Mini Cup Car Information
The mini cup car shown in the following linked photographs is a 1997 Townsend chassis with a fiberglass Monte Carlo body. The photographs will show from start to finish the preparation that went into the TAMCO #11 for the 2000 season
The first step in the process was to strip all of the decals off of the body since we were planning on slightly changing the paint scheme of the cars for 2000. Once the body was stripped down there was fiberglass work that had to be done due to an accident that occurred in the last race of 1999 before the car could be prepared for paint. After cutting out and replacing the rear panel and the rear deck lid the car had to be scuffed and prepared for a new paint job. Since we were also planning on changing the body mounts we had to repair the holes from the old mounts.
After the hard part of preparing the body for paint we then began to work on the chassis. The first step was to strip it down to only the bare frame. After the frame was repainted we cleaned all the dirt panels with a scotch pad and bug and tar remover. We then started replacing the front steering linkage and hubs.
Once the front end was complete we moved to the rear and began installing the brake and axel assembly. Then it was time to move onto the electrical system. After some time of rewiring the charging system it was time for installation of the engine . Installing the engine took only a matter of minutes and then we were ready to put in the safety seat and the five point racing harness.
Once the chassis was complete our attention was then turned back to the body. Since this was going to be a garage paint job we had to try to wait until the weather conditions were as good as possible. Unfortunately Mother Nature only gave us a small window of opportunity and we had to make the best of what we had. The first thing to do was to apply 3 coats of Dura Build high build primer surfacer. Being that we were using a two step paint system the next process was to apply the four coats of the color base. After allowing the color base to set overnight the next morning we began to apply the clear coat. 5 coats of clear was applied to the body. The clear was allowed to set overnight before it was wet sanded and buffed out. On the evening of the show the #11 had the new lexan windshield cut and was trailered to the mall to be set up on display.
Shortly after the car was rolled into the mall I began installing the numbers and lettering on the car completing the work for the start of the 2000 season.
All in all about 60 hours of work went into getting the car ready for the start of the year which really wasn't too bad considering we didn't start until two weeks before the show.
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