Pocher 1:8 Scale 1907 Fiat Grand Prix Race Car Rebuild??

Started by Greg Fabian · 36 · 3 years ago · 1:8 Scale, Automotive, Fiat 1907, Pocher
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    Greg Fabian said 3 years, 5 months ago:

    You're right about that @fiveten. I've broken a few pieces, but nothing a little CA glue won't cure. I've also managed to disassemble the engine as far as I dare. When I removed the tires from the wheels, I was surprised how flexible they were after 50 years. I thought I they might have been dry rotted and as hard as nails, but that wasn't the case.

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    George Williams said 3 years, 5 months ago:

    Some years ago I renovated my original collection of Dinky racing cars from the 1950s and the tyres were shot, just hard and cracked. Luckily there are suppliers of replacements for these, but I doubt if this would be the case with your Pocher kit. Nonetheless, you seem to be making great progress with this project, Greg @gwfabian, finding the original wrench was great news.

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    Greg Fabian said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Actually @chinesegeorge, I found a supplier of Pocher tires on the internet and they are in the original white of the time. The only problem is they cost about $150 a set. Fortunately, mine are in good shape. I'm still working on refurbishing the car - I have disassembled most of the car down to the chassis rails. Progress has been rather slow because summer happened. I should have some pictures up in the next week or so showing progress.

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    Greg Fabian said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    A quick update. I've managed to disassemble, as much as I could, repaint and reassemble the engine and transmission/transaxle. The chassis has been completely disassembled and I just cleaned and repainted the frame rails. I decided that I would not polish the brass fittings (except maybe the radiator frame) as I think it looks good in its current state and, perhaps more importantly, would be almost impossible to do for many of the smaller parts.

    4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    George Williams said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    You're right, Greg, 150 USD is way too much, but you're making good progress and overcoming the proglems as you go.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Really good progress, myvfriend @gwfabian! A joy to see all those disassembled parts refurbished and slowly put together.
    I agree on not polishing the brass fittings: they look great "as is".

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    The overhauled engine looks great! The patina on the brass fittings look spot-on - good call.

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    Greg Fabian said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Since my last report, I've painted the first coat of the body panels using Model Master Italian Red (appropriate as this is an Italian automobile, after all) spray paint. I also painted the chassis rails the same color. I'll follow that up with a clear coat. I began reassembling the chassis. Progress is slow because it is summer and there's lots of other more interesting things to do outside. After practically taking the model apart piece by piece, the one odd thing Pocher did was mold in the part number on each plastic part of the model. I think they did this because, if I remember correctly, the parts were separated from the sprues at the factory and then sealed in plastic bags. Anyway, the next step is to reattach the transmission/drive unit onto the bottom of the chassis and the chain drive with the rear wheels. You'll se what happens in my next post.

    3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Great suspension after all. I suppose it was state of the art in its day.

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    George Williams said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Everything seems to be cleaning up nicely, Greg, keep up the good work, I'm sure the end result will be worth it.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Slowly but beautifully coming along, my friend @gwfabian!

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    Csaba said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Very impressive model! I love these classical cars, maybe I should take a look on the market of plastic kits for something similar and put it into the dungeon of unbuilt kits, a.k.a the stash.

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    Greg Fabian said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    From what I've read,@airbum, this car was the "bees knees" back in 1907. It took the French Grand Prix and the Mille Miglia. It would top out at around 100 mph, which must have been absolutely terrifying for all except the experienced race car driver. The engine only had about 110 HP, but I bet the torque was off the charts considering the displacement and the stroke.

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    Greg Fabian said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    There are a few unassembled Pocher kits out there, @pikofix, but they're very expensive. The Fiat here, which is the least expensive Pocher kit, goes for about $1,000 US with the other models substantially more from there. If I ever got another one, I would go ahead and build it.

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    Greg Fabian said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    It was a rainy day today, so I spent some time on the Fiat by assembling most of the running gear. I have the chassis completed except for the hand brake and gear shift. When installing the drive chains, I got a little concerned, but it turned out not to be a problem at all, it was just like replacing the chain on my bike. I should soon reach a point where I'll have to order some parts, which I've been holding off on because I wanted to see how the restoration was going before I committed further.

    4 attached images. Click to enlarge.