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I am channeling Lee Willis here.  Like a lot of us on this forum, I am also a car nut. In particular I am fond of the Prototype/Sports cars of the late fifties/early sixties. So I decided the city on my layout, named New Lyon (after Sir William Lyons, who founded Jaguar) should have its own Grand Prix.  Since my layout is set in 1956, I have now generated a plausible excuse to collect and display models of all those cars I lusted after when I was a kid.

 

I don't have enough room for the race or pits, but I do have room for an area in which the cars are unloaded.  This is where they are touched up by the mechanics before they are taken to the paddock for a full race preparation.

 

The welcome sign is a variation on the one the Pennsy displayed where they stopped the GG1-powered Army Navy Football Day Specials at the Greenwich Yards:

 

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The sign is made on my computer using Microsoft Power Point.  The race cars were brought in a Sunset "Vanderbilt Stable" Horse Car.   I trust the car was cleaned up before loading.  Here a 1956 Ferrari 625 is being carefully brought down the ramp by a team of Ferrari Mechanics:

 

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The ramp is made from Gatorboard covered with Lightweight Spackling compound.  Another Ferrari, this one a 1959 Testa Rossa, is being prepared for unloading:

 

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That's a race official checking the car. He started off as a 1/43 scale pit crew member, who would have been 7  1/2 feet tall in O Scale. So I cut a section out of his shins.  He has not complained yet.  The Horse car comes with closed doors.  So I had to cut out a door and fabricate a new one in the open position.  The stand is made from strip wood, bits from a Tichy Fire Escape, and some Phosphor Bronze wire.

  

In the next photo, some more members of the Ferrari crew look over a 1957 Testa Rossa (with the famous "Pontoon Fenders") to make sure it weathered the trip well:

 

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It came out fine, but this Porsche 904 was not so lucky. A rag tag team of mechanics is frantically trying to figure out how the right rear wishbone came undone during the ride.  While the mechanics are mired in their state of panic and perplexity, Race Car Babe sits on a tire doing what she does best:

 

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Yes I know the 904 is a bit of an anachronism, but its one of my favorite cars, and it's my layout.

 

At any rate, the 904 mechanics suspect the culprit in "The Case of The Wandering Wishbone" is that gentlemen casually relaxing in his 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR:

 

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From the Argentinian Flag, could that be J. M. Fangio himself?  Actually it’s a severely dismembered Artista figure.

 

The Brits are out in force as well, including the Aston Martin DBR1-300 that won LeMans in 1959:

 

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I hope to find an Artista figure in bib overalls at York, so I can have a stand-in for Carroll Shelby

 

Here is the Jaguar D Type that won LeMans in 1957, and the Jaguar C Type that won in 1953.  The mechanics are decked out in their period-correct light tan colored jump suits (actually Aged Concrete-colored jump suits). They are debating whether to replace the right rear tyre now, or limp the car to the paddock. At least at the paddock they won't have to worry about trucks screaming down the hill right behind them:

 

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The standing mechanic also got height reduction surgery.  

 

One of my favorite all time race cars is the 1957 Reventlow Scarab.  They only made three of them (one was made for the street).  They were extremely successful, and generally won every US event they were in from 1957 to 1959.  The body was designed by a 19 year old art student, and most of the principal mechanical designers and builders went on to make the Shelby Cobra:

 

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Here is an overall view of the unloading area. 

 

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In addition to a new side door on the Horse Car, I also had to modify the rear doors so they would open completely.  By the way, I lowered that car and added beams under the trucks to eliminate all semblance of a gap between car body and trucks.  It's much more realistic, but I think the minimum curve on this car is now about 750 inches, or O-1500.

 

And here is the view from another angle:

 

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 Cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Last edited by John Sethian
Original Post

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John, Very nicely done.  I love a setting that makes sense and has a reason for existing.  I am not a big car buff but, it appears to me like you have some genuinely awesome vehicles

I am also taken by your excellent detailing of the rock hillside, loading ramp, roads, vegetation and that awesome road barrier/fence on the sides of the roads.  Very nicely done.

