Bevital Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 Hello! After the BRM, another English singleseater of the '50s, another project based on an old Merit kit... the subject is the 1956 Vanwall The F1 Vanwall is a true icon of British motorsprt... below, a bit of history from Wikipedia: From Wikipedia: Vanwall was a motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall bearings produced at the Vandervell Products factory at Acton, London. Originally entering modified Ferraris in non-championship races, Vanwall constructed their first cars to race in the 1954 Formula One season. The team achieved their first race win in the 1957 British Grand Prix, with Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks sharing a VW 5, earning the team the distinction of constructing the first British-built car to win a World Championship race. Vanwall won the inaugural Constructors' Championship in Formula One in 1958, in the process allowing Moss and Brooks to finish second and third in the Drivers' Championship standings, winning three races each. Vandervell's failing health meant 1958 would be the last full season; the squad ran cars in a handful of races in the following years, but finished racing in 1961. Tony Vandervell was one of the original backers of British Racing Motors. In the early 1950s he entered a series of modified Ferraris in Formula Libre races under the name "Thinwall Special". The first actual Vanwalls were known as Vanwall Specials and were built for the new Formula 1 regulations in 1954 at Cox Green, Maidenhead. The chassis was designed by Owen Maddock and built by the Cooper Car Company. The 2.0 L engine was designed by Norton Motorcycles engineer Leo Kuzmicki, and was essentially four Manx single-cylinder 498 cc (30.4 cu in) (86.1 mm × 85.6 mm (3.39 in × 3.37 in)) engines with a common waterjacket, cylinder head (a copy of the Norton's) and valvetrain, with induction by four AMAL motorcycle carburetors. This combination was fitted to a Rolls-Royce "B"-engine crankcase, copied in aluminium. Designed for Formula Two, which was supplanted before it appeared, the car debuted in a Grande Epreuve in the 1954 British Grand Prix. Against 2½ litre Formula One competition, it was at a decided disadvantage. The Goodyear disc brakes (built by Vanwall) proved successful, but the front suspension and fuel and cooling systems were troublesome. Development continued with a switch to Bosch fuel injection (thanks to Vandervell's "persuading" Daimler-Benz, a major Bosch customer, to allow it), while retaining the AMAL throttle bodies; they were plagued with throttle linkage trouble, due to vibration from the big four-cylinder. Vanwall also increased the capacity of the engines, first to 2,237 cc (137 cu in) (91.0 mm × 86.0 mm (3.58 in × 3.39 in)) for Peter Collins at Monaco 1955, and then a full 2,489 cc (151.9 cu in) (96.0 mm × 86.0 mm (3.78 in × 3.39 in)). Vanwalls then ran for a season in F1 without much in the way of success. At the end of the 1955 season, it was plain that the engine was sound, but that the Ferrari-derived chassis needed improvement. It was suggested to Vandervell that he should hire the services of a young up-and-coming designer to improve their cars. The designer was Colin Chapman. The new 1956 cars designed by Chapman (along with the aerodynamicist Frank Costin) were of space frame construction, the De Dion rear axle's unsprung weight reduced and front torsion bar added (none of these ideas were revolutionary, but Chapman was happy simply to be meticulous). Furthermore, a fifth gear and Porsche synchromesh were added to the transmission. The driving seat was placed above this and could not be reduced below 13 in (330 mm) above the road, making the height very problematic (the top of the driver's helmet was fully 50 in (1,270 mm) from the road surface, while the vertically mounted engine made a reduction impractical in any case), and the handling was suspect despite Chapman's best efforts.[2] The solution which today is obvious, mounting the engine behind the driver, would take two more years to be accepted. Costin made the most of it, and produced a car "much faster in a straight line than any of its rivals". The new car showed early promise in 1956 by winning the non-championship F1 race at Silverstone against strong opposition. It set the lap record at Syracuse. Stirling Moss drove the car to victory in what was his only drive for Vanwall that year, as he was still contracted to drive for Maserati in F1. Talented drivers Harry Schell and Maurice Trintignant were the full-timers for the season. However, neither of them had much success although the car showed obvious potential. With the car developing and becoming ever more competitive, Moss eventually decided to drive for the team in 1957. He was joined by two Englishmen, Tony Brooks and Stuart Lewis-Evans. As the 1957 season unfolded, the cars became faster and more reliable. Moss and Brooks duly shared Vanwall's first Grand Prix victory in Britain at Aintree, and Moss went on to win both the Italian and Pescara Grands Prix. At the end of 1957, alcohol fuels were banned and replaced by a compulsory 130-octane aviation gasoline. This caused problems for Vanwall and BRM with their large bore engines that