I've mentioned a few times on here that I had a 1/24 Gunze Sangyo Daytona Cobra kit, but I've not done anything about building it, which is a shame as it was a b'day pressie from the late Mrs_PR19, and it's one of my absolutely fave cars ever!

As a break away from doing three aircraft models at the same time I thought it was about time I got going on the Daytona, and it's going to be an RW model as I want it to look like the one that won the GT category at Le Mans in 1964 and was FOURTH in the overall positions too! It was driven by Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant on that occasion, and REALLY pissed off Ferrari who thought they had the GT classes sewn up with their GTO. The following year the Daytonas won the whole GT Championship too! 

The kit is astonishing, the box being packed totally full of stuff, styrene, etched stainless steel, LOADS of white metal and even a couple of brass pressings, not to mention 8-10 household pins. I have NO idea what they're for yet...

Here's the very classy box.



The interior of the box is just as impressive, and I've taken the massive 16 page instruction sheet out already!



Even with all that stuff the kit doesn't include an engine, well, not a whole one anyway. They do supply a white metal sump and the bottom half of the gearbox, but that's it, so I've purloined a Ford 289 from a Mustang kit and I'll meld the bits together to make a whole engine. There's almost no detail in the engine compartment as the kit's not designed to have an opening bonnet (hood....), which is daft as they supply all the front suspension and radiator detail etc. Neither is there a firewall of any description so I'll carve one out of styrene as well as I can, as I want the bonnet to open.

So far I've glued most of the chassis parts together, and as it's ALL white metal or brass I had to superglue it, and my fingers too of course! All the bits fit wonderfully, after a little bending for some of them and it looks great so far.



This will be a long slow build as I'll be doing it when I don't have any GB stuff on my workbench, or in the gaps when I'm fed up with all that PSR.

I've also got a Heller Ferrari GTO and I might build that one as a competitor in the same race. 

Without a doubt my fav Cobra variant of all time Kit...that shape is just gorgeous 😍
I know what G/S kits are like having had a few of their military one many moons ago ..they are very special.
It's a shame about this not having an engine but with a model like this I'd have to go a little nuts to the point where I'd hunt down a heap of AM parts to build the engine correctly or hunt down a 427 for it and turn it into a real beast 😀

A 427 would fit OK, but it'd steer like a pig with all that weight forward I reckon.

But this one will be RW with as much engine room detail as I can find. I have a couple of open Cobras I can probably use as a basis.

Quote from: PR19_Kit on April 11, 2024, 11:44:02 AMA 427 would fit OK, but it'd steer like a pig with all that weight forward I reckon.

But this one will be RW with as much engine room detail as I can find. I have a couple of open Cobras I can probably use as a basis.

If 302 is where your going matey then 302 what it shall be but be warned..if you go net hunting for reference pics ..make sure you have a stiff drink at hand 😊
Those engine bays are very busy places but the end result is well worth the effort 👌

Quote from: Wardukw on April 11, 2024, 12:01:10 PMIf 302 is where your going matey then 302 what it shall be but be warned..if you go net hunting for reference pics ..make sure you have a stiff drink at hand 😊
Those engine bays are very busy places but the end result is well worth the effort 👌

At  the last count I had 61 pics of Daytonas, and about half of them were of the engine bay. 

The first Daytonas had 289s, pretty much stock Mustang lumps.

Quote from: PR19_Kit on April 11, 2024, 02:35:01 PM

Quote from: Wardukw on April 11, 2024, 12:01:10 PMIf 302 is where your going matey then 302 what it shall be but be warned..if you go net hunting for reference pics ..make sure you have a stiff drink at hand 😊
Those engine bays are very busy places but the end result is well worth the effort 👌

At  the last count I had 61 pics of Daytonas, and about half of them were of the engine bay. 

The first Daytonas had 289s, pretty much stock Mustang lumps.

Oh so many stiff drinks then 😆
Glad your going with the Mustang engine and not a 289 ..least it's a 302 ..but ya know me   
If say Monogram or Revell made a Daytona coupe I'd gave to turn it into a modern version...which ya actually can buy if ya got a huge amount of coins necessary 

Quote from: Wardukw on April 11, 2024, 08:47:25 PMIf say Monogram or Revell made a Daytona coupe I'd gave to turn it into a modern version...which ya actually can buy if ya got a huge amount of coins necessary 

This is going to sound like a HUGE trumpet blowing on my part, but at one time, just after I retired in 2008, I did consider buying one of those modern version Daytonas, the ones built in South Africa, as an investment, using my pension fund to pay for it. Then keep it 4-5 yrs and only drive it very little and sell it again when the auction prices had gone up some.

Back then I could have got one for around £180000, and I had that much in my fund. Now I wish I'd done EXACTLY that as after I retired we had the Big Crash of 2008 and a lot of my fund 'vanished'. Yeah, right. The Daytona would still have existed though.   

