Brabus Smart Roadster-Coupe V6

1957 Views 19 Replies 3 Participants Last post by roadstermatt, Apr 6, 2005

castrol_supra_gt

Discussion Starter · Dec 24, 2004

2

This was a pretty easy bit to do - putting the interior back together. I 'scrapped' the old seats and used the bucket racing seats and harnesses from Bburago's Ford Focus WRC kit. I painted parts of the harnesses black to look a bit more like those in the Brabus Smart.

The front axle may look wonky but it looks like this because it hasn't been mounted yet. :cheers

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G

· #2 · Dec 26, 2004

the car's coming together nicely :cheers,
how much more work u gotta do on the car?

castrol_supra_gt

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 26, 2004

2

I've almost finished it, Chris. I've finished off wiring the engine up and I made the fuel tank as well. To finish I need to do cut out some of the metal from the rear bodywork to make space for the twin tailpipes - see the pictures below to see what I mean:

Standard Smart Roadster-Coupe

Brabus Smart Roadster-Coupe

I had a go at doing the little holes in the rear windows as Bart suggested but the plastic is too tough for the tools that I have available.

I'll add some pictures tomorrow to show my progress.

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G

· #4 · Dec 27, 2004

Its coming along nicely CS GT!

The dash and seats look a world better!

Can't wait to see it finished

:cheers

Jim

castrol_supra_gt

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 28, 2004

9

I finished my project earlier today and I'm pretty happy with it.

Front overview:

Rear overview:

Front head-on:

I wasn't too keen on the rather plain-looking "V6 biturbo" licence plate on the press release photos so I used the licence plate from the Smart V6 in Car #493.

Fuel tank:

I used part of an old rubber floor mat to make the tank itself with the fuel filler cap from a Hot Wheels TVR Speed 12. The "hose" is a piece of solder and the bar was a cable tie painted silver. I had to drill two small holes to pass the tie through.

Rear head-on:

I used a knife sharpener to make the arc in the bodywork to make space for the tailpipes. I know that it's slightly wonky but the glue sets really quickly. :giggle

Brakes:

Interior:

Engine bay:

Compared to making the V6 engine itself, this was pretty easy. I just fixed a couple of wires here and there as well as add a bit of paint detail.

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BVR

· #6 · Dec 28, 2004

Nice work Darren! :cheers
Looks really good, especially the engine and fuel tank! :danbana

G

· #7 · Dec 28, 2004

Well done Darren, thats pretty bloody good, i'm very impressed!!!!

How much of the engine compartment did you have to hack off in order for the V6 to fit? Also, I like the braided hoses, nice touch.

The fuel tank looks good, what did you fabricate it from in the end? Is the fuel filler cap on top of the tank taken from the original?

:cheers and :nicejob

Jim

castrol_supra_gt

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 29, 2004

Thanks, guys. :cheers

jwp79 said:
...How much of the engine compartment did you have to hack off in order for the V6 to fit?...

I didn't need to make much space in the engine bay because there was just enough for the V6 to fit - Bburago didn't worry with simulating the fuel tank. I only needed to remove a small bit of the engine cover so more of the engine could be seen.

jwp79 said:
...The fuel tank looks good, what did you fabricate it from in the end? Is the fuel filler cap on top of the tank taken from the original?...

I made the fuel tank from part of a rubber floor mat - it was ideal and inexpensive. The fuel filler cap came from Hot Wheels' TVR Speed 12 model.

G

· #9 · Dec 29, 2004

I forgot to ask Darren, have you got any other projects planned? If so, what are you considering doing next?

:feedback

:cheers

Jim

G

· #10 · Dec 29, 2004

Looks good! Very nice work! :nicejob :nicejob :nicejob
How about a new set of wheels though? :confused

castrol_supra_gt

Discussion Starter · #11 · Dec 29, 2004

Jim:
I do have another project planned - I'm going to have a go at making a racer out of Maisto's Opel Speedster. I've already ordered the parts but I'm waiting for them to arrive now.

Rico:
If I can find a decent set of wheels for a reasonable price, I'll use those instead. Most custom wheels are too expensive, in my humble opinion.

G

· #12 · Dec 29, 2004

Sounds cool Darren!

What parts do you need other than rims?

castrol_supra_gt

Discussion Starter · #13 · Dec 29, 2004

I've ordered the following from Tuning18:

- nitrous kit w/ hose connections
- Acura RSX mirros
- Ferrari 360 NGT rear spoiler
- DTM style front splitter
- side splitters

I'm getting a Porsche Carrera GT Concept as well to be the donor model for the wheels and brakes. :cheers

G

· #14 · Dec 30, 2004

that turned out awesome :cheers

great work :cheers

G

· #15 · Dec 30, 2004

Thanks Darren.

They've got some decent stuff at tuning18!

How difficult is it going to be to fit all of those body parts? Are you going to have to fill and sand or is it just a case of sticking them on?

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but i've got no idea about doing this to a 1:18. And also how many donor vehicles have you used for all your mods? Your house must look like a scrap yard :giggle !

:cheers

Jim

castrol_supra_gt

Discussion Starter · #16 · Dec 31, 2004

jwp79 said:
...How difficult is it going to be to fit all of those body parts? Are you going to have to fill and sand or is it just a case of sticking them on?

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but i've got no idea about doing this to a 1:18. And also how many donor vehicles have you used for all your mods? Your house must look like a scrap yard :giggle !...

It's not a stupid question at all. Some parts can be just painted and stuck on while some need to be cut/filled or in another way adapted to suit the model. In some cases, some parts just need minor changes (painting) before they are to be fitted to one model while they need a lot of work to fit to another model mainly because of differences with the model's bodywork.
So far, I've only used two models as donors - Hot Wheels's TVR Speed 12 and Bburago's Smart Roadster-Coupe. My other custom models were customised with paint and parts I had from old computers.

G

· #17 · Dec 31, 2004 (Edited)

What can you use off old pc's to modify 1:18s?
I've never heard of anyone doing that before.

I bet it bloody difficult to sand down something as small as a side skirt or bumper!

(I'm sorry about asking all these questions, but i've never spoken to someone who mods diecasts before).

:cheers

Jim

castrol_supra_gt

Discussion Starter · #18 · Dec 31, 2004

It's no problem at all. I used the little cables and braided wires from mice and from some of the internal components.

The DX Custom Tutorials and Resources Forum should give you some really good advice if you want to start modding your models. The posts there give more information that I could hope to give you. :cheers

roadstermatt

· #19 · Apr 6, 2005

any finished pics yet???

roadstermatt

· #20 · Apr 6, 2005

If I can find a decent set of wheels for a reasonable price, I'll use those instead. Most custom wheels are too expensive, in my humble opinion.

what about the wheels from some of the burasgo bmw m3's & escort cosworth'ds they look a bit like brabus rims!!

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