Fred Lorenzen 1972 Lemon Tree Ford Torino NASCAR

Now that the Stuart tank is finished, I want a fast car build completed before the end of the year. I chose this one as I cleaned up all the parts about four years ago. They just need primer, paint and assembly, so it shoud go pretty quick.

This is the kit:



Not sure how old it is but judging by the boxart, I'd say it dates back to the 70's.







The kit came sans wheels and tyres, so I'm using some aftermarket wheels and some suitable parts box tyres:





I'm using aftermarket decals too:



And hopefully it should come out looking something like this one:

I Have never seen that kit. Is There A Bar code on the box?

Interesting subject Al. Your sample looks way too bright yellow. I looked around and the actual car is much softer and lighter yellow. The lemon tree decal on the rear quarter should be clear with a black surround. The paint color should show through.

Ditto what Dave said about the color.  It looks like there's a lot more sponsor decals too.  And silver wheels.  I don't think they're chrome as it was outlawed at some point in time.

One of my favorite Fords of the era in NASCAR. Also, being a yankee from the Midwest, he's one one of my fave drivers of all time. Thanx, big smile on my face tonight!
Re: the kit, that's one of the really rare ones. Jo-Han wasn't run terribly well, or maybe just terribly. The Jo-Han "strictly racers" (NASCAR or drag) are all highly prized for their details and scarcity.

Yea, Al. What Harron68 said. That is a RARE old kit. How in the world did it turn up on your side of the pond and in your grubby little mitts? You better make sure and do it justice. LOTS of detail.

Buck.... yes there is a barcode. Do you want me to scan it to find out how much it originaly cost?? LOL

Dave and Mike..... Yes the colour is way to deep on that model. It should be much more lemon like. The Lemon Tree decals are indeed clear and, yes the wheels should be silver. As to the decals, the decal sheet supplies a lot more contigencies than the model displays and looks to be right as per your photo.

Sam..... cheeky sod. We aren't in the back of beyond ya know!!!   I got it for a song off ebay a few years ago.

Hmmmm..... this could be 'interesting'. In its intended postition, the chassis hangs way below the body and the cage is way too low.

O Joy of Joys!!!  

It probably will be an experience. I've found that Johan seemed to throw a stock car body in with some race car parts to make the racing versions. The parts weren't necessarily designed for each other. Decals were never researched well either. I've got AMX and Javelin Pro Stocks that leave a lot desired. But the Rebel Machine and SC/Rambler are decent kits.

Good luck!

I have heard that too, good luck fixing it.

Looks like that "quick build" may take a bit longer than you thought.

Skid wrote:so it shoud go pretty quick.

Famous last words Sir...


I am now sorted, the chicken is lovely today Al...

Andy...

Whatever shade of yellow it ends up, and whatever issues there are with the fit I'm confident you'll do it justice Al.

Or as Andy says............. Famous last words lol

Break out the Dremel and start grinding. It'll fit sooner or later.

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

Zbuckster wrote:Break out the Dremel and start grinding. It'll fit sooner or later.

That's exactly what I did Buck.

Mike... thanks for the heads up.

JohnJ wrote:Looks like that "quick build" may take a bit longer than you thought.

Ya think!! LOL. My thoughts exactly at the time John but..... it was fairly easy in the end.

Just had to remove these two tabs (designed to support the chassis no doubt:





.... and with no interior tub, remove some material from the front bulkhead. The pencil mark was a staring point. About three times that much needed to be removed.



When done, the body was down. I still need to make up some supports for the rear end.

The front track was too wide and wouldn't allow the lowering of the body AND tucking in of the tyres, so more work was needed on the front end. It's real close now. It just needs raising a gnat's whisker at the rear methinks.

The wheelbase looks to be a little too short but I'm just going to live with that particular monkey!! LOL

Hi Al,

Personally, I think it looks darn good Sir...

Andy...

Looks great so. Nobody will notice the wheelbase. Nice job.

Al, I think I would leave it as it is. I think that's a good stance.

Thanks guys.

You are probably right Briz.

Buck.... couldn't leave it like that, it had a tail dragger look to me. Raised it a tad at the rear and it looks right to me now.



The wheelbase on the drivers side is actually bang on.

However, the same cannot be said for the passenger side.....



..... but I'm blowed as to why at the moment. With the body off everything on the chassis looks straight. Taking half a dozen measurements on the body shows it to be perfectly symmetrical too. It's baffling to say the lease. Going have to make some adjustments though.

In the last photo, the body appears lower over the rear wheel than the other side. Must be something to do with the camera angles as it the same on both sides in reality.

Well, it took a bit of jiggery pokery but it looks much better now. The wheels aren't on properly yet, so may look a bit out of kilter at the mo.

Looks good AL

I was wondering if the problem was with the body and not the chassis. Looks like you resolved it nicely.

Thanks both.

An hour or so's work scraping away with an Exacto blade followed by sanding and the trim is gone:





It's not perfect but it will do for a qucikie build shefie!! Just have the lights and door handles to fill and a sink mark at the front of the left front wing and she'll be ready for paint.

To be accurate, the fuel filler should be moved to the extreme rear of the drivers rear wing but it's staying where it is!! LOL