Winter time - Hibernation Mode
Well, it's been a pretty typical winter here in Minnesota, average snowfall and temps. But now the thermometer is inching over the freezing point and I am starting to think about race car building.
Over the winter I wasn't able to do much on the full-size Torino, but I started to build a scale model of it. I have built a couple of these Torino kits in the past, but this one is going to look as much like the real one I am building as possible.
Another thing I was able to work on is some of the small details I am going to include in the full-size Torino. I am planning to include a few things in the Tribute Torino that I hope will bring back good memories of Punky Manor and his racing career.
From the very beginning of the Tribute build, I was interested in creating a memorial to Punky but also to celebrate the Manor family history in and out of racing.
In a past post, I have already talked about how the paint job I will be doing is designed to include not only Punky's Torino, but also the paint job he had on his 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie Hobby Stock race car.
Some other ideas have presented themselves as I progressed on the build. When I was putting the transmission and shifter together, I happened to find a few companies that produce personalized shifter knobs. I went ahead and ordered one with Punky's name and life years on it.
Neil Manor (Punky's Dad) owned a used car dealership in Altoona, WI back when Punky raced the Torino, so I thought it would be cool to include a period correct Wisconsin dealer's plate in the build. I did some searches for real plates but couldn't come up with anything very interesting, so I decided to paint my own.
I have a background in Graphic Design, hand lettering, and airbrushing, so I just designed my own plate. Punky was born on August 24, 1953 so these are the numbers I wanted to include. I ended up using the August for the month on the plate. The 24 and 53 were put on as the main number, and Punky raced the Torino in the 1974 season, so that went on as well.
The plate below is the correct and actual size of a real plate. It has been hand painted and airbrushed to look like a real plate. I will rivet this plate on to the rear splash panel after the car has been painted.
Both of Punky's parents, Neil Sr. and Joanie Manor were big fans of Punky's and were very involved in his racing career. I also wanted to somehow include Punky's parents in the final build of the race car. I ended up designing a bit of lettering that will be hand painted on the rear deck lid.
In the only reference pictures I have of Punky's Torino, I do not see any crew names painted on his car. But most race cars that I have seen do have a crew name of some sort painted on them.
I decided that I would include the names of the crew that means the world to me, my direct family members. I wouldn't be able to do any of this project without the support of my lovely wife, our daughters, and our grandkids.
I came up a way to include their names that wouldn't be on the exterior of the car, but could be seen on closer inspection. The interior sail panel area seemed like the perfect place to include those names.
Of course I will be hand painting the drivers name over both window openings and the famous number 57 on both sides, as well as on the front and rear bumpers.
And finally I will be painting a memorial to the Manor family members most involved in this story, that are the driving force behind this Tribute Torino Build.
For now I will wait for the temps to become comfortable enough to work outside again. In the mean time, I will prepare to make the final push on this build. I have a lot of work to do, but I am highly motivated to get this race car over the finish line...take care for now.
