appearances can be deceptive

[2.2 Straight six]

here's another of my crazy projects, this started life as a tamiya 1:24 mercedes lorinser 500sec. i thought the little SOHC 5 litre V-8 engine was just a bit too small, i mean a DOHC 5 litre V-8 would do the trick, but lets get something bigger. i took the engine from a mercedes S600, with a more adequate DOHC 6 litre V-12 engine. in the first pic you can see most of the parts that are going in as extras for this car, its going to be an open-version like the impreza, with the doors, boot and bonnet opened to reveal the hidden goodies.

and here's a mock-up of what it my look like in the boot, this is subject to change when i do the custom styrene psrts to make it fit better.

for comparasin on the right is another 5 litre V-8 from a mercedes SL500 next to the 6 litre beast.

i thought that this car needed some suitable wheels for the sporty look (im calling this car the "SEC Supersport") i chose the S2000 wheels becasue they aren't too big and they'll look good with some massive race-spec brakes behind them.

here's a pic of the original engine, im sure you'll agree that the V-12 just looks better with the huge intake manifold replacing the nasty induction system on the original engine.

the car will have a full race-spec interior, 3 point harnesses from sparco, carbon-kevlar backed race seats, a roll cage taken from an EVO 7 rally car, and a digital speedo, here's the seats (this was my first attempt working with these type of decals, they aren't very good and they're shiny from the decal solution)

the engine i mounted between 3 points, the gearbox sits on a cross-member and there's a mount on either side of the engine, i used the mounts from the S600 and used styrene to make them fit the SEC chassis

and here's a shot of them attached

more updates soon !

[slk320]

Interesting choice... Have you thought about doing a twin turbo V12 a -la new S600 (W220)?

Also, did you cut open the doors too?

[2.2 Straight six]

yep, the doors were cut open, actually i was thinking quad turbo, using turbos from the toyota 88c-v, my friends dad has a CL75 (bored out engine) with four turbos, it does 2 miles to the gallon.

[rx7king]

haha 2 miles to the gallon, interesting project, im looking forward to the updates

[eph2]

Originally Posted by rx7king

haha 2 miles to the gallon, interesting project, im looking forward to the updates

[KTem]

Wow, this is definately nice project. Keep going!

[2.2 Straight six]

her's some more progress, i want happy with the moulded-in brake master cylinder an the moulded in battery just in front of the windscreen, so out came the saw an they were removed, i then used some styrene to cover where the parts had been removed, this would also act as a part where cable an ancillaries would be attached. there's also a strip underneath, just to make it look nice an tidy.



next up was a new firewall/bulkhead (the flat metal sheet that seperates the engine bay from the passenger compartment) and i needed to make a new floor, a flat one for the race look, i used styrene sheet for al three parts, this took a lot of measuring to ensure a perfect fit for both the floor and for the transmission to fit in the new firewall



then i started on the transmission tunnel that houses the end of the gearbox and the driveshaft/propshaft. but glueing an strip fo styrene on one edge wasnt gonna make a strong join, so i added some supports, they do the job an look good to, i like to have little details like this to make some areas stand out.



i staerted on the parts at the front of the transmission tunnel too, you can see they dont fit perfectly but its kinda hard to do the measurement like this, an besides you wont see that on the finished model and putty will fill the showing gaps



more updates soon

[eph2]

A new car.. and a NICE car!!!

[customminatures]

looks real good! excellent execution with styrene!

gonna be killer!

[Alfa 147]

Looking great! can't wait to see more

[Merkava]

WOW! Beautiful work with the styrene and the engine swap. Very professional. I am wondering what color you are considering?
Keep up the excellent work!