rob Lyttle 6,787 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I've been having some fun with Heller's cars over on the Heller Classic Group Build, and part of the project is the racing E-type. Based on the kit of the standard production car, Heller has taken a few shortcuts that I thought would benefit from some additional work. I made a roll cage, and a fuel tank in the boot. The tyres supplied are hardly competition grade and still had "Citroën 15" stamped on the rubber sprue. They were widened to 8 and 10mm and wheels were sleeved to suit. Converted to right-hand drive and fitted with sliding side windows, and the rear wheel arches raised and flared a little. Some work done under the bonnet without going overboard.... I fitted the SU carbs as supplied rather than trying for the Lucas fuel injection system. And I tried to keep her down a little on the suspension, looking race ready. A good old kit, basically sound and plenty of scope for some extra mods. Some interesting comparisons being posted between this older Heller product and the new Revell kit. This is a pretty good shape for the E-type in general, and the '62 Cuningham team Racing car is there in the box with a bit of extra help. 16 Link to post Share on other sites
Homer 940 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Congratulations sir on a fine model,she looks fantastic well done 1 Link to post Share on other sites
keefr22 13,437 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Excellent build, looks every bit the well raced warrior! Lovely job! I've been considering doing the same build, and one thing I can't find out 100% is if these cars actually had roll cages in period, I admit I haven't done a lot of searching but I haven't found a period pic to confirm one way or another - do you know of any? Pics of modern race Jags aren't really much help. Whatever, that's a cracking model racing car! Keith 1 Link to post Share on other sites
swralph 1,824 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Very nice build. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
rob Lyttle 6,787 Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 5 hours ago, keefr22 said: one thing I can't find out 100% is if these cars actually had roll cages in period, I couldn't say for sure, Keith. I found a couple of good walkarounds and some period photos, and stuck with those. This is one major source of reference.... https://revsinstitute.org/the-collection/1962-jaguar-e-type/ It was a time of transition to some safety measures...... I wasn't sure about an appropriate seat belt arrangement. I settled for lap belts. There's the whole "Running across the Grid " type of start which would be silly for a full harness. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
keefr22 13,437 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Thanks Rob, and yes I bet many drivers didn't even bother to put the lap belts on after wearing themselves out running across the track! Thanks for the link, some cracking pics on that site! Keith Link to post Share on other sites
rob Lyttle 6,787 Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 https://www.racingsportscars.com/chassis/photo/S860630.html What do you think about this one @keefr22? Purports to be period.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
keefr22 13,437 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 The black and white pic that states Le Mans 1962 certainly shows at least a rear cage Rob, so I'd say that's pretty conclusive! Looking also at the pics in the first link, I don't think the cage in that car would pass scrutineering today, so I'd hazard a guess that one may well be original too, but it may be the strut brace/harness bar in the back may be a modern addition. Just need to get a Heller e-type now and see if I can build it somewhere near as nice as yours Keith 2 Link to post Share on other sites
HOUSTON 2,620 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 SUPER build. She looks SPLENDID. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
kapam 1,692 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Beautiful! Really captures the look of a hard-driven racer! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Vesa Jussila 754 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Nice work. Looks really good. Link to post Share on other sites
DreamGarage 41 Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 On 10/01/2021 at 00:39, rob Lyttle said: I've been having some fun with Heller's cars over on the Heller Classic Group Build, and part of the project is the racing E-type. Based on the kit of the standard production car, Heller has taken a few shortcuts that I thought would benefit from some additional work. I made a roll cage, and a fuel tank in the boot. The tyres supplied are hardly competition grade and still had "Citroën 15" stamped on the rubber sprue. They were widened to 8 and 10mm and wheels were sleeved to suit. Converted to right-hand drive and fitted with sliding side windows, and the rear wheel arches raised and flared a little. Some work done under the bonnet without going overboard.... I fitted the SU carbs as supplied rather than trying for the Lucas fuel injection system. And I tried to keep her down a little on the suspension, looking race ready. A good old kit, basically sound and plenty of scope for some extra mods. Some interesting comparisons being posted between this older Heller product and the new Revell kit. This is a pretty good shape for the E-type in general, and the '62 Cuningham team Racing car is there in the box with a bit of extra help. Hi. Great build. How did you widen the tyres and wheels? Thanks 1 Link to post Share on other sites
rob Lyttle 6,787 Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 @DreamGarage this is the post from the WIP where I tried to explain the process. At one point I thought the material wasn't adhering very well, but I hadn't left it long enough to cure, or dry. By all means have a read through, as the process developed as I went along! I made Ali foil sleeves for the rear wheels but I found the front kit wheels were able to cope with the less-widened front tyres. Link to post Share on other sites
DreamGarage 41 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 17 hours ago, rob Lyttle said: @DreamGarage this is the post from the WIP where I tried to explain the process. At one point I thought the material wasn't adhering very well, but I hadn't left it long enough to cure, or dry. By all means have a read through, as the process developed as I went along! I made Ali foil sleeves for the rear wheels but I found the front kit wheels were able to cope with the less-widened front tyres. thank you. appreciate it Link to post Share on other sites
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