Porsche 914/6 GT, 1971 Le Mans 24 hrs.
The Porsche 914 came out from the collaboration between Porsche and Volkswagen with the intention of making a basic sport model common to both manufacturers. Starting from a base similar to the Porsche 904, was designed to manufacture a two-seater model, with central engine and removable roof targa type. The condition when designing the body was that doesn´t were similar to any previous model neither Volkswagen nor Porsche and its production was made by the coachbuilder Karmann while Volkswagen and Porsche took care of the engine, which in principle were two for the two models that were manufactured.
- The 914/4 with a four-cylinder engine of 1700 cc online. and injection, VW source.
- The 914/ 6 with a 2-litre boxer engine from the Porsche 911 T
In both cases the customer could choose between a 5-speed manual gearbox or an automatic gearbox called "Sportomatic" that wasn´t very successful.
The model introduced the 1969 Frankfurt Motor Show was marketed worldwide as WV-Porsche, except the United States that was sold as Porsche, and its commercial success was not great, mainly because for Porsche buyers was a very expensive car to be the basic model, while VW buyers it was too elitist while expensive .. so that despite the improvements that were introduced in the model as new engines (the 1.7 of 914/4 engine was replaced by a 1.8 one) and other improvements, the model definitively ceased production in 1976, although the 914/6 had stopped production in 1972.
As for his sports background, over this car was developed the 914/6 GT model, fitting a 1991 cc. engine, Weber carburetors and 210 bhp who competed in both circuits, as for example in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 (1st in GTS with Guy Chasseuil and Claude Ballot-Léna at the wheel), as on the open road, like the Monte Carlo rally in 1971 among other races.
The car I'm going to reproduce is one of those who participated in the 1971 Le Mans 24 Hours, for the team Autohaus Max Moritz GmbH, with the German Gerd F. Dietrich Quist and Krum at the wheel, who dropped to 15 hours because of problems with the gearbox.
And here is a photo of the abandoned car after breaking into the race:
To build it, I deliver from a resin kit of Evolution Slot, that surprised me by its good quality. It is a highly recommended resin kit.
First, to adjust the mechanics of the car. In this case I chose the Audi TT Ninco chassis, which has a similar axle distance, although a little shorter. One feature of this chassis is that the center of the rear wheels are very high relative to the ground, so when I adjusted the body the wheels touched on it and left almost no gap between the chassis and the track. As the wheelbase was about an mm. shorter, I took to remove the brackets on the rear axle and thus reduce its height and delay it a bit. Once glued with bicomponent glue everything has been in place and well reinforced.
To adjust the bodywork I took the layout of the chassis screws and glued some evergreen plastic lugs on the body.
To the body only had to polish some details like resin burrs and place the supplemental front headlights. For the former, one coat of Duplicolor primer and Tamiya putty, and for the latter, some holes in the bumper:
The supplemental lamps came included in another resin kit, the Renault Alpine A310, whose author I have to thank to give me so much of lighthouses, inserts and more little details that are downright useful.
In the headlights I made a drill from behind and stuck a slim evergreen plastic rod, in addition, I lowered them so that the diameter is slightly minor, since they were a little large compared with the model that would be stuck.
The interior that comes with the kit is very simple, a plain tray with driver and co-driver included, that to reproduce a model of Le Mans is not necessary...
We cut the co-driver with a thin drill using the minidrill,...
...cover the resulting hole with a plate of evergreen plastic. Also take a charge to put a piece of evergreen to the seat to simulate a backet,...
...and some evergreen plastic rods to make the car roll cage.
Meanwhile, I took to paint the auxiliary headlights and mirror with gloss black enamel and Vallejo acrilic silver. The rim of the lamps is made with silver Edding indelible marker.
I also took to paint the wheel rims. In most of the race, the team used a Fuchs rims painted white matte. To reproduce, Ninco Fuchs rims are ideal. Besides they could be painted very well because they are made of two pieces that can be disassembled, making it much easier to paint with matte white enamel, as is the case:
When they will be dry, will mark the center of the rim with a 1.5 mm diameter drill.
And I took to paint the car. I had some trouble finding the concrete color of the car because the photos of the time aren´t very clear, all are pretty dark. Searching and searching I found a picture where the colour could be well appreciated. The green color I have done mixing X-28 green with a little bit of X-5 green, both Tamiya acrylics, applied with airbrush. The resulting color is very nice (for my taste) and quite similar to the original car. The problem came when masked to paint matt black the bumper and the car sidek, the tape stuck and messed up the paint work.
I tried to solve the problem by polishing the bodywork with toothpaste and a rag. The result was very good but there were parts where still noticed the flaws in the paint so I went back to painting again. But before painting I glued evergreen strips 1 mm. width on the windows because they wasn´t included in the kit, and cuted the glasses for the windows.
Fortunately, left enough paint for another coat. To avoid the above problem with the masking tape let the bodywork dry for one week but probably two or three days would be enough. Anyway, when I removed the masking tape after painting the roof the body was spotless.
And in the days while the body was drying, mounted the rims and gave the coats of paint to the rest of the resin kit accessories.
Thermoformed acetate crystals didn´t fit quite right and it took some work to make the right, partly because the bicomponent glue used to paste them. Raul Gonzalez provided me the decals provided, who has a wide range of water decals for models who have raced in the Le Mans 24 hours, and they are very good quality. After two coats of varnish "Bosque Verde" this was the result:
and another photo with the chassis assembled:
The interior is painted to give it a little more realism, and for the driver´s head, instead of using that came with the kit, I took a Fly one with open helmet. The result of the tray while not a paragon of details if that is more colorful than the original resin.
Once assembled the whole car, with photogravures and exhaust pipes included, the result is this:
Except to adjust the chassis and the cited paint problems, it is a easy kit to assemble and especially nice.
I can not finish without thanking Enric who took the trouble to provide me the kit and Raul for some the fantastic waterslide decals it makes. This one is for you.
| Chassis | Audi TT Ninco, adapted |
| Wheelbase | 76 mm. |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 135 x 61 x 39 mm. |
| Weight | 88 gr. |
| Engine | Long box Fly Racing |
| Front tires | Scalextric lowered |
| Rear tires | Ninco 19 x 10 mm. |
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