“It was from the racing era before roll cages became the norm and in its immaculate pearl white and candy blue paint with gold leaf numbers, it harkened back to the days of men risking it all for a shot at racing glory.”
Derr, an automotive engineer by day with BWI, began taking pictures that day and planning. With the cooperation of Anderson and his sons, Derr made numerous trips to the shop, taking photos, and measurements to help him as he did scale drawings and plans.
“It takes a while to get it all in order, then figuring out the materials to use,” Derr said. “This car is built from brass, aluminum, steel, plastic and resin castings. There is nothing off the shelf from a hobby store on here. I built it all.”
That included learning how to make molds and castings of the engine, wheels and such, and having a friend laser-etch the molds with raised lettering on the tires.
Derr also had to build a special soldering unit.
“I needed to solder the brass joints, but it had to be precise so when I soldered one joint, it didn’t open up the joint next to it,” he said.
Derr admits that it’s tough sometimes to maintain focus, but he has learned the art of patience and constructive criticism.
“I’m lucky that my wife is a great supporter and great critic. I can spend half a day on something, and then show her, and she knows it’s not exactly how I wanted it and encourages me to redo it.”
The model sprint car took nearly five years to build and Derr estimates that he has about 2,500 hours in the car. “It’s really hard to tell, but that’s a good estimate.”
The car wasn’t cheap to build either, as Derr estimates he might have $2,500 invested in materials.
“You buy a bunch of stuff to make one little thing, and then you save the rest, as you can see from the shop shelves,” he said.
There are rewards for his efforts though; the model was named Best of Show, Modeler’s Choice, Scratch Builder, Best Replica and Best Detail at the Greater Salt Lake International Scale Vehicle Championship, one of the most prestigious competitions in the world.
“There were about 700 entries. I’m really flattered, but the neat part is Modeler’s Choice, that’s the one my peers give and that means a lot,” he said.
Derr displayed the model alongside the actual racecar at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past May.
“If there is one regret, it would be that I could not finish the car sooner,” Derr said. “Mutt Anderson passed away 10 months before it was completed, so he never got to see the finished car. I hope he would approve of the results, and this project is dedicated to him.”
We’re pretty sure Mutt Anderson would approve. The car is so realistic, you can almost see it roaring to another victory.
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