SPA Modeler

speedgraflex wrote: ↑Sat Mar 28, 2026 4:09 pm I have a question! Is this kit based on an actual car or is it a fictional idea? I wasn’t able to pull up an actual reference, so I started to think this design was deliberately open to interpretation.

No. Not a real car. Iconic MPC kit from the 70s and 80s.

But.. it is a straight axle gassesr as the real cars.

speedgraflex wrote: ↑Sat Mar 28, 2026 4:09 pm I have a question! Is this kit based on an actual car or is it a fictional idea? I wasn’t able to pull up an actual reference, so I started to think this design was deliberately open to interpretation.

Tom shed a good amount of light on the subject. These cars were designed for maximum weight transfer Bruce. With the front end already at a raised height, alot of the transfer to the rear wheels was already there before the launch, giving it traction. Another method was the altered wheelbase cars where the body was moved back on the chassis by around 6-8 inches in some cases.

Joe, I remember those "altereds" well. I guess I started buying Hotrod and Car Craft back around 1967 and those cars were popular then. I recall that AA/Fuellies were running in the mid-7s at the time...about what a tricked out "seven second" street car runs today! I remember seeing the very first Funny Cars and they were not much different than the altereds back then. I used to have a cool poster of Jungle Jim Liberman's Nova funny car completely disassembled. It was a huge help in scratch-building my model funny cars' chassis and cockpits.

from Wikipedia:

Super Stock & Drag Illustrated had a story idea that required the total disassembly of a Funny Car down to the last nut and bolt for a true exploded-view picture. Nearly every leading driver in the category turned down the magazine's request. Liberman complied, and the resulting publicity only added to his legend.

Some good stuff you've got posted up there Gary. Never seen that poster before.

I started with the frame and this kit is definitely showing its age. LOTS of injector pin marks, mold lines, flash.....the gambit. Spent around 45 minutes cleaning the base frame up and still have some work left to do.





and.....after some initial clean up.

Nice work on the frame Joe.

Okay, stupid UK question here - what's a Gasser?

Something I’ll be looking forward to when I start mine.

A gasser is a type of hot rod designed for drag racing with a high mounted axle, a nose up stance, and a heavily modified big block V8 racing engine. Stripped down interior with a complete roll cage. Mostly a lot of 50s, 60s era Tri-Five Chevys, Willys coupes and Austin Anglias were gassers.

BlackSheep214 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 30, 2026 9:05 pm A gasser is a type of hot rod designed for drag racing with a high mounted axle, a nose up stance, and a heavily modified big block V8 racing engine. Stripped down interior with a complete roll cage. Mostly a lot of 50s, 60s era Tri-Five Chevys, Willys coupes and Austin Anglias were gassers.

Ah I see - that makes sense. Thanks Tom, you learn something new everyday.