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NASCAR MODELS by MR NASCAR Pete Hamilton's 1972 HOUSBY MACK Plymouth

Of course, I knew of Pete Hamilton, surprise winner of the 1970 Daytona 500 in a winged Petty Superbird. But a little digging, and, lo and behold, right there on the front cover of the Feb 1973 issue of STOCK CAR RACING was a glorious colour shot of the car in question, in full song from the '72 season! (left)

Pete came down from the Northeast and won the NASCAR National Sportsman Championship (now BGN) in 1967, after finishing 8th in 1966; the first Northerner to find success in the Grand National (now NEXTEL CUP) Division, paving the way for others from the North to follow. He won Rookie of the year in 1968.

Hamilton made 64 Grand National starts with impressive results. He scored 33 top ten finishes, 26 top fives, and 4 wins along with 3 poles. But unquestionably, Pete Hamilton’s greatest victory came in 1970 when he won the Daytona 500 in the Petty Enterprises #40 Superbird. He won twice more at both Talladega races in 1970; the first driver to win both Talledega 500 mile races in the same year until Dale Earnhardt duplicated the feat in 1999. Unfortunately, with the withdrawal of factory support in 1971, Pete was odd man out at PE, and had to scramble for rides in 1971, until 1973, when he quit for good. He won his fourth and final super speedway win at the July race at Daytona driving for Cotton Owens in '71. He also won a Daytona 125 qualifier in 1971 for Owens.

The car shown here is the Housby Mack Plymouth that first ran in 1972 at the Motor State 400 at MIS, where he started 26th, and finished 22nd with a blown engine. He went on to run 4 more races in '72 in the car, but only managed one top ten, a fifth place finish at Rockingham. I believe the car as shown here is from one of those last 4 races, the stars and stripes numbers were introduced at the Firecracker 400, where he started 9th and finished 33rd, again with engine woes.

The starting kit for this model was the Monogram 1971 Plymouth GTX. The hood was filled from underneath with crazy glue and baking soda, then the top was sanded flat, to match the prototype. Holes were drilled for hoodpins, all trim and door handles were sanded off, and the opening for the gas cap was drilled in the rear quarterpanel. In the engine bay, the inner fenders and firewall were removed. Slots were cut in the rear decklid, and the underside of the front fascia, to accept spoilers, as per reference shots. I removed the molded-in vent at the rear of the hood, and replaced it with photoetch screen.

The chassis was made by combining a Monogram 90's T-Bird rollcage with the chassis pan of the GTX kit. All suspension came from that kit. It was necessary to sand the bottom of the rollcage, and thin the kit floorpan, to get it to snug up inside the GTX body, which is lower than the T-Bird body. The HEMI engine came from the 1967 Sox and Martin drag car, but I used the oil pan from the T-Bird. Dash, steering wheel. etc came from the T-bird, as did the seat, after being cut down to be more like a typical 70's seat. The rear spring perches were sanded down and the springs flattened, to lower the stance at the rear. Spacers were put on the front chassis crossmember to draw the body down over the front tires. It was all "eyeball engineering". I used the wheels and tires from the T-bird, with the backing plates from the GTX, which fit with some non-too-genteel coaxing... I used a Replicas and Miniatures spray mask, and PlastiKote white primer, for the GOODYEAR lettering on the tires. I think the wheels are somewhat oversized, but that was what I had readily available... Detail Master photoetched hoodpin sets were used. Oh - and the reason the air filter is sitting beside it? In my zeal to lower the body, I have a choice of hood on, filter off - or filter on, hood off - the hood will not close properly, if the filter is in place.

The body was primed with white PLASTIKOTE primer, then followed up with white aerosol touch-up lacquer. The Blue around the base of the car is a Honda Cobalt blue, as are the wheels. The clear headlights were sanded flat, glued in place, then painted flat black along with the grille. Finishing touches included the front and rear spoilers, cut from .010 plastic, the T-bird exhaust dumps, drilled out for realism, covers for the tail lights and hold down metal strips for the rear window.

In spite of the wheels, I am very pleased with how this one turned out. Although the car was not very successful, and represented the decline of Hamilton's career, it is a striking, simple livery. PS - Housby Mack is still in business. I went there online, looking for references, but if anyone there remembers their brief foray into NASCAR 32 years ago, it is not mentioned on their website! Pete Hamilton was conducted into the New England Antique Racers Hall of Fame in 1998,but has yet to be considered for the IMHOF in Talladega.

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