Monogram 1/24 Chaparral 2D Daytona 1966 Kit First Look

By Stephen Sutton

First Look

The Chaparral 2D Coupe is a much-modified version of the Chaparral 2 roadster and was designed to compete for the International Trophy for Prototype Sports Cars. This version was first introduced at the 24 hour Daytona Continental.

The chassis for the 2D Coupe is the same fiberglass chassis as used in the proven Chaparral 2. The Chaparral 2 had scored victories at every major road race in the United States as well as those in Canada and Nassau. The changes to this chassis are subtle, being in the form of a heavier suspension members to endure 12 to 24 hour races.

This body, of course, is all new being designed to comply with the rules of prototype racing. It features improved aerodynamics eliminating the need for front spoilers, so predominant on the 2 versions, doors that open in “gull wing” fashion and a large, adjustable spoiler at the rear. This aids in keeping the rear end down and thus improves traction under both braking and acceleration conditions. This spoiler does not act as an air brake as on earlier cars.

The chassis of this coupe as previously mentioned is constructed of fiberglass. The suspension mounts, made of stainless steel are bonded to the fiberglass. Unequal length “A” arms and spring / shock units make up the suspension. Steering is the rack and pinion type and the brakes are heavy-duty disks. Power is supplied by a rear mounted, 327 cubic inch, aluminum alloy block engine, enlarged to about 360 cubic inches. Four dual-throat carburetors and tuned exhaust system along with other refinements, enable the engine to turn out 440 horsepower giving the 1,700 pound car a top speed of over 170 m.p.h. using automatic transmission. Phil Hill and Jo Bonnier drove this car at Daytona in 1966, but due to mechanical failure, they were unable to finish the 24-hour race.

Monogram's kit of the Chaparral 2D is really just a curb side body with no engine detail except for the velocity stacks and molded in transmission under the chassis.. This re-release dates back to the late 1960's when the craze was at it's height for slot car racing, this and other Monogram cars were quite accurate, but not that fast, they did sell well to those seeking a home slot car track.

The kit includes 35 + parts (clear, rubber, chrome and it molded in white plastic), it should build up to an interesting curbside. There is no engine, no suspension, and an interior has little detail with a finely scribed instrument panel. This re-issue now includes a nicely pre-painted vinyl figure, as the original issue included and two piece plastic figure.

The kit includes a decal sheet for the #65 car that ran at the Daytona 24 hours race in 1966. Advertisements provided on the kit are appropriate for the times.

Since the kit was designed as a slot car body and one that had a rod and counterweight to allow the wing to move, you'll have to do some filling to the aft structure to close the hole in the body as well as fill in an attachment point on the underside of the rear wing. Despite the age of the kit (and this is the second time it has been re-released since the late 1960s), it is relatively flash free and the molding is still crisp. There are no sink marks evident anywhere on the body and the rear wing has finely molded in rivets.

Overall, I would highly recommend this kit for the beginner model builder who in transitioning from snap kits to glue kit. I can’t wait to build this kit; it will look real nice in my display case next to my other racecar kit.

I highly recommend this kit. Many thanks to Revell for supplying this review sample, look for this build soon on Cybermodeler.