AMT 1966 Mustang GT Fastback

[Maindrian Pace]

My favorite type of building is, by far, restoring glue bombs. It's just my thing. Late in 2020, this car appeared on Ebay, listed for a silly high price, north of $150.

After seeing it listed several times with no bids, my buddy Dan told me, "Hey Mike, give him a stupid low offer and see what he does." So I thought about it and did just that, a fraction of his asking price. I thought he'd just tell me to pound sand, but 12 minutes later, it was mine. Great, now what? I already have a minty built/no paint example of this kit in my case, as well as a near-mint unbuilt one in the box. Why do I do this? So it sat in the junk yard for a year, and then AMT announced that a new version of the kit was to be issued with a new body and parts. So now seems as good a time as any to get busy on this hot mess, both as a comparison to the new kit and as a preview of sorts. Dan wanted the wheels. No problem, Dan.

First step was to remove the paint, likely AMT lacquer from back in the day. The Purple Pond did it's thing, and now we have something to work with.

The paint crazed the plastic very slightly, so a sanding to 1,200 grit will be necessary. Second step was to replace the broken A pillar with the vent frame from a donor coupe body. The roof was cracked open on the right side too, it was probably stepped on.

The vent post is at a different angle on the coupe, an easy fix, the rest is the same.

TBC.

[vamach1]

Yes $150 would have been crazy money especially with the “new” AMT kit coming out.  I picked up an original MPC 66 fastback which I figure will never be issued again.  Are you just going to wait for the new kit or work with what is there?  Now that I zoom in on the pictures I did not realize one of the AMT versions had the GT emblems molded in.  Like the MPC kit they are a bit oversized but it makes the body unique.

[Maindrian Pace]

The MPC '66 GT kits are nice, and come with some neat parts. I will be using the Rally Pack from one of them. I am building this one using as many original kit parts as possible, plus some coupe kit parts. It will be stock with some detailing. It should be done before the new kit becomes available, but we don't know when that will be.

[mustang1989]

Oh HELL yeah. I'm in on this one.

[Dirkpitt289]

Working on glue bombs like this has its own type of satisfaction when you bring it back to life. I pick up a couple glue bombs each time I go to a show. You never know what you can user it for down the road weather for parts or a resto project like this one

[Maindrian Pace]

Falcons, Comets, and Mustangs have spring towers in the engine bay. AMT kits do not. They give you a wheel tub engine bay which looks more like that of a Chevelle or a 442. That bugs me. A couple of months ago, I cut the under hood area from a Monogram '65 Mustang and shortened, narrowed, and accurized it a bit to fit the AMT '60-'65 Falcons and Comets.

Testing it in a '63 Comet:

Finished master:

A club member asked if it would fit the early Mustang.

Why, yes it will, with a bit of filing and fitting. So this is going to be the one major change to the kit, a more accurate engine bay. The Master Caster was kind enough to make a mold, and fire off a few copies for me:

Thanks again, Greg!

Here is where things get interesting; The 289 in the AMT Mustangs has taken a lot of criticism over the years and decades for being too small, narrow, undersized, etc. But here it is in that Comet sitting in the resin engine bay insert, and all of a sudden, it's exactly the right size. It's all in the context.

To make it fit, all that needs to be done is to "angle mill" the exhaust manifolds to make them hug the engine closer, and cut the head pipes off to fit them in the chassis after the engine is mounted.

To make the chassis fit, take a razor saw to the wheel tubs and cut them flush with the frame rails.

Since I made this insert for the Falcons and Comets, which are essentially a Mustang that hasn't been sectioned, some trimming of the skirts is required to fit the chassis up in the stock location in the Mustang. Quick work with a Moto Tool with a drum sander.

Fitted and glued. Centering the opening between the spring towers is important for manifold clearance which is tight, just like in the real cars.

Finalizing the bodywork now, getting ready for Prime Time. Just got a package in from Scalefinishes...

 

Edited August 15, 2022 by Maindrian Pace

[vamach1]

I like the improvements you have made.

[Maindrian Pace]

The color I chose for this car is Emberglo, a bright burnt orange, with a matching interior. I ordered the paint from Scalefinishes, and when it came, I did a couple of spoon tests. They came out fine, always do, but there was just one problem:

I don't know what color that is, but it's not Emberglo. Maroon with a hint of brown. So I emailed Jameston Kroon, the owner of Scalefinishes. Super nice guy, I've met him at a few shows, and he can always make a specific color whether or not it is on his website. I showed him the spoon tests, and he said that his formula wasn't correct, but he had another one that was, and he would send me a new bottle quickly. Not worried. 

So I moved on to a few other things. I built a new engine from a coupe reissue. This engine looks more like a '64 260 than a later 289; the timing cover mounted oil filler has to be removed, the timing cover smoothed a bit, and the alternator is way too high on the fan belt - higher even than the stock generator location on the 260. So I modified the fan belt to mount the alternator in the stock location, in front of the right cylinder head. I painted it Ford blue, and used the kit optional Cobra valve covers. The smooth valve covers are too narrow in appearance, but the Cobras are just the right shape. Aside from that, it's box stock.

I then did a few parts in Alclad, including the grille from the trashed promo. The Cragar in the pic was done as a demonstration for a local club guy to show him what happens when you spray on too much Alclad - it turns into silver. The Americans are the unplated units from the '62 Bel Air kit, they will be used on another car.

Finalizing the bodywork, I corrected an area at the belt line on the left side behind the door window, where the green lacquer paint pooled a little bit and crazed the plastic. While I was smoothing that recessed area, I had a whoops moment and accidentally wiped out the trim around the lower front corner of the 1/4 vent panel.  So I rebuilt it with a piece of .000something Evergreen sheet, and carved it to shape. Crisis narrowly averted.

