1/43 Porsche 917 chassis 003, Le Mans Test Weekend 1969

[klubman01]

My most recently completed model is Porsche 917-003, as seen at the Le Mans test weekend at the end of March 1969.  It is based on the old Record kit with markings by Le Mans Decals.

 

 

 

Chassis 003 differed from the others in the initial batch of twenty five cars.  The nose was slightly extended, with a smaller oil cooler inlet.  There were bulges on the lower bodywork behind the front wheels and ahead of the rear wheels, similar to those seen on the Porsche 908 Flounder, and the front wheel openings had narrow extensions.  Under the long tail were additional panels with fences, similar to those supporting the wing assembly.

It next appeared as part of the legendary homologation line-up (in the same configuration) in April.  Its third and final public appearance was during practise only for the Spa 1000km race (in short tail configuration) in May.

 

I started with an old Record resin kit.  the body was riddled with air bubbles on the top and bottom surfaces.  I dealt with these before doing any of the modifications.  The extended nose, etc. were made using plastic card to define the shapes, and then filling the spaces with Milliput.

 

 

 

The fences were made from laminated plastic card - a central element of 10thou card with 20thou on each side.  the cast in exhaust stubs were removed as they were poorly formed and were replaced later in the build by cut down Renaissance items.  The kit lacked to oil filler cap in the duct ahead of the left rear wheel so I drilled a hole to accept a cap made of plastic tube and card.  This was fitted after painting.

 

 

The extended nose.

 

 

The smaller oil cooler intake was made from a piece of plastic tube cut lengthways with plastic card between them.  The nose was extended with 30thou card to define the shape, with Milliput to fair it all in.  The narrow arch extensions are also visible.

 

 

The body was airbrushed with Revell 04 white enamel, with everything else finished with Humbrol enamels.  The rear window was tinted with Tamiya clear yellow (X-24).  I replaced the original clear resin headlight inserts with Renaissance lenses and self vac-formed covers.

The wheels are by Remember (W03), narrowed slightly to reflect rim widths in 1969, with tyres by Automodelli Studio.

 

The markings are from Le Mans Decals.  Well printed, very thin, and easy to apply.  They are printed with a solid carrier film and require to be closely cut from the sheet but are otherwise very good.  The tyre sidewall Dunlop decals are by Renaissance.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm pleased with the way it turned out and am very happy to add this to my collection.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Trevor

[JeroenS]

That's most excellent. Very neat work.

[Stef N.]

Great modelling. Top work indeed.👏

[keefr22]

Lovely work again Trevor, cracking little Porker!

 

Keith

[klubman01]

Thanks guys.  Your comments are very much appreciated. 

More Porsche 917's in due course.

Trevor

[Bengalensis]

Fantastic work and a very interesting version of the 917. Very well done!

[klubman01]

Thanks Jorgen, much appreciated.

003 would appear to have been an attempt to reduce drag even further than the original body shape.  Porsche boss Ferdinand Piech was obsessed with minimum drag as the key to victory at Le Mans.  The drivers at the test weekend reported that it was less stable than the original shape car - Porsche brought chassis 002 in standard form to the test weekend.  002 recorded the fastest time, whilst 003 was eleventh quickest.

Trevor

[stevehnz]

Nice one Trevor. Something a bit different is always nice, though I never tire of 917s. Your last post with its bit of history takes me back to an Autocar item I read probably about 52 years ago. A nice bit of nostalgia.

Steve.

[klubman01]

Cheers Steve.  The Porsche 917 was at that time when aerodynamics were starting to be appreciated.  Consequently, there are loads of variations to the body shape, especially the long tail versions which, despite loads of effort, never won the Le Mans race.

Trevor

[Kitkent]

A nice conversion Trevor,I wasn't aware of this slightly different chassis so all very good work there. This kit must have been released in about 1982 or 3! Chris.

[klubman01]

Thanks Chris.  Yes, it's a very old kit. I'll take your word on its provenance!

The 917 is my favourite race car and this one, being unique, I found intriguing, hence the conversion job.  From the original 1969 version, all the way to the utterly outrageous 917/30 Can-Am car, they were all outstanding vehicles and, IMHO, changed motorsport in a way that no-one could have imagined.

Trevor

[theplasticsurgeon]

19 minutes ago, klubman01 said:

The 917 is my favourite race car and this one, being unique, I found intriguing, hence the conversion job.  From the original 1969 version, all the way to the utterly outrageous 917/30 Can-Am car, they were all outstanding vehicles and, IMHO, changed motorsport in a way that no-one could have imagined.

Trevor

My favourite car too,  so build and share as many as you car please.  You can never have too many 917s.

I missed seeing these race at the time, but did see one at a racing car show at Olympia around that time.  It made a big impression on me.

I did see the outrageous 917/30 Can-Am race at Silverstone - an open car wasn't quite the same.

 

Great build,   thanks.

[klubman01]

7 hours ago, theplasticsurgeon said:

My favourite car too,  so build and share as many as you car please.  You can never have too many 917s.

I missed seeing these race at the time, but did see one at a racing car show at Olympia around that time.  It made a big impression on me.

I did see the outrageous 917/30 Can-Am race at Silverstone - an open car wasn't quite the same.

 

Great build,   thanks.

I was at Brands Hatch in 1970 when Pedro Rodriguez drove for all but 45 minutes to win the 1000km race by five laps.  An outstanding drive! 

I was also at the 1971 race, when the 917s were beaten by the Alfa-Romeo T33/3 and the Ferrari 312PB.

Trevor

[Kitkent]

Unfortunately I never went to those races,but I went the 1968 only,then a long gap till 1982. Great cars all of the 917's.

chris.

[Vesa Jussila]

Trevor nice work. And you have build one more classic again. There can't be too many 917s in the world 🙂

[klubman01]

2 hours ago, Vesa Jussila said:

Trevor nice work. And you have build one more classic again. There can't be too many 917s in the world 🙂

Thanks very much!  Agreed, you can't have too many 917s.  I still have quite a few (nearly 30) to be built.

Trevor