Guy Beaudette's Groundshaker Jr.
Text and photos by Guy Beaudette except as noted.

Above photos provided by Riceman
Someone once said that a Fuel Altered is a fuel dragster on which the builder ran out of money before finishing the chassis. Whether or not this is true, the fuel altereds were once the scourge of the quarter mile asphalt. With nitro gulping engines perched on uncomfortably short wheelbases, once launched, they hardly ever ran straight! With speeds in excess of 210 MPH, the fuel altereds were quite a crowd pleaser. As a young teen in 1968, I picked up a copy of Drag Racing magazine. In those pages was an article featuring a fuel altered owned by Californian Glen Way. Of all the altereds I'd seen, this one just turned me on!  It reeked of horsepower. Also interesting was the fact that the fuel tank wasn't hanging off the front of the car as with most altereds. That gave Way’s car, which ran primarily at Irwindale Raceway in Southern California, a cleaner look. Again, in July of 1969, this time on the cover of Popular Hot Rodding, I saw the Groundshaker Jr. This time it sported a beautiful panel paint job--very popular at the time. Some time ago, I had the pleasure of talking with Glen Way. He explained to me that the car was very violent coming off the line before the advent of the slipper clutch. After the multi-discunit was installed, Glen took over the reins. The car ran 7.70's at 207 MPH. As we spoke, Glen gave me vital information on the car that I could never learn anywhere else. I thank him for that. My hat's also off to Jim Sorenson and Mark Brown who provided me with vital information on the Groundshaker Jr.
Above photo courtesy Flyin' Phil Elliott.

The Engine
The first segment of a project I start with is the engine. I figure if the engine comes out decent, the rest will follow suit. Pieces from various kits were used to depict the Donovan-equipped 392 Chrysler hemi. The engine block, heads, oil pan, intake, and valley cover come from the Revell "Miss Deal" kit. The magneto, front engine cover, crank and blower pulleys come from the AMT Garlits' Wynn’s Jammer kit. The blower case and end plates came from a Johan funny car kit.The injector hat comes from the Revell Jungle Jim kit. The clutch can comes from the MPC "Wild Willie" kit, with the frame mounts removed. The fuel pump, breathers, valve covers, water filler caps, and headers are scratchbuilt. The "Miss Deal" engine block is a multi-piece unit, and should be block sanded on the joining part areas. This is to assure a proper and square fit. This can be done with 400 grit sand paper, and a sheet of plate glass. To deepen the freeze plugs, the plugs were drilled out of the block, and sheet plastic was installed on the inside of the block. The freeze plugs will be painted chrome silver later. Petcocks installed on the first two freeze plugs on both sides of the engine. The heads from the "Miss Deal" kit lack the water ports located on each end. To create these, .015" sheet plastic, sanded to shape and white putty was used.
The "Miss Deal" oil pan was deepened by adding a piece of .030" thick plastic to the bottom, then sanded to shape. The engine and heads were shot with Model Master flat black. The oil pan was shot with Tamiya semi-gloss black. The block was then weathered with acrylic light brown paint to depict water stains on the block due to frequent head removal. Head gaskets were fashioned from .005" thick sheet plastic, painted  a copper color.  At this point, the block, head gaskets, heads and oil pan were glued together.  I should mention the makeshift engine stand I use, since the engine is handled constantly during the construction and detailing process. Drill a hole in the rear of the engine block (hey, a bell housing is going there, anyway), or drill a hole in a strip of .030" sheet plastic, and attach it to the inside of the block. Use a round tooth pick, and press fit it into the hole. The toothpick provides a handle so that work on the engine can be done without handling the engine itself. Next , I added the valley cover from the "Miss Deal"kit. This was shot Metalizer aluminum, and installed.The front engine cover (or timing case cover) came from the AMT Garlits'Wynnsjammer kit. Easy-Off oven cleaner was used to strip the chrome off of it. Also, the idler pulley mount was removed, and replaced with a slider type mount using .015" sheet plastic. The mount was installed on the top of the cover. Metalizer buffing aluminum was used to color the assembly. The valve covers posed a problem. At the time, no company created Mickey Thompson 392 Chrysler valve covers in scale. Therefore, I was required to scratchbuild a set. Mark Brown gave me a set of beautiful resin Mickey Thompson valve covers for a 426 Hemi. The shape of the valve covers for the 392 are quite different than those from the 426, but the logo was really nice and clear (The MT covers are from Johan's '69 Plymouth Roadrunner. Ed.).Three sizes of sheet plastic were then used in making the new Chrysler valve covers--.030", .015", and .010". The M/T logo was transferred by using aluminum foil pressed onto the resin cover. The foil was gently removed and turned over. Epoxy was used to fill the imprint of the logo. When the epoxy had cured, the foil was once again turned over. Now, the next step can cause blindness--I carefully trimmed the logos and installed them in the recesses of the new Chrysler valve covers. The three piece breathers were made from .015" and .030" sheet plastic. The bottoms of the breathers were pinned with wire so they would slide into holes drilled into the valve covers. The covers were then shot with Metalizer buffing aluminum, buffed out, and then black acrylic paint was applied to the recessed areas in the valve covers to provide depth.
I have yet to find a decent set of water filler tubes for the Chrysler hemi in 1/25TH scale. The water filler tubes are the necks that bolt to the front of each head, and are used to fill the engine with coolant. I decided to make a set. Now I'm kicking myself for not having them cast in resin. The filler tubes consist of two pieces of .060" plastic rod, cut at 45 degreeangles to make a 90 degree bend. The front bend was sanded to round it out. There is a notch on one side of each tube. The notches were created with a drill, then slightly sanded. They provide access for the installation and tightening of the mounting bolt. The filler cap was made from .015" sheet styrene. The assemblies were then coated with Testor's metalizer buffing aluminum. The crank and blower pulleys are from the AMT Garlits' Wynnsjammer kit. I would have opted for a larger crank pulley, but did not have one at the time. The idler pulley is scratch built using plastic tubing, and .010" sheet plastic.   An important note here:  The pulleys should be well anchored to their locations. If they are not, belt tension can cause them to cant, or sag. I used .060" styrene rod (Ed. note: I like 1/16" aluminum or brass tubing.).  The blower belt is scratch built. Check out Don Fahrni and Mark Brown's excellent method for creating Gilmer drive belts on the Fuel For Thought page. The blower is from Johan's excellent funny car series. I like them because of their rib relief and wide mounting base. The injector hat is a modified Revell piece. It is sprayed with metalizer buffing aluminum. The scratch built fuel pump consists of 35 pieces. Various sizes of plastic rod and sheet plastic were used along with aluminum from a Pepsi can for the fuel shutoff cable bracket.
In this construction shot, Guy’s excellent attention to detail is readily apparent.
The headers posed a slight problem. They're not your typical dragster headers. The headers used on the Groundshaker Jr. were swept upwards, yet more outwards. Probably to keep those nitro flames from scorching that beautiful paint job! A set of scratch built units would have to be made. Evergreen 1/8" plastic rod was used for the pipes, along with .015" sheet plastic for the flanges and strapping that connects the pipes together. The flanges were made the correct length and width for the heads, as well as the correct shape to accept the pipes and the bolt pattern. The  flanges were then drilled out to accept .035” plastic rod 1/8" inch long. The .035” rods would form the mounting point for each pipe. The flanges were then white glued into position on the heads. I let them set overnight. To begin work on the pipes, one piece of the 1/8' plastic rod was heated over a candle, and bent into shape. Once satisfied with the shape and length, one end of the pipe was then drilled out to accept the .035 plastic pin located on the flange. Nezt, a jig was made up to insure all the pipes would be the same. Once all the pipes were made, they were glued into position on the engine. Once the glue on the pipes set up, the .015”strapping was made to connect the pipes. The straps were then glued into position. I let the headers stay on the engine overnight. The next day I pried the headers from the engine, and drilled the tips out. The headers were then shot with Model Master Racing Black. A final word on exhaust pipes: On a 1:1 scale vehicle, the wall thickness on an exhaust pipe is very thin. When drilling out your pipes, try to keep this in mind. After all, aren't we all attempting to achieve realism?

