Don Garlitts Wynns Jammer, AMT, 1/25

[PaulTRose]

a little explanation

ive been struggling with building recently......lots of reasons.......its not a mojo loss cos im desperate to build cos its always been my 'distraction' from the real world and all its crap...................more a case of the last few builds not going to plan and whats in the stash not really appealing to me....i look and nothing stands out as 'im interesting! build me!'

so i need something fairly simple yet will look nice when done......i think i need a sense of 'achievement' when its done to boost confidence

this seems a good one since theres not a lot in the box and not a lot of painting to do



for those that dont know Don Garlitts was/is a leading light in American drag racing,,,,,,,leader in safety in the sport......the car after this one was the reason he designed one of the first rear engined dragsters in the late 60s (the gearbox blew up, cutting the car in half and removing half his foot!...theres a very dramatic picture out there of the car in mid seperation!)



i like dragster kits..........rails, gassers, funny cars.......this will be the fifth or sixth ive done over the years...............i dont like drag racing cos that seems very boring but i do like the engineering involved



kit is pretty old...new tool back in 1965 but its still pretty crisp with no flash........it comes with a clear body so in theory you can see all the interior gubbins but i shall not be doing it that way

[scottie3158]

I will follow along.

[Mark1]

Good luck with the build ill be watching this progress also.

[Jim R]

An unusual build Paul. I reckon the huge engine will be an important part to get right.

[Lee Drennen]

Good luck with that kit. I see it’s molded in Gray that’s the years these mold’s were molded in the plastic that was very soft and was getting very wore out and Ertl didn’t care. The Chrome had a yellow tint also and was very poor. Lots of fit issues with this kit and the decals had a thick white film around them when you soaked them. I always stayed away from these years AMT/ERTL put kits out. For a mojo builder I would have chosen a different kit but good luck.

[PaulTRose]

the chrome is actually pretty good, nice and shiney but its all coming off any way cos most of the parts dont need to be chromeive never had any problems with AMT/Ertl kits........and when you are on the UK and want American car subjects you cant be choosey lol...have to take what comes a long

[Allen Dewire]

Wow Paul, what a flashback to the good old days!!! Then came rear engine dragsters and funny cars...Went to drags once a long time ago in Englishtown, New Jersey and when "Jungle Jim" Liberman did a burnout in his Chevy Nova funny car, I thought my heart was going to pop out of my chest from the roar of his engine...
I'll definitely be watching your build and sorry for going off track there....

Prost
Allen

[Lee Drennen]

the chrome is actually pretty good, nice and shiney but its all coming off any way cos most of the parts dont need to be chromeive never had any problems with AMT/Ertl kits........and when you are on the UK and want American car subjects you cant be choosey lol...have to take what comes a long

I figured you was going to take off the chrome. I understand on getting model’s across the pond especially these days. If the decals give you a fit they make aftermarket ones. Hope you have no issues.

[PaulinKendal]

This is fantastic! I'm watching.

[PaulTRose]

finally made some progress........been one of doing bits then it will all come together

engine done.......scratched a dizzy so i could wire it up

chassis is a bit warped but it will all straighten out when it goes into the body

made a booboo with the body shell..........it comes as a clear moulding and i just primed it ready for it to go black....no where on the instructions does it show or say you need to mask a bit for the windscreen......tried giving it a dip in the brake fluid but its not coming off.......so sod it, its all going black

[Valeron]

Looks an interesting build and I'll be following.

That engine does looks very good.

[scottie3158]

looking very good.

[Mark1]

Nice.

[Mini Me]

Bit 'O history if I may, Got to meet the "Big Daddy" up close and in person at the 1970 Gatornationals in Gainesville Florida. Three of my shipmates and myself had pit passes on Qualifications day and met up with the likes of Ronnie Sox and Buddy Martin, Ohio George, Dandy Dick Landy, Grumpy Bill Jenkins and a host of other truly Big names in racing. Even Miss Hurst; Linda Vaughn was there sporting the "Girls" around. We being cheapskates spent both nights in my buddy Don's 1969 Mach one Mustang.......the things we do when we're young.....

I'll be watching this build closely as I had a huge interest in Drag Racing back in the day. Lovely work on the power plant looking forward to more on this Paul. :thumb2:

[Tim Marlow]

Very nice. Not a common subject so good to see one on the go.