Pascal Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 (edited) A couple of years ago (2008) I started this project, it's been on and off my workbench. The idea was / is to change a Pocher Ferrari F40 into the F40 Beurlys. The F40 Beurlys also known as the Barchetta Beurlys was build for belgian racing driver and Ferrari collector Jean Blaton : Before the roof was cut, the car received many modifications like a F1 style suspension : The complete history of this car is unknown. On various website you can find a kind of history, but some of it is false. Here are some facts : * The chassis is completely build from scratch. * Some of the work was done by the belgian Tony Gillet. * The gearbox is an Enforced Hewland (Crabots), 5 gears + 1 reverse. * Rims : BBS E-19 style 3-piece magnesium centerlock racing. I took me 2 years and hundreds of emails to find this unique car. When I finally found it in France, I took hundreds of pictures. Some of these will be shown during this WIP. Currently the car is in Holland where it got a complete overhaul : http://www.forzaservice.nl/werkplaats/werkplaats/f40-barchetta-beurlys/ During the work on this project (and because of the pictures that I've posted on various sites) I found more information on its history. I was also contacted by the designer and the current owner. The drawing made by the designer Vincent Barbereau : This body was used to make the Beurlys (were it came from is still unknown) : A WIP picture of the real car taken in the workshop of Tony Gillet : These clips show the car in all its glory after the overhaul : It's been a couple of years since I did any work on the 1/8 scale model. But if you guys are interested, I'll post all the updates of the work that I did. Sincerely Pascal Edited October 7, 2016 by Pascal 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Of course it would be interesting you post your work....I stay tuned on this topic ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu_davros Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 I would really like to see your progress on this unusual car. I can imagine the conversion involves changes to almost every part of the Pocher kit. I look forward to seeing some pictures. Cheers, Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 What a stunning machine! I'd like to see the work you've done on the model too! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celt Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Yes, please! Take us with you on your journey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 (edited) OK, here we go. When I started this project I had only a few photos of the real car, the goal then was to make a curbside model using a Pocher Ferrari F40. I didn't own a Dremel myself (borrowed one from a friend) and had never cut into a diecast model before. Got myself a Dremel a year later and since then I've been cutting up diecast models like crazy. So here are the first steps that I took : The Beurlys has a big hole in the front bonnet (like a Ferrari F40 LM), drilled some holes to make the first cut : These NACA intakes from the front bonnet will be used to make the intakes on the sides of the body (one of the features that's only on the Beurlys car) : This picture give you an idea how thick the Pocher metal is : The Beurlys car has no popup headlights, the holes will be filled with brass : This is the inside of the body, where the intakes from the front bonnet will be installed. To make room for the intakes the metal tube has to go : I made the cut for the intakes and fixed them in place with CA, then the gaps were filled with 2K putty (If I would do it today, I would use CA + flour as a filler because that is a lot stronger) : It took a lot of sanding, but I was very happy that I managed to put the intakes in exactly the right place : That were my first humble steps that I took in this project. The project got a lot more complicated in the following years. Please feel free to comment. Sincerely Pascal Edited October 11, 2016 by Pascal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Really neat work Pascal! I think if someone has never tried modifying a diecast, they won't realise just how hard a material it is to work - and to get anywhere near as nice a finish as you have here, it's very hard work!! Looking forward to progress! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal Posted October 12, 2016 Author Share Posted October 12, 2016 Hi Keith, You're absolutely right. Zamac is a difficult material to work with. It's hard but fragile, it can't be soldered and - depending on the quality - can decay in time (zamac cancer). If the quality is really bad, the zamac will turn into a sand like dust. Luckily it reacts well to CA and especially cold steel weld from J-B Weld. This steel reinforced 2K putty can be used as a glue or a filler. PS : Stay tuned for more updates, the first update was just baby steps. Sincerely Pascal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 I opened up the cooling vents of the rear spoiler (strang that the 1/8 Pocher has them close and the 1/18 Bburago has them open) : The piece in the middle was removed, the large hole will be closed up with plasticard : The Beurlys has a large diffuser fitted to the underside of the spoiler : Did some work on the dashboard. Like most race F-40's the right part of the dashboard holds the fuses : From caradisiac.com, for reference purpose only The roof was cut off, more zamac needs to be removed to get the correct shape : The top of the body was also removed : So I could start to build the rear part of the Beurlys : These pictures show that the top of the doors was also widened : Glued some styrene to the doors to get an idea of the shapes : Sincerely Pascal 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal Posted November 4, 2016 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 The 3 piece BBS magnesium wheels were made by a modeller that has a CNC machine. Pocher wheels : Inserts made with the CNC machine : Dryfit, the spokes of the Pocher wheels will be removed : Reference pic : One of the reference pics that I had before I found the real car and took my own pics : First try to rebuild the firewall : Some work on the "humps" behind the seats : Dryfit with the new center console (tunnel) : Reference pic : Door widened, sanded and primed : First attempt at widening the cockpit sidewalls : The Pocher dashboard looks like this : But the Beurlys has a different cover over the dials : It's shorter, so I cut it to size : And made the plastic cover a little thinner : All this work was done with the reference pics that I found on the internet. When I finally found the real car, I took some 200 pictures. Here's a few of them : With these pictures things got serious. I then decided to finish this model with a complete suspension, gearbox and engine. (Originally I planned to build it as a curbside model). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 (edited) Pascal, Although I'll be honest and say I am not in favor of the real car's appearance, it is obviously a staggering engineering accomplishment and I respect it greatly. Your wise accumulation of reference personally is invaluable because your fabrication skills will be challenged to the limit. Especially recreating the brake and suspension systems. I encourage you and wish you best luck, you're off to a great start. I look forward to a long and highly instructional thread. A lot will be learned here. Edited November 4, 2016 by Codger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Quite a job you have picked for yourself. Be interested to see how it develops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpnuts Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 That is a project I would never undertake you are a very courageous man and obviously highly skilled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 Thanks for the replies. I'm defnitely not highly skilled. But I like a challenge and this project gives me a chance to learn as much as possible. An unofficial story / rumour about this car is that Jean Blaton wanted Ferrari to start a limited production run of the "super" F-40. Sadly Ferrari would have none of it and gave the order to remove all Ferrari badges and logos from this prototype. Update : I made the hole for the headlights bigger : And started work on the louvres. First I drilled some holes : Use my dremel and some files to shape the holes : Then I discovered that they were to wide, so I filled them with plasticard : Cleaned up the edges of the large hole in the middle : Added a plastic strip : After putty, sanding and primer it looks like this : Added a few aluminium pieces : Reference pic : Then I found out that the holes for the louvres were not in the right place, so I started modifying them a third time : Reference pic : Yep, now the're fine : Sincerely Pascal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Another excellent update Pascal, more very neat work going on! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 It's great to see someone doing something really 'outside the box' as we say. Stunning stuff. Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Thx guys, it's been way to long. Then it was time to look at the doors. A little plasticard here and there : Reference pic : Removed some metal from the inside of the doors : Modified the plastic inserts : Then I took my dremel and things got serious. Before : After : Modified the door hinges : And the dashboard : Back to the doors. Kevlar stickers with a coat of Tamiya smoke to give the stickers a "used look" : Even 1/8 scale needs some tiny details : More stickers : Inserts glued to the doors : I filled the gaps with plasticard, needs a lot of sanding : The holes are for the doors locks, these will be made from aluminium sheet : Sincerely Pascal 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 More great work Pascal, good to see progress on this big beauty ! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu_davros Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Great to see work continuing on this, really inspiring stuff. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 Nice, very nice job, Pascal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal Posted April 10, 2017 Author Share Posted April 10, 2017 (edited) Thx guys. The sidewalls of the Pocher interior are to narrow. Here's how I made them wider. Cardboard templates : Used the template to cut a piece of acrylic : Temporary firewall : Acrylic part as a dryfit : Edited April 10, 2017 by Pascal 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 Glued the acrylic pieces in place, used a few pieces of Lego as spacers : Two pieces cut from plasticard : Will complete the widening of the interior : More plasticard to box in the new sidewalls : I used a metal rod to hold the side pods of the body together (without the roof and dashboard the pods have become 2 pieces) : More plasticard and a dryfit of the modified dashboard : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Some very clever modelling going on here Pascal - ingenious use of the lego spacers! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larchiefeng Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I really like the way you're fabricating the interior and the variety of things that you're using to achieve the results! I was looking pretty closely at the pictures of the vents that you cut out in the fenders and then the amount of work that you had to do to get the correct vent look by adding the plastic card on the angle. When I made the cuts in the rear valance of my F40 I tried to make sure that I didn't cut any of these out. Today, when I was looking at the rear clam shell I noticed that the entire top vents have the same angle and that, about the only thing to cut out would be nothing more than a slit toward the front on each of the vents; does that sound about right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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