required methanol for engine cooling. As a result, the Vanwall's power dropped from 290 bhp (220 kW) at 7,500 rpm[5] (308 bhp with nitromethane) to 278 bhp (207 kW) on the test bed. During the race, where revs were reduced, only 255–262 bhp at 7,200–7,400 rpm was available. This put them at a disadvantage to the new Dino Ferrari V6 cars with a claimed 290 PS (286 bhp) at 8,300 rpm. The Vanwall's superior road holding (thanks to suspension changes, new steel wheels, and new nylon-cord Dunlop R5 racing tyres), streamlining, 5-speed gearbox, and disc brakes helped to offset this. All three drivers stayed with the team in 1958, and Moss (wins in the Netherlands, Portugal and Morocco) and Brooks (wins in Belgium, Germany and Italy) each won three championship races that season. Vanwall became the first team to win the Constructors' Championship, held for the first time that season. However, Moss lost out to Mike Hawthorn in the Drivers' Championship by a single point to finish second, with Brooks ending the season in third. Their triumph at the end of the season was sadly marred when, during the final race of the year in Morocco, Lewis-Evans was fatally injured in an accident. The 1958 season was the last one in which Vanwall entered every race. Vandervell's health was failing and he had been advised by his doctors to rest. The team continued half-heartedly. Brooks made one appearance in a lower and lighter Vanwall at 1959 British Grand Prix, proving less successful against the new mid-engined Coopers, and the team tried again with another car in the 1960 French Grand Prix. These efforts lacked the seriousness of the past however and they were unsuccessful. The last racing Vanwall was an "unwieldy" rear-engined machine produced for the 1961 3.0 litre Intercontinental Formula. Although showing promise when campaigned by John Surtees in two races, development was stopped short when the formula did not find success in Europe. The engine was enlarged to 2,605 cc (159 cu in) (96.0 mm × 90.0 mm (3.78 in × 3.54 in)), rated at 290 bhp (220 kW) on 100 octane petrol. Here is the typical Merit box... I find this kit on eBay in excellent conditions and at a very reasonable price (around 45 Euros) And here is the content: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevital Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 First of all, I tested the seat (looks like an Ikea armchair, with three legs.. ) in its slots on the lower body half... It was clear that the "firewall" in front of it was too near to make room for driver's legs, as it was too low... so, i cut it away leaving two sides that I needed as a reference and supports to glue the new panels... I also glued the rear axle in its place... After this, as in the real car the seat was mounted over the gearbox (in a "transaxle" layout), I realized something like that... it won't be visible once the seat in place, but it will be useful as a reference for the rest of the job on the cockpit interior and, however, I like this solution more than the kit's "three legs armchair"... I began to build the tubular frame, or rather its visible part inside the cockpit... by choice, this will be a curbside model... 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwidave4 Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 Will be watching this. The input of Frank Costin should not be understated. Probably the best aerodynamicist working on racing cars at the time, in fact about the only one (!), he designed by slide rule. There were no line drawings of the Vanwall body shell produced by Frank, just pages of numbers which gave the dimensions at each station that the coach builders then converted into metal. It was not just mathematically aerodynamic, but incorporated clever little touches like the rear view mirrors that were also fresh air intakes, thus getting two functions for the drag of one. Frank was especially scathing of the people who said, and still do, "If it looks right it is right." These days the popularity of the 'knobbly' Lister Jags in historic racing proves his point. They look right, but his Lister Jag body was far superior. Unfortunately it does not look right, and so, ever since the seventies, the handful of proper Lister Jags have been improved by fitting replica knobbly bodies. I have several Merit kits I acquired in the sixties, - mostly at sale price as they were discontinued and not much wanted. In those days 'sale' was probably a couple of bob at most! A couple of them were started and abandoned years ago and I keep thinking 'one day', but it never seems to happen! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevital Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 This could be the opportunity to begin one of these models...😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevital Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 continuing with the frame... It's easy to follow, the original kit is in green, my upgrade is in white... I cut out the two "triangles" on the rear axle, that reproduce... nothing, and I left their references, as they could be useful for the frame building... Then, I realized the first part of the frame... At the end of this step, I painted the whole job in matt black... this was made as a base for the following paint job in steel... reaching all the points with all the frame tubes in place would be very difficult... Thank you for your attention! 