IndyHobbies.com

On-road bodies normally are a little thinner than off road. The HPI Challenger body and the 69 Camaro seem to be the thinnest in the nose in my experience. I think its a function of pulling the lexan over that many facets in the mold...it just happens during production. Probably not much they can do about it.

Sturdiest? The HPI 68 Camaro is much thicker in the nose and rounded a bit so it doesn't catch as many corner dents. A lot of guys run it for that reason. Its heavier though. In my personal experience (and I'm really good at catching corners and contacting walls), the McAllister 1970 Trans Am has held up the best of any I've owned. Its been my longest lasting body. And, it looks good on the track too. Their new Camaro may be just as good. I've not tried it.

funked1

iTrader: (10)

Parma Cuda is amazing. We call it "The Brick" at my track. Very thick lexan, simple shape without a lot of stress concentrations, and nice and wide. It's wide enough that it acts like a nerf bar so the body absorbs some impact before the chassis hits. I am using an HPI 69 Camaro for VTA now because of the looks, but I still use the Cuda for testing new cars (USGT, 17.5, etc.). The only places it seems to need shoe goo are the corners and the creases at the top of the fenderline.

JimmyMack12

It'd make a good Grand American (oval) car...

http://usvsc.webs.com

IndyHobbies.com

More Trans Am bodies!

I airbrushed this one over the weekend for a local racer. Its a McAllister Trans Am body. We were trying to match up with the SD-455 version. I wish I had some decals that matched that. Still, I got the body close. The light blue chrome was a mix of Faskrome and Pearl Blue.

It looks a little bare for VTA without numbers, but he will add those. He couldn't decide on them in time to get them done in paint. I'm real happy with the two color firebird logo. I cut that carefully with liquid mask and my trusty X-Acto.

snoopyrc

iTrader: (2)

I think the answer to that is up for grabs. I think you should continue to go with whatever shell you like the best and look at the many post about reinforcing the nose after the shell has been painted. Most if not all of us have to do this if we expect any durability from our racing bodies. Also compared to SCT and Eighth buggy/truggy shells these are very thin. They all are. The McAllister shells might be a little more husky, but at the price of some sharpness of detail.
Possibly one of my favorite VTA shells ever.

MCKNBRD

iTrader: (2)

OK, since the thread is 5300 posts long and I've searched the first 500 with no luck, does anyone remember the 68 Firebird that was done off of an HPI 68 Camaro body? Anyone have any pics of one done similarly?

Byrdman

IndyRC_Racer

iTrader: (9)

The person who made the Camaro-bird has access to equipment to make a custom front nose. He attached the custom front nose to the front of the Camaro body and painted it to look like a Firebird.

That person stated that it was a one-off part and that he was unable to produce any additional parts.

Here is a link on this thread showing pics of the body in question (http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric...t-2-a-138.html)

Apparently the person who did it is referred to as Jonny Socko. Not sure if that is his username or real name. You might try contacting Rob King and see if he has any more info.

snoopyrc

iTrader: (2)

You could probably 3D scan that Camaro shell and 3D print a nose piece for it. Along with tail light bezels, maybe some firebird side vents. It won't be cheap.

ViperZ

iTrader: (5)

Don't forget about making the most important item for 68 Bird, the tach!!




I can't believe in all the VTA bodies made, they don't make a model for the namesake, the 1969 Trans AM

IndyHobbies.com

Had a good time racing at Indy RC Raceway last night. A 68 Camaro body I airbrushed a couple of years ago showed up! I'd not seen it since I made it. Turns out, its not been run because he didn't want to tear it up.

It's been a show body at home I guess. I mess up my own bodies racing them, but there are a few I save because they were so much work. I like the long flames on this Camaro. They look good on that body.

IndyRC_Racer

iTrader: (9)

Below is another picture of the McAllister Trans Am that Indyhobbies.com painted for another racer here in Indy. I was able to find some blue chrome wheels off Amazon that are a pretty good match for the body. I was able to get 4 wheels/tires (in the same package) for a good price.

Here is info on the wheels - www.Kforce-Racing.com - the wheel part# is 10365 and the tire part# is 21006. Here is a page on their website that has a gold version of the wheel in my pic that would look good on a black Trans AM (http://kforce-racing.com/products.as...id=1&pageno=14)

The front end decals are made by RCTECH user SWTOUR. He has several different decal sets for the McAllister bodies.

SWTour

iTrader: (9)

....I thought those front end stickers looked familiar!!

IndyHobbies.com

Those stickers are nice. They make it easy to dress up the front end. The blue wheels look great!

MCKNBRD

iTrader: (2)

Well, I finally get back on the track tonight. First time racing RC in almost 20 years.

Nothing fancy, just a TC4...but we'll see how rusty I am. Seriously considering getting a yellow stripe for the bumper...



Went with a rather (in)famous paint scheme, but stayed with my number; it was what my dad raced when he was dirt-tracking around the Carolinas in the 60s.



Also, thought I'd point out how I did the nose reinforcement...I used the 'Great Stuff' in the red can to back up the nose, but I draped a piece of Saran Wrap over the front of the car (poked the body posts through, covered the tires and bumper) and pressed it onto the body posts after SPARINGLY spraying the foam into the corner at the hood and grill, and around to the fenders. I let it set overnight and cure; pulled it off, did a little trimming around the tires and the transponder, and now its VERY solid, without much added weight.



With the shorty battery, it is right at 1552g, and corner weights are within .5% with my brass weights in place. If I use my full-size 2s SMCs, I take the 77g weight out of the battery tray and it is 1558g. Cross-weights take a plunge (more than 2% difference), but it will be good enough to practice with.

Anywho...just thought I'd throw it into the mix!

Byrdman

ASM

iTrader: (30)

I agree with needing a earlier version of the firebird, but I'd love to see an earlier version of Javelin.