 

[Brudda]

I’m following! Always in for a great mustang build

[Dirkpitt289]

Impressive idea casting the engine compartments 

[dino246gt]

Nice progress on a cool project! Love converting curbsides to full detail, or as in this case totally correcting the primitive model to a realistic one! Can't wait to see more, love it already!

 

[espo]

The body seems to have cleaned up well. I remember Fords Emberglow color. That color would even make an Econoline van look good. 

[vamach1]

I used  a touch up Emberglo paint spray can for the MPC kit I restored a few months ago.

[TooOld]

Some nice work done so far and that engine compartment is a much needed and great improvement !

[Maindrian Pace]

3 hours ago, TooOld said:

Some nice work done so far and that engine compartment is a much needed and great improvement !

Thanks Bob. I continue to be impressed by how accurate your Ranchero conversion is, there isn't a line out of place on that car. As a '65 Ranchero owner, these cars have always been on my list of all time favorites, just about all body styles.

[beeRS]

Good work on correcting the engine bay. This is something that also bugged me about the AMT/MPC kits. 

[mustang1989]

This is a good looking resto so far Mike. GREAT upgrade to the shock tower/ inner fender liner issues and I like the mods you carried out on the engine. That engine really needed that alternator repositioning. Engine block color is right on man.

[fairlane1320]

On 8/15/2022 at 6:56 PM, Maindrian Pace said:

 

 

Why, yes it will, with a bit of filing and fitting. So this is going to be the one major change to the kit, a more accurate engine bay. The Master Caster was kind enough to make a mold, and fire off a few copies for me:

 

 

Following, I've got one of those original built AMTs in my 65-66 stash. Will those engine compartments be offered for sale?

 

[thebavarian]

Thatˋs a difficult, way to built a car with this damaged parts. Great work.

[Maindrian Pace]

9 hours ago, fairlane1320 said:

Following, I've got one of those original built AMTs in my 65-66 stash. Will those engine compartments be offered for sale?

 

Yes, PM Greg Wann here. If you don't hear anything back, ask me and I'll see what I can do.

[Maindrian Pace]

Prime Time! Tamiya fine gray primer used.

I like Prime Time because you get to see your car in all one color for the first time. But it also shows all the little things that still need to be done, of which there are a few yet. But 99% of the way there.

I detailed a few other parts. The wheel covers were painted with three different colors, the gray being a custom mix of flat black and silver. The spinners were brought over by Dan. He thinks they may be from the '63 Impala kit, but it's still a mystery. I drilled the centers and painted them black to make them look more Mustangish.

The taillights were modified a bit, the side wings on the bezels were shaved off so they could be mounted all the way to the sides; as per the real car. The AMT kits had the wings for the mounting spikes, which facilitated quick assembly of promos, Philco radios, and slot car bodies; at the cost of accuracy. When you move them further out board, you will uncover the innermost mounting holes in the rear panel. I filled them with styrene rod so the tiniest wipe of filler was necessary to erase them. The air cleaner was wrapped with a piece of stainless mesh.

[Jonathan]

Sweet work!  Really enjoy the commentary and pointers, too!

[Maindrian Pace]

 While waiting for the paint, how about some historical Fastback rebuild content?

 Around the same time that I got this car, Dan and another club member, Greg, did a little horse trading and Dan brought home this way cool AMT '65 Fastback that Greg built in 1965. It consisted of the body, hood, clear yellow painted glass, and a bare interior tub. Everything else was missing or used on something else. The candy green/white paint and decals were way cool, so I told Dan that I think it should be rebuilt, and shouldn't spend another 40 years in a closet. He agreed. His working schedule meant that time was at a premium, so I told him to leave it here, ask Greg what it looked like back in the day, and I'll see what I can do.

Greg told him that it had a straight axle, a 427 from a Galaxie kit, Halibrand Sprint wheels, and racing seats with a roll bar. Good enough! I forgot to take pictures of the bare body, but the front and rear custom valances were used with no bumpers, and the grille and taillights were lost along with the chassis. There was no dash, so I found one in my parts stash from a '65 Mustang promo that was partially burned - the cluster section was melted - so I cut down a racing gauge panel and glued it over the cluster. Found an appropriate Superior 500 style wheel, did the rim in wood tone, found a parts box roll bar, gasser seats, fire extinguisher, and shifter, and painted it all green, black, and white.

For the chassis, I chose an MPC '69 Mach 1 unit for the separate exhaust and rear axle, and used the optional chrome front leaf springs with a chrome dropped straight axle and drum brakes from a Revell Woodstock Model A woody kit. I built a '65 Galaxie 427 with a cross ram intake from the parts box, and found those headers in the stash - already painted that color and they fit the engine, chassis, and even the steering perfectly; quite a lucky find. Launch bars from the '66 Mustang AWB kit rounded out the chassis.

Dan brought over the wheels from an AMT '63 Corvette, and I dull coated them and added appropriate slicks and skinnies. I found a parts box grille, used the included custom rear taillight panel, and Monogram taillights to finish the rear. Adjusted the stance a few times to get the attitude right, cleaned up the body and buffed the paint a bit, avoided the strong temptation to detail the chrome and trim, and It was done. This was a 3 day rehab with all spare parts and all painting in rattle can, trying to use nothing newer than the day it was originally built. The last picture is on the table at a recent club meeting, where it got a lot of interest for the story and nostalgia.

 

[vamach1]

Looks great and I love the color.

[slusher]

Very impressive work!