Thanks for sharing.

I really really loved your shots. I raced corvettes with factory and dealership support in the 70s and the sport was a bit more relaxed, except for the race of course, back then.

Even as a successful racer it was very expensive and time consuming and required an extremely understanding wife.

 

good times, thanks for jogging the memories.

 

Ron 427 Z06

The Reventlow Scarab was made mostly by Troutman and Barnes, a couple of southern California street rod builders.  The cars went out the first couple of seasons and just ate up the competition.  Not bad for using mostly off-the-self parts.  The next season they went up against the new mid-engine cars and never got truly competitive again.

 

Not only genuinely fast and maneuverable, but also one of the most beautiful sports-racers ever.  It's been years since I heard, but Augie Pabst still had his as late as the early 90s.

Last edited by Forty Rod

Oh wow!  I love it.  It is a great idea and wonderful scene, particularly with all the details - the girl, the mechanics working on them, etc.  I particularly like the 904 with its rear body off.  I don't consider it an anachronism, by the way.  I always liked that car - it is among the few Porsches I really like - and wanted the street version, impractical as the half dozen or so made would have been and impossible to afford as all of them are (I've actually seen only two in my life, once at the Nurburgring in the '70s, and once last year at a Porsche exhbit here in NC).  I agree the Scarab was a great car.  I always loved it, too.

 

I've posted pictures of some of my sports car vignettes before, but I will provide this update.  I put my new MG-A coupe on my layout last night.  I always liked the car, particularly the twin-cam coupe (that term just sort of rolls off the tongue, too) even though, yeah, I know it was a rolling disaster.

 

 

  

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Thanks everyone for the comments, and your additions/recollections to the history of these cars.  Combining my two passions in one place was a lot of fun.

 

Lee:  

a) Is that an Arnolt-MG between the Healey and the Black MGA Coupe?  Where did you find THAT?  

 

b) More importantly, who makes the Twin-cam Coupe in full race setup?  I could use one of those to represent the "slow lane" at the New Lyon GP.

 

I like YOUR scene, by the way. Glad to see the 140 is parked inside the showroom. You should loose those whitewalls, though. 

Last edited by John Sethian

The twin cam, convertible or coupe, was indeed fast - very fast for its day, which made it all the more exotic.  

 

John - that is indeed an MG-Arnold coupe.  I could not resist it.  It is a NEO model and I got in through Amazon, from ModelCarsUSA - its a monster outfit in Germany that ships through a distribution center in Florida - the cars often come in a box marked "American Excellence" although it has nothing to do with the diecast maker of the same name.  

 

They have this is several colors, including mine: 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Arnolt-C...ywords=1%3A43+NEO+MG

 

I search Amazon, diecastdirect, MintModels, etc, every thursday morning for anything new.  ModelCarsUSA has a particularly high turnover and I have learned that when they have something different, don't hesitate. 

 

Another, similarly very cool rare English coupe I got in those searches is an AC Greyhound.  Its not on the layout now, but I'll rotate into the car dealer's inventory soon.  

Originally Posted by John Sethian:

I am channeling Lee Willis here.  Like a lot of us on this forum, I am also a car nut. In particular I am fond of the Prototype/Sports cars of the late fifties/early sixties. So I decided the city on my layout, named New Lyon (after Sir William Lyons, who founded Jaguar) should have its own Grand Prix.  Since my layout is set in 1956, I have now generated a plausible excuse to collect and display models of all those cars I lusted after when I was a kid.

 

"It came out fine, but this Porsche 904 was not so lucky. A rag tag team of mechanics is frantically trying to figure out how the right rear wishbone came undone during the ride.  While the mechanics are mired in their state of panic and perplexity, Race Car Babe sits on a tire doing what she does best:

 

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Yes I know the 904 is a bit of an anachronism, but its one of my favorite cars, and it's my layout."

