COMPLETE: Customer's 1970 Ford Mustang Coupe

[tigeraid]

What can I say folks... 9 months of hell. Any old hobbyist who tells you the hobby was better in the 60s in 70s, slap them. This kit, released in the early 70s, was an absolute atrocity. Nothing fit right. NOTHING. Feel free to check out the WIP thread (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=644700) to see the pictures of the ordeal I went through.

The roof is a separate piece, so you can build it as a convertible or hardtop... Except it doesn't fit right, the gaps are ridiculous, and of course BECAUSE it's a separate piece, you have to fill in the gaps to make it look like a hardtop. So that took forever.

The kit was molded in BRIGHT neon green, and of course I had to paint it white. So I had to re-paint this car THREE times before I managed to seal the green under the primer. The first two times, the green bled through as a bright yellow.

Then I found out the scripting on the body was incredibly thin and poor, so it was gone by the time I finished it, so I needed to find Mustang scripts... Except this car has sort of unique scripts, so I finally found them on a set of Keith Mark's Mustang decals... I had to make my own side marker lights as decals, since they disappeared in the body work as well. I think they turned out pretty good.

Tons and tons of cutting and grinding and dremeling were required to get the chassis to fit under the interior tub. The rear tailpanel didn't fit right either, without a bunch of sanding and fitting.

But I think it turned out pretty good in the end. And the customer understood the pains I was going through, so thankfully he's been patient about it. On the plus side, the engine bay detail I think is fantastic, using various forms of solder and wiring, including air conditioning hardwre. All decals, including license plates except the Mustang scripts are homemade. The interior is Tamiya Italian Red, the exterior is Dupli-color Ford Wimbledon White. Seatbelts are masking tape and the carpet is dried baby wipe painted black.

This is also the first opening trunk I've ever done, and it turned out awesome. Spare tire and fire extinguisher are from my parts bin, and the trunk mat is printed out on paper and white glued in--I used a pic of the actual trunk mat.

The undercarriage of the 1960s kit was completely devoid of detail, but the Mach 1 chassis wouldn't fit (the interior dub is different, having a fast back luggage area.) So I had to cut a bunch out, I also had to use a completely different rear end from an AMT kit to get the proper stance. The exhaust is single on this car, so the y-pipe is scratch built of solder (I still have to add an exhaust tip, it comes out near the bumper.)

And yes, I know I haven't done the sideview mirrors yet. They're drying as we speak.

Only real INACCURACY is the wheels--they're for standard Mustang Coupes only, and every kit ever made of the Mustang is a Grande or a Boss or a Mach 1 or etc etc etc.... I found these wheels off of, I think, a Torino, and look quite close--they're just 15" instead of 14".

[Dean23]

Well good to see it done, I had forgot all about it. Turned out nice. Shame though you had so many problems. ANyhow keep up the good work!

[tonioseven]

Truly great work! Usually the projects that fight me the most are the ones that I'm the most proud of. You should be proud of this one!