posted May 19, 2012 Car looks fantastic. Another vote on one of my favorite drivers.
comp1839 Posted May 19, 2012 Posted May 19, 2012 the sweetness factor is exponential. engine detail is unreal.
Dave Van Posted May 19, 2012 Posted May 19, 2012 Well.....Dad was the Valvoline racing rep in So Cal for years......I like Thunderbirds and I like Mark....What's not to like!!!!! GREAT craftsmanship!
Badluck 13 Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 David,the chassis and engine just blow me away!!!!....detail after detail.............
David Thibodeau Posted May 22, 2012 Author Posted May 22, 2012 Thanks guys....More done!!! Dash and seat are done but need final detailing. The kit seat was modified and treated with embossing powder. The dash is the kit piece but the kit gauges were sanded down and decals applied with rings of metal tubing that were polished and parted off the lathe for eveness. With the body on. The gauges look cool peeking out of the window! More engine detailing also! Especially the oiling system and oil cooler. I have seen many cooler with mesh covering the cooler itself. I thought it would be cool to add that detail. Much more to do here!! And with the body added More real soon! DaveT
nascarfan Posted May 22, 2012 Posted May 22, 2012 Outstanding detail!!! I remember those years very well, Mark Martin used to dominate at Michigan speedway back then and I went to those races.
MarkJ Posted May 22, 2012 Posted May 22, 2012 Excellent as always. Glad to see you posting here again. Now if you could just get Clay to post here that would be awesome.
Johnny1973 Posted May 24, 2012 Posted May 24, 2012 Excellent job Dave.Your models always awesome when their at the NNL East.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now