Porsche 917K

Here is an image of Dave Porter's venerable Porsche 917K endurance race car in 1/24 scale by Heller. This kit was an extremely difficult and taxing build.

It has plenty of parts, but none fit to well. One may expect that considering that the kit is about 35 years old. Dave had to shim body parts and windows to get the proper alignment. The interior and engine compartment are fully wired and plumbed. Dave scratch built many components that were not included in the kit. He also scratch built a wiper assembly and race harness. The kit tires were no good so Dave bought some aftermarket wheels and tires from Fisher Model and Pattern. He than installed wheel weights and valve stems onto them. The car is in the livery of the 1971 Le Mans race with sponsorship from Gulf oil. The Decals are from Fred Cady. To achieve the proper color Dave mixed a combination of Testor’s blue, classic white and purple. After an initial wet sanding the decals went on. Dave then applied 4 coats of clear lacquer and wet sanded the finish between coats moving from a 2000 grit to a 10,000 grit cloth. Finally, the finish was buffed out with Turtle automotive wax.