Post by MikeB on Apr 28, 2020 13:36:17 GMT -5
With my 72 McLaren staled as I wait for something to get here I was looking for a new project and after getting a pretty cool lot of AMT kits off of eBay I figured what better project then these three cars from the 1987 500
The 87 race had just about everything 2 legends going in opposite directions and an up and coming star all three would play a part in one of the best finishes in 500 history
Car One the Dominator
#5 Hanna Car Wash Lola Mario Andretti
From day one Mario had the field covered no one could keep up with him or his Newman/Hass prepared Lola the only things that could stop him was the fast but unproven Chevy engine and of course the Andretti Curse
He won the pole with a speed of 215.39 mph that was 2 MPH faster then the 2nd place starter the 1986 winner Bobby Rahal from the start of the race Mario put everyone to shame putting the field a lap down and leading 170 of the 180 laps he ran
this was his race until an electrical failure in the fuel metering device ended his day
I will be using an AMT 1988 Lola and Indycals decals for this car
Car Two The Upstart
#4 True Value/STP Special March Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero was making his fourth start in the 87 500 having finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th in his previous 3 starts he put the car in 5th place on the grid with a speed of 210.68 mph Roberto was in the top three for most of the 1st half of the race he could see Mario but that was about it
on lap 130 the race changed while running 2nd Roberto hit the wheel that had come off of Tony Bettenhausen's March the tire knocked off the nosecone of Guerrero's car he made it back to the pits had a new nosecone put on well kinda and made it back onto the track but had lost a lap to Mario Gurerrero got back up to speed and held 2nd the car seemed fine but what no one at the time knew was the impact with the tire had damaged clutch slave cylinder
When Mario went out at lap 180 Guerrero took over the lead it looked like he had the race in the bag he quickly put Al Unser a lap down and then went to make his final pit stop that's when it all fell apart the damaged clutch slave cylinder made the clutch fail as he tried to leave the pits stalling his engine it took several tries to get the car restarted but by then Al had un-lapped himself and taken over the lead Roberto would end up finishing 2nd the only other car on the lead lap
I will be using an AMT March 86C kit converted into an 87 and making my own decals
Car Three The Winner
#25 Cummins March 86C Al Unser
Al had won the 500 three times before in 1970, 1971 and 1978 but at the opening of the track in 1987 he was without a ride but after a nasty practice crash involving Danny Ongais Al ended up being reunited with Roger Penske the man he had drove for from 1983-86 Al put the car in the 25th position on the grid with a speed of 207.423 mph he went on to drive an Al Unser race before you knew it he was up in the top five but all most two laps down to Mario
with 25 laps to go Al made his final pit stop while in 3rd place two laps later Mario slowed then a few laps later Guerrero made his fateful final pit stop Al took the lead on lap 182 and never looked back he took his 4th and final Indy win with his brother Bobby himself a three time 500 winner calling the action in the ABC booth
I will be using an AMT March 86C kit and Indycals decals for this car
The 87 race had just about everything 2 legends going in opposite directions and an up and coming star all three would play a part in one of the best finishes in 500 history
Car One the Dominator
#5 Hanna Car Wash Lola Mario Andretti
From day one Mario had the field covered no one could keep up with him or his Newman/Hass prepared Lola the only things that could stop him was the fast but unproven Chevy engine and of course the Andretti Curse
He won the pole with a speed of 215.39 mph that was 2 MPH faster then the 2nd place starter the 1986 winner Bobby Rahal from the start of the race Mario put everyone to shame putting the field a lap down and leading 170 of the 180 laps he ran
this was his race until an electrical failure in the fuel metering device ended his day
I will be using an AMT 1988 Lola and Indycals decals for this car
Car Two The Upstart
#4 True Value/STP Special March Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero was making his fourth start in the 87 500 having finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th in his previous 3 starts he put the car in 5th place on the grid with a speed of 210.68 mph Roberto was in the top three for most of the 1st half of the race he could see Mario but that was about it
on lap 130 the race changed while running 2nd Roberto hit the wheel that had come off of Tony Bettenhausen's March the tire knocked off the nosecone of Guerrero's car he made it back to the pits had a new nosecone put on well kinda and made it back onto the track but had lost a lap to Mario Gurerrero got back up to speed and held 2nd the car seemed fine but what no one at the time knew was the impact with the tire had damaged clutch slave cylinder
When Mario went out at lap 180 Guerrero took over the lead it looked like he had the race in the bag he quickly put Al Unser a lap down and then went to make his final pit stop that's when it all fell apart the damaged clutch slave cylinder made the clutch fail as he tried to leave the pits stalling his engine it took several tries to get the car restarted but by then Al had un-lapped himself and taken over the lead Roberto would end up finishing 2nd the only other car on the lead lap
I will be using an AMT March 86C kit converted into an 87 and making my own decals
Car Three The Winner
#25 Cummins March 86C Al Unser
Al had won the 500 three times before in 1970, 1971 and 1978 but at the opening of the track in 1987 he was without a ride but after a nasty practice crash involving Danny Ongais Al ended up being reunited with Roger Penske the man he had drove for from 1983-86 Al put the car in the 25th position on the grid with a speed of 207.423 mph he went on to drive an Al Unser race before you knew it he was up in the top five but all most two laps down to Mario
with 25 laps to go Al made his final pit stop while in 3rd place two laps later Mario slowed then a few laps later Guerrero made his fateful final pit stop Al took the lead on lap 182 and never looked back he took his 4th and final Indy win with his brother Bobby himself a three time 500 winner calling the action in the ABC booth
I will be using an AMT March 86C kit and Indycals decals for this car
