Looking for info on the Porsche 935-78 "Whale Tail"

[CFarias]

Howdy from Texas:

I'm looking for information and modeling tips on building the Porsche 935-78.

I have the Tamiya and Fujimi kits in 1/24 and want to do a full detail model of this car. This pretty much means a full scratchbuild since both kits were motorized.

I'm thinking that the wonderful Tamiya 1/12 Porsche 935 WIP's on this site would make a great starting point for my model, but I don't know if there was any significant internal differences between the two cars.

Also, what kits would make good donors for parts, chassis , engines, etc... I'm thinking the Fujimi EM series of porsches would be a good source, but I don't know.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance!

[935k3]

There is a big structural difference. The 935-78 has the unibody chassis cut off at the front and rear bulkheads and a tubular sub frames added. The Tamiya 956 engine is close enough to the engine in the 935-78 although it lacks underside detail like the finned heads. Here is a pic of the interior and chassis for reference.

[jaykay640]

For a full detail build you should have a look here:

http://www.freisinger-motorsport.de/...Detail/19.html

They are currently doing one in 1:1 :-)

[CFarias]

Thanks, guys. Your help will be invaluable in this build!

[ScratchBuilt]

Hi CF,

Yes - the Freisinger rebuild is definitely one to keep an eye on; there must be over 100 photos there already, and more added on a semi-regular basis. All the little details that we like to see!

The original 934 and 935's were derived from the 930 Turbo, but it appears that for the 935/78 they based it on the 911SC, rather than the Turbo. Whether this helps your choice of 1:24 donor kit, I don't know, but the only 1:12's I've seen are the Tamiya 934 and 935. There should be a WIP thread by Iconmodeler elsewhere on this forum from a few years ago - I think it's called 'The Ultimate 935' or similar - I believe he started with a 1:12 935, chopped off the sills, nose, etc. Might be a few ideas there?

What else? Gearbox is the normal one from the 930, but mounted upside-down, with further modifications. Brake calipers are specific to this car, not the ealier '76 / '77 935-spec.

If you can get a copy of Paul Frere's 'Porsche Racing Cars of the 70's' , that's got some great stuff on all the Turbo / 934 / 935 / 936 racers. The Moby Dick gets a mention in most books on the Porsche racing history, but I've not found a dedicated volume. I've yet to see any chassis drawings, either. Most of the photos you find online or in books tend to be the same ones - not surprising given how little it raced in-period - so the Freisinger rebuild is especially valuable as a modelling reference.

Oh, and I really, really want to scratch-build one myself in 1:8...

Good luck!

[CFarias]

Thanks SB for your information. Seeing this subject in 1/8th would be awesome!

[ScratchBuilt]

You know how I said about the gearbox being modifed, etc? Have a look at the latest update on the Freisinger website...

SB

[CFarias]

10-4. Thanks.

[alvarol]

...wooow! a 1/8 scale Moby-Dick must be something worth to be seen! I am involved with an old Tamiya 1/24 and this car is full of technical solutions and little "secrets" that could justify the big scale, it was a truly awesome car for that era, and it is a shame that Porsche only got to build and use one car, I would have liked it a lot if this car had a longer career.

I am also tempted to scratch-build a 1/12 model of it, and even have a "donor" now, but I am still short of courage!

You can check my build and 1/12 donor following the link:

http://www.automodelista.org/viewtop...=6807&start=75

[CFarias]

Thanks for the link to your WIP!