Mercedes C9
Model, Text, and Photos by Daniel Porterfield

I’ve always admired the look of this 1989 24 hours of Le Mans winner, and I decided to build Tamiya’s kit of this car.

This is not the re-issued kit but is one that’s been sitting in my “to build” pile for quite some time. With the aid of extraordinary reference photos of the #63 car (chassis 05) from Stephen Miller of “Speed Details,” I attempted to replicate this car’s engine compartment with a multitude of “scratched bits.”

Here is a list of added items:

Turbo heat shields (2)
Rear discs and calipers (re-used kit hubs, separated calipers and modified them)
Intercooler air ducts (2)
Throttle body linkages (2)
Upper chassis struts (2)
Rear dampers (2)
Rear damper heat shields (2)
Fuel regulators and rails (2)
Coolant return lines
Coolant swirl tank
Pop off valve support struts (2)
Oil reservoir flex hose
Braided hoses (solder rolled under a flat file) (6)
All A/N hex fittings, elbows etc. (a lot)
Ignition wires
Fuel injector wires
Fuel regulator vacuum hoses
Throttle cables
Pop off valve lines
Turbo oil lines
Rear brake lines
Coolant header tank hoses
Rear axles (2)
Cable zip ties (mono filament thread painted white)
Gear actuator linkage

I also tried to replicate hose clamps where appropriate by using self-adhesive aluminum duct tape cut into thin strips and topped off with small gauge wire as the screw.

A few body components were also scratch-built using thin gauge aluminum from an oven drip tray found at most grocery stores. These include door hinges, exhaust deflectors, fuel inlet rings, and front cowl opening support. All carbon fiber decals were created on clear decal film with the aid of my computer to design the patterns, and a color printer. The interior was also decked out with a racing harness and driver leg restraints as well as extra wiring to add detail. Acrylic paints were used exclusively.

Racing Sports Cars Statistics: 1989 Le Mans 24 Hours
Sauber C9 #03 Mercedes M119 V8 4973cc Turbo C1
Team Sauber Mercedes Closed bodywork
Mid-engined Colors: Silver Tyres: Michelin Sponsors: AEG
Driven by: Jochen Mass (D)/Manuel Reuter (D)/Stanley Dickens (S)
Result: winner - 390 laps (219.990 kph), margin: 5 laps Grid: 11th(3:22.86)