Worklog

the positioning of the timing belt wasn't super intuitive from the KMP instructions, had to realise the subtle side image was referring to some sort of cross-section of the engine.

this is a nice addition and fix to the main problem of the Nunu kit that many point out: the exhaust pipe position is completely off. KMP provides a replacement for the engine head which means chopping off the current one.

initial dry fitting of the engine.

it's notable that when dry fitting the engine with the timing belt, it was taking too much space making it awkward to fit into the engine bay. This meant quite a bit of filing.

The same goes for the transmission part the main engine will fit into: I had to file a good portion of it for the timing belt bit to fit properly.

some more dry fitting: the main exhaust will need some clamp (KMP provided) that attaches to the engine bay frame. How to drill this is mostly down to imagination as any picture I found doesn't make it clear (aside from the fact that the rear differential box is probably slightly off given the original drawings of the car.

here is how I drilled it, hoping it will work.

the clamp attached

wiring of the KMP-provided spark plugs (they give you plenty as they're super easy to misplace)

the engine with the intercooler and turbos set up (still dry-fitted) and the wiring completed

side view

finished painting some of the KMP-provided cooling systems, using the Tamyia aluminium flat with Tamyia Royal Blue and Tamyia Clear Red on top. (apparently the front one should be aluminum in colour I found out later.

cooling box in place under the intercooler (still dry fitted)

Based on the schematics the hosing should connect directly on the differential unit, which in my case is something I have not factored in, but will try to see if I can just glue the hoses in the right place without too much effort.

next step will be finishing off the transmission and getting the engine finalised (for as much as possible)

the other hosing system that I can easily install would be the one from the pump/filter group to the 3-way valve attached to the Magneti Marelli alternator (both came in the KMP kit)

Before gluing the engine to the engine bay, I've decided to dry-fit the rest of the engine frame to make sure there's nothing that needs filing.

The rear axle does not have anywhere to stick into the rear suspension hub, while the shaft is provided with a small pin :-/

I've decided to provide a small housing for it

This "should" work!

last spoken words: the rear transmission arms are too short! one almost a couple of mils. I will probably need to enlarge it.

In the meantime, I've decided to finish off the brakes applying the PE disks, unfortunately, the shorter side does not fit, so more filing needed.

Filing done, they fit perfectly now

after cutting in half the rear transmission axle I added a few mils of styrene sheet which I then proceeded to file. (This one needed to be redone as the end was glued the wrong way)

it's not the cleanest result, but it gets the job done

more dry fitting, after painting and applying decals of the oil cooling system. The bottom frame is in place together with the KMP oil tank which should be connected through braided hosing to the top cooling grill. I will need to get some hose joints to get this one done.

The dampers are not fitting into the suspension hub properly, some more filing to be done!

a more detailed view of the suspension hub

a 1.5 mm drill does the job

worked well.

gluing the suspensions in place

back into adding some detailing on the three-way valve

some more colours added to the pump/filter system

got the tubing attached to the top and the one that *should* be connected to the drivers seat gasoline tank.

While I'm waiting for paints to dry, I've started getting the tires sorted. The KMP-provided tires look gorgeous.

getting the front frame together with clamps, as some bits weren't straight or had a bit of fiddly position

the cooling system had the gearbox cooler attached to it, which will be replaced by one of the resin bits from the KMP kit, so I had to file it out (which proved to be more challenging than expected)

done with the front cooling system

some details of the gearbox cooling system in place and the front suspension with the colouring of the Tour de Corse.

wiring of the gearbox cooling system done

finally got those hose joints I was looking for to close the engine bay!

painted and in place, I used the 1.2 mm hose joints to accommodate the larger hose.

before putting everything together

clamping needed here. I also had to do use some thin cement on the back where the engine sits as it was a bit loose.

Close up of the back now that everything is in place and glued (still a few details missing, but the big part is done).

now moving into the cockpit... I kinda feel these moulds are a bit old or not aligned properly :-/

this is an odd one, looks like the scale of the radio is off: based on the original photos the size of the decal is the correct one, the one on the pic is not, but then I have a hole to fill for this and I'm very confused.

creating some coil for the radio

all decals done and sorted

Dashboard ready and in place, together with the extinguisher.
next step: seats!

I have painted the seats with ultra matte paint and added the carbon fiber decals, time to assemble the seatbelt. Make sure to hold your breath!

I feel like someone at NuNu's gone a bit excited with the belt buckle.. don't think this was time well spent.

Toivonen's and Cresto's seats ready to be installed

And with this I am done with the interiors (mostly). Next week I'm going to resume with the outer shell and all the needed details. Looking forward to that.

for the sake of myself I couldn't find a reference picture on how the oil tank was placed.

I finally realised it was just "hovering" and needed to be glued in place. The pic also shows the position for the brake oil fluid.

some fun adding the 1mm magnets for the carbon fiber ventilation disks. I decided to drill a small hole with a 1.2 drill to have a better positioning for the magnet, also considering the magnets wouldn't fit perfectly inside the ventilation disk.

the magnet are barely enough to keep the wheels on. Still debating if I want to glue some of the wheels on the wheel hub.

As I approached adding the decals for the cockpit shell, I noticed that one of the decals wasn't separated

I decided to refile the decal as much as possible so to see where the seam line was starting

marking it with a toothpick

and then cutting it!

seems like it might actually work!

the end result seems to have worked quite well

as with the front grill, the back grill was not fitting in the back, a few mills cut was needed

like a glove.

I totally hate to find a trapped hair after the coating.

I decided not to use the decals provided in the NuNu kit rather mask the windows to do the trimming myself with cans. I'm quite proud of the result.

the inner border of the window needs to have a different colour than white, I will paint it silver, as the rest of the inside of the cockpit.

placing the KMP-provided 3D printed air cooling ducts should have happened before I glued the mudguards into place.

This meant a lot of fiddling to get it through the rear window, doable, but a mistake I could have avoided.

I decided to cut the Tour de Corse number sign in two so I can coat them both in place without having to have dangling parts around.

The result could have been better, but not that horrible either.

rear Tour de Corse plate in place, together with lights, and plate. The red mudguards are not historically correct: for the tarmac races, they would mount some shorter ones of a different colour. Pity I found out too late.

working through the front bonnet

most of the decals in place, trying to spot if I'm missing anything.

preparing the tires, which will be coated with semi-gloss to blend the decal better, and the front night-light sets, which I won't be able to use as the KMP kit is currently missing the magnets (they've been kind enough to send me a new set)