The Suspension
This photo illustrates more of the amazing amount of work that goes into building a fine model. For more of Guy’s tips on straight axles, get The Skinny, here.
When you can, get as much information on the actual car that you're replicating. Good reference is imperative in the construction of your model. Thank God for SLM huh? Fortunately, I  had two different articles on this car. The 2" diameter straight tube axle incorporated a tread width of 51-1/2". I didn't have any plastic stock in this size, so a trip to the model stash was needed. I found a piece of plastic close to the diameter I needed from a old Johan funnycar kit. (So if you're wondering where the orange plastic came from on the axle, you now have the answer!) Along with the orange scrap plastic, .015" sheet plastic, .035" plastic rod, brass colored wire, and common pins were used. The common pins would be used for the pivot points. A typical dragster uses a draglink which runs the length of the frame, and connects to the left spindle. The Groundshaker Jr. does use a draglink, but, the draglink end connects to a small bellcrank located on the front axle. A short tie rod is used to connect the bellcrank to the left spindle. As you can see in the accompanying photo, this was replicated.
The AMT Ohio George Montgomery ‘33 Willys provided the ‘49 Olds differential the clutch exhaust tube is scratched.
The Groundshaker jr. carried a rearend out of a 1949 Oldsmoble. The one from AMT's OGM '33 Willys kit closely resembles that rearend. The chrome was stripped using Easy-Off oven cleaner. The two pieces were then sanded on the sides to be mated on a piece of glass. This insures a good glue joint, and a very minor seam. the rearend was then glued together, and the axle tubes shortened. The brake caliper mounts were made from .015" sheet plastic, as well as the mounting tabs for the pushbar/wheelie caster, and also for the bracket for the clutch exhaust tube. The Airheart dual spot brake calipers were made from the Revell Garlits dragster. They have great detail, although the fact that only the inboard side of the caliper is there poses a problem. These were scratch built using .015" sheet plastic. Brake pads were also made from the same material. The drilled out brake rotors are photo-etched items from S & S Specialties. The orginial Groundshaker Jr. didn't have them, but I thought it would be a neat touch.
Here, we see many of the components that make up the model prior to paint application.
Painting was next. the calipers were shot with Metalizer buffing aluminum. The front axle was taken apart, and shot with Model Master gloss black, as well as the rearend. I let the pieces sit for a week, and then chrome Alclad II was used. In the past, I sent pieces to the chrome shop.  Now, using Alclad II chrome paint, the pieces look more realistic in 1/25th scale. The plated chrome seems too reflective, and toylike. Just my thoughts on this subject. My next installment will deal with the chassis itself.

More Groundshaker Jr.