 

Nice work John, love the "Mistress" too!

Last edited by Lima

Another beautiful job well done by John.

 

Never being one hesitant to "step in it", back in the 60's our shop busied our selves installing small block Chevys into Austin Healeys. 

 

Almost a half of a ton lighter than a Corvette with the same engine, sort of a coffin on wheels.  Horrible in the turns but rather quick over 1320 feet.

Last edited by Tom Tee
Originally Posted by Tom Tee:

Another beautiful job well done by John.

 

Never being one hesitant to "step in it", back in the 60's our shop busied our selves installing small block Chevys into Austin Healeys. 

 

Almost a half of a ton lighter than a Corvette with the same engine, sort of a coffin on wheels.  Horrible in the turns but rather quick over 1320 feet.

It was one of the better conversions though.  The problem I had with V8 Healeys is that, coming out of corners or at the strip, the V8's torque would sheer the spines off the wire wheels on the rear axle.  Not good.  The best conversion I ever saw was a 4bbl 225 slant six & 4-speed but in a '65 Healey.  It was not mine, but I drove it once and worked on it, and it was a splendid car. The conversion took a lot of work although I don't remember the details beyond needed a custom built oil pan.  It was balanced, sounded like it should (straight six), and not really that over powered, just with about 30% more power than stock. 

In the early  70s a few v8 Healys would run with the big bore sports racers, McLarens, Genies, etc, but were not competitive .Really mean looking though. Most ran with halibrand mags and bicycle rear flairs like the corvette grandsport.

 

They were so twitchy under power off the corners that our A and B production corvettes would pull away, but on a mile straight they would almost catch back up.

 

I never raced a V8 Healy, but on track with them they appeared to be a handful at any speed.

Back in the old days, all the big bore drivers, we would get together for dinner the night before the race, drink and get s---t faced, stay up till 1 or 2 am, get up at 6 am eat brkfst and then race to the track for first practice and qualifying.

 

Thankfully my carburetor guy was older and did not participate. His magic with jetting was so critical.

 

When one is young and dumb, as we all were, one can do those sort of things. The trip back home was the most dangerous as we were all so **** tired. 

Never ran wires on the rear.  Narrowed rear, tubs with real wheels.  All street racing.

 

Delaware blessed us with a new highway (Del Rt 7) through Hockessin in the 60's which no one used back then.   Perfect drag strip. Or so we thought!

 

Had some serious conversations with Delaware State licensing dept concerning certain privileges so I went boat racing.

 

 

Little Biezer

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Wow!

I just got an alert (Thanks Mr. Marmel!) that this thread from 2014 got bumped up.  I have a few updates:

Juan Manuel Fangio got lifted from the 300 SLR so he can drive a Mercedes Silver Arrow (yes, I know its a GP car, but its so cool looking:

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That left room in the SLR for Moss and Jenkinson  (i really need to work on Jenks beard)

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And Carroll Shelby (in bib overalls and hat) finally showed up to drive his Aston Martin DBR1-300

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Last edited by John Sethian

John and Lee, love the scenes you created and the autos.  Until I saw this post, I thought I was one of the few sports/foreign auto enthusiasts that was also an  O gauge train guy.

Here’s a scene from my layout.  The local sports car club has met at the Cafe for lunch, after a spirited drive through a mountain pass.  A toast with a couple of “cold ones” is definitely in order!

John

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John,

Very impressive collection indeed! Use to view races at Riverside race track in my youth. What really impressed me the most was the Scarab car driven by Lance Reventlow (friend of James Dean). Road and Track said it was the most potent race car of its time - simply beautiful!

Speaking of Lance, simply amazing how many people who come from or have made  great wealth are deprived of living long lives due to accidents.

Last edited by BobbyD

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