1977 Ford Pinto by AMT

[doorsovdoon]

Just when I thought there couldn't be worse out there than the MPC Country Charger I come across this little gem! There are fit issues everywhere. The hood has huge panel gaps so I made my own from a custom option '65 Pontiac GP which has an almost identical shape but obviously twice the size, so I cut it to fit and worked out great. I might fix the original hood by adding some styrene to it to fill the gaps as it has that slight raised line down the centre, whereas the Pontiac hood doesn't. Another mod was to cut out the centre piece behind the grill, it's not needed anyway and actually interferes with the fitment of the grill and bumper, this brought the whole piece back enough to sit under the hood and also makes the bumper look cleaner by bringing it in closer to the car. More to come:)

Edited November 9, 2021 by doorsovdoon

[THarrison351]

Oh, you are going to have fun building this, this, this, plastic thingy! Just to let you know, it's mostly 1971 Promo that was barely updated to 1977 looks. The Pinto and Runabout emblems on the side do not belong, and the Ford letters (you've removed them) also must go. Those front parking light/turn signals are an aberration. With the way it's trimmed, there should be a bodyside molding down the side and a rocker molding. The interior is still 1971, the steering wheel is incorrect for the decor group. The engine and accessory drive is incorrect, the alternator should be up high in front of the intake manifold. Everything under the hood except maybe the radiator hose is wrong. The chassis is just wrong, but the wheels are passable. It's got nice tires, but I'm not sure they are correct for the car. Anyways, you have your work cut out for you and I wish you luck. You appear to have worked out many of the issues already. Good luck!

[slusher]

I give you Props on that scratch built hood friend. I built the 74 and 76 no problems. I have not built this one yet.  If mine has gaps in the hood the fenders might come in enough to help that. Your a good builder for the challenge friend I will be following..

[David G.]

If anyone can work this kit into a quality build, it's you Gareth.

I can't wait to see where you go with this, best of luck with it.

David G.

[Zippi]

This looks like a fun little project.  The hood looks pretty good.  What's the plans for this one?

[doorsovdoon]

Thanks guys, and thanks, Tim, for the tips, I missed a few of those. Continuing the mods, I cut the one piece glass into individual pieces cos that did not fit at all and I modified the rear bumper to fit closer to the car, I hate those 70's girder rails! Firewall was fitted further forward to support the hood. It looks far better and might actually be the way it's supposed to fit as the instructions are some of the most vague I've seen! 

[doorsovdoon]

6 minutes ago, Zippi said:

This looks like a fun little project.  The hood looks pretty good.  What's the plans for this one?

Fun indeed! Lol. I'm thinking stock, orange with the white half vinyl roof, or metallic bronze with an orange swoosh stripe that runs along the side and up over the back of the roof and a set of Mags. I have thought of fitting a hood scoop to the custom hood and go all out with side pipes and raised rear!

[Zippi]

3 minutes ago, doorsovdoon said:

Fun indeed! Lol. I'm thinking stock, orange with the white half vinyl roof, or metallic bronze with an orange swoosh stripe that runs along the side and up over the back of the roof and a set of Mags. I have thought of fitting a hood scoop to the custom hood and go all out with side pipes and raised rear!

Yeah going all out sound good.  I can see a straight axle on the front with some big Ol meats on the ass end.  Nice looking Gasser.  That's just me now. 

[Spottedlaurel]

Good luck Gareth! I'm sure you'll work your magic on it.

[doorsovdoon]

27 minutes ago, Zippi said:

Yeah going all out sound good.  I can see a straight axle on the front with some big Ol meats on the ass end.  Nice looking Gasser.  That's just me now. 

I am tempted, not sure if this mock up looks killer or just hilarious! xD

[gotnitro?]

Don't forget the flames facing forward  !!!

My dad had a pinto wagon w wood trim..tank in the snow but so embarrassing getting picked up at school 

[doorsovdoon]

Fixed the panel gap on the stock hood so now I have a choice between stock or custom. The instructions say the radiator support should be glued to the chassis but it looks like it sits too low then when the body is fitted. Gluing it to the body pushed the hood up so I trimmed the ends and that fixed it. Also found a steering wheel that looks closer to what's on the real car.

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by doorsovdoon

[doorsovdoon]

12 minutes ago, gotnitro? said:

Don't forget the flames facing forward  !!!

Like this? That would take some masking! It makes sense I guess, they do look more aerodynamic backing up than going forward,Lol! 

Edited November 9, 2021 by doorsovdoon

[doorsovdoon]

The front wheels stuck out too far so I cut the pegs back a little to bring them in. This enlarged the hole that the axle go's through but isn't an issue as the wheel hub sits snugly in the notch. Ride height looks ok, maybe a little high, but it's an easy fix to sort the stance on this.

[doorsovdoon]

Got the side trim done. I used a custom grille from the '57 Fairlane in my spares that has very fine horizontal bars. I sanded the back of the grill until it was super thin and then cut the bars out individually, cut them to fit each panel and glued them on.

[Bucky]

Those backwards flames are a sort of testament to the explosive character of a Pinto! LoL 

Keep the good work coming on this one!

[Oldmopars]

I have been working on one of these also, the Popper version. I had to sand the grill and the area behind it a lot to get it to fit right. 

I will be paying a lot of attention to your build, you are doing a great job.

[doorsovdoon]

15 hours ago, Bucky said:

Those backwards flames are a sort of testament to the explosive character of a Pinto! LoL 

Keep the good work coming on this one!

Lol, xD 

[doorsovdoon]

15 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

I have been working on one of these also, the Popper version. I had to sand the grill and the area behind it a lot to get it to fit right. 

I will be paying a lot of attention to your build, you are doing a great job.

Thanks, Scott. I found removing that piece behind the grill allows the front to sit slightly under the hood like the real car, it's not meant to be flush with the hood. 

[doorsovdoon]

Put the ejector pins in the middle of the glass why not!

[Oldmopars]

Every time I pull this kit out, I have to remember it is an old, old tool and it is nice just to have a model of a pinto. 
while a new modern tool of a Pinto would be nice, it will never happen, who would buy one?  So, I see it as a challenge to make this old kit into something decent. 
 

[doorsovdoon]

Managed to sand and polish the ejector pin marks out of the side glass. The rear hatch glass was almost the size of the hatch itself! The glass literally looked like it was just pressed against the hatch from behind as apposed to fitting in the frame, so I trimmed the glass to fit inside... but I trimmed too much off and had to throw it:( Solution? cut up my old water filter jug to make a new one, Lol!

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by doorsovdoon

[doorsovdoon]

The plastic water jug is twice as thick as what the kits glass is, so I had to bevel the rear of the hatch's window frame and the glass itself for it to fit flush.

[doorsovdoon]

25 minutes ago, Oldmopars said:

Every time I pull this kit out, I have to remember it is an old, old tool and it is nice just to have a model of a pinto. 
while a new modern tool of a Pinto would be nice, it will never happen, who would buy one?  So, I see it as a challenge to make this old kit into something decent. 
 

That is true. I may poke fun at these older kits here and there but I'm happy they exist rather than lost in a warehouse with other moulds that haven't seen the light of day in decades. I too would love to see a new tooling of the Pinto, but like you said, who would buy it? Be sure to post some pictures of your build when it's done, I'd love to see it.

[cobraman]

Forge ahead ! Your ding a great job.