1/64th NASCAR Models by Lou Colyer!!

Fred Lorenzen's 1962 Ford Galaxie

Quote from Lou:
"...In 1962 Ford felt that the 'formal' Thunderbird style roof it used on the Galaxie race cars caused drag and slowed their cars down. To remedy this Ford began to offer the fastback roof from the 1961 Galaxie as a bolt on option for it's 1962 Galaxie convertibles. The option was called a Starlift roof. Ford petitioned NASCAR to allow this configuration into competition.

Reluctantly, NASCAR allowed Holman-Moody to field two Starlift equipped cars to run in the spring 1962 Atlanta race. Nelson Stacy and Fred Lorenzen were the drivers.

Rain threatened to keep the race from ever happening . Stacy crashed early in the race. Lorenzen took the lead late in the race because of a very quick pit stop and held on to it before torrential rain red flagged the event. Lorenzen got credit for the victory, and NASCAR banned the Starlift roof from further competition right after the end of the race.

The 1962 Galaxie Starlift model started out as a Johnny Lightning produced 4-door 1961 Galaxie police car. Cosmetically the 1961 and 1962 Galaxies are the same from the doors to the front bumper, except for the grille. The rear fenders, trunk lid, and rear taillight panel differ. I needed to file off the fins and file the taillight panel to an angle suitable for a 1962 car. Filling in the leftover depressions in the trunk lid and rear fenders gave me the slab side fenders and flat trunk of the 1962 car. I removed the 4-door roof and substituted a fastback roof from a 1/64th scale 1960 Ford Galaxie which is very similar to that of a 1961. From this point on it was simply paint and graphics. "

More from Lou:
"Several years ago I began collecting 1/64th scale diecast race cars. The collection grew, and as I learned more about NASCAR history I realized that certain historical cars would never be available for purchase. Over time I discovered that older model cars like those once raced on NASCAR tracks were available in 1/64th scale. These could be repainted and decorated and added to the collection, and this I have done.

With a computer and a printer I have been able to add 'impossible' cars to my race car collection.

This is not to say that I am a great modeler. Far from it. But I do see potential in the 1/64th scale medium. It can be challenging because source cars are often not easy to find, and are often not plentiful when they are available. There does not seem to be a network of aftermarket parts like wheels or decals to use. You pretty much make what you need for a project. The problems are not insurmountable, and when you look at some of the source cars available, it's fun to see how close you can get to the pictures you're working from.
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