Vintage WRC Cars (3) Revell-Monogram

 
＜Opel Ascona 400＞
For many years, my Revell Ascona 400 sat quietly in the collection as one of those cars I was content merely to admire.

But when I finally decided to turn it into a “hot” car, the very first thing that bothered me was the front axle shaft, which was far too short. The front wheels sat buried too deeply inside the fenders, making the car look nothing like a proper Ascona 400.

That had to be corrected first.

Initially, I considered replacing the axle with a commercially available shaft of the correct length. However, both ends of the stock axle were knurled, and pulling them out of the wheels by force would inevitably enlarge the axle holes in the plastic wheels themselves. Trying to achieve proper concentricity afterward using a precision blank axle felt like unnecessary suffering.

Instead, I carefully worked both wheels outward little by little, evenly on both sides, while keeping enough engagement that the wheels would not fall off entirely. Once the tread width looked correct, I checked whether sufficient grip still remained between the axle and wheels.

To fill the newly created gaps, I temporarily removed the wheels completely and inserted spacers on both sides. Afterward, I carefully reinstalled the plastic wheels perfectly straight and fixed them in place with CA glue.

This method was only possible because Revell’s plastic wheels use unusually long hubs.
From there, the rest was fairly straightforward.

I replaced the original guide ― which required Revell-Monogram-specific braids ― with a normal Ninco guide, removed the chassis magnet and added ballast weight, replaced the rear tires with Paul Gage XPG urethanes and trued them, and also bonded the slightly off-center front wheels and tires into solid assemblies before machining them perfectly round on the truer.

At times like this, it is enormously helpful when cars ― like early-2000s Scalextrics, this Revell, or Ninco models ― use removable front axle bushings just like the rear axle. It makes setting the entire assembly up on the tire truer vastly easier.

Finally, I took one of the antennas taped inside the crystal case and mounted it onto the roof, installed Z-Machine LEDs in the front and rear lights, added Patto tire decals, and called the project complete.