The McLaren M6A
The 7 Litre Chevrolet V8 powered McLaren M6A's were developed for the 1967 Can-Am series. The cars were incredibly successful, dominating the '67 season, allowing Bruce McLaren himself to win the seasons Can-Am title, followed a close second in the points by his teamate Denny Hulme. The cars were so successful in fact, that the 67' seasons was dubbed the "Bruce and Denny show" by their Can-Am series competitors. The #4 car, the subject of this re-creation, was the Prototype M6A and McLaren's personal car, scoring 2 outright victories, and the 1967 championship title.
This example of the McLaren M6A came from eBay for $14 including shipping. The first resto required one with a good windscreen, one without too much wear and tear on the body, and without any issues regarding the allignment of the rear clip. Wheel condition, and whether or not the axles were straight was less of a concern, as all the re-creations will have their wheels replaced with a set that best represent those on the original machine. One concern was sourcing the correct colour of paint that most closely represents the McLaren Orange of the Can-Am era, a.k.a. Papaya Orange. |  |
 | Eric Aitala at The Formula 1 Modeling Website suggests Gunze H24 Yellow Orange, or Tamyia X7 Orange with a few drops of yellow to achieve the correct shade. I wanted to avoid mixing colours whenever possible, as I don't have any airbrush equipment. Single colours of spray paint are used to simplify the process. After consulting a few colour charts, Tamiya TS-56 Brilliant Orange was the best choice, as no mixing was required, and Tamiya paints are readily available at any hobby shop. The decal set (pictured to the right) is available from Pattos Place in Australia, an outfit that caters to slot car scratchbuilders. His selection of decals is incredible, and he offers low shipping rates. |
A set of deep dish rims on GoodYear Real Riders will work on this restoration. They're very similar to the ones pictured on the right. Painting the inside of the hub flat black and leaving the outer edge of the rim in chrome gives them a bit more authenticity. Here's a shot of the McLaren after the first coat of paint, and later after the decals had been applied. Looks like the Tamiya TS-56 is a pretty decent match. |
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 | Here's the car mocked up after paint. The recommended method of axles to the base involves using JB Weld epoxy. UHU glue works on cars where a solid axle can be reused, and remounted, but many of the vehicles require the axle to be snipped in half, and trimmed to fit. In these cases, the epoxy will most likely produce better, and more durable results. When a suitable method is determined, it will be posted on the reassembly portion of the Restoration page. |