Quote from: PR19_Kit on April 12, 2024, 02:12:10 AM

Quote from: Wardukw on April 11, 2024, 08:47:25 PMIf say Monogram or Revell made a Daytona coupe I'd gave to turn it into a modern version...which ya actually can buy if ya got a huge amount of coins necessary 

This is going to sound like a HUGE trumpet blowing on my part, but at one time, just after I retired in 2008, I did consider buying one of those modern version Daytonas, the ones built in South Africa, as an investment, using my pension fund to pay for it. Then keep it 4-5 yrs and only drive it very little and sell it again when the auction prices had gone up some.

Back then I could have got one for around £180000, and I had that much in my fund. Now I wish I'd done EXACTLY that as after I retired we had the Big Crash of 2008 and a lot of my fund 'vanished'. Yeah, right. The Daytona would still have existed though.   

Yep an excellent idea Kit but I'm afraid that you suffer from a problem that I would say 99.5% if the rest of the world has ..the inability to foresee the future and that my friend is a massive annoyance that we can't do anything about.
It's sucks on a massive scale mate as those cars are worth a fortune now ..ive seen em for over half a mill .
Hell it's like some of the cars I've had ..noo none are worth a fortune but a couple of the Capris I had are worth quite alot these days ..but there's that seeing the future problem again 🙄

Would you have room for a Cammer?
 

ISTR the AMT 289 Cobra coming with a fastback hardtop. 

Quote from: zenrat on April 12, 2024, 04:19:28 AMWould you have room for a Cammer?
 

ISTR the AMT 289 Cobra coming with a fastback hardtop. 

Yeah, there's plenty of room for a cammer, the bonnet and front wings hinge fully open from the front, but this will be an RW build.

I've got that AMT 298 Cobra kit, and it does come with that hardtop, but it doesn't have a firewall! Ridiculous.

I've figured out how to make one though, much styrene carving being involved.

I'm just astonished that someone like AMT could produce a kit with an opening bonnet and an engine and NOT include the firewall!  There's a socking great hole that goes right back to the cockpit in all the versions of the Cobra 289 kits.

Somewhere I have a Heller 67 Mustang fastback that had a MAJOR paint failure that could be re-purposed, and a much more modern Revell Mustang that sacrificed some parts for my son-in-law's RW  model that may do as well.

I see lots of time in The Loft in my future trying to find them!

Quote from: PR19_Kit on April 15, 2024, 12:36:13 AMI'm just astonished that someone like AMT could produce a kit with an opening bonnet and an engine and NOT include the firewall!  There's a socking great hole that goes right back to the cockpit in all the versions of the Cobra 289 kits.

Somewhere I have a Heller 67 Mustang fastback that had a MAJOR paint failure that could be re-purposed, and a much more modern Revell Mustang that sacrificed some parts for my son-in-law's RW  model that may do as well.

I see lots of time in The Loft in my future trying to find them!

As long as you stay in the loft and not end up in the bathroom 

Gondor

Made some serious progress on the Daytona today. Using the bonnet (hood....) as a template I carved out the start of a firewall and trimmed it to shape. It fits in place on the main body shell quite nicely, but I'll have to cut out a gearbox tunnel hole and add the side sponsons later on once I've test fitted the chassis.

I've added some more of the white metal detail on the chassis, the rear dampers, the final drive and the body support outrigger are now in place and I've primed the whole rear half. 

I would have done the same at the front end, but I can't get my head round the front body outrigger yet, and I'm searching for pics of the RW car in that area.

Yeah, I know it didn't happen until there are pics, but my camera's not talking to the laptop at the mo, maybe tomorrow.

Quote from: PR19_Kit on April 21, 2024, 10:51:25 AMMade some serious progress on the Daytona today. Using the bonnet (hood....) as a template I carved out the start of a firewall and trimmed it to shape. It fits in place on the main body shell quite nicely, but I'll have to cut out a gearbox tunnel hole and add the side sponsons later on once I've test fitted the chassis.

I've added some more of the white metal detail on the chassis, the rear dampers, the final drive and the body support outrigger are now in place and I've primed the whole rear half. 

I would have done the same at the front end, but I can't get my head round the front body outrigger yet, and I'm searching for pics of the RW car in that area.

Yeah, I know it didn't happen until there are pics, but my camera's not talking to the laptop at the mo, maybe tomorrow.

Kit I'm sure that there will be pics of the kit car version out there..the chassis is always a selling point of any kit car folks sell ...that might be a help.
 
I just did a quick hunt mate ...the Factory Five Daytona coupe Type 65 has some fantastic pics of their chassis..complete and naked ..their car is considered one of the best replicas you can get .
I searched this .... Shelby Daytona kit car chassis.
Hopefully this gets what ya need 

I've got 60+ pics of Daytonas on file so far, but many of the kit versions have different chassis designs to the original six cars. Most of them use coil springs rather than the transverse leaf springs of the original Cobra design, and many have updated other parts as well.

I looked through ZILLIONS of pics of the '64 and '65 Le Mans 24 Hr races hoping to see some pics with the bonnet right off, but no joy so far.

I'm not in a hurry to build this, I just want it to be right.