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 I really like how you are updating and improving this! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevital Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 Thank you Paul... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevital Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 I continued by adding the rest of the frame tubes and making the transverse leaf spring... And as I was completing the tubes, I began to paint the frame with Testor's Steel enamel... 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevital Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 The following steps next days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Good progress and lovely work. Will be a pleasure to follow this project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarz-Brot Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Some wonderful scratchbuilding. Simple, but more than enough to push these basic kits onto a whole new level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 I bought one of these at Telford last year. Missing the seat, but that is easy to make. Watching this as you have details I have been unable to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Sadly appropriate standing the sad loss of Sir Stirling Moss today. Enjoying your work on this golden oldie. I am sure he would have too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevital Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 Many thanks to all... Sadly appropriate standing the sad loss of Sir Stirling Moss today. Yes, I have heard the sad new a few minutes ago... RIP Sir Stirling, another great piece of romantic motorsport history has gone...😢 Simple, but more than enough to push these basic kits onto a whole new level. Schwarz-Brot, this is exactly my spirit with these kits... in fact, one should keep the bodies and scratchbuild almost all the rest... but this takes too much of my energy and my time at this moment, and I'm afraid maybe it's beyond my skills... I'm trying to do something like this with another Merit kit, the Connaught Type B, but I don't know when it will be complete... I'm quite glad to make some honest curbside models by adding some details on cockpit and suspensions.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarz-Brot Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Not only should you be glad, you should be proud of your work. It leads to beautiful and rare models, so what else would you want? Not every model needs to meet MFH detail levels. Still it can be more than just a plastic kit. This is exactly what you show with your quite effective upgrades. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevital Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 II totally agree... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevital Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 Sadly appropriate standing the sad loss of Sir Stirling Moss today. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klubman01 Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Lovely work. I'm sure it will be a great tribute to Sir Stirling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aster Builder Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 As a newbie here I was delighted to find your project the other day. I built my Vanwall when the kit first came out together with the Lancia Ferrari D50. I look at it now and wish that I’d added the details similar to you. I’m thinking that if I can split the body apart perhaps I can add details and improve the model. Problem is how do I get it apart? The glued we used in those days were usually Airfix glue and I’ve no idea whether there is a suitable solvent that will dissolve the glue without ruining the body! Anyone got any experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six97s Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 22 hours ago, Aster Builder said: Problem is how do I get it apart? The glued we used in those days were usually Airfix glue and I’ve no idea whether there is a suitable solvent that will dissolve the glue without ruining the body! Anyone got any experience? I've heard of people putting models in a freezer for a while to weaken the glue joints. Others advise soaking in IPA. I used to like Fairy Power Spray - soaking a built and painted model in that would not only lift the paint, but also loosen the glue joints. Sadly, FPS was reformulated a few years ago and it seems whatever made it effective was removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aster Builder Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 That’s very helpful, six97. I’ll give those a try and report back. Might be a few days though as I’m in mid build of a G1 Chapelon Nord pacific loco! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc2 Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Fantastic start to this, have you made any more progress? M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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